Year 3, June 4th-5th, 2018: The Big 1-6!

We have arrived!  We have a newly minted 16 year old!  Now, how on earth did THAT happen?!  Not sure, but it did, and we celebrated him.  He slept over his friend's house on Sunday night, and stayed awake until 2:30am, way beyond his 12:07am actual birth time.  Then yesterday he met up with friends at the mall and then at a movie for the afternoon.  Grandpa, and the rest of us, picked him up from the movie theater and went out for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.  The kids have never been there actually, and it's been a good 8 years since I've been there.  Benaiah was so tired from the weekend, that he doesn't remember any of the conversations we had with him on the van ride home that night.  #adulting is what we call having a busy weekend and week ahead.  Today he slept in until 1 PM!!!!  He went to bed probably around 1am, which is normal.

Well, the kid is normal, and I could say all kinds of awesome things about him, which, come to think of it, I have recently.  So go check out those blog posts.  Meanwhile, I'm overwhelmed with what I want to accomplish this summer, managing a 3 yr old, and just life, and part of it is trying to come up with words when said teenager is having a "who can insult the other the worst" party with his friend over a phone "app." (like Skype, except it's not).  So, hm,...teenagers,....maturing or not? The jury is still out on that one.  I try to just watch the goings on and be available to help because it's very interesting watching them flip flop from say not doing something well last year to chewing on their brother who took over the job this year.  Benaiah has heart, and he has the raw potential to be an "influencer." (Grandparents, that's a buzz word with the young people, which basically means the people that you look up to, especially over social media).  But he's got to work on delivery.  He's trying, but not quite there yet.  At least I have him for a few more days until he starts working at Chick-Fil-A, which I may or may not have mentioned last time.  Actually, no, I didn't!  I did announce it on social media, but he found out yesterday that yes, they want him.  He goes for orientation this next Monday.  This shall get very interesting, especially with transportation.  We've already have had to reevaluate expectations of how much we can drive him now that he has a bit more freedom.  And thankfully, he already knows that he needs to bum rides from friends, even if they live far out of the way.  He's one kid and we have energy for 1 or 2 main activities.  Sorry, I need to stay home more, not less.  That's why this summer is so important to get things organized properly.  So NO to brown boxes! But then I get overwhelmed with all the days I run errands, some of which are my fault.

Anyway, Mr. Guinea Pig, I'm glad you are accommodating and smart and working with us, not against us.  We'll get through this, even when we have to backtrack and put up a boundary we didn't have before.  Live and learn, right? And pray that they are only minor things we mess up on, like leaving him without a way to get in touch with us yesterday at the mall.  A friend's mom brought it up to me and I was like, "Whoops, yes, what if he doesn't meet up with his friends when I drop him off at the door?"  So, new rule, get a phone or we won't be dropping you off anyplace.  And no, I'm not taking 3 other kids out of the van just so he can meet up with his friends.  Nope, nada.  It was ok for me to drive him there yesterday because I had just enough time, but I need that time at home, too.  45 minute round trips is a luxury, NOT essential.  We have enough social opportunities at church and in the township all within 15 minutes, and most within 5-10.  Nope, I protect my time fiercely because I have 3 others that need me.  That's why group activities is so important in large families.  That's where you choose one activity like gymnastics or basketball and the whole family does it.  Kind of like the Henry's and Bible Bowl.  Kind of like us when we do youth group and choir on Sunday nights.  That's why my homeschool group has been meeting on Sunday nights.  Sunday is such a "wash" day for us because it's not our sabbath, it's our social day and it's non stop.  But Saturdays are days I need for projects because Jared is home.  Except we've been busy every weekend.  Say no to activities.  Say no for the summer and then we can pick up again in the fall.  That's my mantra.  Say no.

