Contagious cars

My conversation with Magnolia earlier today in the car:

Magnolia: I don't feel very well. I got a virus from the car.
Me: Honey, you don't catch viruses from a car. You catch viruses from other people, and sometimes animals. (and then silence as I try to figure out how to explain this further)
Magnolia: Well, my throat hurts. Hey! You're kind of like a doctor. You make me all better! (this followed by a fetching grin)
And since then, no more talk of sore throats. Go figure...

And he's off...

This evening Joy & Zach came over. We all played on the front lawn for a bit before I went inside to start supper. David was having fun climbing up the stairs and down the stairs, up the stairs and down the stairs when J & Z first arrived. He caught sight of Joy walking across the lawn and took off walking towards her- and didn't stop until he reached her, about a distance of 10 feet! Until now he's just taken a few steps before plunking himself down on his bottom. Here we go...

On our way home from the park today, Nolia noticed a man standing outside without his shirt on. She was quite interested in this and had many questions. So when we arrived home she wanted to play outside without her shirt on. Our yard is secluded and she's four- why not? Of course, when Zach arrived and saw Nolia shirtless, he immediately took his off, too. Then while Joy, baby & I were inside somehow they decided to take their shorts off, too. We made them put them back on, but once they were inside playing off the shorts went once again. And Zach's underpants. At which point Joy had to point out that this was not a nudist colony and made him get dressed again. I guess as long as they're not doing this when they are 16... we're good. Do all pre-schoolers love to get nekkid? (Goodness knows my kids' daddy sure still does; although he will mostly confine his urges to night-time skinny dipping at the lake. Mostly.)

Chris returned home from his workshop in Central Florida just in time for supper. Afterwards we had a dessert picnic outside beneath the hogplum cherry tree which right now is a cloud of tiny white flowers. I love this time of year, when all the spring trees and shrubs are blooming. Makes me itch to get to a nursery and buy azaleas for the yard... a dogwood tree or two... perhaps another redbud tree...

Spinning fun

Nolia asked me to swing her on the swivel tire swing for a while this evening. She wanted to go "really fast around". So I spun her and spun her. As she went round and round, eyes glowing and with a big grin on her face, she called out, "My stomach's thinking!". "What's it thinking?" I asked her. "It's thinking he's spinning!".
So on & on we went, she asking to go faster and faster. Then she leaned forward to look down inside the tire swing, raising the dizziness factor up a notch. "Oh!", she yelled. "Stomach, stop thinking!".