5/5/13
Laurie’s:
Marshmallow was declawed and spayed this week, and had to have all the fur shaved off her front legs and feet. Boyd saw her with her shaved front legs and said, “It looks like she’s wearing short sleeves.”
Rosie (looking in my closet): “You got cute shoes, Aunt Laurie.”
“Thank you, Rosie.”
“Lots of shoes.”
“Yep.”
“They’re nice shoes.”
“Thank you.”
“They’re amazing.”
“They’re amazing shoes?”
“Yeah!”
Ellie’s 2/7/13:
When the kids got home from school, Rosie dragged the snack bag back into the play room. I put a Buzz Lightyear ("doy dory") pez dispenser in there for her too, in addition to her Jessie. When Dwight saw it, he snatched it out of there ("whose is this?!") and of course, when Rosie noticed, she yelled at him. "Dop, Dite! Hey, gimme dat! Dat mine!" she said. (I don't need to translate that, do I?)
Later she wanted Dwight or Boyd to give her a cough drop (there was a bag sitting on the counter), but I said, "you can't eat those, honey, you'll choke." "Dat mine choke!" she insisted.
8/20/12
Becky’s:
First World Problem overheard at my house tonight: "Hey, no fair! She has more gigabytes than me!"
(It was Boyd who said it. He thought Elizabeth's iPod had more gigabytes than his - which it doesn't, but gosh, wouldn't life just be SO UNFAIR if it did?!?)
8/16/12 Becky’s:
Here's the conversation that just took place this morning:
DAD: I'll give you 20 bucks if you learn how to tie your shoes.
DWIGHT: What am I gonna do with 20 bucks?
DAD: You are so ridiculous! Ok, how 'bout this? No more computer until you learn to tie your shoes!
DWIGHT: Nah. I think I'll take the 20 bucks.
That is just so typical Dwight!! Maybe it loses something in the translation, maybe you had to hear his delivery, but I just thought that was so funny!
Boyd was telling Aunt Laurie about making eggnog.
Laurie: “Real eggnog? With raw eggs?”
Boyd: “Well, we cracked ‘em first.”
7/7/12 Ellie:
I just have to tell you something funny. Yesterday Rosie wanted to "wash hands?" in the kitchen sink while Mommy was fixing supper. I stood there with her so she wouldn't fall off, or grab a knife, or do something else dangerous. She was taking the cups and things from one side of the sink, "washing" them and then stacking them on the towel, just like Mommy does. She was "washing" something that was making a strange noise, and I peered over her shoulder and asked, "what the ...?" And she said, "heck?" Becky and I busted out laughing.
6/22/12 Ellie:
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I took some pictures of Dwight that showed him dancing with Piggy. Well, his screen name on something is now "Piggy Love." Ha ha ha! I asked him if this was a new love, and he said no, he's always liked bacon. Duh! Of course!
1/31/12 Marina:
We were just running a few errands. There was a lady walking 2 greyhounds. Saige said, "Look at the coyotes!" Hunter said, "No, those are giant chihuahuas!" I told them those are super fast racing dogs....like Secretariat was a racing horse. All was silent for about 10 seconds when Saige said, "Who rides them?" I busted out laughing. I ♥ my munchkins!
12/29/11 Ellie - “Sweet-ism”:
I just had to tell you something sweet Boyd said yesterday. The kids all got fuzzy blankets from Grammy and Granddad, and Boyd was playing with his blanket with Rose. She put it over her head and was knee-walking, dragging it along behind her. Thinking it would be funny, Boyd yanked the blanket off her, not realizing it would yank her with it. She fell backwards onto the floor. I don't think it hurt her as much as it scared her, and she cried with real tears.
After she calmed down (which didn't take long), Boyd was being silly, and said, "I'm trying to make her laugh so she'll forgive me." Isn't that so sweet?
10/24/11
The ladies (including big sister Elizabeth) had gone to a "hen party" at Eva's house.
The boys asked about it and wanted to know – “what do you call a men’s party?” Laurie said it’s called a “stag party.” Later Boyd asked his dad, “Dad, can we have a scab party?”
