Library Day!

We signed up for the summer reading program at the local library 3 weeks ago. The boys just read 5 books a week, then they get a little prize and get to move to a new "Ocean" on the wall, that shows their progress. The boys love it. Granted we are usually reading all the book in a hurry either the night before, or the morning of the library trip, but they do read the books themselves and they are practicing their reading during summer. I don't even have to fight them to do it. Win/win. It's got 3 more weeks to go and the prizes are getting better, but it really all depends on who you get passing them out. For example-they had a grab bag today, where you reach in and pull out a toy without looking. Ben pulled out a little whale, which he liked until Nick & Nathan both pulled out little accordion fan things-like the little oriental fans we used to get as a kid. He asked the lady if he could switch and get a fan too, since it was very hot. She said no, because she "didn't want to set a precedent". Okay, understood. Except that-besides my kids, and me-the library was EMPTY! Like, totally empty. It could not have been less full of people if it tried! Who, I ask you, was looking?!? The little old ladies up front who check the books in? Doubtful. And even if they were, I don't think they would have called anyone and told on her-had she actually let him exchange the toy. She told him that his brothers could trade with him, but she couldn't do anything. So, the boys start walking away and she asks if Miles would like something. She goes into the bag and pulls out a little clapper toy. Again, okay. Thank you. Miles does enjoy those noisy toys, and he certainly didn't read any books, therefore we weren't expecting anything. But, that being said-she could have totally redeemed the situation, and given "Miles" a fan too, so that there would be another brother to trade with-because honestly, he would have been totally fine with the whale. Really lady? I don't want to be ungrateful, but really?!? Needless to say, it kinda bugged me. Am I being crazy? Probably, but I didn't see any toy police hiding behind the shelves, so I highly doubt there was really "nothing she could do."

Anyway.......they have these bears around the city that local artists get to decorate, and the boys LOVE them. The one out front of the library is called "Berry Potter" and is decorated to be like, yup-you guessed it-Harry Potter. There is a pirate one in the library, and a Charlotte's Web one, out another exit. The boys love looking at them, and talking to them like they are real. It's very cute. So today I brought my camera and got pictures with a few of them. Tomorrow we are going to be going downtown, to where they have a bunch of these bears on motorcycles in a parking lot. The boys go crazy when we go by, so we're taking a family trip to see them and get pictures with them too. I think we need to go around town and get pictures of all of the bears that we can find. "We're going on a bear hunt.... gonna catch a big one....."

That is one thing I do love about southern Oregon.....there are lots of artistic people here, so they do these big projects like the bears, eagles, Christmas signs-and let the locals get into it, and it makes the downtown area look really cool. Plus it satisfies my need for change. Again, win/win.