“Parents, it’s 10:00. Do you know where your children are?”

Most people in my generation will remember hearing this on TV at 10:00 in the evenings. The voice was a deep and authoritative one and always made me feel glad I was at home when I heard it! Of course, that was a couple of decades ago - well before cell phones, which most parents probably use now to keep tabs on their kids. At any rate, this came back to me last night when, at 10:00, I looked around while I was whipping up a batch of Peanut Butter Oatmeal cookies. (Strange time of day to be baking? Not if you grew up a Griffin.  In fact, my dad still does this.  :-D) I saw such a variety of things going on at that late hour and it made me smile. Now, understand this was a Friday night. On any other night of the week, all Worley kids would be tucked sweetly in their beds by 9:00 pm, freshly showered/bathed and sleeping peacefully or reading.  Mmmm-hmmm. That’s how it goes every night.

But last night at 10:00, things were different.

This one was shopping online for her 4-H scrapbook project. (Yay for Joann.com sales!)

These 2 were finishing up a Wii game:

These 3 were chatting and giggling in a bedroom:

This one was practicing her State Fair competition pieces:

Weren’t any of the kids in bed yet??? Well, thanks to Daddy, this one had just been laid down. But was he asleep yet? Don’t think so.

In fact, there were severe storms forecast to hit around 2:30 am, so most of the girls decided to camp out in the “quiet” bedroom – quiet because it faces the east, rather than most storms, which come in from the west. So, the “quiet” bedroom had a bunch of chatting girls in it even past midnight!

So, 10:00 on a Friday night was hopping for the Worley kids. Consequently, nearly twelve hours later, most wouldn’t let me near them with a camera, because they’re all still in their pajamas!  :-D

Summer Evening Walks

 

This week has slowed down just a bit – at least in the evenings – since ballet ended for the summer. Next week, Courtney and Erica will start taking Stay in Shape ballet, but that only meets one night a week. So, this week, we had free evenings, which was wonderful! On Tuesday, we actually finished dinner early enough that we were able to go on a walk afterward.

So, Courtney took along the camera and got some nice shots of everyone.

Here is our Little Ham, doing his best Courtney imitation.  :-D

 

Grant took the opportunity to inspect the field corn, which has just started coming up.

Usually, this grass on the side of our road is kept mowed (see the above picture), but I think it looks so pretty when it’s long like this:

 

So glad our summer evening strolls are back!

“Moby Dick,” adapted by Felix Sutton

 

“…Pulling his harpoon from Moby Dick’s side, he stabbed it in again and again—stabbing, jabbing-jabbing, stabbing—like a madman.” …

“…then it was that Moby Dick finally spouted the fatal black blood and sounded for the last time.” …

Not your typical bedtime story, but it held Grant’s attention.  :-)

The book was published in 1956, long before animal rights activists found a voice. A “Note to Parents” at the beginning of the book includes this: “The dramatic illustrations on every page are in keeping with the spirit of this American classic.” Indeed.  :-)

What do I know?

Courtney has signed up for Photography in 4H this year, so she has been taking a lot of practice shots. The other night, she grabbed the camera just before sunset and said she was going to take some pictures of Claire out in the yard. I told her Mick hadn’t mowed recently, so she should try to avoid getting the dandelions in the background.

Later, when I saw this image on the computer, I thought “What do I know???"

 

Singin’ in the Rain

Earlier it start raining pretty hard and I looked out the window and saw Grant with one of the girls’ umbrellas. He was clearly enjoying the experience and I thought he looked so cute I grabbed the camera. Of course, Trent followed me onto the porch.

When Grant spotted Trent, he made a beeline for the porch, eager to share this fun experience with this little brother.

He passed off the umbrella, pleased as punch.

Trent made it about halfway down the path and apparently had second thoughts about walking under an umbrella during a driving rain.  :-D

So much for that!  :-D

Heat Miser, anyone?

Lately, we’ve all been waiting with anticipation to see what Trent’s hair will look like when he gets up in the morning. It’s always quite a show.  Yes, it’s time for a haircut. 

“The River of Doubt” by Candice Millard

A friend of Mick’s highly recommended this book, which our dependable library had, thankfully. He started reading it last night (on a Friday night!) and picked it right back up first thing this morning. I’ll take that as a sign this is a good one. :-)

He’s a little camera-shy, apparently.  :-D