Small, pleasing things

Got home this afternoon and:

• the little kids preferred to spend all their time outside until dark, squirting each other with the hose, playing on the swings, digging in the "mud" (my garden) or just running around like lunatics. I got home to find one quietly colouring in a Peppa Pig stencil, and the other building a scene out of Lego. No interest was expressed in the TV.
• teenagers did the washing up without a word of protest (and did it very nicely too)
• one teen looked at the setting sun, looked at their bike, said "I'm off" and shot off for a half hour sunset bike ride - for no other reason than to get some exercise and to photograph a lovely sunset over the water.
• teens found frozen berries (in the freezer of course) and then fought over who got the blender first. They prefer a fruit smoothie to soft drinks (although the sugar content is probably the same). Mango, banana and orange juice beat a pure berry mix (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and mulberries)
• I started counting the books in the little kids room and gave up when I hit 400. And that was one bookshelf (admittedly, the books are not the same size as say a Harold Robbins opus). Both youngsters get very upset if Dad is too tired to read them at least 2 books each. (Where the hell did all those books come from? Presents from family and friends; hand-me downs; bookstalls at school fetes where you can pick them up for 20c each).

That's a plane up there

There are times when I think this family might just work out OK.