“… Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.†— Benjamin Franklin
Going, going, going has been our lifestyle this summer, and we haven’t let Houston’s injury slow us down. Just because you have a bum elbow and a cast doesn’t mean you can’t still have a good time, right?!
First, let me update y’all on Houston’s arm. He had an orthopedic check-up on 7/29 and the x-ray showed that his elbow is healing exceedingly well. Amazingly, the doc said Houston will get his pins removed at the next appointment on 8/6.
Gabriel, seen here gently petting a butterfly, recently told me, “Mommy, I hope I die when you die, so that we can go to heaven together.” My sensitive boy sure knows how to melt his mama’s heart.
Houston will also be fitted with a hard, removable cast and visit the physical therapist that day. Not sure exactly what that means — Can he swim? Take a normal shower? Go most of the day sans cast? Get back to climbing? — but I do know this is exciting news and we’ll just sort out the details later.
Needless to say, Houston is ecstatic about breaking out of the shackles of his cast and getting back the use of his elbow and hand. Although he did recently admit, “I like breaking my arm because people give me a lot of attention.”
Somehow, I think Houston will survive without being in the limelight. Plus, that boy has got some tough physical therapy to work through before life gets back to normal.
We’ve had to get a little creative with the kids’ activities, since Houston can’t get his cast wet. But as long as the 3 Amigos are on the move, they’re happy as clams.
On 7/24, Houston went to see a dollar movie with the J-Crew. However, Miss Christie misread her calendar (yeah, it’s hard to keep up with the days during summer), so she took the kiddos to play at the park and Chick-fil-A instead.
Despite a left arm that he can’t fully utilize, Houston hangs in there building his craft @ the Lowe’s Build & Grow workshop.
Gabriel and Zeke were a tad envious at first. But then I reminded me that they had been to both a pool party and Bounce-U the week before without big bro and that seemed to allay their jealousy.
Miss Julie, Houston’s piano teacher, hosted a summer piano party for all of her students on 7/25. Houston didn’t want to go, as he was embarrassed that he couldn’t play a song.
It took some convincing from Daddy and me that Miss Julie didn’t expect him to perform and that all the other kids wouldn’t think he was weirdo. Houston hesitantly agreed to attend, but was particularly crabby upon arrival ’cause his fingers had been hurting that day.
Well, turns out that Houston had a blast, as we knew he would, and forgot all about his finger pain and incapacitated arm once he was at the shindig. In fact, when the twins and I picked him up, Houston was jamming out an impromptu one-armed ditty on the piano for Miss Julie!
Zeke’s up to bat during a post-cookout baseball game w/ the J-Crew. (By the looks on their faces, the other boys don’t much like waiting for their turn at the plate.)
The next day, the kids and I hooked up with Miss Beth, Matthew and Jonathan, who we haven’t seen in ages. The boys played outside at their house, while Beth and I caught up mommy stuff.
Then we went to see Wild Goose Chase Theater at their local library. It’s a pirate-themed puppet show (good) that runs about 45 minutes (hmm, perhaps not so good). But to our delight, our typically hyper kids were calm, mannerly and totally enamored with the performance.
Beth and I were somewhat anxious about the boys sitting up front with all the other children void of parental supervision. But even from our seats a few rows back, it was easy to see that our 5-dude crew (ranging from ages 3-6) were the best-behaved kids in the group. Way to go, boys!
However, their conduct wasn’t quite as good at the Japanese restaurant where we had dinner and made a gazillion trips to the bathroom. Then the constant peeing and pooping continued and some additional zaniness kicked in during our visit to a frozen-yogurt joint for dessert.
Gramsey & Papa fool around w/ the 3 Amigos during the obligatory “grandparents w/ grandkids” photo opp during their recent visit.
But hey, they are testosterone-filled boys after all. Could we really expect anything less than some eventual hijinks, especially since the dudes contained all their horseplay at the library?!
On 7/27, Stephen took the 3 Amigos to their first Lowe’s Build & Grow, which is a free workshop for kids. The boys got to use hammers, nails, glue and other crafty tools to put together a wooden car, with Daddy’s help, of course.
Each one was so proud of his creation, and Stephen was pleased with their excellent behavior. That means, there will likely be another boys-only outing to Lowe’s some time soon. Great job, fellas!
That evening, we had the entire J-Crew over for a rainy-day cookout. Although we had to eat dinner inside, the weather cleared up enough that we were able to spend some time outside playing baseball and kickball. Good times with some of favorite folks!
Piper, Gabriel & Jackson enjoy the swimming portion of G-Man’s sleepover w/ the J-Crew.
After church the next day, Mercy Hill had a baptism cookout. It’s exactly what it sounds like: people getting baptized and then everyone chowing down. There was also an inflatable slide and a bounce house for the kids. It was a fun get-together and a nice opportunity to get to know of some of the congregants.
Gramsey and Papa came to town from 7/29-7/30. They hadn’t seen Houston since his injury nor had they been to our house in a while, so it was wonderful to host them for a couple days of bonding with the grandkids, political chats and eating yummy food. Thanks for the visit!
On 7/31, the boys and I met Miss Jessie and her little sister, Kaylee, at the Science Center. We did the aquarium, the zoo and another omni-sphere show called Sea Monsters. This flick was 3D, longer than the one we saw the week before and intended for kids ages 7 and up, but the 3 Amigos again impressed with their big-boy behavior.
The next day, Gabriel had his first sleepover with a friend. It was with the J-Crew and he was Jackson’s guest. Miss Christie reports that G-Man said “thank you … please … sir … ma’am” and was up to par on all the rest of the mannerly stuff.
So, after we have Asher or Jax over to spend the night, it’ll then be Zeke’s turn for a sleepover at the J-Crew casa. And Z-Bird’s already planning for the highly anticipated event!
Zeke, Houston & Gabriel imitate the bum-spanking dance moves from their current favorite movie, “Despicable Me.” I suppose it will remain their top preoccupation, until we finally go to see Part 2 at the theater in a few weeks.
Last but not least, the 3 Amigos are obsessed with Despicable Me. We rented the movie last weekend and they just thought it was the best. They decided that it would be money well spent to each contribute $3.33 from their piggy banks in order to purchase it from Amazon Instant Video.
Since then, the boys have watched the movie many times, choosing it above all else as their daily limited TV viewing. Their zeal for the flick has been so intense that they already know much of the dialog and even some scenes word-for-word in just a week’s time.
The dudes are not only infatuated with the goofy characters and story, but they love the music, most notably the disco songs from the soundtrack. So, I showed them John Travolta’s dance performance to the Bee Gees’ You Should Be Dancing from Saturday Night Fever.
It’s not rare to find the boys (especially Gabriel) shamelessly boogying, attempting to mimick Gru’s dance moves to the same song from the Despicable Me, as well as Travolta’s funky grooves of yore. These passionate performances are truly something to behold!
