Cowboy Extraordinaire

Zekers couldn't have been more thrilled - he and Rach were invited to go to VBS with some friends all week at their church, and the theme of the week: "Avalanche Ranch." Which meant that he practically got to live in his cowboy gear all week. Does it get any better for a 3-yr-old boy??

I wasn't quite sure how he'd do, since it was his first VBS. The first day, he clung to me and wanted me to stay the whole time. I was tempted, at first, but I have to keep reminding myself not to baby him or he'll never learn to do anything on his own. So I stayed about 15 minutes and then told him gently but firmly that he had 2 choices: He could come home with me, or he could stay at VBS with his friends and his sister, but that Mommy was going home. Thankfully, he chose the second option, and came home totally pumped about Chatter the Chipmunk and Buc the Bronco and a bunch of other characters I can't remember.

Rachel somehow got it in her head that cowgirls only wear overalls, so she wore the same pair of overall shorts for the first four days. After the fourth day she came home, took them off, and announced that she was tired of them and never wanted to wear them again.

The last day of VBS there was a little program at the end, where the kiddos went up by age groups and sang some songs from the week. The pre-schoolers did "Awesome God"; Zekers marched up on stage and immediately turned and watched the screen behind him the entire time (the songs were all on sort of a music video). I'm not kidding - he was glued to the screen! So much for getting a good picture . . .

Their 2 friends came over and spent that night and part of Saturday. They were great Friday night, but Saturday it became clear that our kids were a little sleep-deprived! (They had several very late nights in a row, including Thursday. Danny and I were out on the porch talking until almost 11, when we saw the miniblinds moving and realized the kids had gotten out of bed and were in the living room playing - since about 9:30!)

Overall it was a great week. I got a couple of mornings to myself, which was sooooo nice and allowed me to really clean the house for the first time in . . . well, I'm embarrassed to say! I also got to spend some time with Kari Bou, just the 2 of us, and boy, has it made a difference. She said "I love you, Mommy" for the first time (best thing EVER), and we had a lot of fun just playing around and laughing. It's often hard to remember to just take time to enjoy the munchkins, you know?

To any dads who might be reading: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!