Yesterday I took the four oldest kids sliding at the big hill in Cold Spring. Ben and I had discovered it on Tuesday when his cub scout den went sliding there.
When we arrived the hill was deserted save for one little girl and her mom. The poor kid was going down, down, down, all by herself, and up, up, up, all by herself. When we got there and swarmed the hill, she just came to life. She asked me if she could play with my kids...haha. Of course she could, so she joined them up and down the hill. I stood at the top of the hill (because I was not needed, contrary to what I expected!) and chatted with the girl's mom and she told me the kid has no siblings. It was clear to see she was enthralled by such a "big" group of kids belonging to each other!
They took turns piling themselves into the sleds, pushing each other, racing each other, watching each other, etc. Yes, fighting too, but that's half the fun (I know for a fact because I used to enjoy it a lot and still do, when I have the fortune to get one my doorknob brothers to argue with me...and Elijah works great in a pinch).
I watched the poor only child and actually felt sorry for her. Her mom couldn't slide down with her, because she couldn't get back up (because she had knee surgery in August, she said...but I think it was because even a ski lift would have had trouble).
When we left, they were full of plans to come back and do more stuff.
I couldn't BELIEVE William. I thought I would have to go up and down with him, but after one trip down with me, he ditched the mother in a hurry. He can get on that sled and go forever, because he is so small and light it's like an empty sled! He turns into a little black dot on the horizon...almost disappears from sight....and then slowly the black dot gets bigger and bigger and bigger again as he clambers back up the hill. He doesn't take a break once he gets back up, either.
Ana is mastering the snow board, and Elijah is trying to. Ben sticks to the sleds, like Wil, and also like Wil he can go on forever because he is pretty light. They both AIM for the jump and try to go as fast as they can. I cannot BELIEVE these chickenshits are that brave.
I need to stop here and point something out. Zac is sitting on my lap as I type and he is biting my arms, alternating from left to right. I have no idea why.
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Anyway, a few tidbits from the week. First, Ana told me the other morning that William came to her bed in the middle of the night and said "Can I sleep with you, Rah? My eyes are still open."
That reminds me--big news! He went back to school this week and is doing great! It must have been a sabatical. I didn't know preschools offered that. Each day when we arrived, though, he would ask me "Why do I have to go here again?". His tone wasn't one of disagreement, just one of honest questioning as it apparently doesnt make a l0t of sense to him that people do such things. He is doing really well, though--he is playing and joining the activities. He even has a friend, Cooper. The older kids refer to him as Canine Cooper--they don't know why either, but it does have a nice alliteration.
Anyway, on Friday when I was getting him out of the car at the school, he asked that again. I told him, "Well, William, everyone goes to preschool. Ana went, Elijah went, Ben went, and even I went to preschool."
He thought for a bit and then he said"...............did Daddy take you?"
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In closing, some of Ana's writings. In school they are working on alliteration, and they write what really can only be called poetry. Here's a couple.
Bonnie Bear baked a batch of bread in bed.
Ariana acknowledges apples for an activity in the afternoon.
Pearl's pearl, pipper, is putting a lot of pressure on her.
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This one was an assignment for school and has 36 words:
Princess Pea put a pickle in a piper to give people porridge then to pussy pug petty priscilla pussy cat pinching patty pam pompom pencil penguin plow pudding polly to eat a pastry from the plumber.
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