Hooked on Phonics

In 2002, Steve and I attended my cousin's wedding in the Outer Banks in North Carolina and fell in LOVE with the area. We decided that we would vacation there as a family every Summer (or for as long as we could). So, the next Summer, we recruited my sisters and their families and my Dad, rented a big house in Corolla and had a great time; so began a new family tradition. Cut to the Summer of 2006--Lucas is 3, Riley is 5, Janet is 8 and Aaron is one sonogram away from being, well, Aaron.
Here is the part where I am going to brag about how intelligent my children are: of course, every Mother throughout history has boasted about how smart her son/daughter is and I am no exception to this. My children ARE smart and they get it from me...my husband will even tell you that this is a fact; because I told him that it IS INDEED A FACT "THAT OUR KIDS ARE SMART, JUST LIKE THEIR MOTHER". Riley, at the tender age of 5, was all about learning how to read to be just like her big sister (who could identify words at age 4) and of course, being the person that I am, I would encourage her; point to a sign, tell her what it says, she repeats it, retains it and voila! Smarty, McSmart-Smart! I really do not agree with the teachers who have told me that the only reason that my kids can read street signs and fast food restaurant signs and know the name of every Mall from here to Charlotte, is because we are always driving the same route and eating and frequenting those places--I think that is just a coincidence--repetition as a learning tool? PLEASE!
At this point, we have been back home for about two weeks and we are having a nice family drive along Route 20 in Ashtabula, Ohio. If any of you have ever been to the Outer Banks, you should be familiar with Dirty Dicks Crab Shack (for those of you who are not, it is a restaurant chain); Anyway, we are stopped at a red light in front of MacDonald's (Lucas, the 3 year-old, points out the window and says "MacDonald's"--Einstein!!!!!!) and I spot a bumper sticker on the truck in front of us and read, "I got my crabs at Dirty Dick's Crab Shack--OBX" and Riley says, "Crab. Crab starts with C". "Very good, honey.", I say. Then she says: "Wa-Wa-Wa-Wobstur. Wobstur begins with a W." And before I could correct her, my precious, delicate oldest child says: "LALALALALALALA LOBSTER! RILEY! IT'S LOB-STER AND IT BEGINS WITH AN L!" I was speechless...because I was laughing so hard. Needless to say, when Riley entered kindergarten that fall, she started speech class and now speaks with almost perfect diction...Ah, memories!