8/3/11 Marina: Our school lesson this morning started with Proverbs 9:10...The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. After asking the kids to explain and going into depth, Saige came running in at "recess" and said, "Momma, I am using wisdom! I am pushing Jaden nicely on the swing instead of knocking him onto the ground!" I ♥ that girl!
2/15/11
---Another Boydism:
When we went to Garcia's after church on Sunday, Boyd noticed the sign that advertised their "BYOB" night. He said, "hey, look, that's almost my name!"
1/17/11
Eric sent Laurie a new (used) laptop:
When the laptop arrived, Boyd asked me right away if he could have it? He started whining and crying, saying he really wanted a laptop. He really, really, really wanted one, and nobody ever gets him one, and it's not fair that he doesn't have one. Then after a little while, he asked me, since I have a new laptop now, can he have my ipod?
Just now he came in here and was asking me if I will order him a laptop. I asked him what am I supposed to use for money, and he said, "Order it from the computer." I said, well, I still have to pay for it, even if I order it from the computer, it won't be free, and what am I supposed to use for money to buy it? He said, "Can't you just use your computer points?" He is silly.
1/6/11 From Ellie:
I just got back home from Becky's, and I wanted to tell you a couple of funny things that Boyd said.
First, he was telling me about his friend Wheel. I said, "wheel like on a car?" NO! he shouted, "WHEEL." Then Becky explained, "his name is Will." Ooooohhhhh, now I get it, you gotta say it with a Southern accent, LOL.
The other thing is when he asked me to watch him play Poptropica and Jump Start on the computer. He took a break to do something, and when he came back he read the screen: "you have been eye dial for too long, click here to reconnect." Eye dial?? Yes, he was reading the word idle, hahahaha ...
12/25/10 Laurie:
Boyd saw the letters "BBQ" written on something tonight, and said, "I know what those letters stand for -- "Barbara-Q.")
12/22/10 Laurie:
I have to tell you guys about a funny conversation I had with Boyd this morning.
He saw a post-it with a note I had written on it, with a smiley face at the bottom of it, and he asked me, "Why do you always draw little faces whenever you write a note?" I said I didn't realize I did that, and Boyd said, "Yes, you always do that." He said the postcard Uncle Eric and I sent him from "Bigfoot Country" had a smiley face at the bottom of it. I didn't remember that, but he remembers that postcard very well -- he said he was excited when he got it, because I wrote on the postcard that I would put pictures of Bigfoot and the Buried A-frame on the Robinson Report.
Then he said, "Bigfoot isn't real, you know." I said, "Oh really? How do you know that?" He said, "It's just a bunch of guys running around in monkey suits, trying to scare people." I said, "Oh, okay, that makes sense."
And then I asked him, "But what about the Grizzly Flats Monster? Is he real?" He said, "NO! That's Uncle Eric!" I asked him, "How do you know that?" He said, "Don't you remember, at the cookout we had, when Uncle Eric was growling and chasing me and Dwight and Simon around, and tickling us? That was the Grizzly Flats Monster."
He is so funny ... and he is such a chatterbox sometimes!
12/13/10 Laurie:
I just wanted to tell you guys something funny -- Boyd and I just walked over to my house through what seemed like 2 or 3 feet of snow ... and man, it is bitter cold out there. (It's 15 degrees -- I just checked.) I was wearing 5 layers on top (including a thick sweater that I got at The Grab) and two layers on the bottom, and had Dave's hat on with the hoodie of my sweatshirt pulled over that, so my body didn't feel the cold too much. But my face was absolutely freezing. I said to Boyd, as we got close to my house, "I wish I had a scarf to wear over my face! My face is getting so cold!" And he said, "I wish I had a brain scarf! My whole head is cold!" hahaha!!!
9/20/10
Ellie writes:
I wanted to tell you something cute that Boyd said yesterday, I hope I can get it right. He was sitting next to Becky on the couch, reading his library book to her (a book about Librarians, LOL), and read this line: "I need a book about raising chickens."
He exclaimed to his mom, "that's not right! Chickens don't wear helmets!"
Huh?
"There's no such thing as racing chickens, they don't wear helmets!"
