It is that time of year again and the kids are back in school. Yippee! I think. Anna is in fifth grade and Ben starts fourth. I cannot believe time flies so quickly because I still remember struggling to drop Anna off at preschool and actually having to force myself to leave my baby girl! Both kids were unsure of their teachers for this year, but after the first few days with them last week, they both claim they have the best teacher for their grade level. Whew! We have had a few discussions about riding the bus already -- apparently new policies require them to sit in an assigned seat and not to talk, which takes ALL the fun out of riding the bus in my opinion. But Anna enjoys the time because she can read and we grudgingly let them take their ipods to school so they can listen to music on the way to and from school.
As I sit here contemplating the summer and the time spent together, I am of two minds about it. I love spending time with my family and having extra time with the kids during the summer months, but a part of me feels so guilty that I do not have even more time to spend with them. We had a great summer in some ways, and a lot of "I wish we had..." in others. I adjusted my summer schedule at work so that I could spend more time with the kids, at least half days with them, but the reduced hours of work meant that we could do less during those hours because of the reduced income. While time with them was wonderful, a part of me wished I was working more so that we could have done more. I hate being so manic!
Thanks to a wonderful Christmas present from Nana, our season passes to Holiday World this summer were put to good use. In fact, it was Ben's favorite part of the summer! We spent some good time there and Ben finished riding every dry ride in the park this year. He also was learning to do handstands in the wave pool. Anna enjoyed putting on a mask and snorkel and swimming all the way down to the deep end and looking for things on the bottom of the pool. There were some weeks where I was able to take the kids during the week and then we would go again on the weekend when Rachel would go with us. We introduced friends from St. Louis to the park and they later thanked us for ruining Six Flags for them because of their wonderful experience with us and how inexpensive everything is.
Most of us got nice tans and Rachel's freckles almost came together this year! To be honest, it is Rachel that says the only way she tans is when her freckles start to run together, thanks to the red hair. At the end of the summer, thanks to my deep tan and her beautiful porcelain complexion, I tease her about her jungle fever!
...and this was early summer!! By the way, that is my hand on her leg. Ben claims that he tans well, but only Rachel's dogged insistence on sun screen prevented his red cheeks and burned back from hurting! Anna, like her daddy, turns into a little brown bear.
In other news this summer, we were able to visit Rachel's sister Leah in North Carolina. We had to make a quick trip of it, but Rachel took a couple of days off and we made it a long weekend. We were the first of Leah's siblings to make to the new house they have, and we loved it!
The area in which they live is green and beautiful and it was difficult to leave, mostly because we love spending time with her and Uncle Tim. They even had their first shrimp boil (picture on the right) while we were there and it was a huge success. Sure wished we all lived closer to one another, but the kids were pretty clear that they did not want to move over to this amazing state!
Anna, true to her independent nature, spent the majority of the summer somewhere else. I think we counted six days during the month of July that she was actually at home, which is nice for her that she kept so busy, but I fear is an omen of the years to come. She was able to spend time at church camp, followed by a week with her Nana. Then we went on the North Carolina trip. That was followed by a week with my sister Amy where Anna helped take care of her cousins Sadie, two and a half, Nora, fourteen months, and Harper, ten months.
Amy didn't want to let Anna come back home, so apparently she was a big helper! When she returned from all that, there were sleepovers with friends and she also enjoyed spending several nights next door, helping take care of the five year old that lives there. She has a heart of gold and loves those babies!
Ben spent most of his time this summer, when he wasn't at Holiday World, on the iPad. We should have limited his time, but it really was a wonderful baby sitter when he would spend time sitting in my waiting room while I was doing a massage, or while driving. His favorite games are Storm the Train, Spy Mouse, and the major time-eater Minecraft. Rachel affectionately calls it Minecrack! He earned the nickname "Crash" from driving go carts this summer as well. Hopefully, Will's grandpa will be able to fix the swing set! Ben also established a new best friend this summer, Leland.
We got along very well with the family and the boys really hit it off. They both love soccer, Legos and Minecraft. They sit around for hours making new worlds and setting traps for one another! It is a great match. We introduced the Morris family to Whodunnit! and found they are wonderful to hang out with at Holiday World and we look forward to them getting season passes too next year!
