Mornings are spent doing errands so that Jacob gets a ride. The park, the crafts stores, and the toy store have all been visited. We spend a couple hours a day outside playing in the backyard. Jacob is always asking for another ride in the afternoon, but with gas edging up towards $3/gallon again, I'm not real fond of aimless driving or going to a store just to go. His other favorite activity is to listen to his Barney and Wiggles songs on the computer, with the volume turned up as loud as it will go, and the subwoofer kicked on. You know what's sad? Barney and the Wiggles have more bass than most songs on the radio. Swear to God.
On Thursday we met up with some friends for a picnic in the park and some playing. After about an hour, Jacob was hot, tired, and bored so we kidnapped Brandon's friends and brought them home for a couple hours. Brandon was happy.
Today was a pretty good day, except for the up at 5am thing. Jacob wasn't happy about not being able to get a new dvd at Target, but he got over it pretty quick. I broke down and got McDonalds for lunch, which made the boys happy. To start the week, I gave Brandon a chore list that he could cross items off of everyday, and I'm pleased to report that he has actually done the items without too much of a fight. Except the watering of the plants. He swears he's watering really well twice a day, and has no idea why my plants are still drooping and dying. Tonight, Jacob was very content to just hang out in the backyard.
Rick and Brandon went down to the pool for Splash Night. It's a Meadows Place tradition to kick off the summer. T-shirt relays, Oreo stacking contests, lifeguard splash competitions, free bbq, swimming, etc. It's entirely too packed and chaotic for Jacob, so he and I have never gone. Tonight, there was also a town meeting, introducing Rick's baby:There is a street that passes through Meadows Place that has a bunch of unnecessary (by traffic engineer standards) stop signs. Rick figured out a way to take them all out and put in traffic circles (or roundabouts, as they are sometimes called). He planned it, engineered it, drafted it, presented it to leaders of surrounding communites and tonight took it live to the citizens at Splash Night. Personally, I'm not a fan of traffic circles, but I am very proud of him for his hard work. (He doesn't believe me, but I am.) Apparently, this is a status project for the city. The picture in the article is part of his drafting work. When he got home, he said that some people came in very negative, but after the power point presentations there were only a few negative comments. So, he was relatively pleased with the responses of the citizens.
