Our New Ool

I once read a sign at a friend's house growing up. It was on their patio, next to their inground pool (I miss Florida!) and it read: "This is our Ool. Notice there is no P in it. Please keep it that way." I snickered every time I read that sign. Still do. He hehe.

Anyway, we have been given a pool. One of those pop-up pools that come with a ladder and a pump and actually need chlorine tablets and filters! Oh, I feel so important. No more deflating kiddy pools that I constantly need to empty because there's 6 pounds of grass in it and dead bugs! Now we have a skimmer. Ooooh. Anyway, some friends of ours have a brother that could double as a semi truck. Right after he bench pressed it. His name is Bubba, but Ian calls him Bubbles. Bub is a great, sweet guy and is so good with the kids. He really loves his little niece and nephew. We were told that when Bubba got into the little pool, he looked like an elephant in a mud puddle. So when he got the chance, Bub went out and got a Big Pool. (or should I say, Ool? They don't want P in theirs either. Whaaaa hahahahaha. Sorry, I don't know why exactly it's so funny to me.) After they got 3 fire trucks to fill their giant pool with water (don't we have an interesting town?) they didn't know what to do with the old little one. So they decided to give it to us. Isn't that the coolest thing you've heard??? Thanks Bub! And Jeremy and Jessica! And Tra and Morgan! We love our "neew Pooooool." You have to say it like Ian, all sing-songy. It may not be very big, but it's like a million bucks to us. We're not so blue any more. Now we're light green, cool as cucumbers because we can all submerge in our pool. Maybe not actually swim, but we can all fit and cool off. Ian is really rocking the arm floaties too. We have to pretend to be Nemo and chase the boat and "oh no! It's a shark!" and I even heard him do the whale noises today. It was very classic. Erin liked it until Ian splashed too much and she swallowed some yucky chlorine-y pool water. And I am happy to report that there is no P in it because after Erin and I got out to swing, I turned around to see Ian perched on the top step of the pool ladder, trunks around ankles, whizzing all over the grass in front of the pool. Sheesh.



For the rest of what we've been doing this week, and the reason for the general sparseness of blogs, pretend you have a subscription to the Westville Weekly Times and get a load of next Tuesday's front page article! (You know you live in a small town when....Right?) At least it's supposed to be the headliner unless something better happens. But don't burst my bubble.



Learning and Laughs at the Library, Week 3
By Mandi Goforth

It was a jam-packed week at the John F. Henderson Library as the Summer Reading program continued. In a special presentation on Monday, Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom presented “Be A Bug Scout!” Mrs. Allen showed the children the difference between good and bad bugs on a farm and taught everyone a song about the Boll Weevil. Children made homemade bug observers out of plastic cups and tulle and played a special game called, “Farmer, Farmer, What’s On Your Mind?” A very brave parent volunteered for a special part of the program and was outfitted as a cow, complete with udder, multiple stomachs, hooves, horns and a fly swatter tail! A hearty kudos goes out to the courageous mom for being such a good sport. Everyone received a cookie cutter in the shape of our great state for participating.
Toddler Tuesday was, as usual, a treat for babies, preschoolers and parents as the special reader got into a car book with voices and sound effects. The library’s smallest readers were rewarded with treats and a sticker for being such great listeners.
Puppeteer Joann McMillan came on Wednesday to recruit everyone as volunteers in her presentation of “Don’t Bug My Garden!” The entire audience had a role as Mother Nature showed us the four seasons in Susie’s lush garden and helped the purple kitty to find her tail. The show ended as everyone joined a parade to celebrate the caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly. Library patrons received a rare treat as all of the children joined the butterfly and a giant rainbow and promenaded through the library.
Our favorite ventriloquist Gary Owen returned on Thursday to give another side-splitting performance with his animal friends. First was the hilarious Willard, the Wacky, Quacky Duck as he tried really hard to learn his own brand of ventriloquism. Buford T Possum and the exuberantly sneezing Dinodog returned with their jokes and antics, but the newest addition was a little bashful. Sir Thorton J Tortoise, the poet, was convinced to come out of his shell and inspire us with his on-the-cuff prose as Mr Owen randomly picked people from the audience to give their names. Sir Thorton then came up with a rhyming (or not so rhyming—some of the names were hard) poem. Morgan Alverson, 6, had a front row seat. “I liked Sir Thorton the best,” she said with a smile. “He was really funny.” Giggles erupted all over the room as Mr Owen chose volunteers for his human puppet act. Even the Dads in the audience laughed as special voices and jokes came from the unlikely crew. After the show, the children couldn’t decide which part was their favorite. “I liked the Duck. No, I liked the Dinosaur Dog. And the turtle. I liked it all,” Tra Alverson, 9, said. “It made me laugh a lot.”
Next week, be sure to bring your allowance as the Scholastic Book Fair comes to town. The book fair will be held from Tuesday, June 17 through Saturday, June 21 from 10 am to 3 pm every day. Wednesday’s entertainment will be live music, free refreshments, games prizes and more. Join us for “Going Buggy!” and bring your dancing shoes. Don’t miss out on the fun! We’re halfway through, so creep, fly or crawl to the library and ‘Catch the Reading Bug!’