The Bishop Family: July 2009

10. I realize that my son Gage may be Latin!
OK, so I know he is not, but with all the tremendous amounts of swimming that we have been doing, he does not look like he belongs to us. All you need to do is catch a glimpse of his tan line on his backside, and you will need sunglasses!

9. I realize that I am still doing homework even at 35!
Because I am tutoring 9 kids (almost 10), I am doing homework almost nightly. I am reading three books currently, and none that I had on my summer reading list. It is good that I like children’s and young adult literature. It’s good though. I love all the kids I tutor. I do not have a bad apple in the group.

8. I realize that my children are fish.
Well perhaps they do not have gills, but you think they might with how much they love swimming. The oldest are all independent swimmers and the Bubs is nearly there. Cooper and Brooke do love getting in and after a day of swimming, I am pooped!

7. I realize that I was a little "creamy" to take 6 kids to Krispy Kreme for a field trip.
Actually they were all extremely well behaved, and I was so grateful for them. I really do enjoy their company.

6. I realize that I like the fact that Mitch has a three-day weekend every week now.
Mitch began his 4 tens the last week of June, and we are liking the three day weekends. He does not even seem to mind the long days too much either!

5. I realize that my now two year old is getting in touch with his feminine side.
Cooper loves Dora! He asks to watch it all the time, loves his Dora books, Dora movies, Dora phone, and Dora backpack. I do not mind buying Dora too since I am getting a leg up on toys for Brooke.

4. I realize that Brooke is growing up way too fast!
She is rolling over (She even rolled off my bed. I cried.), trying to sit up, and plays with rattles. Amazing.

3. I realize that my mom is an angel!
She helps with everything. She empties my dishwasher, picks up after herself, sweeps my floor, does my laundry better than I do, picks up Brooke whenever is necessary, and loves Cooper to pieces (This can be tough at times. He is two.). I think she is still radiant at 63, too. I am glad that I look like her. Perhaps I will get better looking with age. One can always hope.

2. I realize that God sends his tender mercies to me.
We went on a real quick trip to Ely this past week. We were in the car for 6 hours (due to a side trip to the Lehman Caves), and Jace threw up after we got to the motel, not in the car. He was not feeling up to going to dinner so my mom (another reason for angel wings on that woman) stayed with him in the motel. (He could have thrown up in a restaurant as well, so yet another blessing.) When we got back to the motel, I took the linens to the front desk only to find the worker about ready to leave so I got to wash the linens and get new towels just in time. Mitch took our items to the laundromat, which was across the street and picked up Lysol, all purpose cleaner, and paper towels at the market, which was also across the street. Cooper got a fever too later that night, but did not throw up. Aiden got sick moments before we got on the train, but I brought the trusty ice bucket, which, incidentally, we used on the train and it worked like a charm. Aiden got sick once again when we were near a bathroom- very handy. We drove home with no other incidents, and just about 20 minutes after we got home, Gage began getting sick- nutty I know. People may call it coincidence, but I know otherwise. Oh, and as a funny aside, when asking the kids “if they could go anywhere in the world, where would they go?” To this, Greyson declares, “ELY!” (If anyone has been to Ely, they can see the humor in this.) Aiden then pipes up, “Ya, that’s because he was not sick on the trip. I never want to go back there again, ever!“

1. I realize that there were benefits to being a teacher with regard to selecting your kids’ teachers.
We have three unknowns for next year. Aiden’s teacher has not even been hired yet, Gage’s is new to the school entirely, and Grey’s is a strict teacher who gets serious results, but also has been known to have a short fuse! I just keep praying that it will all work out. Oh man I hate the unknown at times! Who am I kidding? I hate it all the time.

These aren't in any order, as you can probably tell. This sums up a fraction of what we've been up to this summer.

1. Cooper sleeping in wierd places.