Handsome Boys

It took me forever to publish the last post because I was waiting to add Luke and Cade to the mix. They are my "cute kids" too. But finally I decided I'll just have to post that one (it waited in my 'drafts' folder for way too long) and create a new category for the bigger boys. Hope Cole's not jealous. He is already old enough to know that "handsome" is better than "cute." In fact, on a fill-in-the-blank mother's day card he gave me, it said "My mom is beautiful when: I think she is handsome." Later I was talking to the mom of the girl who helped him write his answers, and she told me that he couldn't be talked out of that one because he is convinced that handsome is the better compliment. That's what you get in a house full of boys, I guess. I love it.

So, it's been a while since I read Cat in the Hat or Horton Hears a Who now, so hopefully I'll be able to leave my Dr. Seuss hat off this time around. Sometimes I just can't help myself. An unfortunate condition, but there are worse things than an inability to keep oneself from creating meaningless rhymes, I suppose.

We have only a day and a half left of school. The kids have been counting down for a while now. We are all excited for summer! The weather has been playing the part this week, too. Today was the dance festival at the elementary school. Luke and the fifth grade boys did the "Haka," a Tongan war dance complete with body slapping and yelling. Perfect for fifth grade boys. Cade and the 2nd graders did a parachute dance. Cole, Sadie and I walked to the school to watch and then walked back home with Luke and Cade afterwards. I should walk them home from school more often. They are fun to hang out with.

Here is a picture of Luke dressed as John Taylor, the person from history he chose to be for the 5th grade "wax museum" project. He chose John Taylor since he is named after him, and because he happens to be his fourth great-grandpa. He makes a cute old guy with a beard, don't you think? Oops, I mean handsome....

Cade brought his classroom journal home from school yesterday, and I thumbed through it this morning as I was feeding Sadie. Most of his entries were more about drawing cool pictures than writing about them much. In fact, one entry said "I am a great artist" in cool lettering above a great drawing of a graveyard. It was around Halloween. Another couple nicely drawn and shaded pictures had nothing but the word "wow" beneath them in the space left for writing. I love that boy's confidence. But the entry that made me laugh out loud was this: "If I were my mom or dad and they were me or my brother for a day, I would make them do lots and lots and lots of chores." Sweet revenge. Little does he know that when he is the dad, he will have to do a lot more than clearing out the dishwasher and picking up his room. Lots and lots and lots more. :)

Cade had a pretty good crash on his bike the other day. He went on a bird-watching bike ride with his Grandpa and forgot how to brake, missed a turn, and went flying through a barbed wire fence and down a hill. He was remarkably unscathed for the most part. His helmet had 2 chunks taken out, but all he had was scratches. Here is a picture of his battle wounds. We are feeling like his guardian angels were definitely on the job that day!

Cade is in his final semester of the introductory music course he's taking, "Let's Play Music." He just performed a song he composed at his recital last week called The Monster Under My Bed. He loves tinkering on the piano, and has come up with several of his own songs. It is so fun to watch him progress and excel in music. I teach the same program (which is the best around!), but he takes from another teacher because I am only teaching 1st and soon 2nd year classes so far. He has learned and grown so much.

Luke is my big guy. I can't believe how fast he has grown lately. He's going to be 11 any day now, and l7 pretty soon after that, I'm sure. I can't think about that, though. He is probably the most excited for summer vacation of all of us. He's smart, and learning is not hard for him, but busy work is his arch nemesis. Staying caught up on school work is too boring for the likes of him. He would much rather read, draw, or even write his own comic book, as long as it's his idea, and nobody assigned him to do it. If anybody has any ideas on how to motivate kids to keep up with school work, I'll be happy to hear them!

Luke has joined a LaCrosse team and is loving learning to play a new sport. It's fun to see him so excited after practice. We start games soon, so we'll keep you posted on how it goes. Maybe. No promises, though. But so far, it looks to be a fun season.

I'm excited to have Luke around for the summer too. He loves when I ask for help with cooking or with the baby. And he is getting pretty good at holding down the fort if I have a few short errands to run and don't want to drag everybody with me. Also, his lawn mowing skills have become quite excellent. But he is not only good for lots and lots and lots of chores...he is also quite witty and fun to be around. I love his sense of humor and laid back nature. He is a good friend and a great kid.