8.45pm
The boys are in the kitchen watching The Family Movie, except for Brendan, who is in the bath, having had enough ice cream.
We would’ve had to vote again on the movie choices, but it gets tedious for me to record votes so I made an executive decision. I don’t want to watch their favorite John Wayne, “The Star Packer”, again, yet, either.
When Mom and Dad go out for the evening, it is wise to plan. Once we did puzzles and I played DJ. Requests included “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd (request made by Jon, 6) and “I Could Spit on a Stranger” by Nickel Creek. I can’t recall who wanted that one, but I ignored that request (it is best, I find, not to introduce the spitting motif) and went on to the Painter Song, by Nora Jones (requested by Joshua, 5).
This evening we had root beer floats and watched uncles open packages at Christmases long before any of us were born, a water fight involving my aunt on the roof, my Oma’s mother visiting from Germany, lots of German cousins from when Papa was over there in the military, and uncles who look like cousins.

9.36pm
Now, Joshua is wailing in the bedroom because he didn’t get a bath, Brendan is brushing his teeth, and everyone except for B. is in bed. James is reading Brighty of the Grand Canyon, by Marguerite Henry. The cat, Oreo, is on his bed.

I’m going to get them all in bed and finish my homework for Lifeguard Training. It isn’t hard or complicated and the chapters are short. It’ll get harder when we have to perform rescues and use the floating stretcher.

I start Chemistry next Monday, for the first time. I’m not apprehensive yet, but something tells me I will be after my book arrives.

Psalm and Hymn sing was yesterday. We worked on the Lorica, among others.
The dance Saturday went fairly well but needed more people. We had enough for two sets every time, but it still would have been better.
I started a Lifeguard Training Course this morning at 8am at our local public pool. It will last for two weeks, covering CPR, rescues, etc. So far it is interesting and I've been able to do everything required. We had to swim 20 laps, but they counted from one side to the other as a lap. When I swim I count from one side to the other and back as a lap. So I was prepared to swim twenty of my laps, and only had to do ten. We also had to retrieve a ten pound brick from the bottom of the eleven foot poot and swim on our backs with it on our chests with both hands holding the brick.

My dad went to my uncle Mike's house this morning to build a cat fence. Yes, a CAT fence. Last night Uncle Mike was over really late helping dad work on the van. The A/C is still out, so we're avoiding driving in this 100+ heat.

I'm going to go to Heather's later and get ready for the dance. Another family in the church (whose kids I love to watch :-) said they'd watch the boys so mom and dad can go.

I should get offline. Heather's going to call me back after she calls Kate.

Yay! Miss Jenn handed out the invitations yesterday. There will be a dance! The only specifics I heard were a polka, the Virginia Reel, and the Posties Jig, but she borrowed our Scottish Country and Chieftains (Water from the Well) cds, so probably all the other normal ones. She also said yes, I could bring others, so I'm going to call my cousin Joe and see if he wants to go. He hasn't (to my knowledge) ever done any of the dances, but this is just an informal dance, so I don't think it matters.

We saw Signs recently. Three times, before we returned it to the rental place. The circles, everywhere, were fascinating to look for. Did you see them in the curtains? I was stunned at the end because I somehow assumed, "Hey, this is Hollywood, and there is no way he'll return to the faith." But he did. I thought going in that it would be an action/alien movie. Something like MIB or Independence Day. Far from the truth, however. The main focus wasn't on the aliens, or the crop circles, really. The focus was on whether things which happen are mere chance, or have a purpose. It was well done. Much, much, much, MUCH better than Planet of the Apes starring Charlton Heston, which I also saw for the first time recently. Lots of evolutionary propaganda, clumsy comparisons between Bible believing Christians and Apes who deny clear evidence of man's existence as intelligent beings, and silly looking apes with rubber lips.

Have you ever tried to lap swim with an older, pleasantly rotund couple relaxing and talking on one end of the lane, and a middleaged man standing in the middle of the lane? Its quite the experience, allow me to tell you. First of all, Mom and I tried swimming laps around people in the main part of the pool. But swimming around people begins to pale after a while. So then we thought we'd go for the lap lane and hope that either the three people occupying it would swim or move. After a lap, the couple at one end realized that yes, they were in a lap swimming lane hanging on the wall. I didn't really mind them, though. They were refreshing to look at. They were a picture of serenity, fenced off from the churning mobs by a lane line.
No, it was the man standing (STANDING!) right in the middle of the right hand lane that bugged me. After the couple left, another man joined the lane, but this one swam. Three people using two lap lanes, one of which is obstructed, is not nessesarily ideal. When one person is coming toward you in the left lane, and someone is standing in your lane, it really clogs traffic. We would have asked him to move, but it didn't look to us like he understood English. Possibly the lifeguard could have asked him too, but it was, after all, a public pool, and the lifeguard might hold that standing in the lap lane is his right.

On a more cheerful note, have you ever opened a bottle of sparkling cider with a crochet hook and a short stick? Neither had I before last week. The boys have all had coughs for the last month ( it starts with one, then goes from boy to boy till all five have had it). The cough is bothersome, but the cough syrup is worse. It causes rapid loss of stomach contents. So after Mom gave Jon cough syrup, he was sick in the hall outside our door. We'd been trying to keep Kit from getting sick, so Mom refused all offers of help and told us to stay in my room. We eyed the cider. Then we realized we didn't have a bottle opener. I'm pleased to report that a large crochet hook, slid under and pulled up, breaks the seal, and a stick thrust upward under the lip of the cap pops it off. We drank it from our water glasses on top of the bunk bed, where the airconditioner blows best. We talked about almost wishing life would never change while knowing it would. My attempt to drink cider while lying down added levity to the situation. And we discussed her upcoming birthday's party plans.
Miss Jenn is in town, and she has tentative plans to get a dance going. Should be lots of fun. :-)

I'm back! But don't expect my trip journal for a few more days, because Kit is here. We're eating healthy-- lots of (cocoa) bean extract. We're planning on watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding tonight. We had a great vacation, even though the van's A/C broke twice, Brendan went to the E.R. for croup, I left my pillow and Bible at Ainsley's, my swimsuit at my Aunt Sally's, and our dog got lost from our uncle's and went to the pound. (we got her back, thankfully.)

Best (anonymous) Quote since I blogged: "I love zits and blackheads!"