Boys of Summer

This picture just makes me happy. Can you say "summer for little boys"?

I snapped it yesterday during Nathaniel's birthday party. He's one of those poor kids born in August who always end up celebrating a birthday while we're on vacation and while all his friends are on vacation, too. So, we did a party now while everyone was still in town and in touch.

We did a fun treasure hunt all over the yard with a piratey theme, but mostly, the boys just played together.

I love it. I love the sounds of the wild and complex story lines they come up with. I love the running all over the house and yard in an attempt to fulfill whatever their imaginations have come up with.

And I love that one of them said, "Hey, what's back there?" and they all climbed up on the fence to check it out.

Father and Son camp out!!

That's right, kids! My favorite time of year is upon us. The reason I have all boys! It is the annual father and son camp out this weekend!

I love my boys.

I love my husband.

I love camping.

But sometimes it is wonderful to know that the house is ALL MINE for 16 hours in a row. In years past I have had the car happily loaded for my grumbling husband hours before it was time to go.

I usually spend my precious free time to scrapbook, read, and watch the ENTIRE Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth.

I never invite people over. Why would I do that? I have the house to myself!

I'm mixing it up this year. (I'm just so wild and crazy, right?)

I'm doing this:
While I watch this:


And I will enjoy this:
And then some of this:
The one cancels out the other, right? Right?!

Class Pets?

Some 2nd grade classrooms have class pets like hamsters, or chameleons, or guinea pigs. And then there is Benjamin's classroom. They received eggs a few weeks ago, watched them hatch last week, and today we were able to enjoy 7 of the baby chicks at our home! All sorts of cuteness! (And let me tell you, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" jokes are WAY funnier when told in the presence of actual chickens.)

The Van

Getting married, having kids, and buying a house did not make me feel old. Buying a minivan did.

We bought our van right before Caleb was born because I couldn't fit three car seats in the back of our civic. I tried. A lot. I borrowed other people's seats and tried every possible combination. It just wasn't going to happen. So, after 6 years of marriage, we went from a long-time one car family to a two car family.

There are moments now when I feel a little guilty driving a minivan, and I certainly hate it when I'm at the gas pump. But then there is the rest of the time. Like when I can have my three boys and their friends pile in for a trip to the woods. Or when I remember that I have three boys that are well on their way to being over six feet tall. Or when I have all the groceries for our family for the month, and the treats for the next scout activity, and for a seminary breakfast all loaded in one trip. Or when I pack for two week long "camping in the mountains then camping at the beach" trips.

When not hauling everyone and everything everywhere, we try to utilize the great bike trails and bus system that Columbus has to offer. The rest of the time we like our van. And I don't resent it anymore for making me feel old. I have kids to do that for me.

Happy Gardening surprises...

Our first Spring in Ohio was 3 years ago. Since the soil composition is different here, I wasn't sure what would grow and what wouldn't. That first spring I bought a bunch of different things just to see what would take and what wouldn't. I whimsically bought some asparagus crowns just to see what would happen. I had read in a gardening book pages of instructions for dealing with asparagus. And then I read in another gardening book to just throw them in the ground and wait. The latter is my kind of gardening, so I went with it, not knowing what would happen. I planted my crowns in different places all over the yard, just to see which soil/sun combination would work best.

And then I forgot about them.

Until this year!!! I was digging up some creeping phlox for a friend when she said, "Hey, look, you have asparagus!"

And sure enough, there were 3 spears of asparagus practically buried by weeds! I cut them and made them for dinner that night. We get more every week. In celebration, I ordered 30 crowns and made a special box for them.

Now, I just have to wait three more years for them to be edible.

I made Todd promise me that we would stay for at least three years when we first moved here. I wonder if I could convince him that a whole bed of asparagus is worth three more years.

Not just for eggs...

So this is one of those things that I think that everybody else knows, but when I use this in front of someone outside our family, I am assured that they don't. That egg slicer you received as a wedding present and never use? It also slices strawberries!! (Firmer berries are preferred. The softer ones end up sort of like the avocado I once put in to see what would happen. I'm sure you can imagine.) In this lovely strawberry season when they are cheap and delicious, we go through 12 lbs of berries in a weekend. Easily. This tool makes it so my kids can help with the strawberry slicing without me freaking out about them wielding sharp knives. I hull. They slice. Everybody wins!

Old

I have reached a new level of feeling ridiculously old. Yesterday Benjamin wore one of my shirts to school. We didn't realize it until the afternoon. Why not? Because it mostly fit him. Today I borrowed a hoodie from him because I was cold.

It fits me perfectly.

I am sooo not old enough to have a child that I can share clothes with!!