The Olders

I haven't written about William and Ryrie in a coon's age, however long that is! Why is that, I wonder. It's not that I find them any less enjoyable to be with or any less interesting to talk with or think about. In fact, they are very fun to be with. So now it is their turn I guess!
The twins are at a wonderful age. 10 and almost 1/2, to be precise. I remember when I turned 10, and my Granny told me what a great age it was an that she remembered also being 10. They are such happy guys. I will tell you a bit about them.
If I want something done immediately, they are my go-to guys. I simply could not do without them. I love to be able to ask, "Ry, can you please help George go potty," or "Will, can you please get Tommy a drink of water," or "will you let them play with you?" or "I really need a nap, can you keep George happy for 20 minutes?" and they cheerfully (about 98 percent of the time--to be honest) will do it. Right away.
They are sooo sweet with George, it makes me want to have 10 more babies. Ryrie especially needs his allotment of loves and hugs from George in order to have a good day. They love to get him in the car (I hate it) they love to get him out of bed, and even help put him to bed sometimes. They cheerfully take him to the potty and deal with all that that entails. They lift him in and out of his carseat, cater to his snack needs, and make sure he's safe while I'm teaching. Wow, writing this makes me think I have two babysitters, which I guess I really do! (As an aside, it is totally sweet to hear him say their names. If I tell him, "no, not right now," he doesn't skip a beat, but turns and says so sweetly, "Wy-wee? Wih-wee? Pweese??")
I love to catch the boys' eye when George or Tommy does or says something funny/cute/silly. I love that they think its funny too. There is something so great about that conspiratorial grin and giggle. Last night, for instance, when George just had his undies on, we were all admiring the chubby legs and him standing on tiptoe to reach the hockey game on the table. It makes me happy to be around them.

Now, there are times in their lives where they don't really want to do things. Like, if I say, "Anyone interested in helping do the dishes?" hahah. But if I rephrase that and say, "K, Will and Ry, you're on dishes" they groan and moan, but do it. I'm thankful for that.
Also whenever I mention working on cub badges or the Faith in God booklets...yeah, they are not too thrilled. However, when we buckle down and get going on them, they are hard workers and get into it. Right now they are working on their Computer and Photographer badges. Ry is making a family tree poster and Will is doing a report on Mark Messier (a famous hockey player). They also made a "movie" together with the camera on safety that was pretty clever and funny. James assisted them in interviewing their Grandma Spencer about her life as a 10 year old, and they did all the voice over work on the computer. It's fun to see them get into different projects. One of their faith in God projects was planning a Valentine's party for our neighbors. It was fun to do that with them. They chose all the food, we decorated, and they helped make everything and do the dishes, and clean the house. They didn't really get into the decorating, but Owen helped out there. :-) It was really successful, and I liked seeing how fulfilling it was for them.


Another thing they semi-complain about some days is practicing their instruments. However, they have good days too. They both actually mentioned that they enjoy playing the violin now. About blew my socks off! And piano is definitely a big part of their lives too, thanks to their Nana. They are going to do their first Royal Conservatory exam this year. I'm excited to see how it goes for them.

They are at the phase where they really get board games. James plays a lot of Risk with them (especially Ry enjoys this) and I taught them The Farming Game last week (a monopoly type game) and they liked it. It's fun to see the two of them getting out a game and hunkering down to battle it out together, without us. They play some board games at school in a group sometimes too, which is fun.

James and I haven't put them into any sports since we moved from Raymond. It is something we constantly discuss. Right now we decided to try to be really active as a family. James has introduced them to disc golf before now, but they haven't really latched on to it until this year. He has been able to take them out more now that we live here, and they are enjoying it. They are both throwing a disc very well and gaining distance. That's exciting for James. He also enjoys jogging with them sometimes after work. They have good endurance and can keep up pretty well, he reports. I went lane swimming the other day on a weekend, and on a whim I invited the boys to come along. Ryrie got excited and said he would come. I loved that! We found some flippers that fit him and a kickboard, and he did great. He even did some laps on his own without the "gear." He said he liked imagining that I was a big cruiser and he was a little tug boat, trying to catch up to me. :-)

We've been trying to get regular with our date nights again with each of the boys. So far I went on a date with Will in January and Ryrie went on a date with James in February. Its so great to get some one-on-one time with them. James taught Will about dating etiquette before we left and gave him cash, so Will opened my door for me all night and paid for everything we did. It was very sweet and enjoyable for me. I love watching them grow up!

Bedtime is a fun time with the two of them, because they want to keep you in their room so they become very talkative. I have been reading the Harry Potters to them, so that is a neat bonding thing we do together. After I finish reading, if the night is not too far spent, I'll hang around a bit longer, and they ask all sorts of things. One night they got me talking about things that happened when I lived in Russia, and so now they sometimes say, "Mom, don't go yet, we have to hear more about Russia!" When else will they be this interested in my past life? :-)

I sometimes go to the weekly assemblies at their school, and I find it very fascinating to watch them with their peers. They both have plenty of friends and seem happy with them. They are social guys, but they also like the peace and quiet (if you can call it that!) of our house with just us. We like that balance too. It's so awesome to see them play with their little brothers on the weekends. Today they were playing a game they all invented called "The Hotel Game." Not really sure what it entailed, but it looked like fun. Other times, they will pull out the good ole car town and play on that.

William had braces for a year, and finally got them off in January. He was SOOO excited. Especially when the ortho office gave him a huge bag of goodies to eat. However, the very next day he had to go get his retainer fitted. He was like a totally different person leaving the office that second day. He looked so sad and depressed. It took me a while to figure out what it was--sometimes he's kind of reticent--and then it was sad because for a whole night we couldn't really figure out how to help him. He said the retainer tasted AWFUL. Like metal, and he could hardly stand to touch it with his tongue, and he was practically gagging with every swallow he took. It was so sad to see him sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead and just plain depressed. Poor kid. It is hard to be a parent sometimes and see our kids go through hard things. We were all relieved when he reported the next day that it was getting much better. He is very responsible about taking care of it and keeping the case safe. I took Will and Ry to do errands last weekend and we stopped in at the Optometrist's. After he adjusted Will's glasses and we went back to the car, Ryrie said, "William has so many friends around town, and I don't!" I asked him what he meant by that and he said, "Well, like the glasses people, the braces people, people like that!" We had to smile about that one.

Ryrie has a definite need to "boss" a bit around the house. He likes things to be a certain way and he also likes his younger brothers to do things that way. It is funny to hear how grown up and responsible he sounds sometimes and it makes my job easier! However, we sometimes have to remonstrate with him a bit about that.

I have struggled with trying to help Will fall in love with reading books. He has always liked listening to me read, but he has never shown a love for reading tougher chapter books. He would happily read and reread any hockey books he has (and I have to be on the lookout for that constantly) but other than that I have felt that I have had to strictly enforce his reading over the years. That has worried me a bit, but I think he is beginning to enjoy it more. We found "How to Eat Fried Worms" and he read it and actually told me a bit about it without me asking and laughed about some of the chapters in there. I'm hoping this can be a sign of things to come...Ryrie devours books and loves many different kinds. But he too can get lazy about reading books below his level. So we're working on that.

Well I'm sure I'll think of more things to say about these two after I publish this. But suffice it to say, they are a joy to have around and we love them to death.