Monday, June 28, 2010

Sun, Fun, and Puppy Dogs

Anyone who is a parent knows that you never stop learning from your kids. Today Jody and I had a very entertaining lesson courtesy of Colt.

We took him to the lake to swim at what we've started calling Colt's Island at our local lake. No matter how busy the water is in the summer, this little outcropping is always abandoned, probably due to the fact that it's mostly clay and no sand.

Well, we love it because the water around it is very shallow and Colt can walk out a long ways before it's too deep. We are always within arms reach of him at any time, but we (meaning Mom) decided to teach him to doggy paddle. I calmly explained the mechanics of this move to him as he was standing on the little clay beach.

"Kick your legs and arms like you're crawling. You know, just like a dog does in the water." He got on all fours, laid down in the water and . . . . "woof, woof," at which point he stood back up and proceeded to build a sand castle (i.e. lump of wet dirt). Lesson over.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Skunk Ice Cream

I read somewhere a long time ago that couples who spend 15 minutes a day talking (about non-children or problem related issues) are twice as likely to stay together ad those who don't. Well, whatever brilliant psychologist thought that up has never had a conversation about my husband's childhood.

Jody and I on average spend way, way more than that 15 minutes each and every day. We talk about how our days went, funny things he heard at work, things he reads on Facebook, and stuff that happens in our families. And then, when we FINALLY run out of things to talk about, we generally start telling amusing stories from our childhood.

Now, anyone who knows my husband can tell you that he says he never did anything wrong as a child. However, his mother's ruined Tupperware container showed a different story when he used it for target practice around age 12. But that's not what concerned me. But first, a little background on this . . .

A couple of weeks ago, we stopped by my in-law's house to drop something or the other off. They had homemade ice cream and we, OF COURSE, had some before we left. As everyone knows, homemade ice cream is just too good to pass up and you can't beat it for taste. I've always loved it . . . . until today.

Colt was in his room having a rare quiet moment (thank you Bee Movie) and Jody and I were sitting around talking. The conversation eventually got around to when he and his friend (now his sister's husband) went out with his new bow one night. (Remember, these guys were all of about 13-years-old) and they saw a skunk.

Being the bright, intelligent boys they were, they thought it would be a good idea to shoot it. (I'm sure you can see where THIS is headed). Anyhow, Jody made his shot and it was a good one. However, his arrow, thanks to the fletching (little feathers on the end of the arrow for those non-bow hunting maniacs) came out smelling like, well, skunk.

After getting home, Jody thought it might be a good idea to soak that nasty thing in some water so he goes and gets the bucket that went to the ice cream machine and, you guessed it, filled it with water and stuck the arrow in.

Of course, his mother wasn't too happy about that, but I have no idea what she did. It was at the point where he said "soaked the skunky arrow in the ice cream bucket" that my ears closed and my mind went back to the ice cream we had out there. Let me tell you, I've NEVER been so happy as I was when my mother-in-law emailed back and said that the skunk bucket ice cream machine died years ago and the one she used was a newer skunk-free model.

Now I know where Colt gets it from. Despite his cries of innocence, my husband has a very colorful past when it comes to getting into all kinds of shenanigans, little-boy-style. God save us from boys and their toys!

Until next week, I hope everyone has a great time. Now back to my vacation!