Things to do in Texas...

... when you are (almost) blind:




Stopping and looking at butterflies on flowers does not work.  But you can pretend to, and blend in, if you are a go-along-to-get-along kind of guy.

 

You can always look at the picture, later.

 

Scaling mountains is quite possible: since you never really know where the next obstacle will be, you are used to being cautious, so you will actually slip and fall fewer times than the more adventurous types.
 
Jumping into the river with the rope swing is a bit daunting.

But it can be done.  Someone just has to sit on the ladder and call you so that you know where to get out again.

(Without his glasses he cannot see a thing.  If he opens his eyes and closes them quickly, he has a couple of images to work with, but he usually uses sound and touch in bright light, outside.)



Rowing does not come naturally, but after some explanation, he got that too.

Last weekend we went with a friend to a house next to the Frio River, near Leakey, TX.  It is about 3.5 hours away, but well worth the drive.  Summer is very tolerable if you spend it in the water, and being invited along to a friend's friend's house was a wonderful treat.

All four of them.  I remember our neighbour's mother in South Africa telling me that these are the best times.  While you can still cover them with one blanket, parenting is at its easiest.

 The babies, as we still call them, can both swim now, and both had the courage to jump into the water.

Martinus is definitely the more emotional one, at the moment.

 He is not crying because he is scared.  He cries because he wants to jump off the table on the deck, like the big children, and not only off the deck. (Or in his words, because I won't let his dream come true.  "His dream" being to jump off the table, and not the deck.)

 

Dad thinks up a new game:  let's pretend we are fighter airplanes, and mom is an enemy ship, then we swing over the water and shoot the enemy.  Here he is Admiral Nimitz giving orders to "The Red Duke"

 

Amelia Crash-a-lot, unintentionally aiming at the Admiral.



He makes a narrow escape.

We came home after the week end totally unprepared for the week ahead, with heaps of laundry and several play dates lined up, so I barely had time to sit down and sort through the pictures and write about them.  I guess it is almost always like that - the more you do, the more there is to show and tell, and the less time you have to pen it down.

Summer is now in full swing.  The older kids are doing a morning choir camp next week, I am looking forward to spending some time with the twins.    I am also looking at the next school year - as we are planning a second summer, we cannot stay idle for too long.  The twins actually know their alphabet, and they can do simple math, so I want to see what we should plan for them for next year. In the mean time, I have baked pita pockets, and we made our own butter!  But I did not take pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  It was delicious, and much easier than I thought.

And about the 52 projects - I think I am actually on track.  I'll take some pictures soon!