I remember being sooo excited the day they switched to carts with two seats at BJs.
They both wanted to ride in the cart this week and I had a flashback to years ago.
They are growing! :) (the quality of my phone camera has also improved over the years)
I keep thinking we’re half way through July already, but then I look at the calendar and realize that it’s only the first week! So much for my slow summer vacation!
Here are a few pics of what’s been going on around here.
When we got home from Franklin the kids ran right over to the black raspberry patch and picked a big bowlful. I remember doing that last year as well. Does that now make it an annual tradition? :)
Then they spent some time hanging out together in the playhouse. Just chilling. Happy to be home. Obliging me for the occasional photo.
We’ve had a few very hot nights. Their bedroom is the worst! What you can’t see here are the ice packs, wrapped in wash clothes, tucked under their backs. They think it’s a special “hot night” treat to get to cuddle with ice packs. :)
Daddy to the rescue! Alan installed the super loud AC that we normally put right in their room into the storage room instead. With long ducting he has jerry rigged (excuse me, Alan-rigged!) central air for their bedroom. Lex calls it “Awesome Air Conditioning!”
Fourth of July preparations. Glow sticks, patriotic “boppy tails,” picnic dinner… thunderstorms! Oh well.
What do you bring to the playground? We had a big playdate with a bunch of Eve’s pre-k classmates. She insisted on bringing a full picnic (wooden food) and a (wooden) birthday cake! I thought she was crazy but the kids loved it!
Thanks to our CSA pickup Lex got one full serving of greens this week! That container was full of snap peas… now Lex is full of snap peas! One serving of greens a week is sufficient for a growing boy, right?!
We attended a birthday party at a playground this afternoon. A playground we used to go to all the time when the kids were younger, but haven’t been there in several years. They LOVED this new climbing structure!
They also loved this rocking toy! I’m going to see if I can find a picture of them on this thing when they were younger… more age appropriate for the toy!
Then a few more kids joined the fun! They had a BLAST! A little chaotic, but no one got hurt. That’s the sign of a good birthday party at the playground!
We had quiet time today from 4:15-5:15, after we got home from our morning activities and afternoon parties. Lex decided to do his piano practicing and homework at quiet time. He’s so excited, and adorable!
I just got lost in my own blog again looking for a picture of them on that rocking toy at the playground years ago. Sometimes I wish I had a “Like” button on the blog! I’d press it a lot. On my own blog posts. How’s that for self confidence! Or self amusement. :)
Now Alan is home and the laundry needs folding and the kitchen needs cleaning and I need to say goodnight.
I signed Lex up for piano lessons. He has been super excited, until, of course, this morning when it was time to go! Fortunately I was able to get him out the door with relatively little fuss and we made it to his first lesson. He absolutely LOVED it! The woman teaches lessons in her apartment. She also holds group lessons once a month which she encourages kids to attend so they can meet other piano players and play together. I think he’ll like that once he gets a little more practice. She was very impressed with his existing knowledge, once or twice glancing over his head towards me with a look of surprise. He is so excited and loved the lesson. As I was sitting there listening to them (parents are encouraged to stay, which is a good thing because I was staying) I was noticing how completely comfortable he was. The place was homey (her home!) and quiet and it was just the two of them together. He just settled right in and played!
Each finger gets a number. They practiced wiggling each number. :)
He’s so cute! He has to scoot his little butt back and forth across the bench to reach from one end of the piano to the other.
Alan had Eve for the morning so when we left we decided to get some lunch. Along the way we found a sparkling piano! To celebrate their 50 years, the Hopkins Center has placed 50 pianos all around town (the exhibit is called Hands On Pianos). Each has been donated and decorated by local businesses and artists. There is also a Valley Quest to go along with the exhibit. Each piano has a letter written on one of the keys. Collect all of the letters and they form a song.
Lex and I got some lunch, ate outside on a bench, and stopped along the way to play several of the pianos. He is excited about the Valley Quest and we’re going to try to find all 50 pianos this month! :)
This one was missing it’s letter!
