Mowing the Lawn and Going to bed

Mow the Lawn

A week ago, when the Landlord came to visit us, he looked at the yard and then asked if our lawn mower was broken. We have a big yard, with parts of the yard mainly taken over by moss, rocks, and pine needles. But the other parts of the yard need to get mowed. So I mowed them all this morning. When I finished mowing, Jocie and the kids came out to greet me, and in this picture Nathan was explaining to Kate, “You pull this string, then vroom.”

Bedtime
Bedtime rituals are supposed to happen this way
8:00 – family prayer
8:05 – Do your bedtime chores (brush, bathroom, drink of water, etc)
8:15 – Get a story read to you
8:30 – talk quietly and read
9:30 – no more talking and go to bed

This is how it really happens
8:00 – gather people for family prayer
8:04 – try to find Sarah and convince her to come in for prayer
8:07 – tell Nathan not to throw the tennis ball in the house and to fold his arms
8:10 – Do your bedtime chores and tell them to hurry really fast
8:20 – tell them to hurry up because they don’t have much time left doing the bedtime chores
8:30 – Dad takes each child through their own bedtime procedure so they can hurry up and get it done
8:45 – Mom reads them a story
9:05 – Mom instructs them the importance of staying on your spot
9:06 – Nathan gets off his spot
9:08 – Noah and Mark are talking quietly about really fun things to do
9:10 – Nathan gets off his spot because a) he is afraid of monsters b) Noah and Mark are getting him excited c) he wants to take some beef jerky
9:18 – Noah and Mark have transformed their beds into a landing pad and are jumping off the top bunk
9:22 – Mark comes in to ask his last question. His last question is a) can I have some dessert right now b) Can I read you a Garfield Comic c) can I give you a hug
9:29 – Sarah right now is either a) entertaining Katie in the crib b) laying down on the floor between her room and the hallway reading a book c) laughing w/ Noah and Mark d) fighting with Mark e) fighting with mom
9:15 to 9:45 – Dad is either a)rolling his eyes b) reading to mom c) is sad that there’s no time left to do something fun
9:15 to 10:15 – mom is either a) telling the children the importance of staying on their spot b) doing the dishes c) talking to dad about the children d) give up the hopes of doing something fun because the kids did not go to sleep earlier
10:15 – the kids are making small noises while dad is trying to go to sleep