While Miriam's party was going strong, Isaac and Isaac C. found an abandoned tire buried in the swamp. They spent about two hours trying to get it out with the help of the lawnmower, a water skiing rope, and a come-a-long. They couldn't get enough traction with the lawnmower so once they got the rope tied around it Dode stepped in and used the van to pull it out. They commenced to clean it up and drill a bunch of holes in in for letting water drain out. Why did they get it out? I don't think they even have an answer to that, but they acted like proud new parents!
The philosophy of famous handyman Red Green.
In the spirit of Red Green and "There I fixed it!", I present to you our traffic control sign. (That website is worth wasting a few minutes on just to get your laughs in!)
Part of our driveway is only wide enough for one car. In order to cut down on people needing to back up when someone is suddenly coming the other way, we control the traffic on the driveway during produce mornings. My dad does traffic control at one end of the driveway while the kids provide the other. Each person has a walkie talkie so they can talk to the other one. My dad sometimes has a hard time hearing/understanding the kids so at times it's a comedy of errors. One of the walkie talkies had a battery die this week. Elizabeth came in and was issued another one. I caught Dode in the house a little later eavesdropping on the two of them with the walkie he replaced the battery in. He was doing a fair amount of chuckling.
One of the difficulties is getting drivers to recognize that the child standing there waving to them is not just being friendly but is actually trying to communicate. The orange vest was a step in the right direction but people were still giving a friendly wave and heading off on their merry way when they were supposed to be waiting their turn. My dad provided gloves with orange hands but it was still a problem. Next, he brought a driveway reflector on a stick. He put green tape on one side and left the other red. It wasn't large enough for drivers to notice but gave me an idea. I found 8" slow/stop paddles on Amazon.com but Isaac thought they were too wimpy. Issac found this full size (and much beat up) slow/stop sign in the swamp beside our house and he decided he could mount it on a handle for the girls to use. In the true spirit of Red Green (and his Grandpa Lynn) it is built very sturdy. He used an old beat up 2x4 for a handle. The bottom of the board isn't even square! We don't have to worry about it breaking any time soon! It definitely got the attention of the drivers! Elizabeth has to turn her entire body to keep the sign balanced and upright. Dode would like to replace the board with a PVC pipe but he hates to cancel out Isaac's work. I fear that Isaac's temporary fix will become our permanent solution.
Thursday night, I went with some friends (and my wonderful sister-in-law Sheri) to Seattle to listen to the Green Smoothie Girl, Robyn Openshaw. She was a great speaker and I'm even more inspired to keep up my healthy green daily habit. I've decided to get as many of the kids drinking them as I can. William is already in love with them. I told Jacob to read her book, hoping when he read the health benefits and testimonials he'd give it a go. Anastaya has committed to having a small one each day. I bought Robyn's 12 Steps to Whole Foods program. The idea is to go through the book, one chapter a month, adopting the healthy habit of that month and adding it to the way you eat. Step 1 is a daily green smoothie and I'm already there. Step 2 is a daily salad. As long as lettuce prices go down, that one is easy for me.
We all really enjoyed listening to Robyn. She was accompanied by David "Avocado" Wolfe. He's a famous raw food guru. The consensus in my group is that he might be a good writer but he's a terrible speaker. He was going around in circles and off on tangents about conspiracy theories, "I never take a shower, it's a gas chamber and you know, they tried that in the 40's", "You live in the mushroom capital of the world. You should all be out gathering all the mushrooms you can to eat." He was up there pretending to smoke pot, would say he had some great information for us and then get sidetracked, he was just awful! At least he brought chocolate samples!
We used the lawn mower AS A LAWNMOWER!
Dode is proud to report that he was able to use his lawnmower as a lawnmower this week. (As opposed to tow truck, kid entertainment device, ATV). We've had so much rain, there were places were as much water was coming out the side as grass clippings!
Back to back birthday parties
Friday and Saturday felt a bit like a train wreck. In 24 hours, we had two separate birthday parties, first Anastaya's, then the next day Miriam's. In between the parties, we did the produce co-op. So, in the space of 24 hours, we accommodated over 100 people aged 5 to people in their 70's. Isaac had a scout camp out Friday and Dode spent part of the evening over with the scouts. Somehow, we managed to do it all and still keep our sanity. I was really dreading all the things I was responsible for but it turned out better than I expected.
Isaac's new sunglasses
An unexpected package came in the mail this week. Isaac had been looking at aviator sunglasses on Amazon.com and had put a pair in the shopping cart. I didn't notice and proceeded to buy something else. A few days later, two packages came in the mail. A funny kid's picture book that was recently published, Interupting Chicken, and a pair of sunglasses. Lucky for him there were only $3.50 and not the $45 pair he'd also been looking at. Lesson to me, check to make sure items haven't been added to the cart I'm unaware of! Isaac was so proud of his new sunglasses he wore them inside the house for the entire day! When the glasses came, they were a bit bent and would not stay on his nose. Remember the quote from Red Green? Isaac fixed the problem by finding a black piece of thread and attaching it to each ear piece. The thread went around the back of his head and held the glasses tightly up against his nose. When Dode got home and saw what was going on, he bent the glasses into place.
106 degree hot tub
We'd de-commissioned the hot tub for the summer but Anastaya wanted to use it at her party. We refilled it and made sure the water was nice and clean for the party. Jacob got in the day before and said that it felt really hot. We didn't listen. Anastaya and her friends got in and started squealing. They didn't put more than their feet in, just sat around on the edge. After a while, they check the temperature on the side and read 106 degrees. We used the hose to bring the temp down to comfortable soaking temperature. I should have gotten a photo of the lobster red feet on those girls.
Impromptu visit from the cousins
Just as we were sitting down to dinner on Saturday, Dode's brother Randy called to say he was on the freeway and would soon be going by our house. He wanted to know if some cousins could come over and play for a short while. We didn't have to think twice about that offer! Lainey, Jenna and Savannah came over to eat with us and play while Dode, Isaac and Isaac C. got in the truck with Randy and went over to Cascade Park (a church campground in Arlington) where Randy was looking at some trees they want taken down. In addition to being a school teacher, Randy has a business falling hazardous trees. He'd taken down a cottonwood tree at Cascade Park last year and now they want him to take down quite a few more. The kids really enjoyed their unexpected play date and it sounds like when Randy goes back to actually take down the trees they'll be able to play again. Hooray!
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