Talking, and the Time of Your Life

He talked! He screamed! He danced around!

The day did not start out so well. I was discouraged and counting the days. Then we had a turning point (which I won't go into here) and C came out of his shell a bit. He also called home, which seemed to cheer him up. I would expect he would ask if he wanted to do this, but I guess if you don't talk, you don't ask. And then the rains left and I got an idea to try the waterpark, despite the questionable forecast. I couldn't see any more clouds on the radar and thought we'd at least be good or an hour or two of the three hour session; and surely any camps would have rescheduled their trips if they had planned them for the day.

The plan could not have gone better. Patrick et al ended up coming along with us as well, and although C says he has been to a waterpark before, I am not really sure if he has. He went with Brian up all the big slides, and coming down he'd just be a huge display of teeth. They ran from slide to slide, climbing billions of steep staircases with barely a wait at all, and then C split his time playing in the back on the gentler rides with Patrick. The park, which was practically empty to begin with, was closing at 5:30 for a private party, so although our wristbands were for 3 hours only, and should have expired at 5, they didn't bother to throw us out until they closed the park at 5:30. And then we did the go-karts again. I even let Brian go on this time, and he loved it too. It was much tamer than the other time, only the four of our kids, and then one man with a small child in his car.

Megan had practice, so we came home and C and Brian played video games while I made baked ziti. Now they are still asleep, of course, but I must wake them all up, because today is the day that C is going to try swim team practice at the beach club; and, perhaps, a race in the meet tonight. Megan is not going to the meet. She is going to a concert with four Chinese girls. But, says the mom of one, don't worry. They don't speak Chinese ALL the time ... more later.

In other news, E has left for a ten day vacation, so we won't be hearing from her for a while. I left a message at the school, trying to find out what they want me to do as far as bringing her in in August. Also, an electrician I had spoken to in June, who insisted he wanted to do the job of installing back yard post lighting for us, seems to now be avoiding my calls, and I have lost his cell phone number. I left him another message on the work phone yesterday. I am really annoyed, not because we can't get the work done, but because I would have returned the lights I bought for $300, had I known there wasn't anyone interested in doing the job. Oh, and we are getting a new roof. I don't know when that is, either, but there is a big sign out on the lawn. I asked Kevin not to schedule it for this week. That's all I would have needed, roof tiles flying everywhere while trying to manage having C in the house for ten days!