7/31/10 Stacey Lane writes: Gotta love the kids doin chores!! Dylan cleaned the tub yesterday and said "I don't like cleaning Mom, I LOVE it". WOO HOO :)
7/31/10 from Marina:
When I tucked Hunter into bed tonight, he got teary-eyed and said, "I'm sorry Momma." I thought oh no... what now. He said, " I'm sorry, but I think I love God more than you." Of course I started crying and said, "That's good! You are supposed to love God more than ANYONE!" Moments like this make all the hard times irrelevant.
7/30/10 Ellie writes: We were watching some Wallace & Gromit movies yesterday, and on one of them, Boyd asked me, "How come they're not saying anything?" When I didn't answer, he answered himself: "I guess it's because it's speak-less."
1/5/10
Each Sunday during Advent, for children's story time during worship service, Carol told the kids a portion of the Christmas story, building the excitement from week to week. One Sunday, she brought in some photos she'd printed off the internet, showing what Bethlehem looks like in modern times, as well as a manger, typical of what might have been used during the time of Jesus' birth, and a cave carved into the side of a hill, which might have been used as a stable in Bible times.
The kids were fascinated by the photos, and little Savannah seemed especially surprised at the photo of Bethlehem, asking incredulously, "This is what it looks like today?" (Carol responded laughingly, "Well, they didn't have cameras back in those days, so yes, this is what it looks like today.")
The kids had a lot of questions for Carol, including this one, which left her speechless: "Were there bars?" When Carol explained that the shepherds were most likely young boys of 10 to 12 years old, little Katie was surprised at that fact. She said, "Oh! I thought they would be about 41."
On another Sunday, Carol's dad John told the children's story, and started out by reviewing what the kids had been learning in previous weeks. He asked the kids, "Does anybody remember who Joseph was?" Little Will raised his hand and said, "Yes, he was in love with Mary!"
11/2/09
Aunt Laurie writes:
Elizabeth cleaned her room without being asked, and her mom was astonished. She said, as she peeked in the door, "Dost mine eyes deceive me?" Later, she was again expressing her amazement at Elizabeth's good deed and Elizabeth said, "Yeah and you said you needed to 'dust your eyes'."
One night we were doing some "Mad Libs" (Boyd calls them "Mad Livs") and at one point I asked Elizabeth to give me a body part to fill in the blank, and she said, "Dwight's foot." Hilarity ensued, and "Dwight's foot" was used several times as nouns or as body part words.
Then I asked Boyd for a body part for a story, and he surprised me by answering "Uvula." I busted out laughing and asked him, "How do you even know that word??" Becky answered for him, "By watching Wierd Al," and Boyd said, "Yeah, when I was little I didn't know what that meant."
Then a few minutes later, I needed another body part, and it was Boyd's turn again, and this time he said, "Dwight's uvula!" (That's something you don't hear every day.) We all laughed hysterically at that!!
This morning when the kids were leaving for school, I said to Dwight, "I hope you and your uvula have a good day at school today!"
9/22/09
Becky tells about one time when "the kids were all eating some bacon for breakfast and Boyd picked up a piece of nice crispy bacon and said, 'Bacon! Buh-buh-buh-bacon! Bacon starts with B!' Then he started to wave the piece of bacon around but because it was crispy, it snapped and fell on the floor. Dwight looked at it and said, 'B also stands for "Bummer, I dropped my bacon."' Maybe you had to be there, but it was so funny at the time!"
5/5/09
When Ellie was babysitting for Becky, one of the kids said something that made her think of the line from "Young Frankenstein" - so Ellie said, "Put. The candle. Back." (a la Teri Garr). To Aunt Ellie's amazement, Bishy said, "I saw that movie. We watched that when Aunt Laurie was here."
"Hannah Mantenna"
Becky writes:
We were driving past the big cell phone tower and Boyd said, “That’s a big Hannah Montenna.” I said, “What??” He repeated, “That’s a big Hannah Montenna.” I said, “Um … okay. Who told you that?” He said, “Dad told me, he said that was a big Hannah Montenna.” I busted out laughing once I realized that Dave must have told him that it was a “big antenna”, and Boyd must’ve associated it with Hannah Montana!
Yesterday, we got our new baby chicks from the 4-H people and they are all black. Dave told me that Dwight said the chicks are “African American” chicks. Bwhahahaha! I about wet my pants when Dave told me what Dwight said!
