Driving Miss Daisy or Driving Me Crazy

Have I mentioned how much we all love PTO days?  Probably.  But humor me, while I reiterate.

When we started homeschooling, the boys were younger.  Well, duh.  Four years younger.  Which would make them 10, 8, and 5.  They were like perpetual motion machines.  Like wild monkeys, hopped up on Red Bull.  Well, maybe I exaggerate.  And they've never been near a Red Bull.  But they were (and still are) very busy little creatures.

And (have I mentioned?  Why yes, I have...) very talkative.   Some days it was like having my whole life narrated.  And it wasn't necessarily a gripping, action-packed adventure.

Now, I love my boys.  But there are times I feel like I am drowning in them (and the peanut butter, the soccer practices, and the Lego creations.)  So while I felt drawn to homeschooling, I had a bit of trepidation about that whole together-all-the-time thing.

But then I had a happy thought:

Gramma and Grampa Grasshopper live just fifteen minutes away, AND had both recently retired.

And because they are totally awesome, they agreed to my sanity plan.

We call them PTO days - Personal Time Off.   About once every two weeks the boys spend the day with Grampa and Gramma.  The boys think PTO Days are for them, but I have a little secret.  They are for ME!  Uninterrupted time to do everything, anything, or nothing.

Granted, my need is less pressing, as they've grown older and more independent.  And they're hard workers when properly motivated, so they're good to have around when I have a big project ;D  But we still like our PTO Days.  I know I can count on Grampa and Gramma Grasshopper to feed them, have a good time with them, and keep them busy.  In other words, keep from sitting before the Eye of Mordor all day long.  The kids are happy and safe.

And they're learning all kinds of wonderful things.  Shooting rifles, hunting, burning, zip-lining...

... and driving.

Grampa Grasshopper decide it was time.

Since Gunnar couldn't reach the pedals reliably, and braking is kind of important, he started out with steering lessons on Grampa's lap.

Wyatt, however, was ready for the Real Deal.  Driving the Green Bean, our nickname for Gramma's Expedition Explorer, all the way down the driveway and back, more than a mile each way.

And Tate too! 

And yes, those are my boys, popping up out of the sunroof and hanging out of the windows.

Because, clearly, we are very concerned about safety.