Bonus story! So Gary knocks on our door fairly early, around 8, and thankfully we were already into breakfast.  He was looking for the birthday boy!  No one told him that Benaiah went to Ethan's (nor did we really need to).  He wanted to give Benaiah a hug and birthday spankings, and talk about mowing his lawn.  And then the very next thing he said was, "Well, what about birthday supper?" with a little disappointment in his voice.  I told him that Benaiah and I knew you would ask that exact question and that you would want to do it on the exact date, so we compromised and made it a dessert night instead.  Grandma wasn't there because she went to a graduation.  I just think it's fun when we can predict what Grandpa is going to say and do.  Sometimes, those quirks have become inside jokes and eye rolls because he's human and it's fun.  We anticipated his wanting to be with the birthday boy and made a plan.  What a funny moment to have him pretty much storm into the house looking for Benaiah and discovering he asn't there.  Another Gary moment happened the next day when he was trying to be "neighborly" and wanted Jared to take down his "experiment" of leaving one stem of the bush that the other tree was growing into and seeing if it will regrow on its own.  This time Leah stepped in and said, "It's their yard.  Let them be."  Some days, there's more John Johnson in Gary than he thinks there is.  John Johnson being his dad, who was very particular about everything, including counting out nails and screws to give to his boys when they were working.  That comes a bit from being a part of the Great Depression and a part from the personality that is OCD or perfectionist.  It's fun to watch how people change as they age.  Some quirks become less and some become much more obvious.  I love it!  Except when I am just like my mother in both good and bad ways.  I don't love the quirks that comes with all of that.  But I digress....

Meanwhile, here's what the others and I did the last two days:

One last homeschool Poke'mon meeting of the year.  They meet in the summer, but at someone's house on the northside, and to be honest, I'm not really fond of this family and feel no obligation to go.  We might not even do Poke'mon club next year.  Again, I want to say no more often.  Meanwhile, we were driving downtown and Abishai goes "My downtown! My favorite big buildings!" Of all my kids, he's been downtown more often in the last year or two than all the kids had been in the 10 years we lived here before PEI if you count each person's individual trips.  Yes, we've been downtown a lot!  And Abishai loves the biggest one, which is now the SafeSource building.  It's a company I've never heard of before.  The Bank One and KeyBank are it's previous names.  Ok, then.

Yeah, my favorite wild animal show guy!  Christian family, super fun, I support them 110%!

That's cool, too!  They have a TON of stuff going on during the summer for the kids at this location, including stuff that well, I would not want them attending like "drag queen story time."  Um, for sure no! But, that's just one little thing.  There's so much BETTER stuff here than so many places.  We are not doing the reading program this year because we don't need to encourage kids to read just to get cheap prizes.  Nope.

I love these in floor displays!  This one is on down syndrome!

Some kids bring Poke'mon cards, but today someone brought a laptop.  It was a good sized crowd of actual card players and less time devoted to chasing younger siblings.

Clifford!

This library is gorgeous!  I can't believe we spent most of our Indianapolis years not making the effort to come down here!  This is just the atrium!  I know that I've taken and shared photos before but it might be awhile before we get back here, so I made sure to take lots of photos just in case.

Those windows look into the old library.

I'm not sure how I conditioned the kids to ask for snacks as soon as we have gotten somewhere, but alas I have.  Maybe because it keeps them occupied.  I allowed Abishai to eat raisins and a fruit snack in the kid area we meet in, but not the granola bar.  So we came over to the cafe' area for our snack.

6 floors total!

The Cat in the Hat (white mocha raspberry) made with OAT milk.  Yes, oats!  It was fantastic and barely upset my stomach (the coffee itself does that).  Plus, she was the sweetest barista ever!  The drink was $4 though, so it's a treat like going to Starbucks.  I appreciate having it IN the library and not having to bring it into the library.  You can drink in the library if you have a lid, and not near the computers.  Plus my snack to help settle my stomach.  I'm addicted to these glorified granola bars because they are gluten free.

