Basic Joy

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Never say never


I was afraid spring break around here was going to be a little bit of a downer (by the way, I would totally hire this company if I needed to move my piano--extra points for black humor) but it turned out to be a great week.
The gorgeous weather didn't hurt.
We did NYC last weekend,
went to Six Flags on Tuesday,
had a picnic and hang-out day on Wednesday,
the kids went to work with G on Thursday,
another free-form day on Friday,
and kayaking on the river on Saturday.
Bonus=I'm so glad I'm not driving back from Florida today.

However--word to the wise.
If you have a Nuvi navigation system, be sure you have it set to
"fastest route"
rather than "shortest route."
Otherwise, when you drive to NYC, you will be boggled
and confused about why you keep getting directed off
of the modern 21st century freeway
to travel the scenic byways of Connecticut and New York,
complete with stoplights every 100 feet or so.
Certainly check on the setting while this is happening,
rather than waiting until you arrive back home.
Just a suggestion.

Notice the oldest child cowering behind the others. Lauren has reached the age of weariness with her photographing mom. She's been heard to mutter "don't you think you should be experiencing this instead of taking pictures of it?" and "Not again!" Kids these days and their exasperating logical conclusions! What she doesn't realize is that I need proof of the great times we all had! These are my evidence exhibits in the court of we-never-went-anywhere-when-we-were-kids! Unfortunately, it will appear that I myself never went anywhere with them, since I am always behind the camera but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Maddy's getting ready for a big violin recital next week. She continues to read books that are too sad and make her cry, although she feels that a book isn't truly great unless it does make her cry. This results in an almost daily cleansing cry and hugging fest. (Hint= if the character has a serious illness at the beginning, it's probably not going to end happily.) My favorite Maddyism this week was when we were winding through side streets in the Bronx (thanks confused Nuvi!). Noticing the brownstones and the porch stoops she said cheerfully "This reminds me of Sesame Street." [pause while drunk down-on-luck guy crosses in front of us and yells] "Except he's not so happy."

Sam is just glad he didn't have to spend more time in the car. He spent his free time this week making up impossible logic quizzes for me and G to stumble through. And grading them with big fat sorry scores. For some reason he started a balloon collection, blew them all up, and plans to sell them. I'm not sure who conducted his market research of the demand for blown-up balloons...but I'm pretty sure who's going to end up being his primary customer! Especially if it means clearing them from our house!

And, finally, in the never say never department
here's the newest addition to our household:


We finally wore down G and, after lots of conversations with breeders, etc.
we have (or will have when he can come home in a week or two) a puppy!
Four of us love him and one of us hopes he doesn't shed, bark, chew, poop, or stink.

Please help us
name this dog
If we choose your name suggestion (left in the comments),
I will send you a fabulous prize
having to do with a book shopping spree
and nothing to do with dogs.

(our naming guidelines: people names preferred...
nothing too cutesy...think manly with a hint of sensitive(?)...
uniqueness preferred...)