31 August 2021

When we were getting Nut Brown ready to start high school this fall, Rose Pink shared a lot of her experiences with him.  When she went to high school, she found that it was full of mean people.  I don't think that she's been bullied herself, but she's watched other people be bullied and experienced a lot of meanness directed at her.  Mr. Brown and I also have lots of memories of the unkindness of other teens when we were in high school, and we were worried about Nut Brown, who has a very open heart.

However, Nut Brown's experience in high school has been very different from Rose Pink's.  Because he was one of the few kids who kept his camera on all the time while he was virtual last year, everyone knows what he looks like.  He is also not particularly worried about other people's opinions, and that meant that he wasn't afraid to ask questions.  Kids are routinely approaching him in the hall and greet him by name.  One girl told him that she passed algebra last year because he asked all the questions that she was afraid to ask.

Nut Brown is unperturbed by the attention, and continues not to care very much what other people think of him.  This morning it's school picture day and this is what he came down wearing:

We tried to advise him on consequences that his inexperience might not have brought to his attention, but let him go to school dressed in these clothes that make him feel awesome. 

30 August 2021

Rose Pink has a much bigger vocabulary than most of her peers, which has been a source of embarrassment for her.  She also is still learning high school slang, which is another source of embarrassment for her.  (Imagine being unable to speak the same language as the people with whom you want to hang out...)  She has begun to embrace her difference though.  She came home from school today and said, "Guess what, Mom.  I found another way to use big words.  Every time someone uses slang that I don't know I can say, I don't speak colloquialism!'"  I congratulated her and she added, "Yep, that's me, rocking the polysyllabs!"  She is so funny.

28 August 2021

It's been a bit of a rough week for us.  Both Bobo and Rosebud came home with letters saying that they had been exposed to COVID at school and needed to quarantine for two weeks.  There's no virtual school, so it's really like a two-week vacation for them.  Then my work decided that they wanted me to attend a meeting at Ft. Bliss on Thursday morning, so I flew out to El Paso Wednesday after work and flew back Thursday afternoon.  Mr. Brown held down the fort in Leander while I was gone, and on a day that he had allergy shots, which always make him feel ill for a day.  But we got through everything and now it's the weekend!

24 August 2021

I had to stay late after church and when I got home, Rosebud had made a sign for the door to welcome me home.  Sure love that little girl.

20 August 2021

Rose Pink and Nut Brown finally convinced their youth leaders to have dance lessons as a youth activity, and Mr. Brown and I taught them.  Really Mr. Brown taught them, and I was his lovely assistant.  It was such a hit that they invited us back the next month, which was tonight.  I love dancing, and it was fun to see the youth focusing so hard and learning and working together with their partners.  So glad that they asked us to do this!

19 August 2021

Rosebud has transitioned well to kindergarten in spite of her initial anxieties this spring and summer.  Mr. Brown walked them to school on day 2 and sent me this text:

14 August 2021

Tonight Rosebud and Bobo were playing a game of pretend together so intently and peacefully that I let them stay up a little late in order to prolong the moment.  Many times they argue or fight and so I wanted to make the good time last as long as it could.  At one point they came in with Lego minifigures and addressed me as if I were a giant.

Nut Brown has come into his own as a teenager and is grumpier and more morose and temperamental than he was a few months ago.  This frustrates Rose Pink very much sometimes, because she's coming out the other end of it and is finding Nut Brown a real trial. We told her that this is what happened to her when she turned 12, the exact same thing, and she said, "Why did you keep me!!!"

13 August 2021

First day of school yesterday

This is the first time we've taken pictures of kids with backpacks leaving the house for the day.  Although they started public school last year, it was all virtual so there were no backpacks or leaving the house.  It was very quiet at home all day with just me and Mr. Brown.  I missed Rosebud very much, as she is my constant companion all day long!

First day went well for everyone.  I was most worried about Nut Brown starting at the high school, but I think the opportunity to do a year fully virtual before going in-person was a blessing.  Last night, we asked him anxiously how his day went, and he said dismissively, "It was fine.  It was school.  I know how to do school.  It was just a lot ... noisier."

12 August 2021

Shopping at Costco

8 August 2021

We went kayaking on Saturday on Brushy Creek Lake.

Nut Brown gallantly agreed to carry Rosebud in his kayak.  He was a good host even though a five year old paddler can be a little frustrating.

Rose Pink really loves kayaking and kept telling me how fun it was, because she is hoping that we will go again.

Bobo was reluctant to go but was really pleased once he and I got out on the water.  (He was in my boat)

It was a mixed experience.  Rose Pink and I enjoyed ourselves, Nut Brown's allergies were severely aggravated so he ended the day with a headache, and Bobo had fun until he smacked someone intentionally with his paddle and I took it away.  We learned that we're good for about an hour of paddling.  Not sure if we'll do this again or not.

3 August 2021

Yesterday was the family birthday (our wedding anniversary) and we went to Mighty Fine for dinner together.  It was a fun way to celebrate, a little less complicated than the celebration that we had planned which involved preparing foods that commemorated all the places our family has lived, but that turned out to be too much and getting hamburgers and shakes together at Mighty Fine was a mighty fine substitute.

We've had an extraordinarily rainy and cool summer.  Usually it goes above 100 and stays there for three months and the lawns all die because it doesn't rain.  This summer it's rained enough that I have had to continue to mow the lawn all summer.  Yesterday it rained really good twice.  In the morning when it started pouring Rose Pink and Bobo ran outside in rubber boots and got all wet splashing in the puddles.  In the evening after family prayer it started pouring again, and Bobo wanted to jump on the trampoline in the rain so they plus Rosebud went out and enjoyed that.  They were supposed to be getting ready for bed, but rain like this doesn't happen much here so I told them to go on and play.