Reprieve

We've had a quiet week. In a startling shift of events, all of the middles have been reasonably well-behaved (no suspensions, running away, harassing the neighbors, destruction; smartmouths downgraded to mild) and it's the Boss who has been a bit of a stinker.

It's a nice change of pace. Since the police paid a visit to Sparky, he has been pretty much coming straight home and remaining here as he is supposed to. This is a relief since he was hanging out with some much older kids. Not a good situation. Since none of the middle kids are allowed in the front yard unattended, we have not had any neighbor problems this week. The mailbox boy said his dad told him not to play with our kids anymore. Too bad, but understandable. They have even been getting along fairly well even though nearly every conversation turns into an argument sooner or later. Squeaker nearly missed the bus this morning so she could finish an argument over whether we would find snow in the mountains when we go.

The only downside of everyone being home when they are supposed to is that I am certain we have heard every Guitar Hero 3 song about a million and half times. That might be a slight overstatement. But only slight.

Now we have Spring Break to look forward to next week and I'm sure that will induce some cries of boredom but the boys will be doing a lot of patching and painting where they have damaged the walls.

Tomorrow, we are heading to the mountains in search of the snow which can no longer be seen from our house. We've had to wait a long time for this trip because everybody's behavior was so questionable so it will be nice for them if we do find some snow. Ana had to drive out to Palm Springs yesterday and said there is a bit more on the other side so the boys are hopeful.

Meanwhile, we're enjoying the peace for as long as it lasts.