Easter

A happy memory from this Easter 2014.

I gave the kids each a pack of balloons in their Easter baskets, and Layla was happily playing with a pink balloon that her daddy blew up for her.  I told her she could take her balloon outside and play with it, only to watch the wind catch it and take it away as she watched.  Hurrying outside to see if I could rescue it, I saw it bouncing patiently by the high chain link wire fence across the road.

I told the kids to stay in the yard, and scurried across the street, with Caroline on my hip.  The balloon swooped and darted out of my reach, pausing for a moment and then gusting on, bumping and skipping as I jogged and then ran after it with Caroline giggling away.  It made me smile how she was laughing.

I thought I had it cornered by the dumpsters; it sat quietly and then leaped up and out of my reach at the last minute, taking a long and high hurdle up over the dumpster, and then onto the school roof and disappeared.  With my hand shielding my eyes, I stood watching as the kids yelled excitedly from fifty yards back until I eventually saw it bounce gracefully over the roof edge on the other side of the school.

Hustling down the pavement I ran, the sun shining brightly on my baby and my flip flops, the calls of the children growing fainter as the distance between us increased, and was pleasantly surprised when I rounded the corner to find the balloon waiting patiently, bouncing gently about a yard away, shielded from the wind that had initially blown it there.

Two quick steps and I snatched it up with my free hand and then turned the corner and gave the tightly held balloon a jubilant thrust up into the air, waving it triumphantly at the children lined up on the sidewalk waiting about a hundred yards back who jumped and cheered in excitement.

The breeze was cool, laced with spring warmth, and the sun shone brightly and cheerfully on us as we walked a happy walk home, my girlie and I, to return a pink balloon to an rejoicing Layla.

Things

Today Layla came and put her arms in my lap and put her chin on her hands.  "Is it Fries-Day, today?" she wondered aloud, with the little expression she gets where she talks out of one side of her mouth.

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Today it was "a little bit warm" - warm enough, declared the boys, that they were hot!!! All three were running around in the back yard with their shirts off while their mother eyed them dubiously through the window as she was making supper.  She thought they were perhaps a bit zealous in their rabid summer wanting.

Israel and Zion and Layla brought in "flowers" for their mama from the backyard.  Israel carefully arranged the first batch in a nice little vase...and Zion was INSPIRED.  ;)

The two on the edges are from him.  Then he wanted us to have candles on the table for supper and selected five.  Then he wanted to put options for drinks for supper on the table - we could choose between regular V-8 juice and an orange Apple and Eve blend.  Then he wanted to put the candles into paper bowls.  Then the brothers came in and Gabe got all inspired to burn things and was lighting and relighting the candles.  Then he wanted to take a candle out to the sidewalk to burn and I said yes.  The boys kept running in and out of the house busily as I was nursing Caroline on the couch and after a bit I got a whiff of something made me think that I had probably better eyeball the activities outside and sure enough the boys had a nice little leaf fire burning busily in the middle of the sidewalk leading up to the house.  It was speedily doused with water and a small cup of sand (that Zion ran to fetch) and the boys cleaned it up.  And we just won't talk about the little project that went on inside after that that left a burnt spot on my tablecloth.  Nope.  Just - public service announcement here that the candles are on hiatus for an indeterminate amount of time starting today.

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You know the movie Mr. Peabody and Sherman?  Zion has heard of this movie and thinks that it is Mr. Pee-Bottom and Sherman.  Cackle of laughter.  I have not corrected him; instead I just keep asking him about it.