R & R For the Whole Family

This past weekend was a four-day weekend for us, with the boys off school Friday and Monday. Our whole family (and by whole family I mean my sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, mom, etc.) headed to the Western Slope to enjoy a quiet, scenic weekend at my sister's employer's ranch. We had a wonderful time hiking, horseback riding, having a campfire, playing games, and laughing together. Okay, I laughed and played games (and studied some), Husband and the boys did the rest! The boys and their cousin were in heaven as they got to run, climb fences, jump on the trampoline and hang out with the ranch keeper's son. Truly, I was given a glimpse of how I think all boys are supposed to live. It's a shame our lives are so compacted now, and our sons are expected to do most of their exploring and playing in confined spaces. We are grateful to my sister for making the trip possible and we so appreciate her employer's generosity.

With the close of our weekend came Connor's realization that he had to go back to school. He's really done great with school so far, but on Monday night when he kissed Husband goodnight, he said, "Goodnight Daddy, I'm not going to school tomorrow!" Hoping he'd forget about it, we both put on our sunniest faces yesterday morning as we greeted him and tried to help him get ready. He began his day complaining of a headache and mentioning over and over (and over) that he did not want to go to school. Remember, this is the child who tried to fake sick through the entire year of preschool last year! Bearing that in mind, I packed him off to school. About 30 minutes into the day I got a call from his teacher saying he was crying and said his head hurt and he wanted to go home. I assured her of his ability to con his way out of school and we agreed to talk later. When we spoke 2 hours later, she told me she thought I was right - that Connor was faking sick in order to go home. You've never met a kid who loves being at home more than him. I suppose I should take it as a compliment!

When I picked the boys up for school he was a bit lethargic, and didn't act as happy to see me as a boy who had spent the whole day trying to get home should act. As a reward for making it through the day, I drove the boys to a local clinic to get their flu shots (okay, I must admit that I felt really mean about doing this to Connor). On a whim I asked the nurse to take his temp and lo and behold - a fever of almost 101! The poor kid hadn't been faking it at all! So today I am spending the day at home with a little boy who is missing a field trip that he had really been looking forward to. The thing is, I think he's happier being at home sick than he is even going on a field trip - even with a fever, sore throat and headache! I'm sure that will change if he has to get a throat culture or his nose swabbed at the doctor's office!

I can't lie; I'm glad for the day at home, just as I was when Kirby was sick last month. Connor doesn't seem miserable, and it's one of those grey, chilly fall days where it just feels good to hunker down in a cozy house and study (yes, study). I will spend today catching up on the two assignments that are due tomorrow (yikes!) and making my little guy feel special...but not so special that he never wants to go back to school!

The boys and their cousin show off their big find during the weekend- a horse skeleton.
As you can imagine, they now consider themselves paleontologists...
never mind the fact that we're pretty sure it's not a prehistoric horse!