Sunday, July 31, 2011

I look at the world and I notice it's turning...

...While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
-The Beatles, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

Life is good. This was one of those weekends where everything that happened did so just the way I had imagined it would, and it was all good stuff. And while I generally get annoyed with bloggers who write about nothing but their perfect lives and show perfectly composed & edited pics of their adorable kids, I'm veering dangerously close to that myself in this post. Consider yourself warned. (Don't worry - my cruddy photography skills are unchanged, my new camera is kaput, and my video camera had a dead battery. So all images are from my poor quality cell phone camera. I'm not quite venturing into perfect mommy blogger world yet.)

So, what made the weekend so picturesque, in spite of the poor pictures?

Well, not the weather. It was HOT. Hotter than the 3rd circle of hell level hot. Triple digits by noon hot. So early Saturday morning (after making pancakes - fun activity #1), we called up our neighbors down the street and pulled out the new slip & slide. I got it on clearance for 5 bucks, so I figured that even if it was a complete bust, it wasn't much money wasted. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for and part of it busted - quite literally - within 10 seconds of attaching the hose to it. Did that stop us? No sirreeeee! Like any good southerner, we duct taped that thing up and it was as waterproof as it needed to be. I mean, the point *is* to get wet, right?

Of course, the kids thought that actually running & sliding down the thing was way too unexciting. I mean, that's what it was DESIGNED to do - how boring is that?! So they pretty much used it as a place to run up & down, a puddle to splash in, and some squirters to dance through. When that got too dull, we unattached the hose and sprayed each other. And we managed to stay cool until lunchtime.

Hard to top the slip & slide, but the afternoon got even more exciting! Our friends the TriMulli came over for dinner and hanging out. Their little man, Ethan, is as cute as they come and our three little stairstep boys are each a year apart. We had a great time hanging out, grilling some seriously good eats (you must try Derek's grilled peaches sometime!), and watching the boys play with tools. They got hot, they stripped off their shirts, and ran around like wild preschoolers on a perfect summer night.

Then it got really good.

Introducing him to a REAL guitar

Jeramie brought his guitar for a sing-a-long, and my little musician has a new hero. Between Jay's toy guitar and our box o' instruments, courtesy of LaLa & Popper, and there was something for everyone.

Percussionist-in-chief Ethan selects his instrument of choice.

We attempted all the classics including Jesus Loves Me, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, You Are My Sunshine, and Little Bunny Foo Foo. I'm not sure Jay had ever heard about dear Bunny Foo Foo and what great fun it is to bop field mice on the head. But he heard the song once and was hooked, particularly on the opportunity to turn others into a goon. He requested it over and over (and over again). And being the good sport that he is, Jeramie obliged. Over and over. Good man, that J.

Jay and his guitar guru. Hero-worship really doesn't quite describe it!

And just to firmly cement his place as coolest dude on the planet, Jeramie showed the boys that his guitar pick was not just any ol' guitar pick. It was a MAGIC pick.



(Yes it's sideways. Yes I'm aware. Yes I tried to fix it. Realizing that it's still sideways, you'll just have to turn your head crooked and roll your eyes at my lack of skill. But I promise, those giggles are worth it.)



PS - Luke's doing GREAT after surgery. Tonsils are out, and he enjoyed plenty of milkshakes and other soft yummy treats. He's back at school and all is well, in spite of the fact that he's given up his good, sleep-through-the-night habits. They'll come back, I'm sure. And Derek and I will be extra careful not to make any important decisions in our sleep-deprived state.

Life really is good.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

it certainly doesn't get any better than this - giggling boys, magic tricks, good food and friends all on a summer night!! We are all so happy and SO blessed.....Love, AJ