After Dinner Walk Indeed

A morsel from yesterday that is too summer-boyish to be forgotten: Last night during an after dinner walk, as we approached one of the last curves to our house, Bryce wordlessly darted behind us and with appropriately cobra-like reflexes deftly nabbed a garter snake.  Bryce and Deacon then took turns holding it as we made our way home, and once we neared the driveway's top Deacon gave the snake a chance to show us all how it slinked. Kyle had hurriedly clamored out of the double jogger, and the snake was mere seconds on the ground when he picked it up, giggling as it curved around his fingers. And then, to the boys' absolute DELIGHT the snake proceeded to spit out snails.  Again and again and again.

August 27-First Day of School-First Family of 6 Carride

School began for Bryce (first grade with Mrs. McIvor) and Deacon (preschool with Mrs. Rust) way back on Monday, August 27th. The boys are loving being back at school.
 Last Friday night was Back to School night, and the first time Bryce got to have a hot lunch at school (Fridays are typically order from a fast food restaurant days). After school Bryce told me, "That roast beef sandwich was awesome". Not even with an exclamation point, but a solid carved in stone very-important fact that should be noted, and repeated. He continued, "I got potato bites and two cookies". Pretty much his best lunch ever.
Speaking of lunch: Phil has convinced this child that butterscotch pudding is better than chocolate--so in his school lunches each day he gets the butterscotch pudding, and Deacon eats a chocolate pudding at home each day, and Kyle refuses to eat any pudding products. I limit myself to licking the chocolate pudding lid--such self control.

And speaking of that first car ride, I attached a noisy buttony toy to the side of Sean's carseat that's nearest to Kyle, so that Kyle has something other than Sean to poke.  So far, so good.

Three year olds driving

When Bennett was done driving, rather than skoootch over into the actual driver's seat, Kyle simply reached down and pressed the pedal with his hand.  And he sort of eschewed steering.   So he did some erractic driving (just like his mother--that's what my first ever ticket was for, though I wasn't pressing the pedal with my hand . . . I was turning left with my right turn signal). He figured out the radio, so he could dance while erratically driving.

I'm thinking of planning a kids' party with just battery operated vehicles.  We wouldn't even need to have other games, or even food . . . although we could set up a drive-thru at which each kid got a juice box and a cupcake.  This is actually a great idea--someone steal it and then invite my kids.

Magic Hike

Pictured is the fort that Bryce and Deacon made with Granddaddy on their Magic Hike yesterday. Idler's Rest is sort of magical with all those cedars shadowing the forest floor, and the fallen trees to scamper over, and how it sort of seems pristine even though all the paths are well managed and there are benches . . . apparently as they tucked in to their lunch the wind began to make the trees cricket and Granddaddy explained the noise as dragons. And very soon all their five and six year old bravery was used up, and lunch was finished at home. They boys loved it. It was all they could talk about. Idler's Rest is one of those spots that always makes me lament again, that the only downside to Palouse living is the trade off we make for rolling hills over trees.

Last September . . .

 

Tonight my dad emailed me a photo of the two of us from earlier tonight . . . just before I took him out for a Happy Father's Day dinner. While I was being critical of my pregnant self, I decided to peruse photos from last summer. You know, to compare how different I look now (not running) to then (running every day). I was ripped from my fruitless waste of time by this adorable photo. Bryce and Deacon, hugging each other just before we left for their baptism. You can see Bryce clutching a wipey in his hand, so I know we were just seconds from leaving. These boys are so amazing. So special. So fun. We just love them to pieces.

Sunny March Lord's Day

 

Granddaddy Dan took the boys on a long after lunch walk--here's a photo from their trek. Today the the weather is wonderful: sunny, very light breeze, and just plain cheeful. (I love winter and snow . . . but today is the kind of day that woos you into loving Spring.)
I just finished planting the rest of my fall bulbs (fingers crossed about that one), and finally trimmed my oregano. Today we had lunch with Nana Judy & Papa Ron, and as we were waiting for them to arrive, I told Phil that I very suddenly feel very grown-up . . . Is it the nearly 15 week old baby growing inside me? Is it having a kindergarten-er who reads? Is it planning out landscaping and contemplating how much sod to buy? Is leaving some of the banana bread muffins void of chocolate chips? Who knows. But this grown-up stuff is pretty wonderful.

