Dum

Since I have zero interior decorating ability/interest we have two large bulletin boards in the kitchen we use to display the kids' school and artwork. I am terrible about changing out everything so Logan (2nd grade) still has art projects from preschool. Kaylin has an "about me" poem titled "I am" that's been up since at least last school year. It has maybe 7 or 8 "I am" statements, with the last line being "I am Kaylin." Yesterday morning I was at the kitchen table reading the paper when I glanced up at the wall and noticed "I am dum" added in permanent blue marker. Logan happened to be in the kitchen and was quite proud of himself and his genius mischief. I was quite proud that depsite the ironic misspelling, he actually READ and COMPREHENDED words on the wall that he wasn't FORCED to read! And then WROTE a sentence! Yay! Maybe there is hope for him after all :)

We had a sad/happy couple of days at work. Neptune, our beloved elderly male sea lion, died Friday morning. He had been in declining health for several months; typical old age stuff. His passing was expected, but his absence leaves a gaping hole. I don't get to work with sea lions too often, but I've always loved them. Neptune had cataracts and required daily eye medication. I will never forget the first time I had him "hold" so I could administer meds. I held my left hand just below his chin level, said "hold" and he placed his enormous head in my hand, allowing me to administer the eye drops. This animal was huge! Vast! Supporting his head was simultaneously terrifying and the coolest thing I'd ever done in my life. Part of our daily sea lion feeding/show was to have Neptune come up on land with the keeper while we had him roll to his side and rub him down with our hand. It was an incredible experience I will always remember and cherish. I will miss you like crazy, you giant sea slug!

Saturday morning brought some happier news, with the birth of three red river hog piglets. Newborn piglets are adorable beyond words and incredibly fun to watch. They're amazingly agile shortly after birth, already running around and climbing over mom. Yeah, the cuteness is almost sickening. It more than makes up for the extra work.

I finally made it to Logan's flag football game on Saturday. Gene had the wrong time for the first game and I was out of town for the second. Flag football is even funnier than tee-ball! The kids range in age from 6-12. That is a HUGE difference in height and skill! Logan (8) was one of the taller kids on his team. Another older kid from another team came in and played quarterback. They ALWAYS passed the ball to the tallest kid who unfortunately couldn't catch. The younger kids had no clue about the rules and why they were doing what they were doing. It was hilarious. It was also awesome watching the young coaches (two high school or college-age guys who coach and ref ALL of the teams) grin at each other and sometimes laugh over the chaotic stupidity of the game. They never gave up, though. They kept trying to teach these kids the rules. I'm glad Logan is in this league. He's definitely learning how the game works which should be helpful in the fall if/when he plays "real" football. Logan's team lost 30-0. They have yet to score. Maybe this week.

It's a busy week with obedience for Duncan tonight, first aid/CPR training for me the next two days, parent-teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday and Kaylin's first ceramics class Saturday. Ugh. I hate obligations.