Currently Reading Persuasion (Oxford World's Classics) By Jane Austen see related

Spring sprang today, and we basked in the balmy 65 degrees the thermometers reached.  After church, the kids begged for a picnic lunch, so we set out folding tables (I haven’t persuaded Dave on the need for that lovely patio furniture yet!) with cheery tablecloths, and enjoyed the sunny weather and played a game Dave calls “Whisper Down the Lane” (which I recall as “Gossip”) where one person whispers a phrase to the person next to them and so on down the line until the last one has to say what he heard.  This is Jack’s favorite round-the-dinner-table game.  Andy’s phrase to pass on was, “Boat” which (surprise, surprise) got all the way around without a mixup.

  The rest of the afternoon passed with games of baseball, basketball, football, scootering, biking, and Heely practice.  (Have I mentioned that we caved and bought our eldest two children Heelys (one for Christmas, one for birthday)?  The item some magazine mentioned as the number one gift NOT to buy your children?  Well… so far, no mishaps, except the spectacular split Jamie performed in the parking lot upon exiting the store right after their purchase, which caused more giggles than groans.)  Whew!  Thankfully, I read and snoozed for most of this crazy exercising, and then dragged in my eldest two to work on book reports (mean mom!).  Then, in a burst of energy, I offered to walk around the neighborhood with the kids biking or scootering.  So, we snagged three neighbor kids and set off, me trotting after seven kids, only to turn around after a couple blocks because Andy had pumped his little legs out.  (I wonder if he could do that bike that hooks onto an adult's.  We don't have one, but maybe'll we'll have to think about it.)

Everyone came into dinner with sunburned faces.  Ack!  Where are my vats of sunscreen?

But it was really lovely standing out chatting with neighbors, holding the neighbor’s snugglicious baby, while kids ran between yards.  Those prized moments of adult connection.