Aunt Mandy came to visit today and we went to Quechee to hike the gorge. It was a beautiful day and we all had a blast. I have such fond memories of Quechee Gorge from all the years we came up here as kids. It used to seem like such a looong hike, but it really isn’t. It’s not even a mile total, from top to bottom. We probably did almost 2 miles today, going up and down and making a few detours. We went down, played on the rocks, waded in the water, slipped and slided, and then went all the way to the top to look at the dam. Alan explained all the inner workings and Lex told me tonight that he had fun with everything, but the dam was his favorite part :) Then we all went out to lunch at an awesome restaurant Alan and I discovered a few weeks ago on a date. We sat outside at a picnic table, ate delicious food, and enjoyed the day. Then back to the house for naps and quiet time. After that Alan and Amanda entertained the kids while I holed up in the office to do some work for Good Beginnings, post some books for sale on half.com, and get caught up on old email. A good time was had by all :)

Lex running down the trail. He did a great job walking/running the entire way, up and down.

Peaking over the edge. Eve is on Mandy's shoulders in the background.

Wading in the little pools.

It’s almost August. Have you noticed? Guess what? We have not been to the lake once! I stopped their swimming lessons in June figuring we’d spend the summer at the lake, but, umm… nope. Today we had a trip to the dentist at 8am and decided to head to the lake after that. Sunny and high 80s, it was a good day.

At the dentist both kids got cleanings and Lex got explicit orders to wiggle that loose tooth and get it out! Otherwise we’ll be back in two weeks to discuss extraction. He is not in favor of that. Both kids did a stellar job of behaving for the hygienist and the dentist.

Eve at the dentist

Then we headed to the lake! The sun was shining, the water was warm, and I have top-notch kids :) We had fun. They even decided to wear their life jackets this year! Lex remembered the belly button rule and asked if he could go deeper if he was wearing his life jacket. I said yes, if he had the life jacket and I was with him. He ran up the beach to get his jacket! So funny. I didn’t have the camera then so you’ll just have to use your imagination, but here are a few other pictures.

Eve testing the waters

Lex watching fish

Lunch time

One of my favorite activities! We found a new blueberry patch that’s just a few minutes from our house. After a quick trip to the grocery store and the playground we decided to do a drive-by and see if the blueberry patch was open (it was 5:30pm already). When we got there it looked awesome and was open until 7pm. It’s way out in the country, quiet, on a rolling hill, and ripe for the picking. The kids immediately clamored to get out and pick some berries. Twist my arm. The whole time they were talking about who is more like Little Sal (Eve, of course!) and what we should do with the berries we picked, besides eat them. Lex decided muffins were definitely in order.

I was craving cookies as well so we did some baking today. I let funny boy dictate the cookies so we ended up with oatmeal raisin bar cookies, cut out with cookie cutters. They are tasty at least. :)

These posts are out of order. I should have done this one first to keep them in proper chronological order… but oh well! These are from the other day.

I love seeing Eve playing with my baby doll. It makes my heart happy.

Isn't she a good colorer? I love how she colors everything with color patches.

The morning glories are supposed to be politely climbing up the sunflowers (symbiotic, right?) but some seem to be a little overzealous and are suffocating the poor sunflowers! I hope everybody eventually blooms happily.

The neighbors invited us over to make s'mores with their fire pit. Parrish was thrilled (he's done this before), Eve was intrigued, but look at Lex in the back. He looks a little concerned.

Eve dug right in!

Parrish enjoyed his!

Lex, however, would have nothing to do with toasted marshmallows. We eventually talked him into eating a graham cracker and chocolate sandwich. Ha. Funny kid!

Lex discovered Dorrie, the witch, and here is what this morning’s outdoor play time looked like:

Luckily he’s a fast reader and was done with the book before long. Then there was lots of running and playing. He may look like his daddy, but he reads like his momma! :)

A few weeks ago I made a cleaning schedule (maybe I mentioned it?) because I feel like I spend a lot of time cleaning and neglecting the kids and it stresses me out… yet somehow my house is always dirty!  Actually, I think I did it the same time we made our summer schedule and blocked out 7am-8am as cleaning time.  I did great with it for a few weeks, but then got sick and went to Vegas and lost all touch with reality.  Sigh.  This week I decided it was time to get back to it.  The idea of the schedule is that I can clean, guilt free (ha!) from 7am-8am and get done what I get done and not have to think about it all day.  Usually the kids play during this time, though some day I may start making them do chores too! 

Today I said that I had to sweep and mop inside, sweep the front porch and sweep the mudroom.  To my surprise the kids both jumped up and said they wanted to clean the mudroom!  Well, ok!  We headed outside and I started telling them that I usually like to start by putting the shoes up on the bench.  Lex interruped and said, “No, we put the black mat outside and then put all of the shoes on it.  But first we have to bang the toes together and then the heels together to shake off all of the dirt.”  Apparently they’ve done this before, and believe it or not they did an awesome job!!  They worked together to get all the shoes out (Lex showing Eve the proper way to hold the shoes and tap them together) and then while Eve attempted to sweep the front porch with a big broom, Lex did an amazing job of sweeping out the mudroom!  I was shocked (what low expectations I have of my own children).  I did a tiny bit of touchup around the tight edges, but he got 98% of the dirt and dust out of there.  Towards the end I was thinking that I should have just sent them out and stayed inside myself to do the sweeping and mopping inside.  Who knew they can do the whole job!  After Lex was done sweeping they came up with a plan to get the shoes back inside without trecking in more dirt.  Lex wiped off his shoes and took them off in the mudroom, Eve stayed outside and brought each pair of shoes to the doorway (tapping them off again on the way), and then Lex took them from there and put them where they belonged.  So very cool!  I think next Tuesday they are on their own with that job! :)

I added a few more quotes to that page. Not sure if anyone ever looks there, so I’m going to post them here too :)

“I think I hear the noise of pumping pistons!” said Lex as we walked near a railroad track. 7/20/10

Eve: “How can you eat food when you’re sick?”
Lex: “The usual way, Eve.”
7/12/10

“See that pile of brown over there? That’s my mom!” says Eve. 7/3/10