The Energy of Youth

The Energy of Youth

Today is Saturday, April 2. My sisters-in-law are at the Great Banquet this weekend and I am just about going crazy wondering how they are doing and if it is all they hoped it would be. I can hardly wait for tomorrow so I can hear all about it!

Today I served daycare duty as part of my responsibility of being sponsors for the ladies. It was my pleasure really. Having my two nieces, ages 10 and 11, and my nephew, age 5, is always a joy. We rarely see them on 'our turf' so it was a lot of fun having them here at our house.

The energy of children always amazes me. I picked them all up around 9 a.m. and I don't think they ever stopped moving the entire time they were here, which therefore kept us moving nonstop as well.

Upon their arrival the big topic was the cats (we have two). Velvis is very friendly and Sid....not so much. He sees strangers in his house and he hides under the bed until the coast is clear. This was a huge fascination for Nathan. It was his mission to find the cat so we searched under ever bed, making a big expedition of it even though I knew exactly where he was. Once we found him, the fun really began.

With flashlight in hand, we must have made 30 trips down the hall so Nathan could check on the cat and see his orange eyes shining in the reflection of the flashlight. He had to show each of us multiple times and each time he embellished his guided tour with noises and exaggerated movements. It was priceless and exhausting. Poor Old Sid, as if he wasn't scared enough, sat quietly under the bed toleraing the bright lights repeatedly ~ bless his heart.

Abby and Katie spent a few minutes writing a letter to their moms for me to take to the Great Banquet tonight and then off to the park we went. Kids climbing everywhere, sliding, running, throwing rocks (ugh) and only one minor injury. They even got Aunt Kathy to go down the slide (a tight fit for a 46 year old with the...shall we say...wider bottom than the average 10-year old!). And Uncle Tom was up on the swinging bridge in no time demonstrating his prowess likes a champ.

Once we arrived back at the homestead I was starving so I cranked up the oven and proceeded to make a gourmet feast of chicken nuggets and mini-tacos. Nathan and Tom went outside to play golf. That is, hit an old golf ball around the yard. Nathan was really impressed when Tom hit that golf ball waaaaayyyyyy far away out in the field. Now what makes this particularly funny is that he wanted to Tom to go out into the field to get it! He was explaining it all to me when he turned to Tom and said, "I'll help you. You go up that big hill and I'll watch you." hahaha. We were both chuckling at that.

Before I knew it, I looked out in the back yard and Tom, bless his heart, had Nathan by the hand and they were headed out into the field. Katie, Abby and I just munched on tacos and watched them from the nice warm dining room. They kept going and going and going. I could see Nathan's hands and arms moving wildly like he was telling some great story on this adventure with his Uncle Tom. They grew smaller and smaller the farther out they went.

About 45 minutes later they started heading back in. Nathan's arms were still flailing crazily while they walked. I'm sure he talked Tom's ear off on that journey out and back.

Finally, they arrived back at the house and Nathan was so excited that they found that tiny golf ball. Tom eventually 'fessed up that he took a decoy ball to throw out there in case they didn't find the original. He's a smart man! But eventually they did find the original.

At around noon, we finally had completed our nugget-taco food fest and it was time for YiYi (that's grandma in the Rygh house) to arrive and what do you think was the first thing Nathan wanted to show her? You guessed it, the orange kitten hiding under the bed!

It was a fun morning and a great reminder of why God gives us children when we're young. Their energy is infectious but I was really thankful that I had the opportunity to take a nap this afternoon.

We love you Abby, Katie and Nathan! Can't wait til you come to play with us again.