fall days.

I love the cool crispness of fall. Colder days - some dark, some sunny, most windy. The crunch of leaves underfoot. The frost on the rooftops, the birds busy at the birdfeeder. Boys layered up to keep warm. Those red rosy cheeks when they come in from the cold. The smell of outside lingering in hair, on clothes. The rich aroma of fresh cider on the stovetop, ready to warm them. Yes, life is good.

weekending.

Oh glorious Sunday. A day of not too hot, not too humid, blue skies, sunny and breezy. Just perfect to spend just about every moment outside.


We started off with an early morning park visit for swinging and spinning and being silly.


And then of course playing with neighbor friends in the yard/alley.


And then a nice walk at the botanical garden to see ... everything.


Fountains and reflections and water bugs and pom pom flowers bigger than a kids head. ;)


And of course bees and flowers and towers and butterflies.


And then the Italian Deli for Italian ice and good cheese.

And more playing with the neighbors...scooters and bikes and buckets (!?) and pit stops and forts and hide and seek. Stopping only for snack breaks.


They told me a warm bubble bath at the end of the day never felt so good. Happy Sunday!

science!

My husband is a software engineer who loves technology and even spent a few years in a robotics club. So, it is no surprise there is a lot of technology, robotics, and science in this house. A is a science/engineering kid like his dad. He loves it. We build from kits, program things, sometimes follow instructions, and sometimes come up with some fun ideas - usually inspired by something we have seen or read.


On Saturday, after a morning of watching some robotics competition inspiration and looking up fun looking projects, we decided to try something new. Brice found an application where we could visually map the wii-mote and the wii balance board onto displays and graphs. The boys loved seeing how movement affected displays, and played around with measurement and finding a balanced center. Even G thought this was cool.


From here my guys plan to create a program for the wii-mote and wii balance board to interface with and control a LEGO Mindstorms robot! Sweet! Can't wait.

brothers.

This is how I find them several times a day. I leave the room to grab snacks or fold some laundry and when I return there they are, heads close together, talking, working on something, giggling, reading, whispering. Today they were watching a Bill Nye DVD we picked up from the library, snuggled up. While they disagree on some things they are still and always, best friends. Brothers.

"Help your brother's boat across, and your own will reach the shore."
~Hindu Proverb

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I love taking photos of them together it seems!
Here are some previous posts of - you guessed it - brothers::
brothers ('11) | it doesn't get better than this | super heroes |
masters of disguise | brothers ('09) |
photo of the day - brothers | brothers (2007!!!!!!!!!) |

bits of summer.

This has been the summer of hot and humid. It seems to be never ending - but we try to enjoy it in short spurts.


The boys had found water balloons when out shopping and so wanted to try them. I know - they have done them before, but it has been a few years.


So we filled and filled and filled (all parents know water balloons take ridiculously long to fill, and only moments to burst). The goal was to get wet and stay cool but neither one got a hit - both from aim and dodging. :)




But I think the point of water balloons is the idea of them, more than the actual thing, don't you think? Squishy cool balloons. Blinding sunshine. Slivers of shade. Throwing. Dodging. Cold water. Prickly dry grass. Hot concrete under bare feet. Coming into cool inside air after getting so hot running around.


Bits of summer.

summer evening.

While I am known to not be a big fan of summer heat, I do have an ongoing love affair with (bug less) summer evenings. The light changes, the breezes shift, the air smells of earth and plants and water, and things just feel different.

I love taking the boys out for summer evenings...ice cream or popsicles, walks, parks, beaches.



It is quiet. Not many people are out. And it seems we all just sink in and just talk and enjoy each others company.



It may be simple, but I love it. We all love it. Even in this unschooling life full of time to be together, there are moments that are a little *more* because we consciously create them, knowing we are in the moment together.


Just us. On a beautiful summer night. And life is good.

long lovely weekend.

I think the long holiday weekend finally made me feel like we are back into the swing of summer. I love long weekends with my husband home - and knowing A might have a longish recovery adjustment time we didn't make any big plans. A weekend together was what we needed, and we spent it well.


Time in the kitchen for canning, baking and making.


Time in the garden caring for the jungle.


Visiting new parks in the mornings before the heat of the day. Followed by cold treats.


LEGO playdates with friends on the deck when it got hot, fan blowing, icy pitchers of water, and red white and blue cookies to decorate.


Re-arranging rooms and playing lots of games when the heat (and allergies) drove us inside.


And some (not loud) sparks and sparkle for little boys who like that kind of excitement.


Who doesn't like a little sparkle?


I know I do.

ready to resume...summer!

After weeks of cancellation and sick kids and re-scheduling, on Tuesday A finally had his oral surgery we have been waiting since February for. It was scary for him and quite stressful, but it went well and is done. I hope I never have to watch one of my children going under anesthesia in an operating room ever again.


He has had a few days of recovery and not feeling quite so hot, but is feeling better and better each day (and he has a groovy new hair cut). And now we can move on with our summer. And somehow it is ... July? We have a lot of catching up to do!

splash.

"...We run through the sprinkler, water on our lips. Water dripping from eyelashes. Water like fat raindrops that fall from skinny trees when you're not looking. I run like a monkey in my orange swimming trunks, jumping up and down, pounding the mushy grass with my feet..."
~ Gary Soto

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brothers.

May 2011

Do you ever dig through your photos and find photos from every year at the same time? I find myself every few months thinking...hmmm, I wonder what we were doing last year at this time. And then I keep digging and going along.

May 2010


May 2009


May 2008


May 2007

Today I looked through photos of my boys - best buddies, brothers. And yes, every year at this time I have photos of them together (of course). I imagine this going on and on and on, through the years, looking back, sharing, how big they will be, how much they will grow.

Can you imagine?

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