One time when Aunt Ellie was babysitting she brought Boyd over to her house to ask I.D. to go with them over to Mom and Dad's new house (to flip over the thermostat to be sure it was working), Boyd said to Guy Dee, "I got a new libary book! It's Flanklin's Valentime." (He loves Franklin the bear.)
5/2/09
One day when Boyd's foot fell asleep he told Aunt Ellie, "My foot is sizzling."
3/5/09
Another time, when Aunt Ellie came to dinner wearing shorts, Boyd said, "Hey! You're wearing short-sleeved pants today!"
Before Christmas, Dwight was watching the classic movie "Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas" and there was a line in the movie about being "born again." Dwight informed his mom, "When you're born, that's the first time. When you're born again it's from God."
9/30/08
Boyd and Aunt Ellie were looking at Brooke and Ashlyn's Virtual Photo Album and they were laughing at the above silly picture which was included. Looking at the picture of "Ellie and I.D." in the stroller at Disney, Boyd said, "that's when you were little, right?"
Marina told something funny about Hunter. They'd been discussing names for the new baby, and if it's a boy, Hunter wants to name him Wyatt. Of course, neither Adam nor Marina are fond of that idea, because to them, Wyatt is Tony and Jessica's dog. (Ellie said, "yeah but, Becky has a nephew named Wyatt." She probably didn't want to hear that.)
Then she said to Hunter, "what if it's not a boy? What should we name it if it's a girl?" Well, he didn't want to hear that, of course, he wants a brother. So, he said, if it's a girl, "we'll name her Stick."
8/7/07
At Grizzly Flats Community Church's VBS this summer, "Miss Sharon" taught the primary-age children about the six days of Creation, among other things. Laurie's 13-year-old nephew Charlie assisted Sharon, holding up 6 small plastic globes representing each of the six days and what was created on each of those days. Sharon finally came to the sixth day, when God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind." She asked the children, "Can you think of some examples of animals which appeared on this day?" Hands went up and the kids gave answers like, "Cows," "Dogs," "Horses," etc. Then Marshall, age 8, raised his hand, and his answer was, "Bigfoot!"
While visiting in Santa Barbara this summer, "Uncle Grizzly" (Eric) was telling his 4-1/2-year-old nephew Nate about a time when he, "Frampet" (Eric's dad, & Nate's grandpa), and Frampet's dog Happy were walking in the woods around Uncle Grizzly's cabin, after dark. Suddenly, Happy sensed something, and took off running toward the house. Uncle Grizzly said that he and Frampet got a little scared, and one of them said, "Happy must know something we don't know!" and they took off running back to the house, too. Nate's eyes were wide and he asked, "What was it??" and Uncle Grizzly said, "We don't know! It might have been a bear, or a bobcat, or maybe it was the Grizzly Flats Monster!" Nate wisely replied, "No, it couldn't have been the Grizzly Flats Monster. Because you were right there!"
7/12/07
While Elizabeth was in Florida visiting her grandparents, Ellie and I.D. came to Florida for a few days. When she got back home she stopped over at Becky's house. Dwight said, "Did you see Bishy when you were in Florida?" Ellie told him, "yes! she's so cute!" And Dwight said, "No, I mean Bishy."
6/26/07
Elizabeth was talking to her Grandma while she was cooking chicken wings for Tom's shop.
Bishy: "I know all the chicken parts - chicken wings, chicken legs, chicken thighs...that's all."
Grandma: "And there's chicken breasts, chicken backs, chicken necks, chicken tails, - uh, chicken heads..."
Bishy: "No, that would hurt - 'cause their sharp beaks."
5/17/07
The morning after Dwight's recent haircut, Becky was getting him ready for school and she noticed that he must have been playing with the scissors and cut a gouge out of the middle of his newly buzzed head. She said, "Hey! Did you cut your hair with those scissors last night?!?!" He looked up at her innocently with his big blue eyes and said, "No! It just fell out by itself! For real!" Becky said, "Uh huh," with much skepticism.
