All days are good, but some good days have to be made.
Adequate sleep seems to help make the difference as far as days starting and
ending well. Cupcakes help too.
We spent a quiet Sunday evening reading some favorite books.
Eliza is following in her brother’s footsteps.
On Monday, the kids had the day off for President’s Day. Hallie
and some of the other moms in the neighborhood trekked the kids over to Shave-It for some ice-cold treats. Let’s
just say all those little kids in a confined space became a bit overwhelming.
In the evening, we spent some time at Grandma and Grandpa
O.’s house before dropping Mike off at Grandma and Grandpa M.’s house so he
could stay overnight.
On Tuesday, Mike and a work colleague left TO at 4 AM to
drive to San Diego to give a presentation. After the presentation, they came
back home. Fortunately, they missed major traffic in both directions. This
meant cooling their heels in San Diego for a bit, but better that than being
late.
Mike having to travel meant that he missed the funeral for
our friend Clarke. Hallie attended and helped other ward members with the
after-funeral luncheon.
In the late afternoon, Hallie helped out at a school
fundraiser.
Oh, and it was Mardi Gras. Laissez les bons temps rouler.
After helping out at Landon’s school Wednesday, Mike took
the car to work. Eliza ended up missing school, but she and Hallie managed to
make a busy afternoon for themselves.
Landon showed off his emotional range today.
Mike had two opportunities to help out at Landon’s school
this week. He assisted in the computer lab and brought home information on a
couple of websites Landon and Eliza can use to learn about science and social
studies.
Our next door neighbors are getting ready to move (boo!),
and this week that meant that Hillary had to remove all the wood from her
Asian-themed bedroom. Out the window it all went.
Landon had the chance to hone his woodcutting skills by
cutting the long pieces down to size for the dumpster.
Hallie took the kids on a bike ride around the neighborhood.
She also picked up a movie: Alexander
and the [Long Title] Day.
Before movie night (The Boxtrolls) on Friday, Eliza and
Landon broke out the electricity and magnetism kit. Mom played the role of
scientific advisor to the intrepid investigators.
The kids decided to play musical beds Friday into Saturday,
and this led to the parents playing musical beds. While we tried to start the
day on a good note with pancakes, the children were ill-mannered, and the
parents were cranky. It happens.
Mike took the kids to the Chinese New Year
celebration at the Camarillo Library.
The “get off my lawn” set decided to send a letter to
homeowners in our neighborhood banning children from, get this, PLAYING OUT IN
THE STREET. Looks like the honeymoon is over. This will not end well for the
people who came up with this policy, which includes that all playing by
children shall take place at the dinky park with the two swings. Said park sits
right at the front entrance to the community, and many neighborhood homes (and
their windows) back right up to the park. Between the potential car/pedestrian
accidents and the increased number of balls flying over fences, many people
will not be happy. Clearly someone on the board didn’t think this one through. Ever hear of the Fair Housing Amendments Act? How about "protected class" and the fact that what they're doing is illegal? We
figure it this way: When those who want the kids to stop playing in the street
will actually obey the posted speed limit, we can talk about modifying the
kids’ play. Until then, our kids will play (as always, supervised by grown-ups)
merrily in the streets with the expectation that, if push comes to shove,
adults in cars will have to yield. Anyone up for a game of Chicken?
This leads us into Sunday. The missionaries and Mike gave
the sharing time lesson in Primary. Hallie gave her Relief Society lesson on
Elder Uchtdorf’s conference talk Lord, Is It I? She baked maple brown sugar
cupcakes.
The drizzle we had last night evolved into storm clouds that
promised some more rain after church. We’ll take every drop we can get! Before then, Mom managed to get the kids to sit still long enough for a picture in their Sunday best.
2 comments:
I had to look up the Fair Housing Amendments Act. How is the association violating it by saying that kids can't play in the street? While I think it's ridiculous that your association made up this rule also, the fact is that it's probably legal and they're probably protecting themselves in case a kid accidentally gets hit by a car while riding a bike.
@Kim, it has to do with common areas. The association cannot restrict equal access by all members of the community to all common areas of the community. To say that children specifically cannot play in the streets violates the FHAA. That said, the association's concern both for the safety of children and liability issues that may arise from an accident on common property are valid. The approach was overly heavy-handed and crossed a line. Parents also bear responsibility to ensure the safety of their kids, which is why we supervise them when they're out playing. The association revised the language of the letter, and at this point we believe there is an appropriate common understanding.
Post a Comment