We love the Lemons!

Our neighbors, the Lemons, are basically the coolest people ever. In the family, there are four kids--Preston, 14, Mahogany, 12, Ebony, 8, and David, 7. Their mom, Laura, works two jobs to support them, and she is an awesome mom. She cracks us up with her spunky attitude. Tonight, they came over for dinner and a raucous game of "Spoons" (the card game), and whenever her kids got "out," she would say, "Sorry, Losah!" and we would all crack up. She is so loving but so funny too, and her kids love it when she teases them. Their family has so much fun together; when they enter our apartment, they attack us in hugs, and we can't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

One of my favorite Laura stories is when she came home from work one night, and Preston and his friends were racing in the street. Preston bet the boys $10 that his mom could beat them in a race. Well, being the cocky teenage boys that they are, they certainly didn't believe that a middle aged, husky mom could beat them, so they took the challenge. Apparently, she used to be a track star in high school, and she hasn't lost her touch...she kicked their butts. The boys were amazed, and Preston got $10 out of the deal. Unfortunately, I didn't see the event firsthand; I would have loved to see Big Laura charging down the street in her nurse's scrubs with the tough "thugs" trailing behind her! :)


The youngest, David, is a total character. He was born three months premature, and he has never caught up with his peers. He is TINY for a second grader, but he has a huge personality. Apparently, he had a tube down his throat for a long time when he was a baby, and when they removed it, it scratched his voice box; so he has a gravelly "grandpa" voice, which only makes his hilarious comments even funnier. The other day, he and Ryan made Jackolantern-shaped pumpkin bread. I was sitting at the kitchen table grading papers and listening to their conversation in the kitchen. Ryan had David standing on a chair next to the counter, slowly reading the recipe and putting all the ingredients into the bowl.  Ryan asked David if he wanted to try cracking the eggs into the bowl. What seven year old could resist such an offer? Well, his first attempt apparently ended up with egg squirting all over David's hands and Ryan's shirt; his second attempt led to an excessive amount of shells in the bowl.

"Uh oh!" David said in his scratchy little voice, staring sadly into the bowl.

"What should we do about all those egg shells, David?" Ryan asked.

David had an idea. "Hmmm...well, maybe if we stir it up real good and hide them, no one will notice."

I was chuckling from the other room but was very relieved when Ryan didn't go with this plan.

We are so lucky to have such fun neighbors that brighten our days and make us laugh!! They are awesome!