While we’re out of town, I thought you might like to get to know the family a little better.
Here’s interview number six, with daughter number two: Anita.
So, who are you and how old are you?
I’m Anita. And I am four and a half.
Who are you named after?
My Nana.
You’ve got a lot of brothers and sisters. What’s that like?
It’s good. But I’ve got too much boys.
Why do you think you have so many?
Because God just wanted me to have that much brothers.
Are you in school?
I’m in preschool this year and next year I’m in kindergarten.
What do you like to do in school?
I like to color in my coloring book that Bob made me and I like to do spelling with the big kids and tell them the phonograms when they don’t remember. And I want to do Hundred Easy Lessons every day but usually we don’t.
Yeah. We keep running out of time don’t we? I’ll bet we can do it this summer.
How about we do it right now?
Ummmm . . . What else do you get to do in the summertime?
We live at Gramma and Papa’s house and we do Hundred Easy Lessons*. We play with Gramma and Papa. Papa takes us on adventures. I take swim lessons with Mr. Charlie. Sometimes it’s with Mr. Charlie. I liked it better when he had a beard.
You like beards, huh?
Yes. I like them. I told James he should try to grow a beard in case we get married.
You plan to marry James, then?
I do, but I don’t know when. But I might go to a different high school than him so I might end up marrying someone else.
Ummmm, I . . . I don’t, you know what? Let’s just move on. What’s your favorite movie?
The Princess Bride.
Hey, that’s MY favorite movie too.
I know mom. You’re always saying the words from it.
Isn’t it too scary for you?
Well, the scary part is the rat part. The giant rat thing comes out. And Westley gets chewed up on his shoulder. The part that’s funny is when the story says Westley always says “As you wish,” but he’s really saying “I love you.” So, he’ll get her stuff because he loves her.
Is that how it works?
I guess so.
What’s your favorite thing to play?
My favorite is playing with Lulu. I swing her in the swing outside. I watch her in the Bumbo. I play with her on the couch. I also like to play dress up with Betty and I like to play farm.
How do you play farm?
It’s like you’re at a farm and you play that someone’s the farmer and there’s animals.
Which animals?
Chickens.
Pretend chickens or our real chickens?
Sometimes both.
How do the chickens like it?
I don’t know. They don’t speak English.
What’s your favorite book?
St. George and the Dragon, A Little Princess, Tops and Bottoms, The Scarlett Pimpernel . . . except we’re not finished with that one, so I don’t know if I like all of it yet, so maybe don’t say that one. Is it a good ending?
I think so.
Well, okay then. You can keep it in.
What’s your favorite animal?
Owls. I like them because they can fly letters to people.
I think you might be thinking of the movie Harry Potter. I don’t think owls do that in real life.
No, they do. My owls do. I have like a hundred pet owls. I have a lot. And they’re always asking me questions. Like how am I doing. And they ask me if I’m asleep when they know I’m awake.
That sounds very frustrating. Are you sure it’s your owls who are doing that?
Well, they do it. But Gus does it too.
Yeah, I thought it sounded like Gus.
He’s a real problem for me AND the owls.
*I don’t remember this being a part of our normal summer activities. Normally I try really hard to avoid school activities that involve me in the summer. But I’m planning to make an exception this summer because Anita’s persistence on the issue is rivaled only by that widow in the Bible. But that would make me a corrupt judge, so never mind.
So adorable… Hi, Anita!
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THis is the most adorable interview ever. I love how Gus is a problem for her AND the owls.
Love it. Anita is precious!
So sweet!
I love her imagination!
You pick the date, Anita, and James will be there, beard in hand. I know your mom can throw one awesome party.
I think Anita and my daughter Ruby would get along famously. Ruby has a cast of thousands of imaginary friends (and children of her own, apparently) that I get to hear about all the time, and she's very devoted to them all. I'm sure she'd welcome a game of "manage the chickens and the wiley owls" with Anita!