5/14/07
Becky was noticing how grubby Dwight's neck was (he had just got a new haircut, making it more obvious) so she tried her "old trick" of putting ordinary hand lotion all over his neck before getting him into the tub. It makes it much easier to scrub the grubbies away. She was explaining to him why she was putting lotion on his neck and then she explained it again when she was scrubbing his neck. After he was done with his bath, he was watching the water go down the drain and he pointed and said, "Look, Mom! It did work, there's my skin in the water! Look! There's one of my freckles!" (It must have been only a speck of dirt, but he thought she'd scrubbed off one of his freckles.)
Dwight says a lot of funny things unintentionally, but when he is trying to be funny all he does is say "Banana!" He just thinks it's hilarious to say "banana" for everything. "What time is it?" "Banana!" "Where are you going?" "Banana!" "What do you want to watch?" "Banana!" That's the extent of his comedy routine.
4/25/07
When Bishy was in church with Aunt Ellie, a lady shook Bishy's hand (during the "fellowship" time) and said to her, "you're a cutie pie!" Then Bish said to Ellie, "I'm not a cat!" What!! "She called me a kitty!" Ellie had to tell her no, she didn't say kitty, she said cutie.
And Elizabeth used to think the name of her school was "Gracie Cat" (it was Grace Academy).
5/1/07
A Sunday School teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beating, robbed, and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up."
I asked the kids in Sunday School "What is a deliverer?" Romeo (who had come in late and was not there for the lesson) said, "It's a person who brings your mail." Later I asked if they know what "sin" means - and Romeo's sister, Alexandria answered, "It's like when you mail a letter." (You send it.) They must have had the post office on their minds that day.
4/23/07
You know those standardized tests that kids have to take in school now? In Tennessee it's called "T-CAP." The other day Dwight was talking about it - telling Aunt Ellie that Bishy had to take "the teacup test."
Another time he came up to Aunt Ellie and told her, "I know where black-eyed peas come from." Oh? Where? "From eyes." Well, it makes sense doesn't it?
The kids found a Barbie doll that Ellie had (still in the box - Ellie had bought it with the intention of making some Barbie clothes for Elizabeth's Barbies) and Elizabeth wanted to keep it. Ellie let her take it, after she promised to let her borrow it back if she ever needed it to make Barbie clothes someday. Elizabeth was admiring the bathing suit on it, and said to Ellie, "You know, if you ever want to dress in fashion, you have to lose weight first." Gee, really? Thanks for the info, Bish. (At least she didn't tell me, "my dad says you're really fat!" - like she did before)
1/4/07
Elizabeth was asking questions like "how do I get to heaven?" and Becky told her "by believing in Jesus." "Well, what if a person doesn't believe in Jesus?" Becky was afraid if she told her "they go to hell" that Elizabeth would go to school the next day telling everyone they were going to hell, so she evaded the answer, and Bish said, "they just stay in their graves?" (which is actually where they will be until they are finally resurrected to go into the lake of fire) And Becky said yes. Then Elizabeth asked, "Are you a skeleton in heaven?"
Elizabeth said she went to see the movie, "Wallet and Grommis."
8/28/06
Aunt Ellie was babysitting Dwight and Boyd. While they were there I.D. called - and Dwight wanted to know who it was, and then "what did he want?" To let me know he was going to pick up a car. "What kind of car?" A Chevy Cobalt. Then Boyd, who'd been listening intently, came over and said to Ellie with a serious expression on his face, "What he shay?" That he's going to pick up a car. "Oh, okay."
Then Boyd wanted to watch his Elmo movie, and at the beginning there's a scene with Bert and Ernie - with Ernie coming on first. Dwight said, "Who's that?" Ernie. "Oh, that's right. Ernie and... Journey?" Ellie managed not to laugh out loud - No, it's Ernie and Bert. "Oh, that's right."
That reminded Ellie of a little girl, Leanna, who she had taught in Cubbies. When she was teaching the kids about creation and the first people God made, Leanna said - "Eve and...Steve." They know there are two names that "go together," but if they don't say them in the right order, they can't remember.
7/24/06
Dwight was in the store with his mom and Grandma. They went to check out in two lines, Dwight was in Grandma's cart and she was teasing him. He said, "Stop it - you're annoying me." His Mom was in the next checkout line and he heard her say, "There's a cute little boy in here." Dwight said, "It's me." Well who else could she be talking about?
