Three Boys

We made our annual August visit to California last week and that meant a chance for my sister’s boys and JT to get together.  Since 2006, I have made it a tradition to take their picture together.   That year, we took a sweaty pack of boys to Disneyland.

In 2016, they’ve grown quite a bit larger but remain good friends.  

As the photo attests, my nephews come from tall stock.  On the left is C, a tall 6 foot 3.  His baby brother S is 6 foot 8.  JT, at 5 foot 9, is at the small end of this threesome.  The little boys, JT and S, are headed into the 11th grade; the big one, C, packs off for college in a few weeks.  They’ve been friends their whole lives, a very happy thing.

Socks

Upon his return from the school farm trip, JT presented my with a sack full of laundry.  As I sorted through the pile, I was struck again by the condition of his socks.

We go through a lot of socks around here and JT's can nearly always be found in a most deplorable condition.  They start off their term of service in our house as a snowy white bundle.  But in short order they look as if they've been worn for days by a cola miner digging through a tunnel of mud.

I do my best to bleach them into submission but after awhile I am forced to admit defeat.  The socks are still serviceable, of course, but they look dreadful, as if they are the possession of a street urchin with only one pair of socks to his name.

Extended Dancemix Playdate

JT's buddy D is the first playmate he met in New Jersey. There's about 18 months between them, so as they have patiently explained to me, they could be brothers. They are clearly good friends and yesterday D's mom delivered him unto us for a sleepover and playdate. We will return D this afternoon.

Between now and then, there will be a whole lot of playing. Yesterday, they put on their swimsuits and ran around the backyard.
All that running around can build up quite a hunger. So they scored a pizza and watched an episode of Wipeout.
(please pardon the fuzzy picture......I'm still learning how to use the camera....those of you still judging should try getting two boys to sit still and then get back to me)

And then they heard the ice cream truck in the neighborhood so they shot outdoors to score a treat. Apparently, that was a serious business.
And that was just last night. Who knows what today will bring?

In Which our Heroine Goes Shopping

Some of you may have heard that I have a son. Specifically, a nine-year-old son; one about to undertake his first season of Little League. We've gotten the cleats and scored some new baseballs to go with his well-oiled baseball glove. We've secured some impressive looking batting gloves; gloves that will clearly make him an amazing hitter.

We're waiting until his age hits the double digits before we start the steroids.

All that remained was the acquisition of an athletic supporter. And here, it must be noted, my skill-set is sadly lacking. I know how to buy sports bras of course, but, ahem.....not the same thing.

So it was that I found myself on a rainy night staring at this impressive display:
And thinking to myself: WTF?

So many choices; so little knowledge. I guess I could have asked one of the college-age boys working at Modells for help, but, honestly, they disappeared as soon as I hit the athletic supporter aisle. I pictured them ducking down in the backroom, fervently praying that I didn't seek them out to ask any questions. I am a careful consumer and reviewed all the options for protecting the family jewels before I made my final selection.

Given all that hangs in the balance, let's hope I didn't screw it up.

Here at the Armed Encatment

We had a full Tuesday here at Sassafras House.

We had a leisurely breakfast of freshly baked blueberry muffins. We had plans to put up the tent in the backyard and then hit the local pool in the afternoon. After a bit of rain, we all headed to the backyard to put up the tent (a sample run for next month's camping trip). There we were, all five of us, when we realized that the cats were also in the backyard with us.

Our cats aren't permitted outside.

Panic ensued. We shot off in all directions, trying to catch cats. And cats just love that, when Mama is shouting and children are running at them in a hurried fashion. Auntie KO quickly organized a new plan, staffing the backyard. The cousins went inside to check all the doors (we'd left the sliding glass open) and JT and I headed out front, where Tiger had gone in search of adventure.

In the backyard, Auntie KO caught a frantic Lucy, though a frightened cat is quick and Lucy slid out of KO's reach, administering all sorts of scratches and loudly meowing her dissatisfaction. The yelping caught Tiger's attention and he headed to the backyard to check things out. JT and I followed and as we came through the gate, we saw Auntie KO, ushering the cats back in the back door. Safe!

After the cat escape, JT posted warning signs on every door in the house. If you forget to shut the door now it's because you are blind.
The afternoon would surely be less be less exciting. Or so we thought. We'd been at the pool a couple of hours when we headed to the snack bar. While we waited in line, we noticed that S had blotches all over his face. KO thought it was the effect of uneven application of sunscreen. But once out of the bright sunlight, it became perfectly clear that it wasn't just his face and they weren't splotches. S had large itchy hives. Everywhere. He said they itched, but he wasn't complaining of any pain. A kind mom nearby offered some Benedryl and S washed it down with some M&M chasers. We calmly packed up the towels and headed home to give S a shower and his daily allotment of string cheese. Within 30 minutes, the hives had begun their retreat.

Surprisingly, when you consider that the mamas are armed with digital cameras at all times, we don't have any picture of Hive-Boy. You'll have to trust me that they were a most impressive set of angry red hives. We still don't know what caused them, though we wonder if it was chlorine. We do know that we've had our full dose of vacation-induced adrenaline. We're hoping that today will prove more peaceful.

But, ummmmm, there are three boys in this house, so what's the chance of that?