Safety Second

A rock may slide out from under your feet as you climb,
And you may get poison oak from time to time.
Or sometimes you are out and it's 30 degrees,
And you're sure you see a mountain lion, off in the trees.
But remember, it's better to twist an ankle or scrape a knee,
Than spend all day in front of the T.V.
Life is best when looking from the cliff's highest ridge,
Or jumping to cold water from off of a bridge.
Who said, "Safety First?"  They must be quite bores.
I bet their parents made them play indoors.
Adventure supreme!  It's sure to be reckoned
By all those brave souls who put safety second.

(Of course, adventurous people sometimes die, I've heard,
But I'm pretty sure those people put safety third.)

By Vivian Ashby Thomas
circa 2004

Conversation with a 4-year-old

-Driving home-

Mae: Why do people have cars? Why don't they just have strollers with a lot of seats?
Claire: Well, who would have to push that stroller?
Mae: It would have a steering wheel and an engine.
Claire: Ok. Well, cars make more sense, because they are safer. They have this strong roof that can protect you if you crash.
Mae: Well, this stroller would have a roof.
Claire: This stroller is sounding a lot like a car.
(beat)
Mae: But... it's a stroller.
Claire: Ok, ok, but how is it different than a car?
Mae: It's green.

Levi And Rachel's Big Colorado Adventure

It started with some surprises. Rachel hid at the airport to surprise Levi, but then he spotted her first and surprised her instead. Rachel hid in an extremely narrow box and surprised Theo, then we sent him to the garage pantry to fetch some LaCroix and he was surprised to find Levi instead. It almost wasn't a surprise, thanks to Lucy "Dear Heavenly Father, thanks that Rachel and Levi are coming to visit. Please make mom stop kicking me" Gregory, who forgot the plan for a bit. It's possible Theo doesn't listen THAT closely to family prayer.

We moved on to the eating. We ate:
- possibly the world's largest chocolate donut. Also some other stuff at Johnson's corner diner.
- pizza delivery
- unlimited cereal bar
- ramen noodles
- hot chocolate
- milkshakes all around and dinner at Vern's

Levi made the quote board when he said, "Celery tastes like yardwork." He's not wrong.

Statistics:
- # of bowls of cereal eaten by Levi at cereal buffet: 4
- # of bowls of cereal eaten by Rachel at cereal buffet: 0 ("We have cereal at home.")
- best classic cartoon shown at cereal buffet: Tom and Jerry Piano concerto
- Best sled run: Geronimo. Or Thunder.
- Number of times Levi was shot by Chris while playing secret Hitler: 2. Number of times he deserved it: 1 (?)

Most telling quote: "I don't know if Theo's bed is really small, or he just really likes to snuggle."- Levi
Also, Theo looking way up at Levi shortly after his arrival, "So, you're not on stilts or something?"

Sweetest moment: Tie. 1. Rachel sacrificing her character in the Haunted House game to save Lucy, Levi, a random girl, and a dog. 2. Levi and Theo asleep in the back seat of the car after sledding.

A conversation about What's The Biggest Animal You've Ever Killed. (Rachel: "Grandpa?")

Moment I couldn't believe: When Levi brought a box of See's Chocolate all the way from California for me...AND THEN FORGOT AND TOOK IT HOME AGAIN. Sigh. The chocolate gods hate me.

Don't worry. We split it.

Welcome to Colorado, kiddo.

Where's Rachel?