Thinking Tree Thoughts: A Nice Weekend

This weekend has been pleasant and peaceful – almost a reprieve from our typically over-scheduled weeks.

One of my friends went to a family wedding on the East Coast, so her 6 and 3 year olds spent the weekend with us. I met up with her at the LA County Fair on Thursday and then the kids came home with us for a "triple sleep over"

On Friday my 11-year-old daughter went with her Girl Scout troop to a weekend camp on Catalina Island, and although I think she enjoyed it, she seemed really happy to be home. When she went to bed just now she had that peaceful home-after-a-journey smile and said, “I’m glad I’m home.”

Me too.

So what else did we do this weekend?

The kids made pirate treasure out of everything in the recycling bin and transformed the bunk bed into a ship. Light sabers became pirate swords and there was even a showdown with a very large pirate who looked a little like Kip.

So we decided to take the kids on a real ship – our little sailboat. The little boy was elated. He called Kip, “Captain,” the whole time and took on the magnitude of a child making a lifelong memory.

Our son also had his first soccer game of the season and celebrated by showing us how he can now cross the whole monkey bars.

I ran 11 miles on Saturday. And Kip ran 11 on Sunday, which means we are still training for the Malibu Marathon.

I started reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, and I’m cutting this blog entry short so I can go finish reading it before I have to return it to the library. It’s really interesting so far.

Ewe intimidate me! I have to point out that my son is being super brave here. Can you see that he is holding my hand? He really wanted to touch the sheep, but not alone.

Every year the kids beg to go into the petting zoo at the LA County Fair. We buy the food pellets and inevitably, at some point in the process, they freak out and we leave the pen laughing. Ok, so now we all laugh. The first few years one of us was screaming and the rest of us were laughing.

And we always have to go to the Dude Ranch area where the kids make a real rope on a 100-year-old rope twisting machine, and they ride these giant rocking horses. It's part of our Fair tradition, and it's a free activity in a land of $5 Slurpee drinks.