Roughly an hour and a half later (yeah, I know, I’m not the most speedy shopper), as we dragged our tired selves over to the shoe section to find skids for the four of them for activity period, the boys had asked me a thousand times if we were done yet.

“Not yet,” I answered mechanically, also for the thousandth time, wishing I could somehow magically transport us all back home without having to actually drive the 40-minute trip. “We still have to get shoes.”

A tedious task at the best of times, finding shoes that each child would like when they were already cranky didn’t seem like a fun prospect at all. Our small town is notorious for having fairly small selections in terms of style, and even smaller selections for size. Unless a person doesn’t mind stopping at every store in town with four tired kids in tow, one must reconcile herself with the choices put in front of her.

The girls’ shoe hunt went fine. They were flexible with their selections and their size, finally the same as mine, was easy to find.

Phew.

So we traipsed over to the boys’ section and located the Spider-Man shoes. (If I haven’t mentioned it before, Cody is absolutely obsessed with Spider-Man and has been since he was about 3. Needless to say, Logan shares the fondness, though not nearly to the same extent as Cody.) I found a pair for Logan.

Perfect.

But there were no Spider-Man shoes available in Cody’s size.

“Shoot, Cody, I guess you’re going to have to pick something else,” I told him.

Before Cody could protest, Logan piped up in his helium-infused, 2-year-old-sounding voice:

“Cody, that’s OK. I won’t get Spider-Man shoes either since you can’t, because that wouldn’t be faaaaaaiiiiiiirrrrrrrr,” he said, drawing out the last word like he does when he’s intent on making a point.

And he didn’t. They each picked out Iron-Man shoes instead.

When I related this story to the kids’ uncle the next day, echoing my thoughts, he said, “You just can’t teach that, can you? They either have it, or they don’t.”

I’m so proud that Logan has it.

How have your kids impressed you with their innate personality traits? What do you admire the most about your child/ren?

Way to go, Andie!

And now, for your listening pleasure (though certainly not your viewing pleasure, as I tend to have shaky hands when videotaping), here are clips to their solos, both this year and last.

Andie’s 2009 solo:

Andie’s 2010 solo:

Rachel’s 2009 solo:

Rachel’s 2010 solo:

When I got home, the girls had

* vacuumed
* dusted
* mopped
* done all the laundry
* emptied the dishwasher and put all the dirty dishes in

Not only that, but Andie had carefully arranged this message on the refrigerator:

(If you can’t tell, the magnet in the middle of the heart says, “World’s Greatest Mom.”)

Needless to say, I felt both very loved and very blessed.

What sweet gestures have your kids made lately?

We stood in the doorway looking for the kids’ grandma. She found us before we even saw her.

“I was looking for you in the bleachers,” she told me.

I gave her a quizzical look. “Seriously? Why were you looking for us already?” I said, showing her my watch, which clearly said we were 6 minutes early.

She laughed, realizing that it was actually pretty ridiculous to be looking for me before the concert had started.

Soon after we sat down in the first row of bleachers, Logan began to rummage through Grandma’s purse and scored a little bag of Tootsie Rolls, which he immediately began to plow through. Between snacking on “Tertsie” Rolls, reclining into various positions with Grandma and me as pillows and marching back and forth in time to one of the songs, he stayed entertained for quite awhile.

By the time it was Rachel and Andie’s class’s turn to sing though, roughly an hour had gone by and Logan had had enough. “I want the concert to be over!” he wailed as the 4th and 5th grade classes silently exchanged places up front. Several people snickered and nearby parents who were trying to keep their little ones corralled looked quite sympathetic to Logan’s plight.

Grandma got him distracted by fishing out some fruit snacks from the depths of her purse as I watched the 5th grade assemble. Our school is small and the girls’ class is by far the biggest one. Due to its large size, the 5th grade was able to sing in three-part harmony.

I was enjoying listening to the girls, trying to block out the tone-deaf boys, and noticed that one girl’s voice in particular was quite loud and clear with a beautiful tone. With a shock, I realized that there was a mike pointed straight at Andie and it was her voice I was hearing. I looked at Grandma and said, “That’s Andie?” She nodded, all smiles.

