Summer! The adventures of 6 and 10 year old boys.
D & S really didn’t want to go away from home this summer. All they really wanted to do was stay home and play video games every day, all day. The weather was fine, but all the two wanted to do was be inside. Their friends tried to get them to come outside and play, but they were just so into their games, they really didn’t want to play outside. Especially D.
Mom changed all that when she made arrangements for them to be at the lake with Grandma MaryAnne and Papa Gord for two weeks.
“Two weeks,” D cried. “I don’t want to go for so long. What am I going to do? I won’t be able to play video games with my friends.”
Mom chuckled, “Do you really think that I would have let you just play games inside the entire summer?”
“Yyeeesssss,” D flopped on the floor and whined.
“Nope, wouldn’t happen,” Mom laughed. “Get up and get packed. You will have so much fun and it will be over before you know it.”
“But what if something happens to Daddy,” D sobbed.
“You aren’t that far away. If something happens do you not think Grandma would be the first one back into the city?” Mom responded with a hug. “If something happens you will be one of the first to know and if you need to come home we will make that happen.”
“But, but” D tried to come up with a scenario that would keep him home.
“No buts, we still need to do the things that we like doing even though it might be harder than previous years. You need these experiences away from your parents and the city,” Mom explained. “It’s a joy that you have grandparents that can look after you, not everyone does. Now go get packed.”
Pouting D started to pack.
S on the other hand was super excited and wanted to go right now.
“So are we leaving today?” S asked jumping up and down.
“No, in a couple of days.” Mom responded.
“So tomorrow?” S asked again.
“No, a couple of days,” Mom repeated.
The doorbell rang. O was at the door wanting to know if S could play.
“Can I go play?” S asked. He was very easily distracted.
“Yes, go play,” Mom sighed. “But remember to keep your distance and not touch each other. No playing on the playground yet either.”
S nodded, put on shoes and flew out the door. Mom went to go pack clothes for S. He had done a fairly good job of starting to get things together. Mom just had to add a few additional pairs of underwear and socks.
“Mom, you gotta come see this,” S yelled in the door. “Theirs a bird on the sidewalk.”
“What?” Mom responded coming up the stairs.
“I think one of the babies fell out of the nest?” S exclaimed his excitement excalating.
“Well don’t touch it, show me,” Mom followed S outside.
Earlier in the year a robin had built a nest in the lilac bushes by the garage and the boys had been watching for the babies to hatch. Surprisingly they weren’t that noisy when they did. The moma robin was always right by the nest or in the nest whenever we had looked.
Mom rounded the corner and sure enough in the middle of the sidewalk was one of the baby robins. Alive, slightly stunned, but had been hopping around the sidewalk for a little while. Mom looked up at the nest and noticed that it seemed to be tilted.
“Oh I think he did fall out,” Mom smiled. “Let’s see if I can get him back in. The nest looks really small though and he’s quite a big bird.”
Mom went to look for something to scoop up the bird. While she was gone J tried to feed it a worm. It had been quite wet so worms were very easy to find. Mom came back and looked up at the bush. The nest was definitely tilted.
“I don’t think I can get him back up there. He is getting his juvenile feathers so should be okay on the ground for the night. We’ll just make sure the cats stay inside,” Mom explained to the kids. “Don’t try to feed it. It’s parents will be able to find it and should take care of it even though it’s not in the nest.”
Mom moved the bird into the lower bushes so that it was at least out of the way and had a place to hide. The kids went about playing some more and forgot about the bird. Each day they would check to see if they could find it.
We got to watch one of it’s parents feed it, so we knew that it was being taken care of. As it jumped around the yard Mom noticed that there were two more babies in the nest. It was a very small nest, so it did appear that one got pushed out.
Grandma came to take the boys to the lake a few days later. D had finally come to grips with the fact that he was going to be away from home for two weeks and that Mom was letting him take some of his technology so that he could play with his friends, some.
Cousin M was also going to the lake with D & S so D got very excited about going as now he had someone else to play with, other than just his brother.
The weather was beautiful and the kids spend a lot of time at the lake playing in the water, making holes and filling them with water and kayaking. A new thing that they were able to do by borrowing the kayak from the neighbors that they also made friends with as there were kids the same age that lived there too.
They had so much fun that they hardly called home at all to talk to their parents. When they did the excitement about what they were doing and how much fun they were having was clear and Mom just kept saying, I told you that it would be fun.
The boys were returned home after two weeks. Their friends were very happy that they were home and asked them to come out and play every day that it was nice. The problem with this is that D & S were still going to their day home so often weren’t home when their friends came by. Mom was still working even though it was summer and from home.
The two weeks they were home went by really fast. It was soon time for the family trip to Northern Alberta to see some more family and do some camping, and more outdoor fun.
Time at the lake is always fun. D & S introduced their parents to their new friends and spent some time at the beach in the water. D went down the big slide, but S was to scared. It was a tall slide. The beach was also fairly busy so the family only stayed for a few hours before going back to the house.
D & S showed Mom how they could kayak and play in the water. Mom tipped the kayak a few times trying to get on and a couple of times intentionally to play.
The trip to Northern Alberta provided some great weather, storms and time with cousins. Lots of outside time running through sprinklers, jumping on trampolines and just running around. D & S got to spend time with G & R who they don’t see very often. This time D & G connected through video games and will be able to stay in touch better even though very far apart. S & R played together a fair bit, but not getting into the same things the same way yet.
D & S even got to drive things. S a kids sized quad, which he was thrilled to be able to do. D learned to drive a 50cc motorbike. He was able to get to second gear and probably could have handled more, but they ran out of time.
With all of the rain that Northern Alberta received in the spring there was a great swimming spot at the river and the weather cooperated so that we could all spend some time swimming and playing in the mud. It’s wonderful the kids are at an age where they can do more things on their own, but still needed supervision in the water. While the swimming spot was good, it’s still a river with a quick drop off and strong current.
The cousins and friends even went so far as to build their own bonfire on the beach. They collected their own stones for the ring and wood to go in the fire. The adults came down and lit it for them. It was a great day and time.
After this excitement was a trip up to the other grandmas for twoish weeks. D was not looking forward to this at all, but appeared to have a great time anyway.
When asked what the best part of the summer was both D & S indicated that they really enjoyed learning about gardening with grandma. They both felt that it wasn’t nearly as traumatic going away for two weeks and being away from home as they had originally felt it would be.
They enjoyed baking, playing outside in hammocks, and helping out. Especially when they got to roll quarters and take bottles to the depot and retain the money from those tasks.
It was a pretty full summer for the boys with lots on the go and things to do. They enjoyed themselves, even though they didn’t think they would.
Pics and vids of the fun https://photos.app.goo.gl/LQrJpAKcQwN2QkPp7
The Adams-Schlag Family 