Ethan- "Why do crackers have holes in them?"
Lindsey - "I'm not sure. What do you think boys?"
James - "I think it's because they punch holes in them with their nails."
Andrew - "No. I don't think so. I think it's because the holes make them more delicious!"

Mihir (to Lindsey; very serious/ down to business-like) - "Well, I checked the forecast and the weatherman said no rain. I think we can go outside. I'll tell Kirsten."

January 26th - - - -
Lindsey "I like to have waffles for breakfast. What do you like?"
Lila - "Pancakes."
Ruby - "Pancakes."
Sofia - "Pancakes."
Claire - "Macaroni and cheese!!!"

January 25th - - - -
Vivian (to Claire) - "Well, when you come to MY house we will watch Seasame Street and THEN have a snack. I know you have a snack before Seasame Street, but that's not how we do things at my house."

Lindsey - "Boys, we're having a special snack today. We're having cupcakes! Can you guess what flavor they are?"
Ethan - "Vlanilla?"
Lindsey - "Nooo."
Trevor - "Chocolate?"
Lindsey - "Yes! And what kind of frosting do you think is on them?"
Ethan - "Vlanilla?"
Lindsey - "Nooo."
Ethan - "Strawberry? Rasberry? SNOW???"

January 15th - - -
James - "Lindsey, you play sick and I will be the doctor."
Lindsey - "Okay. Doctor, will you check my ears?"
James - "Sure! They are good."
Lindsey - "Doctor, will you check my temperature?"
James - "Sure!.. Oh, no. You have a fever."
Lindsey - "How high is my fever, doctor?"
James - "108 miles high. You need medicine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lindsey - "Hey, Hovan - What are you up to over here?"
Hovan - "Oh, nothing."
Lindsey - "Are you playing nicely with Jeremy?"
Hovan - "Well, I was going to fake punch him actually."
Lindsey - "That's probably not a good idea, though, right?"
Hovan - "Well, it was just going to be a fake punch."
Lindsey - "What's the difference between a fake punch and a real punch?"
Hovan (without missing a beat) - "Seven."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 20th - - - - -
Lindsey "Okay Lila, you need to count to 20 and then it will be Claire's turn on the swing."
Lila - "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, one-teen, two-teen, three-teen, four-teen, five-teen, six-teen, eight-teen, seven-teen, nine-teen, ten-teen...... I'm going to get off now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 19th - - -
*Sue gets out her guitar*
Vivian - "I have a guitar, Miss Sue!"
Andrew - "Me, too!
James and Claire - "I do, too!"
*everyone chimes in about owning a guitar*
Ruby (above the crowd) - "Well, I have a UKULELE!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hovan - "I'm a fireman!"
Lindsey - "Ooo, okay! If you're a fireman, you should go put on a fireman's hat!"
Hovan - "Well, no. I don't want to."
Lindsey - "That's alright. Why not?"
Hovan - "Because I'm a HATLESS fireman!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 13th ---
Mihir and James *yelling and pointing to Ruby* - "AAAAH! There's a shark! Quick get on the boat! Look at that shark!!!!"
Ruby *looks down at herself, then up* - "I'm not a shark. I'm JUST a fairy princess. Silly boys."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 12th - - -
Hovan - "There's a Spiderman who is a bad guy."
Sue - "Oh yeah? What's his name?"
Hovan - "Oh... I dunno. Tarantula-man, maybe?"
~~~~~~~~~~~

January 11th - - -

*pee extravaganza with Ethan and Trevor*

Ethan "There's an elephant on my butt!"

January 8th - - -

Lindsey - "Oh look, girls! There's sand AND snow in the sandbox!"
Vivian (with excitement) - "That is reeeee-diculous!"
Claire (in awe) - "Wooow. That's amazing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James: There's a really famous song called "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." It's very good.
~~~~~~~~~

January 6th
Ethan: *holding up index fingers* Are these my thumbs?
Lindsey: *points to left hand thumb* No, that is.
later...
Lindsey: Ethan, show me your thumbs!
Ethan: *holds up thumb on left hand, index finger on right*
~~~~~~~
Sometimes, we really just want someone to explain everything to us. Tell us exactly what we need to do; where to go; what to say; who meet. Wouldn't it be nice if someone would simply say "This is what you need to do to make your every dream come true." How great would that be? No more trying to decide if moving is a good idea or weighing whether you really should devote so much time to this project. Just sit back and let some tell you precisely how life should go...
"Should I go to that school?" - - - No, you should go to this other one, it will be better for you.
"How long should I put up with this job?" - - 3 more months.
"What if I can't pay that bill?" - Don't worry, you're going to get an unexpected bonus next week.
"Are these my thumbs?" - No. This is your right thumb and this is your left.
Life would be so simple... but we wouldn't learn a darn thing! If someone told you exactly how everything was going to turn out and provided an explanation for everything, how would you ever learn for yourself?
At the time, I will admit that I was simply rushed (trying to put on 13 pairs of snow pants isn't the easiest thing in the world!) and thus only showed Ethan one thumb. Looking back on it now, though, I'm glad I did. It was a moment that made me realize - we aren't going to have everything explained to us in life and that's okay. It may take us a few tries - it may take months to remember which is our thumb on our right hand - but once we have it down, once we know something for sure, we get to be so proud of ourselves. It's a great feeling. - That moment of "I figured this out. I made it through. No, it wasn't easy and yes, I often got very frustrated that my mitten on my right hand didn't fit properly... but I worked at it and I'm better for it."
So go out there - learn and keep learning.
Don't expect someone to explain it all - be determined to take the risks and figure it out for yourself! You'll be glad you did.