Mom started chemo

 

So some lunching and shopping were in order.

Tintin was fantastic.

You've just got to round up the whole family, and go see Tintin. Fantastic. So good. We loved it. And, I really want them to make a whole series of the films so super-high box office numbers would be great.

See Tintin for you. See Tintin for me! For the kids.

Our 5th Anniversary was yesterday, and we wanted to stay low-key and do kid friendly stuff. So that meant Tintin (so good) and then Wingers. Perfect easy day of fun. Now we have two little Tintins running around the house, and at least one Snowy.

Autumn Aboretum

 

That's a heron, right Mom?
Saturday we took super sun shiny day walk at the UI Aboretum. I love it there! It's the one time I'll admit to pretending I own Pemberly and that I'm touring my grounds. We collected sticks (which I think are still in the back of the car), pinecones, leaves, and some us tried to collect rocks and bugs. Bryce's kindergarten class had gone there earlier in October, and that day was perfect weather and better than a playground so Deacon needed to run through the trees too.

I was actually so full of anticipation for them, that I completely forgot about feeding any of us, so we went to A&W afterwards and the boys were amazed--deeming it even better than McDonalds (high praise indeed).

Green Bluff Fun

 

Last Sunday we trekked to Coeur d'Alene to go to church with the cousins, and then we along the fam met up with more family at Green Bluff north of Spokane. What a wonderful fall day! First stop, we left Granddaddy Dan to help Aunt Adie unload her munchkins, while Bryce and Deacon insisted on beelineing it to the ponies. This year they each got to ride Misty, and gave Smokey their regards (they'd wanted to re-ride Smokey, but twas not to be). We passed on draft horse wagon pull (once you're in the wagon you can't even see the horses, so I think it's just silliness). We got halfway across the lawn to meet up with cousins, when Bryce got that very grown-up look that says I'm barely not exploding from excitement--and then he reminded us all that we had to keep a look out for the pumpkin princess, "She'll be wearing a princess dress". And . . . sure enough, orange prom dress pumpkin wand and all. If we ever go to a Disney theme park, my kids might do what that AFV winner did.

After loading up our wagon with nine humongous pumpkins, and collecting an excessive amount of Honey Crisps, my turn in line came up. I'd just observed the man ahead of me pay $24 for one large pumpkin and a medium bag of apples, so we ended up getting just one pumpkin.

On the drive home we had a surprise Dairy Queen stop (Deacon managed to spill half of his mini blizzard on his right thigh), then we stopped in Rockford and I pre-Christmas shopped and the nice lady gave us all free drinks (apparently at that store you should always opt to pay for coffee/hot cocoa at the same time as your merchanidise!).

Super fun fall day! I managed to get zero photos of Ava (I carried her for a bit as we chased the big boys through the maze--so fun). And Ava looked so cute that day, so just imagine another cute girlie-girl next to Lucy!

Bowling is Emotional

 

Phil surprised us Saturday with a bowling & blizzards. (I actually had to rally my enthusiasm for this, as I had a full day of post-camping/deep house cleaning planned . . . turns out, Phil's a whole bit more fun than I am.) Saturdays are pretty fun when you find yourself eating a blizzard after getting whooped by the four-year old at bowling!

Bishops Orchard

 

We showed up complete novices toting one lonely milk jug for cider and zero apple receptacles. Thankfully, we were given bag and box. Now we have heaps of assorted apples and a lovely platter of pears; next year we will save milk jugs all summer and have scads of cider.
Phil loved it and is convinced we need to start an orchard since his grandma and grandpa had an orchard and it was the best. My vote is for the Honey Crisps!

