I just got booted out of the house by four little girls. I believe the word was, "shoo!" It was supposed to be six little girls, but I got last minute cancellations. Well, they weren't last minute, but they were a couple of hours before we were anticipating arrivals. Annie was very upset, but she seems to be fine now. The girls are getting along famously, and are using their negotiation skills fairly effectively. Well, one of them is fairly accommodating, the others are pretty much "I want." Once they were all here, we went on a hike to the top of the ridge. There was quite a bit of complaining on the way up, but they seemed happy when they were at the top. Granted, third graders can't really appreciate the beauty of the view, but they still had a good time.

Upon returning, they went for the trampoline. That is when I turned the hose on them. It was their request, though. They were soaked. They bounced for fifteen more minutes and were ready to come in. They changed clothes and dried off, brushed hair, and then came the decision of where to sleep. This took a half hour to work out who wanted to sleep next to whom. I intervened at the last to make sure that everyone was truly happy with the arrangement. At this age, it is really important to sleep next to or face who you want.

The next decision also took a half hour... or more. What movie to watch while they ate pizza. When I tried to intervene that time, I got told, "Daddy, we are working on it!" Hunger started to win out. I think a couple of the girls gave in to just wanting to move on. "When will the pizza be ready?" It had been ready for fifteen minutes. They settled down to pizza and the Disney version of Hercules amidst full-mouthed laughter. That was when I was told to leave.

I am washing the wet clothes, and have just been told I am allowed back in for the next thing: birthday cake and presents, so I'd better go...

Update: We didn't have cake because the pizza was still settling. We blew out the candles, and I put it back in the freezer (ice cream cake). Strangely, they weren't too full to play Bobbing for Strawberries. Yeah, I know. It is supposed to be apples. I didn't think they were big enough to grab apples, so I went with strawberries. They had a blast, and went through two quarts of them... They were all successful, and had a blast. I was supposed to chop up some bananas to continue the fun, but they migrated to the trampoline.... I figure ice cream cake will be the last thing when I say it is almost bed time. Anything to postpone bedtime...

Back to it...


I never thought "yes, dear" would apply to my daughter...