Summer: Check

Remember the Summer Checklist I wrote in June? We checked off 18 out of 24 items. And here are the photos to prove it.

Letterboxing

(We accidently found a geochache on the same outing.)

Nothing says summer like backyard sprinklers.

Fireworks for the Fourth.


Jacob eating a hot dog during our backyard campout.


The boys listening while I read them ghost stories in the tent.
Notice Jacob's "I'm scared" face - totally faked for the camera.


Cute baby - not on the list, but how could I resist?

Our first trip to the splashpad.

Just playing at Grandpa's house.

The boys washing the mud out of their shoes after picking peas.

Reading "The Wizard of Oz" in the backyard.

Grace and Aunt Constance at the zoo.

Abram, also at the zoo.

Our second trip to the splashpad. Abram was beginning to warm up to the water.

Grace turned into a water-baby overnight.

Snowcones in the park.

We found some fantastic swimming teachers this summer, and both of the boys took lessons. I couldn't believe my eyes when both boys jumped off the diving board after only six lessons.

Abram meets a goat. The goat appeared equally curious.

Grace rode a pony at the Fair! I really thought she would chicken out once she got up there, but I was wrong. She still talks about it constantly. I don't know how I ended up with a horse girl - I've always been afraid of them.

Well, except for this kind. :)

Best. Summer. Ever.

What? It's over???

This is a Test

Choose the best answer.

1. Why haven't I kept up on this blog like I wanted to?

a. We became unexpectedly wealthy and moved to our own private island in the Bahamas. Internet coverage is spotty.

b. I decided to go back in time. The dinosaurs are fascinating, but alas, no computers.

c. Nobody reads it anyway. I mean nobody but you, Mom.

d. I have four children - duh - I'm lucky to get a shower most days.

2. In order to blog more, I will need to:

a. Skip the showers.

b. Teach the children to be hunter-gatherers.

c. Really move to the Bahamas...or at least somewhere quiet.

d. Invest in a high-quality cleaning robot.

As Promised

Yes, I'm finally posting pictures of the family vacation we took two months ago.

We had a marvelous time, as you can tell.

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Baby meets the beach

Searching for sand crabs

Among the redwoods

Isaac and Mommy going on a ghost hunt

At the Santa Cruz boardwalk

Dipping Abram's toes in the Pacific (somewhat against his will)

Breakfast at the Dolphin

Watching the sea lions at the Wharf

Dinner with Cousin Bev and Art - two of the kindest, most hospitable people you could ever meet

Jacob and Isaac meet Uncle Bob

Abram meets his Aunt Arlene

Happy birthday, Grandma Two!

What a blessing it was to be there to celebrate, and to introduce her to our three youngest children for the first time.

There's No Place Like Home

So much has happened this summer (all good) that the blog has taken a back seat. I'll attempt to catch up a little bit.

As soon as school let out, we set off for a week-and-a-half vacation in sunny California. (More on that soon.) It was a glorious trip, with the exception of the very last day - when Grace woke up with a stomach virus. To commemorate the drive home, Marty and I penned this song, to the tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

On the last day of vacation, my family gave to me:

Twelve eternal hours

Eleven o'clock departure

Ten "How much longer"s

Nine construction zones

Eight stops for bathrooms

Seven diaper changes

Six tired travelers

FIVE HUNDRED MILES

Four times Gracie threw up

Three kiddie movies

Two boys a bickering

And I've never been so happy to be home.

Things To Do This Summer

{he's got the summer dress code down}

Eat a snowcone

Watch fireworks on the 4th of July

Go letterboxing

Feed the ducks

Walk on the beach

Go to the zoo

Make homemade ice cream

Complete the summer reading program at the local library

Visit the Farmer's Market

Watch a movie in the park

Can peaches

Go on a scavenger hunt

Camp out in the backyard

Take a long walk on a favorite neighborhood path

Visit the splashpad

Try a new art technique

Blow bubbles

Take a road trip

Watch the sun set over the ocean

Spend a day at the county Fair

Have a movie night with popcorn and theater candy

Read a bestseller on a blanket on the lawn

Ride a carousel

Roast marshmallows

First Grade, First Grade!

My Isaac graduated from Kindergarten today. We are SO PROUD. He has had an amazing year with an outstanding teacher who went out of her way to encourage his gift for reading. (He's now reading at a fourth grade level.) He has been counting down the days until he can officially call himself a first grader. Way to go, Boo!

No Wonder We Have Issues

Lately, Grace has become very interested in categorizing people by gender.

This morning she and I had a little talk:


Grace: I'm a girl, Mom.

Mommy: Yes, you are a girl. What about Mommy? Is Mommy a boy or a girl?

Grace: A boy.

Mommy: No, Mommy is a girl. What is Grandma?

Grace: A boy.

Mommy: Hmmm... What is Abram?

Grace: A boy.

Mommy: What is Jacob?

Grace: A boy.

Mommy: What is Isaac?

Grace: Isaac... Isaac... I don't know.

Roses are Red...

On Mother's Day morning, I was greeted by a plate of orange rolls and a cup of cocoa on my nightstand...and four very enthusiastic children in my bedroom (okay, one of them just wanted to eat.)

Marty had placed in each room of the house a vase of flowers, a small gift, and a handprint from the giver.

A single red rose from my little Abram.

Yellow daisies from Grace. "Da yellow ones are MINE, Mom!" she told me a dozen times.

Purple daisies from Isaac.

Red carnations from Jacob. Along with a handmade calendar of things he would do all week: do his chores before play without being asked, take me out for a doughnut, do the dishes, make dinner one night....

And gorgeous orange lilies from Marty. He even made his own handprint. :)

I am a lucky Mama!

At Least They're Not Snakes

For someone who is irrationally terrified of many things lately (e.g., falling into the toilet, taking a bath, sprinklers, faucets in general - hmm, see a theme there?...) Grace's newfound love for WORMS is surprising. She has caught several dozen over the last month as Marty turned over the garden beds. She carries them around - sometimes individually, sometimes in squirming, tangled masses - and talks to them. Often in the third person.

"He-he! He's so beautiful. I love him!"

{Giggle} "He tickles me!"


She feeds them...

"Here you go, worm. Eat your dinner now."


Sometimes she is a little, um... too loving.

"Da worm is tired. He needs a nap."

Uh, Grace... You squeezed him too hard. He's not sleeping...

"Yeah, da worm is dead now. He's really, really dead."




She gently places the limp worm in the mass graveyard shade beneath the maple tree. (She'll continue to check on him periodically, to make sure he's still dead.) Then she's off to search for her next pet.

Six Candles

My sweet, patient, happy little boy is SIX!

Bakugan, Bendaroos, airplanes and rockets.

Decorating his cake of choice with Mom. (And licking the frosting off the spatula.)

Dinner at McDonald's.

A sunny afternoon of miniature golf.

{That's 6-year-old for paradise.}

Eureka

{very odd day in November when the boys decided to paint themselves as catfish}

I can't tell you the number of times I have walked into the boys' room, and thought, "What is that smell?? It's familiar, but I can't quite place it..."

Well, I have finally deciphered it:

85% hamster cage

15% wet dog

(We don't own a hamster. Or a dog.)