I couldn’t believe it. I hear Andie sing all the time around the house and in church, but it was something entirely different to hear it this way. If my pride had been visible, it would have filled that entire gym. I listened in awe as she belted out song after song, her voice distinct above the others.

In the meantime, Logan, on a sugar high from the Tootsie Rolls and fruit snacks, was just about climbing the walls. He stood in front of us and jumped up and down like a crazy man, looking for all the world like Mike Myers in that SNL sketch where he plays a hyperactive kid harnessed to the swing set and he keeps trying to run away, limbs and head all over the place, but bounces back every time. If you’ve ever seen it, you know exactly what I mean.

Finally the concert ended with an announcement that they would be selling ice cream sundaes in the lobby. Logan tried to make a quick dash for the door before anyone else had even thought about getting up.

And then Grandma offered the last, and best, treat of all:

“Logan, would you like some ice cream?” she asked.

“Yeah!!” he beamed, jumping up and down some more like a marionette on speed.

It was then that I knew bedtime was a long, long way away.

Rachel

She is friendly and caring

trusting and daring.

Her heart is sweet and made to be

always there to comfort me.

In the dark or in the night

she’s always there to make me bright

She is my twin and will always be

because she is so nice to me.

Rachel & Andie, age 6

I drove over 2400 miles alone with my four kids last month to visit my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, all without anyone losing any limbs or vital organs. I only lost my patience a few times — the incessant squabbling, whining and air-hitting took its toll, as did the inevitable question, “Are we almost there?” — and amazingly, the drive went much faster than I had anticipated.

We had some quite pleasant and interesting conversations. I learned that Cody is a truly deep thinker. The concepts he thinks about are way more complex than the typical 5-year-old. I learned that Rachel is crazy-in-love with Nick Jonas and that Andie worries more about life than I thought possible. I also learned, again, that Logan can fall asleep in a vehicle mid-bite.

It was a great experience. Not just visiting the relatives and getting away from the stress of everyday life, but the long periods of time spent with my kids, showing them the gradual rising and swelling of the land as we drove further west, and reveling in their awe at the mountains I had taken for granted growing up. It was like seeing the landscape for the first time again to see it through their fascinated eyes.

Showing them my grandparents’ old house, the house that my great-grandfather built, visiting my grandparents’ graves and the elementary school I attended was probably more interesting for me than for them, but the girls seemed excited to see parts of my past. It was fun to show them the things I remembered, even though old haunts, stores and streets were undoubtedly fairly insignificant to them.

Watching them getting to know my aunts and uncles and cousins, and particularly my 96-year-old grandmother, made me swell with happiness. At home, the only family nearby is my sister, so being around all of this extended family, as well as my parents, was bliss. I love my family to pieces and it has always bugged me that I live so far away from them.

So, it was with sadness and a few tears that we made our way back home. As the landscape became flatter and flatter, we knew we were close to home (though the hordes of bugs committing suicide on our windshield gave us a clue as well). And when we pulled into my in-laws’ yard at the last half hour of our trip and the kids all jumped out of the van with cries of uninhibited joy, I knew we’re in a good place here too.

Now that I know I can make that trip by myself, my family doesn’t seem so far away anymore.

However, the beautiful weather and virtually bug-less environment my family is blessed enough to live in now seems impossibly far.

You gotta love the good ol’ Midwest. Or at least use lots of mosquito repellent.

Where have you and your family vacationed?

The following is a poem that she wrote for me last year, at age 8.

Sunshine

When I wake up in the morning

and feel the sun on my face,

I know that it is time to start my day.

Then I get ready to go outside

and there is the sun waiting to race.

And look there, the birds came out to play.

The sun always beats me to school,

maybe I’ll win today.

After a long day of school, it’s time for bed,

but I’m not worried for tomorrow

the sun will come to play.

Goodnight!

What do you imagine your child will be when he/she grows up, based on what you know about him/her now?