The End

After much deliberation, I've decided to pull the plug on the ole blog. It will stay up for a while, but will then come down. Just too much happening in life to be able to document it and also have a life. It served its purpose as my creative outlet while the boys were little and I felt trapped at home with non-speaking humans, and will serve as a memento for us of those early years. Hope to see you all in person soon.

Last game of the season

Not gonna lie, this sport is not my favorite , so I am not terribly sad to see it end...

Another Saturday.

And of course we're at the soccer field. 

My buddy

I'm completely infatuated.

Halloween Flashbacks

 

A perfect day.

 One perfect Saturday we piled into the car and headed into town to our old stomping grounds.

 Our first stop was the playground where we spend hours and hours playing. We lived here until the boys were 3.5, so this is where they went on a swing for the first slide, on a slide for the first time, and also where we learned that C as a baby did not like touching grass. I learned very quickly to bring a big blanket upon which he could crawl. But now there's no crawling, it's full on play time.

 Their excitement for the swings have not waned.

 And I still can't handle it when they swing this high. Them to their dad: higher, HIGHER! Me: nooo, nooo, I think that's enough....<nervous giggle.

 This thing was fun.

The littlest monkey swung. The biggest one, not as far. 

 But the bigger monkey did put on an entertaining show.

 Since they were little, I've always stopped them from doing this. "Slides are for going down, not up", I'd say over and over in my pretending-to-be-patient voice. But this day I said screw it, you rebels, go against the grain and do whatever you want. As long as you let me sit here and sip my coffee.

 Someone fell at one point and needed cuddles. Aww. Look at that face.

 We played, we went to the market, and then we went to our old favorite date spot for some grub.

 G was...well I don't know what this is, to be honest. He gives me this look from time to time. I don't know if he's memorizing things I do to tell his therapist someday, or if he is rehearsing for some dramatic role he will play in a movie someday. Your guess is as good as mine. But those lashes! This momma loves.

 And this guy was mad because he normally sits next to me, so he was blocking my photo and pouted until he and sultry face above could switch.

 We sat on the upper level and had a great view of the pub.

 Here is my favorite view.

 On our way back to the car I spotted the King of Pops cart, and stated I thought we should all cool down with a pop. K said that we just ate and couldn't possibly eat anything else.

I'll let you decide if everyone indeed was "too full to eat anything else".

 That's what I thought, too.

Outside

Camping & Fi-hur

Ahh. Nature. The fresh air, the trees, the chirping of bugs, the crackle of the fire. We love all these things. And this would be our boys' first trip out into the great outdoors for an overnight trip. We've camped in the playroom, in the backyard, but not out in the wild.

Early yesterday morning we loaded up and stormed the mountains in search of the perfect spot to turn into our outdoor home away from home. Our requirements are not much: a flat level space with some shade and ideally near a river.

And good fire pit to make our fi-hur. K loves to micromanage the hell out of a fire, and this camping spot we found had a great place to just so. We had to scout for some more rocks to finish the fire circle, but in no time we had a fire going.

 I wandered about taking pictures for my science classes, which I know my students will just appreciate soooo much. (slight sarcasm). I had fun, though,

 We settled in for lunch.

 Let the fire grow.

 Got the tent ready. She's a 7 man tent, but I don't know who makes those guidelines, because we had two adults, 2 kids and a pint sized dog and that felt plenty cozy.

 And settled in for a brewski.

 Explored more and waited for our friends to arrive.

The friends on whom we were waiting were our long time camping buddies, and for each set of parents it was the first time camping with kids. All the kids did really well, especially when they learned there were s'mores at the end of the night. A good portion of the last few hours of daylight was spent searching for the perfect marshmallow roasting stick. 

 Halfway into roasting marshmallows I looked down and Obi had decided that this business of laying on dirt was buuuuuulshit, and he called dibs on a kid's chair.

 The boy whose chair was taken didn't even notice, he was deep into a s'more fest.

A great first camping trip, and I'm already considering a next one.

Games with the Grands

I'm on a roll with my posts, so let's keep the ball rolling. No telling when my motivation to post will plummet.

Mid August we had a quick visit from the Grands, GG and Grampie, who are always willing to play some games. We've come a long way in our game playing ability. Fits are minimal and we can almost play this particular game with the proper rules. 

 

Obi got into the game playing spirit and had a good time with the balloons scattered about. Why there were balloons scattered about I cannot even remember.

I was lucky to marry into a family that didn't blink twice when I said "I have to collect some frogs to take to school tomorrow", but instead just headed out and gathered up critters. Here is GG and the boys, stalking some young frogs.

Obi was out there too, but on a leash. He hasn't earned off-leash priveledges yet. Check out our biotic and abiotic factors on the container!

Man I love this dog. We are still bonding, and I miss our other two terribly, but this guy is quickly working a way into our hearsts.

Check out the snail on the shell. Neat. That snail is still loose in my classroom, presumed to be dead.

Thanks GG and Grampie! For the visit and for gathering materials. My students loved the lab.