Randoms

I don't think I will get anything put up here if I try to order it much!  So, a smattering of pictures from months...and months past.

Eden performing with her music classmates.

Proud fishermen at Mommo and Daddo's ranch

At Hershey chocolate world in PA

Owen's favorite...every variation imaginable

At the Smithsonian on the roadtrip home from NC to Boston

The White House...oooh...aaah.  Kids were impressed by such a BIG house.

Asher in Sunday school eating locusts like John the Baptist.

At the Boston Public Library children's room on a day adventure to the city

Picture of the 'Swirts' sledding in the Burlington paper.

Kids making cookies All By Themselves

Checking out the view from the roof on a balmy day.

Owen:  "My perfect summer temperature is 65 degrees."

The Granlily

Owing to her honorable and impressive number of years on the planet, the kids in our house have dubbed a new unit of measure of their own devising, 'the Granlily.'

For instance...
Eden are you hungry?
"I am Granlily + Granlily + Granlily hungry!!!!"

Or when discussing history,
"That happened Granlily times Granlily times a google years ago."


Other math thinking that goes on around here.
Owen:  I've been thinking.  Numbers are infinite.  You can never stop counting, ever.  That means that eventually there is a number named 'tree'.  And one named 'Owen'.
Me:  So there's a number named, 'fire-chaser stinky bananas?'
Owen:  Exactly, mom!

In which I am very nearly no longer a mother of a 3 year old

cuddling with her in bed by the glow of the nightlight, quieting for sleep, I am struck!

Me:  Eden, you are going to be 4 in 10 days!  You won't be 3 anymore.  Oh no!  Eden, could you please stay 3?  Could you please not turn 4?
E:  [chuckles]  Well, I have to turn 4.  But don't worry mom, you will still wuv me.  You will always wuv me.  Don't worry.  I will still be a girl.  And you'll still wuv me when I'm 5 and 6 and 7.  I'll still be a girl, and I won't turn into a boy when I am 4.  I won't.
Me:  You'll still be the same Eden?  I know.  You are right, I'll love you when you're 4 too.  I will just always love you and there will be more years of you to love.
[Eden wraps her arms around my neck]
E: You know what I'm doing?
Me:  hugging me?
E:  I'm keeping you forever.  [and I melt into a puddle]
Me: I'm keeping you too.
OK, we can talk about 2 things and then I have to go put the boys to bed.
E:  Weeellll.....I know, I know!  I fawt (thought) of what I want [for Christmas].  I was sweeping (sleeping) last night and I finally fawt of it while I was sweeping.  I want a TELESCOPE!
Me:  A telescope, huh?  Really?  What is a telescope? [doubting she even knows what that is...]
E: You know dat fing dat you can look into outer space?  I want to wook at stars.  I wike wooking into outer space.  And I fink the bwudders would wike it too.  I super want a telescope.
Me:  Where did you learn about telescopes??
E:  I don't know!  I just know about dem somehow!
Me:  Wow, I wonder if you are going to be an astronaut when you grow up.
E:  [looks slightly worried]  Well, if I did dat, I would be far away from you and you couldn't see me!  I don't want to be an astronaut!  I don't want to be so far away, I want to see you.  You would be too sad if I was so far away.
Me:  Whew, that's good.  I would be super sad.  I'm glad you want to stay on earth.
E:  Yep, I fink I'll be an artist.  Then we can be close together.

These moments!  I fear they'll become a little more scarce with each birthday.  Could it get any better?  I'm so grateful for my little girl Christmas present. xo

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.