7/16/06
Riding in the car with her Grandparents, Elizabeth warned them, "Don't ever joke me - 'cause I'm the queen and nobody tells me what to do. I'm the queen and I tell everybody what to do."
Elizabeth noticed the label on a can of Dr. Pepper: "This pop is healthy because it has zero grams of fat - and it has cherries in it."
7/9/06
Visiting with her family in Akron, Elizabeth passed by the air dock and commented, "There's the plump area. That's where they make the plumps."
5/31/06
Ginny asked her granddaughter McKenzi "What would you do, if you
couldn't come to Gigis"? Answer: "I would go to Nanny's ("Nanny" is her great-grandmother, Fran - who lives across the street from Ginny) or the other Great Grandmother" Says Fran: she has it all figured out.
Elizabeth's mom had put her initials "EGH" on her socks. A little boy in her class at school noticed the letters on her socks and commented "Your socks say 'egg' on them."
Becky said, "Well he must not know how to spell 'egg'."
Elizabeth: "Yes he does. But he thinks YOU don't."
The little boy's name is Thomas.
5/6/06
While watching a video about kids on the beach, Elizabeth informed her aunt Ellie, "Sometimes people wear jeans and shirts when they're on the beach because they don't want to get cold. It's because bathing suits don't have sleeves."
11/8/05
At the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle, there is a full-size mockup of an F/A18 fighter. A ramp allows visitors to climb into the cockpit and get a sense of what the pilot sees and feels.
A guide at the top of the ramp points out the various controls and gauges in the cockpit and gives information about the aircrafts's capabilities to each visitor who gets in.
A little two-year-old boy sat down in the plane, and seemed fascinated by all he saw and heard. Then he looked out and said, "Grandma, can I have a quarter?"
10/25/05
On a trip to Disneyland with her Dad, a four-year-old girl couldn't wait to get on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. As the car zoomed through the crazy rooms, into the path of a speeding train, and through the walls that fell away at the last second, she clutched the little steering wheel in front of her.
When the ride was over, she said to her dad a little shakily, "Next time, you drive. I didn't know where I was going."
A young boy went to the store with his grandmother. On the way home, he looked at the items she had purchased. He found a package of panty hose and began to sound out the words "queen size."
Excited, the boy turned to his grandmother and exclaimed, "Look, Grandma! You wear the same size as your bed."
(GCFL - 8/23/05)
Elizabeth doesn't like to talk on the phone. Grandma told her she didn't like to talk on the phone either. Then Elizabeth said, "Well, you gotta try to practice." Grandma responded, "Hey, you're telling me!?!
Another time Grandpa overheard Elizabeth playing and when she noticed that he was listening to her, she said, "Grandpa you're not supposed to hear. Old people can't hear very much."
2/20/05
Dwight: "What happen to dis crayon?"
Elizabeth: "Someone bwoke it - I didn't bwoke it."
Dwight: "Who did?"
Elizabeth: "Must be the mean guy."
Dwight was wearing a hat.
Elizabeth: "You look funny."
Dwight: "I don't look funny."
Elizabeth: "I mean - you look awful cute."
Riding in the car, Elizabeth shouted to her Mom: "Mom, Dwight's screaming."
Becky: "Well, you're yelling."
Elizabeth: "No I didn't...Well, that's why I wanted you to hear me."
Here are some actual comments left on Forest Service comment cards by backpackers completing wilderness camping trips:
"Escalators would help on steep uphill sections."
"Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands."
"Instead of a permit system or regulations, the Forest Service needs to reduce worldwide population growth to limit the number of visitors to wilderness."
"Found a smoldering cigarette left by a horse."
Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill."
"Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them."
"Reflectors need to be placed on trees every 50 feet so people can hike at night with flashlights."
"Need more signs to keep area pristine."
"A McDonald's would be nice at the trail head."
"The places where trails do not exist are not well marked."
"Too many rocks in the mountains."
(Contributed by Allecia Dial - 3/23/04)
After watching the movie Cinderella, five-year-old Sarah started using her pinwheel as a magic wand, pretending she was a fairy godmother. "Make three wishes," she told her mother, "and I'll grant them."
