Boys are different than girls

Mattea probably didn't climb a tree until she was five or six. And then she climbed until she was about a foot off the ground.

On Sunday, after Theresa had left for the Chargers game, and I was preparing to leave for my next city (Seattle), something made me go outside. Perhaps it was the boys being louder than normal. It may have been the tone of their laughter. I don't really recall right now. But as I went into the back yard, I heard laughter coming from behind the little gazebo-like structure that we have in the back yard. As I walked over, I saw Grayson in the planter (about 2 feet above ground level) looking up at, and laughing with, his brother who was well up into the tree. I went inside to get Theresa's camera to document the infraction. (He was already up in the tree. I saw no use in getting him down before recording the moment in one's and zero's.) When I went back out, Grayson had climbed into the tree and somehow was above Noah. Not quite sure how he did that. Grayson's feet were probably 10 feet above ground level, as the tree is planted in the planter which is already a couple feet above ground level. After getting some photographic documentation, I asked both boys to return to earth.

We had a little talk about tree climbing. I said that they couldn't climb trees unless they asked, and then they couldn't climb all trees, but only those that we deemed climbable.

After leaving for my trip, I learned that they told Miss Trish (their babysitter, who is also a teacher at their school) that they were allowed to climb trees if they asked first. She let them, but only briefly as she didn't really feel comfortable with them up in the tree. (This is the same Miss Trish that, when they were moved up into her room at two years old, they learned that Miss Trish couldn't tell them apart. So they would change their shoes (which is one way that she could tell them apart) to confuse her. Perhaps we should rethink using Miss Trish as a babysitter.

All of this the day after they had found a sewing needle and attempted to stab each other in the arm to give themselves "TB" tests.

Boys.