Wait, you were supposed to be playing Pokemon! Not video games!  But they had a grand time and Justin was teased a ton by other kids about his loudness.  It is the library you know.  Sssshhhh.....

Beautiful downtown skyline looking south.

"My favorite "billdin' Mommy!" - Abishai

Look over there!  That's the garage!  I love all the glass windows!  And those are newer, hipper apartments across the alley.

Sweet!

Now for the original part of the building.  I hadn't been upstairs in it because I knew it was very, very quiet and not really a place for kids.  But I made in effort this time, again, just in case I don't get another chance.  It's so stately!

One section of this area is for books written in foreign languages.  Not books to teach you foreign languages but actually IN a foreign language.  Like Polish, or German, or Korean.

Just one of the upstairs hallways on either end of the hall.  A huge room with tables is to the left, and the stairs going down to the lobby are on the right.

Wow!

Books up stairs and downstairs.

It was renovated not that long ago.  I think it said in the 90's perhaps.  They have several placards but I didn't read them.

Gorgeous old chandelier.

At the top of the staircases were these incredible urn looking feature.

The kids loved this huge lighted up globe!  They were looking up New Orleans and places from video games I think.  Abishai just spun them.

Empty shelves? Why? Well, I'm sure it just has to do with the book sections they decided to put back into this area.  I don't think it's sad because imagine how full these were before the newer area was built and that's 100x bigger than here!  The 6 floors of the "newer" library is probably 50 years old or something. I have no idea actually.  But I am impressed with our collection, which isn't all housed here but at the 25 or so other locations around the city.  It's an incredible resource.  And that's why I wasn't happy filling out a survey that specifically stated "we aren't looking to charge a few for services" and yet, was all about that topic, send to me from the library.  It asked if and how much I would be willing to pay for library services.  Um, none.  I believe it should be free to all and paid for by taxes.  If you only allow wealthy patrons to have access or have vouchers for the poor, which most will not bother to fill out, we will continue to grow the chasm between the rich and the poor in this country.  The only way anyone can better their position in life is to be educated, and have access to resources like the internet so they can search for jobs or get some training.  It's evident at this location that a lot of people come here via public transportation and come from the poorer populations.  Everyone deserves EASY access to books!

Korean books.

The west upper room is dedicated to black literature and culture.  Yes, in this #blacklivesmatter and #blue(police)livesmatter cultural divide, we divide ourselves further by a) calling it "black" instead of "African American" and b) focusing on it so much! Can we have a "white history month" or a room dedicated to "white culture?"  But anyways, that's political commentary fodder.  I think it is neat that they can come here and feel like people like them have done great things so surely they can.  So, it had tables and chairs, but there's an exact same room on the east side of the 2nd floor of the original building.

Justin noticed the cool clock that looks like Africa on this monument.

Black culture was well represented in this room ia these posters and portraits of locally famous black people.

I didn't get a chance to really enjoy this because....

Someone thought the "lanes" made by the book shelves were perfect for stroller racing.  Oi!

Wow!  I'm not sure what decades these are from or represent, and I don't know why they are covered with padding, but they look so stately and old!

View from where we walked through and the outside windows.  There's a whole page on the website dedicated to how and when you can do photo shoots in here.  They are pretty common, and you do have to get a special permit and not bring in a huge amount of equipment.  Tons of guidelines.  However, this would be a place I would do family portraits in.  It's so elegant!

There he goes off to one of his first times without parents on his own meeting up with friends AT THE MALL.  He would have let me walk him in but I didn't want to unbuckle Abishai and I needed to get back for my chiropractor appointment.  He was safe, but we learned some things for next time.

In the afternoon, hanging under the garage overhang is the perfect place to play because it's so shaded and if there's a breeze, you can feel it.  He brought all these trucks out here to play with and then sang songs to himself about them.

A deadbeat tired 16 yr old with a little dish of ice cream.  Justin got a waffle bowl.