Her mom first asked for world peace. Sarah swung her wand
and proclaimed the request fulfilled.
Next, her mother requested a cure for all ill children.
Again, with a sweep of the pinwheel, Sarah obliged.
The mother, with a glance down at her rather ample curves,
made her third wish: "I wish to have a trim figure again."
The miniature fairy godmother started waving her wand madly.
"I'll need more power for this!" she exclaimed.
(GCFL 2/3/06)
January, 2006
1/11/06 When Grammy, Granddad, Aunt Diane and baby Wyatt were visiting in Tennessee one day they let Becky watch baby Wyatt. When Elizabeth came home from school they hadn't come home yet and Becky was busy with all three boys. Elizabeth called Aunt Ellie about 4 o'clock or so and said, "Hello, Ellie? this is Elizabeth. Can I come over? Mom says she has a full hand."
---
One day as Elizabeth was taking out her pigtail bands she said, "I want to take out my pony pigs."
"The Name Game"
December, 2005
Aunt Ellie and Uncle I.D. took Dwight with them to the annual Volunteer Firefighter Department banquet. He chattered away excitedly all the way into town, asking question after question. It went someting like..."Why are those lights red? Why are those lights yellow? Airplanes have lights so they won't run into each other, and helicopters have lights. There's a truck, no wait, that's just the trailer. Why did he leave that trailer there all by itself? Maybe somebody will come and take it. Red light means stop, yellow light means slow down and green light means go. Why does that truck have yellow lights?" When Ellie told him Uncle I.D. calls those yellow lights "chicken lights" he was fascinated and then kept watching for another truck to go by that had chicken lights, and would say "that car doesn't have any, it only has white lights."
Brenda came to the banquet and sat with them. She asked Dwight, "Where's Elizabeth?" - congratulating herself for remembering her name right. Then one of the volunteer firefighters came over and asked Dwight what his name was. His little head dropped, and he quietly answered her. She said, "Blake?" - so he piped up a little louder and corrected, "My name is Dwight." (Blake, Drake, whatever...)
November, 2005
Dwight came out of children's church with a fist-full of papers labelled "Drake." At first his mom and Aunt Ellie thought he had the wrong papers, but then the teacher explained that's what they thought Dwight said when they asked him his name. And he didn't try to correct them. (Maybe he felt something like his grandmother did when her third grade teacher thought her name was "Lulu" - after all, she's the teacher - she must be right. So she answered to "Lulu" for a few weeks - until her dad found out and corrected the teacher.)
On Thanksgiving, when everyone was gathered at the traditional dinner in I.D.'s garage, Brenda was going on and on about "Samantha" and everyone was listening politely - until she said something that made them realize she was really talking about Elizabeth. Elizabeth must look like a "Samantha" to her because even after they corrected her she kept doing it. Finally Elizabeth said, "I don't care if she wants to call me Samantha." Then it became a joke - Becky's children, Samantha and Drake.
Elizabeth went over to her Aunt Ellie's house after school and informed her, "I only have eleven more years of school and then I'm done!" Then she counted backward from eleven to zero and said, "Then I can come over here every day! Except when you need a break from kids. Daddy says you need a break from kids sometimes." (Ellie says, "It would be nice if she still felt that way once she graduates from high school, but I'm not gonna count on it.)
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One day when Aunt Ellie was looking at the newspaper, Elizabeth noticed the crossword puzzle in it, and gasped, "Hey! This is the kind Grandma likes! You need to send this to Grandma!" (But Ellie told her that Grandma already gets that paper in the mail so she didn't need to send it.)
October, 2005
Elizabeth was excited when she saw her baby brother, Boyd, standing alone for the first time. She asked, "Is he a real person now?"
September, 2005
When she learned that her Grammy and Granddad were coming for a visit, Elizabeth excitedly rushed over after school to tell her Aunt Ellie about it. She said, "Somebody's coming, somebody you've never met before! It's Grammy and Granddad! Wanna have dinner with us?"
When Ellie said that Grammy and Granddad might want to "have her all to themselves" Elizabeth didn't know what she meant and kept insisting that "you and your husband need to come to dinner with us."
