That was a long day and I was glad to get my own candy.

Eddie summed up today pretty well with that statement. We joined the other kids from the preschool they will be attending this fall for the annual Milton summer parade. They were supposed to throw, toss or just generally distribute to the assembled "crowd" some Smartees candies. This was not enthusiastically embraced by the fellas who thought that keeping the candy for themselves seemed a much wiser course of action. They were persuaded, reluctantly. Fortunately their Auntie and Pink Grandma had collected some candy tossed their way during the parade and provided them with all the sugar they could want.

Then at the festival, they played some carnival games, won some cheap-ass toys, played in two different types of inflatable jump-around toy things. They also indulged in free cotton candy (Chas did, anyway), free snow cones and hotdogs. Then Chas spied the area I thought we could avoid. "I want to do that!" I followed his pointing finger and thorught I was mistaken until he spoke again. "Bird houses!" So yes, with help from Mama and Auntie Cathy the boys made some bitchin' bird houses. Eddie was particularly insistent at doing his own hammering. Chas lost interest once it became clear that his nearly completed bird house would have to be dismantled and reassembled due to Auntie and Mama's inability to correctly orient the front and back.


"I was happy to get my own candy today," Eddie just said.

"My bird house ifs for birds. When a bird comes to my house I can let a bird on my bird house," Eddie said when reminded of it.

"No birds come in my birdhouse. ... My bird house is too bad for my bird," says Chas. "My bird will cocme out and will turn into butterfly." OK, we've got to clarify the whole butterfly from caterpillars thing I guess.