Six in the Morning

It was a big step for the grandkids to spend the night at the White House, especially Owen who hasn't done it before. We made cornbread and the kids played in the garden. They picked blueberries which we made into blueberry pancakes. After consulting us about what lizards eat, they set out to catch one with the idea of tying a piece of string to an insect and dragging it along the ground. There may have been some technical difficulties with the string around the insect part, so instead they made an elaborate lizard trap involving piled stones, small tunnels, a plastic box and a piece of string. Maya was pretty sure they weren't going to catch a lizard in it, but they had a good time building it.

We went to the creek where they threw sticks for Ozzie and rocks into the water. Somehow, hitting Ozzie with a rock was averted. Owen nimbly hopped across the creek (very low now) on rocks and back again several times, reminding me of my tumble into a different creek trying to do the same thing, and of my long lost agility.

It was only appropriate that we have Stone Soup for dinner. Maya remembered making it in preschool, but couldn't quite remember the story so I Googled it. Sometimes Google makes a welcome substitute for a mind. Owen had no memory of making Stone Soup in preschool, and no interest in eating it.

I don't know what keeps Owen going, since he seems to exist on plain pasta "with a little parmesan cheese, if you have any". Not even the homemade pancakes with fresh blueberries tempted him.

We went to the park to see if we could find cousin Will , who is working as a volunteer at the boathouse. When he came over to say hello, they were overcome with shyness and didn't want to say hello OR rent a paddleboat. I don't think they recognized this grown up young man, who not six months ago was patiently and endlessly kicking the ball for Owen...so we moved on to collecting feathers and watching the swan with her babies--almost teenagers now.

I was hoping that they, not OilMan and I, would fall asleep in the car when we took them home. We all stayed awake. OilMan and I took a nap as soon as we got back. I'm guessing they didn't....