ME AND THE KIDS AND 26 FRIENDS

It has just been me and the kids this week on the island.  

But I can't say it is has been quiet or calm. Will has taken to screaming when he wants something or is unhappy about something, and Sam and Clara have entered the violent stage of siblinghood.  There is lots of pinching, hitting, biting and smacking going on these days, as well as the subsequent crying, screaming, tattling and drama.  Fortunately, 80% of the time, they still like each other, and Sam happily plays pet store and house and musical theatre on the swings with his big sister.  At least for now.

They also joined forces the other morning and barricaded Will on the deck using every chair in sight.  I heard Will screaming (which is common these days and does not generally result in me hurrying out too see what is going on).  So, after washing the last breakfast dish I wandered out to find this:

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.  "It's OK mom," the kids replied in unison..."we gave him some toys and a granola bar."

Something else new this week: Clara has not 1...not 2, but 26 imaginary friends!  There are 4 different families, all whom have at least 4 kids each.  She has drawn, named and given everyone an age.  I particularly like the names Big Skin, Pops, Stip and Timmy the twins.  Of course, her best friends are named Diamond and Sparkle.

At first, Sam thought this all quite believable.  Clara asked to borrow my cell phone to call up her friends (believable).  She had a very believable conversation about how they were doing and when they would be arriving at Pasley, etc.  A little while later she heard their boat coming and yelled out "they are here!" (believable, even though Sam didn't see the boat).  She then asked for permission to walk down the path to the dock to greet them.  Sam was excited to see these friends and wanted to go with her.  He quickly put on his crocs and his life jacket (the rule when they go to the dock) and raced down the path with his sister.  

But then, Clara hugged the air and started to have an animated conversation to the empty space in front of her, and Sam started to catch on...his sister was turning crazy.  

And when I had to kiss Sparkle, Dimaond, Lucy, Strawberry and Blueberry, who were all having a sleepover in Clara's bed, goodnight, I think Sam started to think his mom was turning crazy too.  Poor guy.  But despite his initial confusion, he has started to play along.  He now has a friend named Finney, who is Sparkle's younger brother, and who also happens to have green hair and purple eyes and can jump super high.

Well, moving on...

Here are a few photos of other things we have been doing this week, besides living in our pajamas and bathing suits and enjoying the sunshine:

Squirting the dog.

Making cookies, which is a feat considering our oven only broils.  We mostly eat the dough.

Playing on our new tramp.  Here Will is sucking on a sucker on the tramp, which I agree, is hardly safe.

Feeding the deer the last of our fruit and vegetables.

And Daddy came up for a night (hooray), and he and Sam cleared some more logs from our beach (hooray).