So did Keturah.  At cold stone creamery you pick your base ice cream flavor and then you can add one mix in for free and then pay for others.  They take your scoops of ice cream, put them on an ultra cooled cutting board, and then manual mix in whatever you asked for.   A special treat with a special price.  We had to have dessert with Grandpa because Benaiah had just gotten out of the movie and Grandma was gone to a graduation.

Give the kid an ice cream and he'll be wired for two hours.  He ate a very small supper, so this time, he actually did eat all his ice cream.  He can be hit and miss what he will eat.  He wouldn't touch ice cream at Mrs. Curl's and he often doesn't touch cake and cupcakes at home.

Finishing up his huge waffle bowl.

Benaiah tried to hold onto Abishai, but he as being a slippery eel.

Yummy birthday cake ice cream waffle bowl.

The kids got really excited when they remembered this was here!  We had one just like it at the park by our condo.  We went to the park after ice cream so Abishai could get his energy out.  He had also been jipped earlier in the day when I wanted to take them to a park to eat lunch but had to help Benaiah get to the mall inside.  So, this worked well!  Except, he got even more wound up and wouldn't settle down to sleep!

Swing high, swing low.

These are such fun swings, too!  We went to the park behind the post office, being careful not to be sprayed by the splashpad.

All them babies, except Benaiah.  So we all traveled down in our van to get Benaiah from the movies.  But when we got back to the church so Grandpa could pick up his car, he took Benaiah driving in the parking lot.  Yes, using a stick shift.  But just in the parking lot.  He really should have his permit first before he does that.  So Benaiah went with Grandpa and we met up back at the house later.

Abishai looks so much bigger on these elements now!  It's been at least 6 months since we've been over here.

He breezed right through this things.  And everything really.

So big!

These two were challenging each other to obstacle coures.

Why, hello! Never too old to play on the playground.

This guy is definitely headed to American Ninja Warrior, or a trip to the ER someday.  No fear this kid.  No fear.

Bounce, bounce, bounce.

Ready to do some flips!  And she is now doing her ponytails all by herself!

Wee!! He can climb up the weird shaped ladder in the back lickity split.

Me too, Mommy!  Watch me!

Practicing her gymnastics moves.

I want my paci and blankie but I can't settle down.

Peek a boo!

Meanwhile, Justin and I received mail from our friends, the Perics, from PEI!  I love how they all came separately!  I can't wait to write back!

Back at Riley for one last check up on Justin's arm.  I'm glad the waiting rooms are fully stocked with toys.  This particular little tykes house is a "school" but also has a drive thru window and grocery market, with a soccer net in the back.

Keturah's turn while we wait for Justin's x-rays to be done.  They are awesome at getting the kids in and out of x ray quickly.

A little screen time.

A little reading library.

All healed up!  Good as new!  No numbness, no tingling, no pain, full extension, full strength.  All without therapy because he's a kid and they don't think much of slowing down.  They love to move!

Curious George!  Cute!  Abishai wasn't amused and would have rather played slalom with the stroller.

New roundabouts coming to our township.  It's going to be great when it's done, but for now, it's going to be a logistically nightmare to redirect traffic.  I hope they get it done before school starts!  One of the roundabouts will take up a bit of the school's land.  Edgewood and Franklin and I believe Franklin Rd and Thompson Rd near us.  We're going to need temporary traffic lights.

Waiting on Justin in the van at Taco Bell because we just can't sit still.  We all ate, but I left Justin to continue conversations with his friends.  #socializedhomeschoolers

Oh, Keturah.

I readin' Justin's book!  Ssshhhhh.

Stopped by the office because we miss the office and Daddy.  They enjoyed a snack of grapefruit.

Abishai hang on without assistance for 10 seconds!  His arms are super strong.  I'm impressed.

Eating popsicles after playing in the pool. Why they would want something cold when they are already cold beats me.  At least they cleaned up after themselves.