The Artist

Here's madison at art camp with the other first graders.  As you can see, she's really enjoying her time there - Daddy snuck this photo this afternoon.  She's been doing a lot of "Under the Sea" stuff this week and using all kinds of mediums to express herself.  Which generally turn out a lot better than this. And she's having fun at camp too, so odds are good that we'll be doing an art camp each year.  It'll be a pleasure to see how her skills improve over the years, coupled with her active imagination.

She gets dropped off each morning at 9:00, and picked up at 2:00 from the car line.  This is the point where we both head home, dropping by the gas station first to pick up some more free slushy.  Or slurpy.  Whatever you want to call it, it's delicious.  Madison and Daddy nearly finish the thing before getting home.

Of course, Daddy turns around and has to go back to work.  This is a bummer, because he really wants to stay at home with the family.  But we are getting a lot done at the office this week, between setting things up for our new series and keeping things alive for the existing one.  Oh, and a little thing called the Forward Conference this weekend.  Yeah, that's happening.  Although it doesn't affect us severely as it used to, we'll see that shift in the coming years as Madison gets older.  Of course, that can wait.

Madison continues doing math, reading books too.  And Daddy's reading books at the same time as well.  Tonight the three of us sat together in the master bedroom on the bed reading different books, this nice pleasant quiet time together.  Almost like snuggling, but with some sort of intellectual side.  Of course, Madison is not reading any literary masterpiece:  she had Eloise books with her.  And Daddy wasn't reading anything of significance either.  Unless you count the Kingdom Keepers as significant.  Not long ago, Mommy got Daddy the last book in Disney's Kingdom Keepers series, book number seven.  She even got it signed by Ridley Pearson, and got a small official keychain light that actually is mentioned in the book.  The thing has come in handy recently, once during a big power outage at the church.  This is a rabbit trail, but we work in a place with no windows, deep underground - and no emergency lights.  When the power goes off, we all sit there feeling our way out towards the exit the best we can.  We can be in there, and have no idea that there's terrifying weather outside either.  The only indication is the blinking of power, and a phone call from outside the building warning us to stay safe.  Ultimately, this is the safest place to be in the church for many of the reasons listed above.  We're up against a wall of dirt down one floor without any windows.

Which makes my little Kingdom Keepers flashlight handy.  This book series has been going on for a few years - I'm guessing seven.  It just so happens that when the Kingdom Keepers went on the Disney Cruise, we did too.  The timing was perfect - the sixth book had a cruise theme too, and we went on another.  This last book takes place in Disneyland, which I haven't been to in years.  Maybe we can make the trip, huh?

Anyway, it's a good book - and although it is advertised as the last in the series, it ends in such a way that clearly the adventure continues.  So it doesn't have that one hundred percent sense of closure about it, which is by design - of course folks will want to go out and get the next set of spin-off books.

Yes, Daddy reads books for younger kids.  But I'm a kid at heart, okay?  The last few books have been historical, so I've been in the mood for some lighter reading.  Next up, Terry Pratchett's latest - although I probably have to wait to receive that as a gift (hint, hint!).

So we sat and read together for a bit, and then it was time to sleep pretty much.  Mommy stayed in bed, as Daddy and Madison drug themselves down the hall for the closing ceremonies down there:  Madison brushes her teeth, drinks her Silk (like she has since we've had her), we say our prayers and go to sleep.  Sleep - sounds good right now!