Spending My Days With 7 Year Olds

"Hey teacher?"
"What?"
"When you get an earache do they shrink a doctor and put him in your ear?"
"No."
"Yeah they do!"

For Show and Tell yesterday one of my students announced that he could dance really fast. Then he proceeded to show everyone. I WISH I had video of his dancing because describing it will never do it justice. Just picture a little kid with an over-sized sweatshirt, jeans, and big shoes frantically moving his feet forward and back as if he were trying to kill a mouse or some other small rodent. My students were impressed. Very impressed.

Then another student decided he wanted to perform for Show and Tell also. He was a little undecided at first as to what to show us. He did a few kicks and jumps before he finally settled on some sort of dance routine that involved squatting on the floor and kicking his arms and legs out. I think it was break dancing. Then he lied down on the floor with his arms at his sides, feet together and twitched, at which time he yelled "Dead tuna! Dead tuna!" After a few more reps of convulsions followed by "Dead tuna! Dead tuna!" he stood up and was finished. Once again, the masses were impressed.

Lullaby

"Well the sun is surely sinking down,

but the moon is slowly rising.

So this old world must still be spinning around,

and I still love you.

So close your eyes;

You can close your eyes, it's all right.

I don't know no love songs,

and I can't sing the blues any more.

But I can sing this song,

and you can sing this song

when I'm gone.

It won't be long before another day.

We're gonna have a good time.

And no one's gonna take that time away.

You can stay as long as you like.

So close your eyes;
You can close your eyes, it's all right.
I don't know no love songs,
and I can't sing the blues any more.
But I can sing this song,
and you can sing this song

when I'm gone."

-James Taylor

Random

Now that I can see where people come from who read my blog, I feel, well, just a little nervous. Like I have to have something interesting for them to read. And I don't know what they think is interesting because I don't know them. I like to get to know who I'm talking to so I can make appropriate comments. So hilarity can ensue. Know your Nigel, people. Know your Nigel. How can I know my Nigel if I don't know my Nigel?!? (If that made no sense and you're still curious to actually know what it means, just ask. I have no qualms about sharing.)

I'm not feeling well tonight. I have the beginnings of a cold. The body kind of hurts, eyes hurt, sore throat and drippy nose kind of cold. I didn't want to take the dogs out on a walk tonight because I didn't feeeeeel good. But it's been raining (and snowing, but we'll just try to forget that part) the past couple of days and they've been cooped up inside. So, being the kind-hearted person I am, I took them for a walk. (I admit my ulterior motive was that I wanted to see Danny and Rachel's big, GIANT, hole in the ground.) Maxwell pulled on the leash the entire time and McKay tripped along beside him. When he does that I stop walking so he'll get the hint that he can't do that. Our entire walk went like this: step-step-step-step-stop. step-step-stop. step-step-step-stop. "Maxwell, quit it!" step-step-step-stop. "So help me, puppy dog, I'm going to turn this leash right around and go home if you don't stop tugging...." Is that how you show appreciation to someone for taking you on a walk? Hmmmm?

Zack's on a camp out tonight so I had Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with hot dogs for dinner. Reminded me of hanging out with Heather and Allie up at that cabin. Domestic Heroes we aspired to be. Domestic Heroes they have become.

I feel guilty that I crave Kraft Mac'n'cheese once a year.

King of Queens, Scrubs and a bath are really easy ways to make me feel comfortable and happy. Now add Zack to the mix and life is indeed good.

Speaking of Scrubs, that show is single-handedly ruining our bedtime. Why does it have to be on from 10:00 to 11:00 at night? I can't keep going to sleep after 11:00 PM. Seriously, it's not healthy. Hence the cold. Speaking of, I need to get that bath water running and go heat up my hot honey lemonade.

I couldn't go to sleep last night because I kept thinking about the comparison of first grade and the celestial kingdom and how I was going to write it. It's coming along.

I also couldn't go to sleep last night because Zack and I started talking about all the T.V. shows we used to watch when we were kids. Holy crap, people. Did we ever see the light of day? I think we came up with a list of at least 30 sitcoms. When did we have time watch them all? And why did we watch shows like Cheers, Three's Company and The Golden Girls when we were kids? The Golden Girls?! Twelve year-olds watching a show about three old women trying to get men into bed is just a little weird if you ask me.

Spring Break: A Semi-Dull Recounting Plus Pictures!

We went up to the cabin for Spring break this past weekend.

We spent Saturday and Sunday listening to General Conference on the radio and going snowshoeing, sledding, playing games, and eating in between breaks. Good times.

Zack's mom came up with us but had to leave on Sunday night. But she had a good time while she was there. ...I think. :)

The puppies had fun racing up and down the hills.

It was just the two of us (4 if you count quadrupeds) Monday and Tuesday. We cross-country skied up to Lily Lake on Monday. We wandered off the groomed trail part of the time and experienced real back country skiing. (Meaning we skied very slowly as we trudged through the snow. ..but still lots of fun!)

We ate lunch up at Lily Lake. We wanted to eat ON Lily Lake, but it was too sunny and bright and we didn't want to get more sunburned than we already were.

Zack created a nice little lunch spot for us on a big rock.

After lunch we headed back. In order to get to and from the trail head you have to go down a steep hill, cross a bridge, and then go up another steep hill.

Here's Zack ready to ski off the bridge.

And here's Zack just looking really cute.

It took about 2 1/2 to 3 hours to ski up and about an hour and a half to ski back. Needless to say, we were dead the rest of the evening. But the beauty of the cabin is that you can't really do anything but eat, play games, and watch movies on the tiny T.V. So recuperating was easy.

The next day we wanted to take the puppies with us on our ski adventure so we stayed close to home and followed a snow-mobile trial up to "the looking rock." It was my first time up to the looking rock. Dad and Andrew like to go up there sometimes during their "fresh air walks". I can see why it's called the looking rock. It's got a great view.

Maxwell looking regal on the looking rock.

We skied home and spent the rest of the day, you guessed it, playing games, eating and watching movies. Zack did find some time to take the 4-wheeler out and drive it around in the snow. I declined to participate and opted to read my book instead.

Then we drove home. It was a good break. And now we want to go back.

Who wants to come with us? Can I have a show of hands?

Jeff

Two years ago today you left us and moved on.

You didn't really leave us. We know you're still around. But that chapter of your life was over and with it, that chapter of my life with you was over.

And I miss it.

In all truth, the chapter of our life was over the day you left on your mission. To me that marked the end of our childhood. When you got back things were different and they would never be the same again. It's those days I miss sometimes.

To have someone I admired so much treat me the way you did. To have someone like you ask me for advice. To have someone like you tell me how your day was. To have someone like you tell me about things that bothered you or scared you. To have someone like you think someone like me was something special. That meant a lot. Thanks for making me your friend and for loving me like you did. Sometimes I can still feel that love. It's a different kind of love. Different from a mom or a dad's love. Different from a spouse's love. It's a special "I'm your brother and you're my sister kind of love" that is impossible for me to describe. But I can describe how it makes me feel. It makes me feel loved and good and funny and admired and accepted and okay to be me even when I'm goofy. It feels good.

It's funny. I've now been alive 29 days longer than you. It feels like borrowed time. It feels like it will take me a lifetime to become like you. Thanks for being THAT kind of big brother.

I miss you.