8/22/05
When Elizabeth gets off the school bus a little neighbor boy, Ryan, also gets off at the same place. One day Elizabeth was telling her Aunt Ellie about a house at the top of their street where "two big boys get off the bus..." and then she said, "and another big boy gets off the same time as me." Ellie thought that must be Ryan but Elizabeth didn't know his name. So Ellie asked her, "Does he have blonde hair?" and Elizabeth answered, "no, it's short." She and Dwight must think "blonde" means "long."
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Dwight has an imaginary friend called "Hanjo." One day he was wanting to "go to Hanjo's house." He kept on saying it over and over and over, and Becky and Dave were ignoring him, until finally they said, "well, we don't know where he lives." So Dwight said, "You turn left."
Dave wanted to go to Lowe's anyway, so he took Dwight with him, and they took their time so they could "look for Hanjo's house" - and drove around on some roads "looking" for it. That finally satisfied Dwight. At least they'd tried to find Hanjo's house. (And did you know that Hanjo's birthday is the same day as Boyd's?)
Dwight was also asking Becky to "call Hanjo's mommy" and find out where they live. When Becky said "I don't have the number," he'd whine, "noooooo, I said, call Hanjo's mommy."
Don't you wonder sometimes what goes on in their little brains?
8/12/05
Dwight drew a picture for his Daddy when he was in Florida and wanted to mail it. He made Becky put it in the "tunnel" (the big blue mailbox outside the post office) - even though it wasn't in an envelope. But of course he doesn't understand how having a stamped and addressed envelope is essential. Becky tried to surreptitiously keep it in her hand and not let it actually go down the "tunnel" but he was watching her too intently, and she had to "mail" it. So, Dave will never see it - and some mail sorter in Nashville will get a giggle.
Dwight was telling his Aunt Ellie about the picture he mailed to Daddy, "because I love him very much."
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Shortly after Elizabeth and her family moved to Tennessee she was at her Aunt Ellie's house around supper time and she wanted to know if Ellie had any hotdogs and if she and Dwight could eat supper there. Ellie said they better ask their mom first, maybe she'd already planned supper. So Dwight said he'd call her, and Elizabeth helped by dialing the number for him. (Up until this time Elizabeth had a strong aversion to talking on the phone - she never would talk on the phone herself.) Ellie could hear Dwight saying in his teeny little voice, "hello, Mommy? can we eat hotdogs here?" and Elizabeth was bouncing up and down watching, and asking "what did she say, what did she say" - and finally she said to him, "here, let me talk to her" - and to Ellie's amazement, she actually talked on the phone!!! She heard her say proudly to her mom, "I'm not shy anymore!"
After she hung up, she was so excited that she'd actually done it, that she wanted to do it again. So she had to think up some reason why she "had" to call - and when Becky answered the phone, Elizabeth said, "Hi, it's me Elizabeth talking on the phone again."
7/30/05
Laurie and Eric went to Alice and George's wedding rehearsal, so Eric could take pictures. (Laurie commented to Pastor Bob, "Boy, going through a wedding rehearsal is sure a lot easier and less stressful, when you're not the one getting married!!") Afterward they all went to The Pizza Factory for dinner, where they also celebrated George's birthday. While waiting for the pizza to arrive, Laurie admired the pretty yellow flowers adorning Alice's granddaughter Alyssa's hair. She pulled the flowers out and showed them to her, saying, "It's actually a lei, that I twisted up to hold my ponytail." Laurie told her that she has a lei that actually lights up, that Eric brought back for her from Hawaii a few weeks ago. Alyssa's 9-year-old brother Jarrett astutely observed, "But you would rather have had the experience."
7/4/05
Dwight was playing with his toy cars at Grandma's house while she was sitting on the couch working crossword puzzles. She thought maybe she could take a little nap if she went in the other room to sit in her recliner with her feet propped up. But Dwight followed her into the other room and brought all his cars along and began lining them up and arranging them on another chair in that room. (Dwight plays with his little cars for hours arranging and re-arranging them.)
Dwight looked over at his Grandma and said, "When you were awake you were doin' your pencil job. Why were you doin' it?" That's when Grandma realized that working crossword puzzles is her JOB! Dwight doesn't see it as goofing off, it is Grandma's work! Just like his lining up and arranging his toy cars is HIS work.
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