American Mini Warriors

Of all the high-brow activities our family enjoys, one of our favorites is watching a TV show called "American Ninja Warrior."  It is a glorified obstacle course for super athletes.  It is especially inspirational to my little boys.  They regularly play "Ninja Warrior" on their bunk beds.  But when we brought a mattress up to the family room for a house guest to use, they put it to good use as a warp wall to scale.

The game was to run up to the top and hit the black curtain rod holder.  It was a challenge for her, but Faith could do it.

Cannon tried hard...

 

... but needed a little help from Bethany.

The house guest I referred to was our wonderful English friend, Naomi.  To say that my children adore her is an understatement.  

Faith, Cannon, and George have behaved like no one has ever paid attention to them in their entire lives.  "Naomi, watch me!"  "Naomi, did you know...?"  "Listen to me sing a song, Naomi!" "Did you see my trick, Naomi?" "Naomi, can I sit with you?"
She is saintly patient with them and they can't get enough of her.  In the past couple of years she has stayed with us for several weeks.  This summer we only get her for a couple of days, and maybe a few more a couple of weeks from now.  So, the kids were desperate for their time with Naomi.

Naomi really brings out Cannon's sense of humor.  He's a really funny kid normally, but somehow when he's around Naomi, he is downright hysterical all day long.  He wore himself out with his antics and took a long nap this afternoon.

He sings and dances for her and she videos him.  The favorite activity was watching the videos from last year's visit.

I think she loves Cannon just as much as he loves her.

And I love it when she's here because I get to start speaking in an English accent in my head.  I try to not say things out loud, for fear it might be disrespectful to her, but I do think in an English accent.  And it sounds lovely to myself.