Last year, I posted after each day. Why did I do that? I'm not sure. I guess to remember what we did and how our days went. This year, I am planning on just posting each week.
Year 2, Week 1, Day 1 got off to a rough start. One of my little buddies had a hard morning, and try as he might, he just had a hard time rallying. Add that to Mellie having a sore knee that is swollen to about twice its size and you have the recipe for a hard day.
This week is Aviation Week. We read a book on Orville and Wilbur Wright, went to the airport viewing pad and watched planes land and take off. Another family came up and they were VERY friendly. So friendly, in fact, I am fairly certain they even overwhelmed the only extrovert in our group. We snacked on blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries, fighting over who ate the last what. We came home, made construction paper helicopters which were amazing, really, especially when dropping them while standing on the top rung of the ladder. The craft project we did was a huge success, even better than I'd hoped. Mostly, the boys just played in a blanket (sheet) fort in the den. Even with the heat and a couple of us out of sorts, it was declared a good day.
Year 2, Week 1, Day 2 Today, we got off to a better start. Yay!! Violet and her mom were here for a while this morning and the boys and Violet got into a water-gun fight. I think the little girl was being somewhat bullied by the older boys because she really had the best water blaster. When she left, I took the boys to $Tree, gave them 2 dollars each, so they too could own powerful water blasters. We left there with one boy with a wood and peg basketball game and a cash register drawer of "funny money," and the other one with a spinner toy and a pop gun that the foam ball is attached to and won't shoot anywhere. I don't know.
We came home and made a flying machine out of paper straws and strips of cardstock that were amazing. Simmy's flew up on the roof. We also made planes with a plastic straw, cardboard wings, and a plug of play dough. They flew successfully....once. Then we made rockets with film canisters, water, and Alka-Seltzer. Oh.my.word. Pure awesomeness. Possibly, safety goggles would have been a good idea, but fortunately, no one was injured.
A brief show, lunch, and then off we went to the doctor for Mellie to get an injection in her knee. Rather than threaten, I promised a trip to Bobby's Dairy-Dip if they behaved well, plus they each took a book to read. Simmy faced the wall, while Max thought he might look on. I think the doctor was blocking his view. I'm pretty sure the doctor thought both boys a bit backward as I'm fairly certain neither of them actually looked up and spoke to him. We shall try to do better next time, for there will be a next time as I have to get shots 5 weeks in a row. They had a bit of problem deciding what to order. Sim had me read him the flavors of milkshakes. Apparently, I spoke a little too rapidly and so he ordered a heath m&m chai chocolate shake. What?!? We corrected it to a straight Heath shake. Max had a raspberry one. I had a dipped cone in honor of Dr. Johnson, who highly recommended it. Yep, that's me not eating sugar. Good grief.
Home for a hot, rousing game of kickball in the driveway. Lots of yelling and rule changes and I'm-sick-of-you-changing-the-rules, but whatever. Shirts off. You'd think that was the most risqué thing of all time. That coupled with my solar system rug that Sim said I needed to get rid of because it has the worst potty word ever...Uranus. Boys. They are a breed unto themselves. I figure a 7 year old boy named that heavenly body, formerly known as a planet.
Year 2, Week 1, Day 3
Today was a big day. Several weeks ago, I asked a friend who is a pilot, if he had a flight simulator by any chance. I explained my plans for Aviation Week at camp and he took the ball and ran with it. So, Mr. Jim and his friend, Mr. John, who flew his plane to Nashville for the express purpose of showing his plane to the boys, met us at the John C. Tune airport. I had heard of it, but had never been there. We arrived and, of course, Wrong-Way Mellie was parked in the Sysco parking lot instead of at the airport. That is when the boys got a little bit rowdy. One of them informed me that he did not even want to be there and visions of the fiasco at the governor's mansion last year danced across my mind. It was at that point that I said, "don't you even start that stuff." So, he moved on to the "fact" that he was staaaaaaarving and why did I not bring snacks. I responded with a "meet me in the back of the car!" Never underestimate the power of a forced prayer in the back of a car. We asked the Lord God Almighty to help us have good manners, to treat Mr. John and Mr. Jim with respect, to make sure our main concern is that the other person has what they need, and for Mellie not to be grumpy because her knee was hurting, and that we all conduct ourselves as we know Jesus would. Thank you Lord for answered prayers. Mr. Jim's talk before we walked out to the plane did not hurt either. He was kind but direct...it was perfect.
So, we met Mr. John who showed the boys every single thing about that plane. He explained optimum conditions for take-off and landing, they listened in the headphones to other pilots talking, they learned about why numbers are on planes and why different lights are different colors and, I mean, he showed and shared everything with them. They asked questions, and they were so cute because each time they had a question they would raise their hands. So sweet. Max worried that he had asked too many questions, but I assured him that was impossible. When we were finished and driving back, we talked about how nice that was of Mr. John. I told them that I think Mr. John loves flying and loves sharing it with others. Find something you love and share it. I think that was a good lesson they learned. Another one that Mr. John shared with them, that I'm not sure I agree with, is "planes are like women, they require a lot of money to keep them happy." Ha! We saw a $90,000,000 plane. Let that sink in. That was not Mr. John's plane. In fact the boys wondered how much his plane cost, but on some level they thought that might be an impertinent question. They did rock, paper, scissors to see who had to ask. $150,00 was the answer.
We left the airport, had probably the most unhealthy snack possible, went to the drugstore to get Mellie some pain meds the doctor called in, came home and wrote thank you notes to Mr. Jim and Mr. John. The boys watched a movie while Mellie laid on the living room sofa moaning and feeling sorry for herself. The dads graciously picked the boys up at 2:00 instead of 4:00 and Mellie collapsed for the rest of the day.
Aviation Week turned out to be a good week. As always, there were ups and downs. We can choose to focus on the downs, or we can embrace the ups and make those our more precious memories. No Mellie Camp next week. They are off to different camps, but come June 11 we will have week 2 of the 2019 camp. We have big plans for two of those days and, I figure we will be ready to just kick back and have a lazy day on the third day. We'll see.
As always, it is with much gratitude that I get to spend time with these boys. Hopefully, they are learning something and making good memories. Even as rotten as I felt, they made the day a great one.
