Stay off the Sidewalks!!

For my Mom's birthday we all gave her a new scooter...yes, it's street legal...so watch out. Actually, she is one of the most annoyingly cautious drivers I know, so I'm not worried about her driving, I'm just worried about the drivers around her. She bought a bright yellow hunting vest to wear so she will be ultra visible to other drivers. I had so much fun picking this retro looking scooter out for her. I almost picked a bubble-gum pink color, but my Dad vetoed that choice just in case he ever took it out for a spin. Picture a 60 year old, 200+ pound man in dockers and a dress shirt on a pink retro scooter. How's that for a hilarious mental picture? Anyway, after practicing in parking lots for a few days, and getting licensed, she now drives this scooter quite often, and gets up to speeds of nearly 50. It actually will go a bit faster, but even I think that is kind of scary. No more gas guzzling beater Cadillac for her, at least for the summer.

What's cooler...broken arm or missing teeth?

Maxwell broke his arm about three weeks ago and has a bright orange cast (his choice) for all to see. Of course the cast prompts lots of people, old and young, friends and strangers, to ask what happened to his arm. He says, "I broke my radius". How cute and accurate is that? When they want to know more, like how it happened, which is what they were wondering to begin with, I have heard Max say several times, "Hey, do you want to see something really awesome? Look at my missing teeth (there are now two)!" Since when are missing teeth more awesome than a broken arm?

What I've learned this summer

I've learned that when a 3 year old, really smart and independent little girl is not yet potty-trained, forcing the issue doesn't work. I also learned that when that really smart and independent 3 year old decides she's ready to go on the big girl potty two weeks after Mom's miserable failure, she can go all by herself without ANY help (including wiping and accompanying her in public restroom stalls). Yea for smart and independent 3 year olds!

I have also learned that when your 6 year old breaks his arm playing Indiana Jones on Grandma Smith's rope swing, it is not necessary to rush him to the ER at 10 pm because the orthopedic surgeon on call will not want to come in at that hour so the ER doctor will try to reset it but will completely fail, and then the orthopedic surgeon will have to reset it the next day at a surgery center resulting in two hospital bills. Next time we are using Dr. Steve Payne's prescribing ability to drug our kid for the night and will then take him to the specialist in the morning.

I have also learned that camping is more fun than I remember. Especially when the kids have their favorite playmates (their cousins) as camping partners. Having playmates for the kids allows the parents to actually relax occasionally. I also re-learned that I should bring sleeping pills with me when I go camping because even though I'm a really brave and strong woman (!!) any sound outside the tent is a big hungry bear!