What's New With The Kids

This is the journal entry I keep needing to make - the one to remind myself of where we were at this time in our lives, a few years from now...  I'm sharing so you can peek into life as we know it right now!

Brendan ~ Eight-and-a-half now, beefing up suddenly and he seems sooo big. He still asks for hugs every day, and I'm seizing these opportunities, while hoping that they won't really go away, even when he is a much bigger boy. I think to myself almost daily that I am not ready to be the mother of big kids!! The Transformer craze is not going away. Some days I wish we could have diversified a little more or steered him in another direction, because I am left wondering if there is any way this interest could contribute to a meaningful future. It made me feel better one day to hear some teenage boys in our homeschool group discussing the parallels between the Transfomer storyline and medieval history. Now that would be a fun way to learn! We are commonly held hostage to long "reviews" about individual Transformers, complete with step-by-step instructions for getting them into different modes (yawn). I have to say, Brendan's vocabulary is immense, and one reason he reads so well is because he's pursued something he's passionate about. I would rather have him reading Transformer packaging than Dick and Jane books, truthfully. He still loves marine life, although it's not as much a part of his daily activities at this point. He is a good helper to his siblings, even if they frequently irritate him. He's a Transformer buddy to Benjamin, and a creative playmate to Molly, easily getting into her schemes and instigating rowdy games of "chase" and hide-and-seek. Of course she adores him and eats it all up.

Benjamin ~ is our kid gifted with wondrous natural abilities of all kinds. He has endless pieces of electronic equipment dissected in his bedroom, boxes of circuit boards, fans, wires and other parts. He's a Lego wizard, and plays with building toys in a really unique way that we haven't seen with other kids. He collects those free apartment guides to study floor plans and exteriors, and "designs" future building projects with a ruler and pencil. I hope he becomes an architect and builds me a pretty house someday :) It's amazing to see how building is in his soul already! He's also naturally athletic, especially loving his pogo stick from St. Nick last Christmas. Sometimes we call him "monkey boy" because he's always perched on the edge of something, holding on with his toes, or twisted up like a pretzel. Ben's a relatively new six-year-old, so he's still super-cuddly and loves his Mama lots. He's the one who first started saying "Mama - all mine!" a few years ago, which now has passed down to Molly. Sometimes they fight about it. Oh, the hardship...

Molly ~ is so precociously two right now. Extremely imaginative, decisive and opinionated, she keeps everyone hopping to keep up with her ideas. I'm daily astounded by her verbal abilities. Of course I never compare (wink) but I am certainly not used to so much conversation with someone barely two-and-a-half. Frequently heard during the day: "Hey, I had a ideee-a!" She insists on endless "role-playing" with her stuffed animals and dolls, and really likes making them cry so she can make them feel better! I have to hold them upright and make them "talk" until she is content, and God help me if I am done before she is! Fortunately, she is pretty distract-able. I just have to mention another idea, ("How about making a picnic for Moosie?") and she's off and running with it. An interesting character named "Monser Beww" (Monster Bear) has emerged in the dramas. He chases everyone and tries to eat them. So, also frequently heard: "I a Monser Beww! I do-nna EAAT you!!! Yesss!" Great fun, running and screaming with big brothers. Thankfully, she also like to play "baby", informing me "You a Mama, I a bee-bee," while snuggling in for hugs and kisses. I wish it would never end!

Winter White

What a beautiful snow we had today - we so enjoyed watching it fall all afternoon! We don't get too many snowfalls in an average Kentucky winter, but this year has been an exception. Here are a few snapshots from our yard.

Rain!

I guess it's been 2 or 3 weeks since the last drop of rain... but with the unrelenting heat, it seemed like an eternity. What you can't see from these pictures is the acrid smell coming up from the steaming blacktop and parched ground as the water soaked in... the awesome gust of cool breeze that carried in the rain... the giddiness we all felt when we saw those first drops! I had to let the kids get a little wet, but we were getting ready to go out, so it wasn't a soaker this time.

Now to enjoy a few days' relief from the heat! Hope it's nice where you are!

A Perfect Summer Day, In Pictures

This last week we had a few blessed days of low humidity and breezy, 80 degree weather. It's the kind of weather that just calls you to come outdoors, not at all typical of a Kentucky mid-summer. Especially this year, we have more than paid for it already in 90+ degree days - something like 35 or 40 so far. I'll be the first to admit that I stay holed up in the AC much of the summer - no heat tolerance here!

So with a weather treat like this, it was a no-brainer for us to pack up our gear and plan a field day last Tuesday. Our neighbors have a huge field with a "grove" of tall trees behind their house, where they allow us to play. If we walk around, it's about 2 blocks from us. (This time we drove.) They have built a gazebo and a picnic shelter back there, and it's just like having a park all to ourselves. Here's a peek at what it's like:

I know. I can't believe how blessed we are here!

So, back to our day...

First we spread our blanket under a shade tree and unloaded the bikes. The sun filtered through the leaves just enough to be pleasant.

I brought a couple of books to read, but truth be told, we didn't read much. Molly and I looked at varieties of corn in The Life and Times of Corn - she loves naming colors right now.

The dogs across the fence were the kids' favorite attraction! Everyone laughed hysterically when the dogs pulled the sticks we offered them through the fence and chewed them up.

We stomped around the field for a while, turning over rocks and collecting big sticks. It got a little hot in the sun, so we came back to home base and had a little scavenger hunt. I gave the kids 4 or 5 objects to find and bring back to me. Very Charlotte Mason of me, don't you think? Here are some of our finds:

Soon we noticed all the insects around us:

The tree trunk swarming with giant ants ...

 A lightning bug, up too early...

Honeybees collecting pollen from clover flowers in the grass...

And even a ladybug hiding in the bark of our shade tree...

(I could really use a camera with better zoom these days!)

Next, we went up the hill to the picnic shelter. Here we sat on the swing and watched the neighborhood.We listened to cicadas in the trees, a lawnmower humming, birds singing, and a lazy airplane droning overhead. The sights, smells and sounds were such a throwback to long, aimless days of my childhood summers! I tried to help the kids notice everything.

View from the swing:

And a double self-portrait since Mommy is always hiding behind the camera! (Oops, I think Molly was crying in this one.)

Pretty soon, the kids were digging in the dirt, which is really the goal of any nature outing, right?

As the shadows grew longer, we played with bikes, balls, and kites which did not fly... a little more wind would have helped!

All in all, we called it a great day, and loaded up our loot for the ride home, where we enjoyed...

sweet cold watermelon! I think one of the best things about summer is finding these for under $3... a perfect treat after a day in the fresh air. Thanks for coming along!

Tree Huggers

These are some of my favorite pictures ever, and I just wanted them all in one place. Even if they are a couple of months old...

Brendan:

Benjamin:

Molly:

This is our little Bradford pear tree and it really doesn't have enough room for a big kid, but they beg to sit up there all the same. Benjamin in particular can sit in the tree for an hour - although it sure doesn't look very comfortable! .Doesn't he look like a little marsupial?

For the record, they don't climb up there by themselves... yet.... Also for the record, I loved climbing trees when I was a kid, too. I guess all kids do!

I do love this tree, from my safe place on the ground!

Riverfront on a June evening

We had a rare free weekend evening and mild weather on Friday, so we headed down to the riverfront to enjoy the views. A large flock of ducks and Canada geese were feeding near the bank, much to the kids' entertainment.

Seeing the city from "the other side" (where we once lived) is always spectacular. A riverboat passed just as it started to get dark. Just a beautiful evening! And I'm so excited to be sharing current pictures!