Catchup

Transferred accumulated photos on phone to desktop...here's the miscellany, with many of our events un-photographed, alas!  I much prefer to live the moment than to photograph it.  I can't seem to enjoy trying to do both.

You can never accuse Nunu of not doing her part to entertain the chitlins!  (Even if I am left with this game, but no one who wants to play it with them after she is gone!!! Ha ha.  They await your return.)

Daddy's Birthday!

Owen a long time ago at an event last spring where he got to hold a little puppy for an hour, with his face that says, "I am taking this puppy home and no one will stop me."  So cute, and he has grown up so much in half a year!

During the Big Apple Circus late last spring:

Summer vacation in NH with a stop at the Polar Caves (great fun for our adventure-seekers!):

On top of Black Cap Mountain

Cranmore adventure park!

At Storyland in NH with Uncle Lucas and Aunt Deb and Nunu-

Swan boat

Rowing the pirate ship

Can't you just see the glee on their faces.  It's not every day you get your picture taken with the campy talking tree.  (Campy=Storyland)

Eden, a blackbird popping out of the pie.

Much-enjoyed buoyancy experiment!  (That's a carrot in that salt water...)

Keep a sucker in my mouth, and I'll tolerate this nonsense-

Riding at longhorn at the Lost Pines Resort family reunion in honor of great-grandmother's 95th!

When a big family invades the restaurant--not nearly all of us!

When Dads take kids out to have some fun.  Me:  "Honey, why are the kids' clothes completely black??"

Chasing gulls and digging holes--best parts of the beach!

Eden is about the same size as the Goliath Grouper at the NE Aquarium!

On the Greenway after the Aquarium...Eden and Asher snagged the lobsters and Owen the butterfly.

Cleanest sheep you've ever seen at the Big E multi-state fair-

Owen, thrilled to get a chance to try out the auto-balancing skateboard that he would give his eye teeth to own.  He was good at it, unlike the adults who tried! 

Asher loving his soccer clinic on Monday nights--learned a lot this season!

Happy Halloween!

With friends in town for Trick or Treating-

The boys were required to tally and spreadsheet-chart their candy.  I remember Asher's stats:  130 pieces.  60% chocolaty candy, 40% sugary/fruity candy.  Good grief!  Asking them to do this had the unforeseen effect of giving them intimate knowledge of the amount of each type of candy they own, and prevents sneaky parental thieving.  (That is a good thing.)

Carving up the pumpkins

Preschool Picture-Eden 3.75 years

Our sweet Eden.  We love her so dearly!

There's a fungus [gnat] amungus.

Reuel has noticed little black spots on the inside of grocery store red peppers for years, and not thought much of it.  (Me, I am not so frugal, and black spots go to the trash.)  Tonight, why I am not sure, he decided to investigate a little closer.  I took a picture and pursued the ID and the closest I can get is 'fungus gnat', Mycomya sp., family Mycetophilidae.

Reuel says he's been eating them for years.

I asked if he would continue...he says NO.  Ignorance is bliss!  All that extra protein going to waste, for shame!

Blech.

Love these three!

Can't say that turning 40 is that thrilling.  But getting the cutest present of my life from my sweet children has made my year :)  If a local resident was wondering why there was a middle-aged woman riding around her yard on a bicycle in her bathrobe and morning hair this morning, well here's the answer.

I was treated to this treasure map upon awakening (graciously, after drinking my coffee):

A skillful representation of our entire property including yard, house, garage, swingset, maple trees, roof shingles, and a 'where you are' label.  And, behold!  It is covered with clues on the back!

clue 1 go to the place with the washing machine

clue 2 go to the Door

clue 3 go to our bigist swing

clue 4 go to your bike ride it around the house once you will see wy I made you Do that.

clue 5 go to the Door agin.

clue 6 go to the Boys room

clue 7 open the Box under my Bed.

Done

At once I began my pursuit of the trail of clues!  (...suspend for a moment your thought that you need merely go to the last clue.  Shame on you for even thinking it and spoiling this terrifically fun experience!)  After a brisk ride in 37 degrees in my bathrobe and flip flops (along with the kids on their bikes and scooters too!), I made it to the finish and found an incredible duct-tape envelope creation containing the object of my hunt.  

This was no small treasure...not one, not two, but THREE valuable coupons!

Redeemable for 1 hour of free time on a Friday, 1 hour of free time on a Monday and 5+ house jobs from each kid!  These children know my number!!  ("That's more than FIFTEEN jobs, mom!  And one job is like, "cleaning your room"!)

And this was not all.  No, check out this beauty:

'this one has an inside.  ---> on back'

'how will you get in.  you can stabb it.'

The edges were all sealed with clear packing tape, so I followed advice and stabbed away.  Aha!  

$1.25 from my sweet kiddos to buy my own colored pencils for coloring in my spectacular new grown-up coloring books from Megan! 

And then, a final taped-up envelope containing a special item:

Says Owen, "Now you know why you had to ride your bike around the house."  Ha ha!  I shared promptly.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived.  It just doesn't get better than this!   The kids have been most interested in how and why this present could be the best a Mom could receive, better than a diamond.  Perhaps someday they will understand!