This time we stayed close to the lake to make it easier to visit, and we tried kayaking -- all but Stephen and James. We also repeated the walk on the Appalachian Trail -- Stephen wasn't in the mood to hike this time so he turned around half-way there with daddy and Sonja, who still felt sick from driving the windy roads, and the rest of us continued to the rock and a little past it.
Stephen, James, and Sonja loved splashing around in the lake. Nikolas apparently outgrew it and was looking for something more active, so kayaking was a good option. With all that sun, he recently asked me if there was a creme that would get rid of the freckles! He is getting freckles wherever sun hits him, mostly on his face....somebody is getting self-conscious....!
Buck has stopped throwing up during car rides, and that was a relief (Sonja got to use his bucket once though!). But he is looking to steal anything edible and we constantly have to watch what he is chewing and whether we left some food at his reach unattended. He stole a taco off the table, a few apples, an entire loaf of bread that I made, etc.
On a daily basis, the kids are trying to spend too much time on video games and phones so we have to watch them constantly. James is the only one who offers to do work before he gets his reward. He volunteers to do 3rd grade math (although he is starting 2nd grade) in order to spend some time playing Roblox or Fortnite. A few times he picked some pages in the 3rd grade book to do before I even got out of bed in the morning so that he could ask for video games later, showing off what a 'smart donkey' he is.
He is now reading all those books that I've been reading to him these last couple of years, to stay entertained while I read to Stephen at night.
Stephen has his favorite books: "The Storm is Coming", "The Sitting Duck" (which he calls "Abadov", contractions of character names, Anabel, Brody and Dov), "Little Bunny Follows his Nose", and a few more. He also likes me singing to him, still, and during our afternoon naps, when he is not at school, I lie down next to him and he insists on me keeping my hand on his back (stavi ruku na ledja) while I'm singing to him. He has another funny thing.... completely inappropriate.... he says 'Hoces vidis moja velika pisa?', after which I'd say 'No', but then he responds with 'Da, hoces,' and shows his pee-pee...All I can do is repeat that he is never to say that to anyone else. As I have to remind him about some words that he has picked up, so he reminds me now and then by saying "Mama, ne ja kazem 'idiot' skola .... ne ja kazem 'stupid' skola... ne ja kazem 'dumbass' skola....ne ja kazem 'what the heck'" Ay ay ay.... but I know that he won't say it because, just like the rest of the kids, outside of the house they are model children and the adults (teachers and other parents) love them.
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| Cooper's Creek Falls |
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| Hiking the Appalachian Trail |
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| Kayaking on the Blue Ridge Lake |
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