Some of the pianos have extra games on them. This one has 50 smiling faces, some more famous than others. They challenge you to identify as many as you can and email them. I think there is a prize for the person who can identify the most. It will not be me!
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We got in the car and were about to pull out of the parking space when Lex spotted this one. We had a few minutes left on the meter so we jumped out of the car again and went to check it out.
This is a neat looking one with whales swimming above the skyline.
We spent quite a bit of time at this one once we realized the front opened up. Most of the others were painted shut or somehow otherwise secured shut! Lex studied the inner workings of the piano while I did my best to explain things to him. His mechanical mind is so far beyond mine!
This afternoon we went to a birthday part at a playground and despite everyone being hot, tired, and hungry on the way home we took a quick stop at this piano we spotted along the way.
When we finally got home this afternoon we printed the Valley Quest and matched up the clues we could with the pianos we visited this morning. We know where a few more are and are exited to visit them and find the rest. Apparently the game ends on July 31st, so we have to stay focused! :)
Lex was brave tonight and went to the counter to order his own dessert. I let him, but couldn’t resist dashing over for a quick pic. :)
Happy 4th of July! Or, as Lex insists we say, Happy Independence Day! “Otherwise you’re just saying the date,” he says.
We spent the morning following Lex’s schedule (he was so pleased!) and didn’t fall off schedule until 11am! Pretty good, eh? :) We spent the afternoon eating popsicles and playing baseball outside with the neighbors. At 6:30, when we were all packed up and ready to walk down the hill for our local fireworks extravaganza, the sky opened up! A quick weather check showed the forecast had changed from chance of showers to 95% chance of severe storms. Lightening, hail, high winds, etc. We decided to stay home and Alan suggested a movie night instead. As we settled in the living room, “Animal Crackers” (Marx Brothers) on the TV, animal crackers in a bowl, and daddy doling out M&Ms, the sky opened up again and the downpour validated our decision.
Thunderboomers, rain, and massive giggles in the living room. Life is good, thanks to those brave men and women who founded this country and defend her still today!
Think I need to turn this compost!? :) At this point maybe I should just wait and see what’s growing. I know there is at least a tomato plant and a rather large squash of some sort.
I Can’t Wait
I can’t wait to start following the schedule I made.
I can’t wait for the fireworks (there is no parade).
I couldn’t wait to start writing this poem,
and now that I’m done, my family I’ll show’em.
by Lex, 7/4/2012
Here’s Lex reading the poem to Eve. I had to grab the camera quickly so I missed the first little bit. It’s cute anyway.
We went down to visit Julie and her girls last week. It may be our last visit. Sob! I wish we had been doing this weekday visits for the past five years! The kids played with water balloons and made a huge mess in Molly’s room (and everywhere else in the house!) and were generally silly together. Kate gave me all her love and snuggles. Julie and I hung out and chatted. Good times!
At first they weren’t sure exactly what to do with the water balloons…
… but they figured it out pretty quickly!
Baby love! This is what I saw all day! :) It’s off center because I didn’t want to make her wait too long trying to aim the camera.
Lex made a water balloon snowman. He was very proud. :)
This is what water balloons are for! And big backyards. And summertime!
I love this one. Lex likes babies. :)
Julie is a genius! Look at the fun they have in their backyard!
They filled up a bunch and hid them around the yard. Then they had a water balloon hunt. These were the found ones.
For awhile we were blurring the lines between summer fun and Easter activities. :)
After the water balloon fun ended we all went out for a walk. Or a ride, depending on who you talk to.
This makes me smile. Why are we not neighbors?!
I couldn’t decide which of the following four to post! They all make me smile. :)
Kate was asking and doing the sign for her hat. :)
Eve’s turn to pull the heavy load. :)
I just checked her blog to see what’s new and found this: The sign goes up. Sob! Err, um… I mean, best of luck to them and happy new life in the old state.