This is my fourth attempt at blogging since my last entry. I was tempted to draw Stephen King parallels, but opted to go with the whole, "I think I can! I think I can!" approach... yes, much better. So, this post may see the light of day! Whoopie!
It's been a busy few days here. Wonderful, full, beautiful days. Today the boys and I played hangman, read stories, wrestled our way through math, rode bikes with the neighbors, picked dandelions (when do these things stop blooming, anyway?) and had, in general, a great day.
Yesterday we went to the beach. James discovered that he can, in fact, swim! John worked tirelessly in the shallow water, practicing his back float. He was very serious about the whole procedure, and quite tickled with himself when he did manage to float! There were over 300 families there- very family-oriented people, and even though the beach was absolutely jam-packed, it had a great atmosphere.
For the record, Point Lookout State Park is officially off my "recommend-to-visit" list. Argh. The park is decent, and the beach is great (though by no means do the phrases "pretty" or "clear water" come to mind). It's not the park, it's the newly instituted fees for entering the park! Five dollars per person! Not per vehicle, not per axle, not per day- per person, per day. Children are no-charge only if they are still in car seats. If you leave the park without making an extra stop at a "hand-stamping station", you must pay to re-enter the park on the same day (even if you have your receipt). There are extra fees, in addition, to fish, to see the prisoner of war camp, to use the boat ramp, etc. Bah. That's just ridiculous. Even the Grand Canyon National Park only charges $20 per non-commercial vehicle- and that's good for seven days! Crimminy, what a rip-off.
Sunday... oh, yeah, I have blocked Sunday from my mind. With a little more caffeine and a lot more effort, I think I can completely wash it away. Let's just say that when I heard a woman telling her approximately 8-10 year old son, "Fight for it! You gotta earn it!" as the children gathered candy from a pinata (at a four year-old's birthday party, no less), that pretty much explained a lot of the behavior we'd dealt with that day. *sigh* I would really love to know just who out there read Lord of the Flies and thought, "Yessiree! Now, THAT'S the way to raise kids!"
Tomorrow begins our swimming lessons, Week Two. We will be careening along at breakneck speed for the next four days, lamenting the fact that I can't find a Nutri-Grain Bar substitute in a wheat-free version (those things are just so handy for snacking on the go!) The boys are anxious, and I'm hoping (can't believe I'm saying this-) for hot weather so the pool will warm up! Please, be warmer this week!
Zorak and I are crunching the numbers on the Goal Grande for 2004- buying a house. We don't know if we'll be better off buying or building, or sticking our heads in the sand and pretending none of this is real. (The more of the fees we unearth, the more appealing the ostrich-housing approach becomes!) It is, though, rather exciting. Zorak's reading list the past few weeks has consisted of building codes, wiring diagrams, cross-sections of frame designs, and all you never wanted to know about percolation tests! Fun stuff!
Have a wonderful week!
Dy
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