Random Reflections- weekend edition

This weekend was full and restful all at the same time. Friday night we hung around, not doing much other than hanging out together. Saturday morning was the football jamboree for the freshman team. Albert, Brice and I went to see it and had a great time. It's fun to watch Manny as well as his teammates work together, display great sportsmanship and learn to depend on one another. Have I mentioned before that I love football, not only for its unmatched excitement but also for the amazing on-the-field lessons that participants get a chance to learn?

Later that day we picked up Alber't nephews, Jaylen and Josiah and they spent the night with us. The kids had a ball together. Our kids love it when they have cousins around. I wish that ALL their cousins lived nearby. We took our nephews and Brice to the grocery store for a quick stop in to pick up some produce and things to make spaghetti for dinner. While we were there, buying produce, Brice and Josiah became very interested in a coconut. Both swore they "loved" coconut but neither remembered ever seeing a whole one before. They wanted to know what was inside. So we bought one and brought it home, planning to crack it open after dinner.

The evening was sidetracked however, when Jackson and Josiah decided to play a game of "Karate" featuring Jackson as the Sensei. Jackson "karate chopped" the glass door to the entertainment center in the loft, as the corner of the glass created a wide, deep gash between his first two toes. It was in fact, so deep that he claimed he was in no pain and hadn't even realized his injury for a few minutes until he looked down and saw it. It was bleeding but not much. Albert took him to Urgent Care where they used the liquid stitches and he was all better.

Back at home, Brice, Josiah and I set about exploring the inside of the coconut. We cracked it open by putting it inside a gallon size zip lock back, holding it up high and dropping it. Weird and unconventional yes, but it worked. The boys were thrilled to see the inside of the fruit..we collected the milk in a bowl and each of them, as well as Emanuel, tasted it. No one liked it. Next, we used a cheese grater to shave off some of the coconut for the boys to eat. Neither of them liked it. What? Hadn't they just said they "loved" coconut a few hours ago? They were way more into looking at the coconut, shaving the meat of it off and continually dropping the hard shell to break up further than actually eating it.

Jackson arrived home and all the older kids made milk shakes. Brice and Josiah wasted theirs. Shocking, I know. Brice and Josiah together are the work of about ten kids...but they are so cute together and often so comical that you just can't help but smile. Ummmm, most of the time. Okay, so sometimes smiling isn't quite the emotion that comes to mind with those two, but mostly it is.

Then yesterday we took our kids peach and apple picking. We love to go to Eckert's Orchard. Yes, you pay way more than if you bought the same fruit at the grocery store, but these are fresh, right off the tree and you can sure taste the difference. Plus you get the fun wagon ride through the orchards. Fun, that is, for everyone except Kambree and Mia. Kambree was afraid of falling off and thus couldn't get comfortable the whole ride and Mia cried and sometimes screamed the whole time. Finally some stranger brought her a juice box. They probably figured it was a small price to pay to get her to shut the heck up. And she did shut the heck up until the juice box ran empty. She was thirsty, the poor dear and kept yanking on my shirt asking to nurse. I have no qualms about nursing in public. But nursing on a wagon, squeezed in elbow to elbow with lots of strangers and no personal space is not what I consider optimal nursing elements. Plus, at 16 months she can wait. We gave her water instead which didn't sit too well with her.

Once we got into the orchards, the uneven dirt along with the random pieces of fruit that were lying on the ground proved to be difficult for her to walk in. Yet she resisted being held. And resisted loudly. I really think she just needed to nap.
We had a good time with all ten of our brood at the orchards. We collected a box full of peaches and apples, a lot of which have already been consumed by eager little mouths that love the sweetness and freshness of just picked fruit.

Today is Monday and our week starts all over again. Tonight is the JV game and Manny was asked to play up! It's a home game, so right now the search is on in the house to find every one's purple tee-shirts for the game tonight. Dinner will be something easy like pizza and we'll all go out to support Manny. Good luck Indians!