We finally have a working van again! After two and a half weeks of sticking close to home (or going on epic walks around the neighborhood, which I guess still counts as sticking close to home), we can once again pile into the van and venture a little farther out. Nearly every night since the van broke down Topher has been praying that the van would be fixed so we could go to the park again.
Can you guess where we went today?
Two weeks ago I took the oldest three kids to their first in-person joint YM/YW activity in more than two years. It was a pool party in our Bishop's very large backyard. The kids were anxious, but the other youth were good about social distancing around us, especially when Phoebe's best friend would yell at anyone that tried to come too close. It was a successful venture back into society, even while literally keeping everyone at arm's length.
Tonight was another joint activity. This time we were all invited to help an older couple in our ward clean up their yard. We decided to attend and arrived with gloves, long pants, and lots of bug repellent. The word yard does not do justice to the size of the property. We were there for almost an hour and a half and easily could have been there for three times that. We (the group, not us specifically) helped take down several trees that had grown up, in addition to pulling out tree-sized weeds and overgrown berry bushes. Peter and Cooper hauled downed branches while Phoebe and I lopped and tore out underbrush. I'm happy to report that I've gotten adept at identifying poison ivy. I put that skill into use tonight.
Near the end of our time there, several of the youth emerged from a section of the yard I hadn't paid attention to. They each had long pieces of bamboo. I mentioned that I was curious to see where it was all coming from. The homeowner not only showed me where the bamboo was growing, she led me right into the grove. It was enormous! Once inside I couldn't have seen without my flashlight, even though the sun was still up. The pictures that I took were of one small section and were taken at my eye level, to give you an idea of how tall the trees were.
And now I really think the next youth activity should be making a movie and using the bamboo forest as a backdrop.
I was standing in the doorway of the laundry room/pantry and in the beginning stages of making dinner last night when one of the kids came to find me. I stopped what I was doing to listen. Suddenly all four of the older kids were standing in front of me, vying for my undivided attention. Because of where I was standing in the house, they were all in the hallway and thus standing in a line. They usually all talk at once, this was no exception. Amidst the din, I heard this exchange.
Sophie: Why are we all lined up like this?
Cooper: (gestures at me) We're waiting to talk to the information center.
These two are ten years apart in age, but that gap disappears when they play together, especially when Legos are involved.
It has been so hot this week. There were a few days when we didn't even open the blinds in an effort to keep the heat out and the cool in. Of course, there were a few days when we took a different approach and ran through the sprinklers in that heat and set up the pool.
In related news, we're trying out a new sunscreen because our time in the water this week taught us that what we had was not effective enough.
As we count down to the end of our Sundays doing church at home (nine left!), I am trying to savor them. Yes, I definitely am ready to be back in person, but there have been many blessings to doing church at home.
On Saturday morning the girls were snuggled up together under a blanket, watching cartoons. Topher was sitting with me on the other side of the room, also watching TV. Peter walked in and the following conversation took place.
Sophie: Look! We're couch potatoes!
Peter: Topher, are you a couch potato too?
Topher: No, I'm an ottoman banana.
