A ton of things happened at our house on the
last day of March and the first day of April.
And I'm not foolin.' Check it out.
Bri and Hunter were delighted with a bucket
balance I got at a yard sale. Throw in some donated
surplus "gram-stackers" and we've instant fun. We
started by weighing and comparing some random
toys they selected.
Sound strategies quickly emerged.
Estimating, comparing, and logic were employed.
We recorded the weight of each object and
at the conclusion, Bri ranked all objects from
heaviest to lightest. And by the way, this
wasn't school!
Let's listen in on Bri thinking out loud.
We weren't inside long on that beautiful day.
Bri is trying out the constantly improving
Tarzan swing. Again, she calls it amazing.
The padded hand grips make a big difference.
No blisters!
Here's what Bri thinks is fun.
Hunter did a million things at our house,
but he was in constant motion and kept
turning out as a blur. Normal for a kid
who sometimes calls himself Flash.
Lets watch him work with our tepee
(From Uncle Buddy to Jennifer and Amanda
decades ago).
Let's try it like this.
No, let's fold it up and start over.
Uh, what happened?
Grandpa, are you sure all the grandkids like
to wear these handcuffs?
Fast forward to Thursday, April Fools Day.
There was no foolin' around, just playin' around.
Claire falls in love with the improved swing.
Not once have any of the children slipped off.
It's exhilarating to leap off into space, even if
you're only a couple of feet above the ground.
Here's our conversation:
Claire: I really like this swing!
Grandpa: I'm glad you do.
Claire: I'm glad you're glad.
Grandpa: I'm glad you're glad I'm glad.
Moral: You can't out-corny Grandpa.
Let's see what tricks Claire has mastered.
(By the way, Claire spent at least 30 minutes
with me just swinging back and forth in pure
delight. After we returned to the house, she
insisted that Judy go back with her. That time,
she swung across the ravine FORTY more times.
And when Jennifer arrived to pick the kids up,
both Evan and Claire had to show off their
trapeze skills many times before they could leave.)
Meanwhile, Evan and Grandma are waging
dinosaur war on the front porch. How we love
these days when the doors can be flung open
wide and everywhere is a play space.
My camera angle makes it look like Evan is
Superman (he really is, but don't tell anyone).
He's actually demonstrating how to glide down
our ramp on two scooters at once.
But he's perfectly willing to share when
Claire wants a turn.
Claire scoots up to Grandma while Evan
courts disaster. Rule # 1, Ev-man: No
broken bones at Grandma and Grandpa's!
Here's the Ev-man in action.
Mom will be here soon-- what have we
not done? How about shooting soldiers
with Grandpa's cannon?
Right. We haven't done that since last fall.
Pretty good shootin', sharpshooter.
(Uncle Buddy and I collected these World
War II figures at Woolworth's more than
50 years ago.)
After Jennifer arrived, everyone was inside
except Evan. I stepped out back and called
his name. No answer. I turned and saw him
grinning at me from the dogwood tree. (The
same one Jennifer and Amanda climbed back
in the 80's.)
I smiled back at him and asked, "What are
you doing up in that tree?"
He gazed seriously into my eyes and replied,
"Today is a day for tricking people, isn't it?"
Yes, it was, and for making a lot of people happy!
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