Doughnuts with Sprinkles at the Market

 

On our second trek to the Moscow Farmers' Market we hit the same place as the first time, Wheatberries Bake Shop--you know the one store that has a storefront and we could go to anytime.
Bryce was clearly enjoying the coffee-lounge-esque woman tickling the ivories singing covers of chanteuses such as Cyndi Lauper as much as I was.

Huckleberry Haul

 

After last year's pitiful handful of berries, this year our Sunday after church trip seemed incredible--and I think we only picked for an hour and half--with Phil doing most of the picking. This is our third year taking the boys out--Deacon was just two his first trip! And now at five and four they've got it down . . . but it doesn't hold their attention. It's hard for a berry to compete with grasshoppers, sticks, rusty tin cans, and the possiblity of seeing a deer or bear.

Deacon was all geared up for a hike, pack filled with toys and all, so he left the rest of us to "hike" and every five or ten feet would call up to me, "Mommy! Do you see my pack? I see your face. I'm not too far. Yell if you need me to protect you!"

Bryce was a perfect berry scout, and found pointing out berry-covered bushes to be far more intriging than actually picking their berries. Phil would answer, "Thanks Bryce. I'm going to work my way over there, buddy". So, finally Bryce suggested that we both work our ways a little faster.

Deacon conked out rather quickly on the drive home, only opening his eyes when I asked if he wanted a peanut butter cup (a post hike tradition), then he closed his eyes to eat it, and contentedly drifted back into complete sleep with his fingers still posed as if clasping a ghost peanut butter cup.

Also, I learned how bears eat berries (no we didn't see one); I just finally remembered to ask Phil. Who if you didn't know, knows everything (except he didn't know who Amy Winehouse was when I mentioned she'd died).

Boy Band

 

We hit Silverwood with Daniel & Roman--who had already been to the wild west theme park five times within the fortnight. Somehow, even for the McMurray children for whom this was the first trip of 2011, the allure of a bagel was greater than that of the rides.

Also we're liars. Silverwood prohibits outside food or drink, and let me tell you I am not paying $6.50 for my kids to have a giant pretzel that will make them queasy. To copy our deviant behavior just memorize one little phrase: gluten free snacks! (They're not, but really do you want your bag pilfered by some CHS/LCHS doofus?)

Toy Aisles

 

Bryce contemplates his 'upcoming' [9/25] 6th birthday.
Deacon contemplates Thor.

PS: I heart Target.

Just a quick trip . . .

 A week or so ago I talked my sweet neighbor into joining us at the u-pick flower garden. "Just a quick trip!" I promised. It turned out to be more of a re-confirmation of many truths:

*God will, on occasion, take my day in a direction I wasn't anticipating.
*Small mercies in the midst of a trial are refreshing.
*Keeping your sense of humor is a must.

We sped along the Old Pullman Highway and after a ways of gravel driving, we heard a big clunking sound. Not one to let any sort of outside sounds inhibit conversation I kept chatting away. Oh, how good that Holly was there and had some sense. She pointed out that that hadn't sounded good. I gave a chatty, "Oh yeah?" response, and kept up with what I'm sure was some fantastic storytelling. Holly wasn't to be deterred, and convinced me to stop.

Locals know that lovely "round barn". We pulled into the nearest driveway, which happened to be on the south side of the road and happened to lead up to the round barn. Yikes! Talk about a flat tire. Once we realized how flat it was, I moved the car aside to make room for cars to pass, and we saw this enormous object lodged in the tire. I have to add that as soon as I realized that the tire was flat, I was reduced to hysterical laughter. This whole thing seemed just so funny to me. The one time I promised a quick trip!

Holly was very practical and inquired about the spare tire and said she thought we could manage it. I looked at her as if she suggested performing open-heart-surgery, and said, "Oh, umm, I'll just call Phil". Thank you for cell reception.

Providence was so kind, and being stranded at the round barn driveway meant we were just a short trek from the flower garden. So we sunscreened the kiddos, grabbed our flower bucket, and railroad tracks were even provided so we didn't have to herd exuberant children along a road. We merrily descended upon Jane. Holly took a picture of me cutting peonies (my favorite flower ever), while way in the left background, just to the left of the trees you can sort of see Phil's truck (if you know it's there). So while we joyfully picked flowers and the kids sandboxed it up, Phil plugged a huge hole in my tire.

