The O & A & E Files: August 2013

Thursday, August 29, 2013

videos

I think I *finally* got the videos going for public consumption at http://theofiles.blogspot.com/2013/08/flagging.html

Very confusing! (Trying to find options other than vimeo.com since the presence of questionable material has been pointed out to me...hadn't ever noticed it, pbbblt.)
:)
Amy

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Family Camp

We went to family camp and all we got were these lousy pictures:

Owen made it to the top this year all on his own, but we didn't get that very last picture!!

Asher was very pleased to be in on the action a little more than being pulled up the wall by his harness. He did great climbing!

Well, hardly lousy pictures! But very few!!

Highlights were speedboat tubing, gymnastics, crafts, and of course, campfires!!! Campfires are the best because it's so rare to get to spend 3 days with good friends really relaxing and deepening friendships. What a wonderful refreshing time with dearly loved people. Aaah. How quickly reality returns when we get home! (The one nice thing about being home, however, is that it is not 47 degrees at night with only screens in the windows. We had good bedding, so we did OK, but the boys stayed in bed in the morning longer than I've ever seen!!

Flagging...

...lots of travel
...disheveled house
...kids who forgot how to play by themselves after so many vacations
...short night of sleep
...school about to start
...needed to have some fun!

Every dish I did not need to wash today was a huge gift. Plus, it is great fun at our house to have a floor picnic. When better than when mom is absolutely beat and the floor is sooooo ready for a mop.

And then, this. Oh, wow, you would never believe these are the same kids who typically respond to my requests to participate in cleaning tasks with great wailing and gnashing of teeth :}

https://picasaweb.google.com/104074210619117775955/August28201303#5917338674453290946

and the beautiful finale:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104074210619117775955/August28201302#5917338186198381794

Here were yesterday's shenanigans:

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Pretzel night

Eden attacked the rolling of the dough for soft pretzels with great focused attention and vigor! Future bread baker in the making!

That is, until she discovered the concept of tasting the dough, at which point all rolling ceased.

Finished!

Enjoying the labors (only a nibble for me, sigh!)

Skate park

Owen announced to Reuel at breakfast (unbeknownst to me) that he was going to build a skateboard park.

There was a whole lot of peace that morning--that I remember--while the boys were playing outside and when I came out later...homemade skateboard park. Oh, the near concussions and bloody knees that day that are all worth it when you get to try to ride on top of wooden obstacles of your own invention!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Maine 2013

We enjoyed an absolutely splendid and spoilarific week at the beach in Maine with Aunt Karen, Mom, Aunt Sue, Deb and Lucas. (Thank you, you know who you are!) With visits from friends Robin, et al. and Alison, et al. during the week too! We only had one solid day of rain, and even that was only really coming down in the afternoon. We did a whole lot of beach time, dug giant holes in the sand, boogie-boarded, jumped waves, a couple of us actually dunked ourselves in the water, flew our kite, swam in the pool 'til we were prunes, went hiking, skipped rocks, ate a whole lot of homemade ice cream and some very yummy meals, kayaked, went crab-fishing, walked the lovely Marginal Way in Ogunquit, climbed rocks, saw the Bush's place in Kennebunkport (OK, fine, we gawked from the road and were not exactly invited in. The guard house and fence were a little discouraging from knocking on the door), ate lobster, and drank a lot of coffee to keep up with the kids. AND MET MY SISTER'S BOYFRIEND. Who was pretty fantastic! What a week!

I have to say, though, the phenomenon of going to the beach in Maine is mildly hilarious. I always thought Mainers must just be very hearty folk. I like swimming in the ocean in Massachusetts on a hot day, but it's no bathwater. It is quite something to see hundreds of people camped out on a gorgeous sandy beach, doing all the normal beach stuff, but looking up and down the shore as far as the eye can see and maybe on a really hot day counting about 6 people in the water!! It was COLD!! I did dunk in up to my neck 3 times and did not need emergency resuscitation, but I wasn't sure there for a minute. The rocky shoreline is really beautiful though. Kennebunkport is kind of insanely pretty with mansions lining the rocks, wow.

Starting a hike at the estuarine research center. Do they research mosquitoes? Because there is an abundant population! A lovely hike to a salt marsh and then a beach covered in surf-smoothed rocks of many types.

Skipping rocks! Always a hit!

Asher's I-just-threw-a-rock stance:

One of the crabs we brought home. We cooked about 10. We caught about 100! In an hour! Lower a mesh bag containing a piece of raw chicken off the dock and pull it right back up covered with 12 crabs. Instead of shooting fish in a barrel I'm going to start saying something is as easy as catching crabs in Maine. That doesn't sound too good. Better stick with fish in a barrel.

Bucket full of crabs. If you buy hand-picked crab meat, as I have sometimes done, do not EVER complain about the price. I am quite sure those workers are severely underpaid. Reuel and I amassed 5T of meat after 2 hours, I think :}

Lobstah dinnah

Eden found the lobsters a great deal more exciting to play with than to eat.

Asher, leg-sucker.

Watermelon man

We cut into the watermelon and he kind of looked like a muppet. So we kept going...

Asher turns 4!

Thought about face-painting for the party, but decided I liked my house undabbed with red and blue faceprints, so Asher got his face done on Birthday Party Eve.