Summer Heats Up

        Devon asked when we would try D&D again, so we asked Charles if he would be willing to DM for us since Lizzy was busy. He was excited for the opportunity and got right to work. We had fun, but Devon took his rogue status literally and kept getting into trouble. We got to play with Lizzy on a different day; we're hoping to keep it up at least once a week.

Daniel and I went to see A Beautiful Noise, a tribute to Neil Diamond, at the Starlight Theater.

 

    It was a great show; it starts with " Neil" in a therapy session and goes through memories of his life. I sang along to all of the songs. They had an Andy Reid impersonator join the stage after the bows to sing another round of Sweet Caroline. That was fun. Daniel ran into some people he grew up with; they had seats in the row in front of us.

    I took the kids to the pool and got a little red, white, and blue in the process.

    We were blessed to have quite a few Bartholomews over for dinner on Sunday. Tony and Susan came for a visit; we had Ron, Floyd, Heather, and the Blacks as well. It was nice to have them. Daniel got to smoking some ribs and pork for pulled pork. They got the butler treatment! We had quite the feast. I made a pitcher of Purple Haze, and it went fast.

    I roped Heather into building with the kids. She made this adorable little cat hiding in flower bushes. Min and Bastien jumped right in and made some fun creations.

    The next day, the boys left on their way to Oklahoma for the Young Men's camp. Devon was less than enthused, but he went along anyway.

    While they were gone, I took the other kids swimming again. We were going to try a different pool, but Teddy didn't want to go there. He wanted to go to a water park. That wasn't going to happen, we went back to Grain Valley since they have slides and the Independence one didn't. We had fun. At one point, Henry went to the boys' bathroom. I got nervous since he had been in there over 20 minutes. I asked a dad if he would go in and see if he was ok. The dad was so nice. Henry was washing his hands and almost ready to come out. He looked a bit scared when a strange man asked if he was Henry, b ut came out and I thanked the man.

    I hate that feeling of not being able to be there if they need help. He's growing up so fast. I usually have Charles or Devon to help out if Daniel is not there. It's weird; he goes fine at school or at therapy. He's nearly 9, but I still worry. Being a Mom means you worry about your kids.

    I took them to Science City without Lizzy on another day. I told Emily, Henry, and Teddy that since it was just us, we had to stay together. This was emphasized several times; it was also the rule broken the most. I was constantly telling the kids to reconvene in order to move on. 

    There is a program that allows you to make a dinosaur and name it. Emily made one for Charles with watches on its front legs and a jacket since Charles is always cold.

    We had fun making creations. Teddy wanted to use one of the magnet cars, and a boy had all of them. I asked if we could use one, and he growled at me, so I growled right back and made tickling fingers as I stepped slowly towards him. He smiled, and I took one of the cars; he seemed ok with that. Another kid from his same group asked why I took it from his friend. I explained that they were for everyone to use and he didn't need to have all of them. The kid agreed that that made sense and went back to playing. The other boy decided he did not want to share and tried to grab it back. I told him No, you have those, pointing to his pile, and prevented him from grabbing the car. Emily tried to hold him back, and I told her that we don't restrain people. She let him go, and I went back to good-naturedly sparring with the boy. 

    He gave up, but as he went back to his table, he lightly hit my hip. It was a sign of frustration, and I understood that. He didn't win the game. But his adult careperson noticed that and was horrified that he had hit me. She apologized profusely and made him apologize as well. I accepted it, but told her it was fine. I had instigated the whole scenario. She told me that he has autism and is unpredictable in his behaviors. I acknowledged that I have an autistic child too and understood. I felt bad; he really wasn't harming anyone, and he was punished for it.

Teddy saw a TNT block on the wall and wanted to make his own. We tried, but it's rough.

     The boys came home on Saturday covered in bug bites and ready to show off their crafts.

    Charles likes to play the spoons; he is always picking spoons up if they are nearby. He has destroyed several pairs of plastic spoons. He is always shocked at their weakness. So now he has spoons he has fashioned himself. I hope they last a long time.

    Lizzy had informed us that yesterday was National Ice Cream Day! After going to the library to pick up their Summer Reading Books awards, we decided to visit the newly opened Good Day Ice Cream. The lady was just unlocking the door, and she told me that they would open in 15 minutes, so we headed to Lamar's Donuts to get another treat while we waited. We made a bit of a mess, but cleaned it up.

Then we headed to Good Day to top off. 

    It was quite tasty! Today I took Charles to take his written driver's test. He passed it on his first try, and then we headed to the licensing department, and a scant 10 mins later I have another driver in the house! He's not too thrilled about actually driving, but I predict that he will take to it quickly. Congratulations Charles!

Happy Birthday Emily

     Emily requested a Minecraft theme for her 11th birthday. She had just read a book about ropa vieja, and decided she wanted to try it. The book had the recipe and I was game. We had to pick up a few ingredients, and I never did get the pimientos, but it was tasty. Sweeter than I expected, but cuban food does lean toward the sweeter side. The boys didn't like it much, but Emily said she liked it. I thought it was good.

The piñata was a pull string, which makes it safer, but less fun.

The inevitable trading of candy.

    She asked for a cube cake, and I had a tricky time figuring it all out. I'm not cake decorator, but I did make this five layer monstrosity.

    We got her some fun toys and Mom got her The Little House on the Prairie books. When she had asked me what to get Emily I suggested she get a book that she liked when she was 11. Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up in Missouri, her house is south of us near Branson and I had wanted to visit it, but never took the chance. We will have to go after Emily reads the books. She was excited to have a new series to get into. 

    Happy Birthday Emily! 

Happy 250th America!

     America celebrates 250 years, and we celebrated in style. First, we headed to the Home Depot for the kids' workshop. 

    Then, joined two wards for a cookout at the park. As we were two wards, they had a battle of wards. Emily enjoyed the water balloon toss, then they had tug-of-war, first the primarys competed, then the Relief Society.

    Blue Springs beat Burr Oak handily in each event. Later, we joined a few neighbors while Daniel set up to DJ for the fireworks. We brought the bubble maker this time. The boys had fun with that.

    Teddy had fun with the chalk; he made designs that put the sister Missionaries in one box and him in another. They were very sweet to him. We have a Sister Bartholomew, she's Daniel's third cousin. 

    One family brought a pogo stick, and Charles tried it a few times with marginal success. Devon tried a bit too with less success, but they had fun.

    It was a fun night. We had glow-in-the-dark bubbles, and when they popped on you, the residue glowed in the black lights. It was cool. Lizzy had to join us after work. She was tired, and the older boys were ready to go home, so they headed home early while Daniel, Teddy, Emily, and I shut the party down.