So we had some wonderful times this summer. We also enjoyed grilling out fairly often, and enjoying time spent with friends. A season to be grateful for. As it comes to a close, kids go back to school, I go back to work, and we get into the "routine" again, I realize I am going to miss it. I am going to miss hanging out with my little buddy, showing me what his latest Minecraft creation is, or spending some precious daddy-daughter time. But I also look forward to the stability and schedule that school requires. I like the set bed times and knowing where the kids will be all week without having to plan it! And I look forward to time marching on. Another school year starts, another calendar goes up on the wall to keep us organized, and another page turns in our family updates.
That pretty much made up our minds -- if he cannot even get up when he falls. I called the Urgent Care center to make sure they took x-rays, and we were on our way. My greatest concern was that something was broken because of his inability to use the leg. Of course "urgent care" doesn't mean quick care, as Anna pointed out to everyone! We sat for a while because they only had one doctor there on a day when other doctor's offices are closed (how this makes sense to those doing the scheduling, I will never understand!). When we were finally seen, they at least get a wheelchair for him. He learned very quickly how to wheel himself around and wanted to learn to do wheelies, until I told him no. He liked the wheelchair and wanted to get one for home until we reminded him about the steps on the deck and how we were not building a ramp for this!
The doctor was a sadist, as they always are with this kind of injury, and he poked and prodded and moved the leg around until Ben's silent tears were too much for Rachel to handle. They were both crying, but the doctor did not find any signs of instability in the knee. He did order an x-ray, which came back negative, but at least it was good information. Four hours after arriving, we left with a prognosis of some swelling, take some ibuprofen, and do the RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) things that we were planning to do anyway. Better safe than sorry, and at least we knew it wasn't something significant! 
Not really, but this is what Rachel says ALL the time. It is kinda like a mantra for her at times! The kids might suggest I am annoying from time to time. I get too many eye rolls to count anymore. Personally, I think I am just "spirited" or maybe even stubborn (if we need to be negative). It is merely the price I pay for always being right! (I think I even kept a straight face while I typed that!!!!)
Rachel used to say that I have written a book. Every time I point out something she has never seen or heard about, she asks me which chapter of my book it is in, or even which page. At first I was confused, but once she explained that it was in my "Great Big Book of Everything" book, because I have an answer for everything and at least pretend to know about everything. I cannot help it. I am a man! I at least pretend to know a little about most things.
However, the problem is not just me. I live in a house full of people that are always right. It is what causes most fights -- parent v. parent, kid v. kid, or parent(s) v. kid. Mom is probably best about making the first concession, but only because she knows that it will end the fight the fastest. The rest of us dig in our heels. The kids even manage to sustain their fights throughout the entire day/weekend/week and are amazing the way they can get under one another's skin. I might have passed along that trait genetically, but you won't hear me openly admit to it!
It would probably do us all good to learn to compromise better. Learn to listen to the other person and not just entrench ourselves and wait for the battle to begin. Oh, and the other genetic part we need to keep in mind is that both Ben and I get a little cranky when we are hungry. That Snickers commercial about the hungry friend becoming a diva when they are hungry resonates really strongly with the males in this house!
Some men hunt and spend hundreds of dollars each year on equipment and weeks spent out in the woods. Some are into golf and spend most of the nice days of the year out hitting and chasing those little white balls. Others like NASCAR and enjoy a racing season that seems to extend itself so often, I am not certain that it ends anymore. At least a few friends enjoy hockey and spend all their time and money watching fights they call games. I don't understand those into professional basketball or even baseball, but to each his own!
But I am also responsible about my addiction! I have a group of friends that chooses one game each year to attend. We start planning as soon as the schedules come out in April, make decisions about who is going and where we are staying. We save up to buy our tickets and have a little spending money for the weekend. We spend one weekend out of the year together, and we have a good time. It is usually a wonderful weekend of bonding time with friends.
How this applies to my family is their tolerance level. Rachel was originally less tolerant about my love for football, but ultimately has accepted it and allows me my small vice. (She is going to kill me for this graphic!) The kids just accept that I will be watching a game all day Sunday and find other things to do. I have tried to justify it by saying that I don't have an expensive hobby or anything that actually takes me away from my family for prolonged periods of time. 
So why do I feel guilty? Is it just the Catholic upbringing rearing its ugly head again? Do I neglect them in some way or spend money on things that I shouldn't? I don't think so. When it is not football season, I do all that I can to spend time doing the things they want to do. Actually, during the week, I spend most of my time helping with homework, or being an assistant coach, or volunteering to help out at scouts. Still, the guilt persists.
