Zeus and Alaska in Arkansas

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  glancing out the window just in time to see a big bolt of lightning strike a mile or two away.  That was a little unsettling.  I'm still getting used to the fact that we've moved from dry-sky California to Zeus's playground.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . introducing myself to someone who said my name was pretty.  I don't think anyone has ever told me that before.

And another thing . . .

. . . I met a mom today who named her baby girl Alaska because she thinks the name sounds pretty.  She says some people get really upset when they learn her baby's unusual name.  I'm not inclined to give my kids names that make people do a double take (I think kids have enough to deal with in life without having to explain or spell their name over and over), but I feel baby names are a very personal decision and I wouldn't criticize someone else's choice.  I might try to talk them out of it if I thought the name was a magnet for playground derision, but once the baby is named I don't think there's any benefit to making a fuss about it.

Shrimp and Scritchies

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . buying raw shrimp to cook for the first time in my life, and discovering that I had inadvertently bought the kind with their shells and legs still attached.  I opted out of dissecting things in my junior high science class, but decades later, after a quick internet search for how to shell and devein shrimp, I gained more firsthand knowledge of shrimp anatomy than I ever cared to have.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . saying, "Here you come!" and hearing Todd reply, "Here comes me!"

And another thing . . .

. . . poor Joy has a couple bothersome bug bites right now.  I sympathize deeply, but I also think it's kind of adorable when she calls them "scritchies" ('cuz they itch and she wants to scratch them).

Golden Dragonflies

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . looking out across a meadow in the late afternoon, and seeing dozens of dragonflies flitting about in the golden sunlight.  Daniel said they looked like flying coins.  I thought they looked like pixies.  Either way, the effect was magical.

A Triforce Kite and Cake

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . . reading a book about healthy, whole-food, plant based diets the day my kids decided to make s'mores and cake.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . my kids starting a club to do activities together.  It probably won't last more than a day (they never seem to), but it's sweet to see them having fun together.

 . . . helping Joy construct a tetrahedron kite out of straws, string, and tissue paper.  I made one like it in grade school many years ago, and it was fun to build one with my daughter today.  She and Daniel agreed it looked like a Triforce.  Now if only there had been some wind outside so we could fly it.

Hugs, Fights, and Sunday Sundaes

Today's not-so-favorite moments included . . .

. . .  my two youngest kids being the age where they play-fight-play-fight-play in rapid succession.  The dynamic is so fluid that there's almost no point in intervening, so I usually do it just when I sense that someone is about to get clobbered.

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . meeting new people at church.  One woman said, "I'm a widow, so I hug a lot.  I need all the hugs I can get!"  So I gave her two hugs. :)

. . . eating Sunday sundaes for dessert tonight.  It's a family tradition that we started back in California on the weekends when we weren't visiting grandparents, and it's one more thing that makes our new house feel like home.