One Enchanted Evening

Well, today was my first day with my student. I'm giving lessons in Practical Domesticity (knitting, crochet, and sewing) to one of the girls in my ward, and she in turn babysits my kids when we actually get a date night. We started with crochet, it being the most forgiving to novices at handwork. She was getting pretty good by the end of the session, but will need a lot of practice to get the stitches even (don't we all?). I told her they need to be like a well-fitting t-shirt--tight enough to show your curves, but not so tight as to show your flaws.

Anyway, Elena had been asking to go to the park, all day, so as soon as Macy was out the door we grabbed water, shoes, and the stroller and headed for the school around the corner. It was well after the kids had gone home, so we could actually go on the grounds, and cool enough to be pleasant, especially with the breeze flowing through the trees above us. Elena and Joseph ran (well, Joseph crawled) all up and down the stairs and through the tunnel, slid down the slide, and watched the birds fly by. Joseph loved the slide. I showed him how to sit down at the top and scoot forward, and hold on to the sides so he didn't go too fast. He giggled all the way down, over and over again. Each time he slid down, I picked him up and put him back up on the platform, and he did it all over again. When we went to the swings, we took turns pushing each other. Elena loved pushing us (Joseph on my lap), and Joseph thought it was hilarious when he helped me push Elena. We even saw fireflies on the way home, just as the sun dipped below the apartments across the street.

It was late, and while the kids had had a hefty snack at 4, they still needed something to tide them over for the night, so I got them some pasta. The shape of the night was shells. Normally we have big elbows, and Elena puts them on the ends of her fingers. Since you can't put the little shells on the ends of your fingers, she did the next best thing. She stuck one up her nose. This freaked her out, a bit, since she couldn't get it back out, but once I figured out what was going on I fixed it. Now she thinks it's silly, but I don't think she's going to try it again any time soon.

In other news, this is my 100th post! Yipee!