Then he came and got me and I came and got the crew. Regrettably, the plug wouldn't take, and after maybe five minutes of driving the plug completely dislodged, and Holly heard that unmistakable flat-flat tire sound. Phil had had the foresight to follow us. And then the tricky spare had to be dislodged. If only it hadn't been a busy day for the gravel road--all four kids would have enjoyed watching the tire change--when the car was way-high jacked up the kids were thrilled and called out "again"!

All and all a good day, a good story, a new tire, and friends invited us over for dinner that night . . . but Phil did point out that he didn't consider u-pick flowers to be that much of deal.

Independence Day

Our financier had bunches of work . . . but cheerfully sent us up to Coeur d'Alene in time for a cousin photo shoot at Opa's house.

Opa gave each kid their own flag, then we walked the short way over to Sherman Avenue to find our seats on the less sunny side the street for the parade. Deacon is modeling his treasure the flashy pinwheel--that he got after chasing down Snow White for a block--and if you asked him what his favorite part of the parade was, he'd reply, "the Princesses!" All four boys are super brave, and loved the loud motorcycles, very loud cruiser cars, and even the comparably quiet horses--although Bryce was a little distressed that there weren't tons of cowboys, Deacon pointed out that there were lots of nice cowboy-girls (I hope he never stops calling them that). Little Ava loved sitting with Papa Glen, who chaperoned us all (while Grandma Greta and Opa put together a delicious lunch for the hungry parade-goers).

After our delicious luncheon topped off by some so-very-good-you-don't-feel-guilty strawberry cake, our noisy little bunch headed over to see Granddaddy Dan. He rigged up the best afternoon distraction: a huge sprinkler near all the toy "houses". The kids loved racing like madmen back and fourth between the sprinkler and safety.

Granddaddy made a fantastic steak dinner--the boys loved the homemade french fries. And then we threw caution to the wind, and even though we'd let all the big kids skip any sort of rest time, we let them run crazy 'til 8:30 when Grandma Greta and Papa Glen appeared to see us off to the fireworks display. Last year we got so cold, so this year I sausaged my kids into their jeans and sweatshirts over top of their long sleeves jammies. (No one complained of cold this year; but Bryce had a bad case of as he put it 'sweating all over'). The boys were again so brave and thoroughly enjoyed all the noisy fireworks. Daniel and Bryce egged each other on announcing the colors of each starburst; cute at first until it turned into a yelling contest for all of downtown! A super sweet boy nearby gave all four boys a glow-in-the-dark stick, aka: swords. Roman and Deacon held a very Matrixesque duel, until someone (no doubt my child) accidentally let exuberance get the best of him and whipped the [excessively] grouchy lady in front of us. Then they were forced in to the stroller the swords became circles (until we'd forget).
(Also, we ended up in front of a small group of surprising loud and gregarious trashy folks--who were on fantastic speaking terms with every stumbling drunk. But the grouchy lady held her tongue with them.)
The fireworks were amazing. Of course, great at first, then even better, but finally you realize no one has spoken for minutes (not even the kids) because you're all completely captivated. . . then finally-finally the grande fanale comes and you know, once again, that the waiting, and missed bedtimes, and driving was all worth it! We got all our sleepy kids into the car, then into bed, and hallelujah my 6:30 am risers slept 'til 8:30, and so did I!


The next day we enjoyed the beach with Granddaddy and cousins. Bryce loved the beach and the waves, and Deacon loved dunking his own head in the water, incessantly. Granddaddy took all four little boys on a walk over to the dock and I had a good ten minutes all by myself, in a camp chair with my feet in the water, and warm sunshine on my face. I didn't know what in the world to do with myself--all alone. So I rinsed out and organized all the beach toys, checked the shoe pile, and then passed judgement on all the NIC girls wearing teeny weeny bikinis (until I realized that I would pay good money too like any one of them), and then I adjusted my "mom bathing suit", and re-learned how to relax at the beach I used to sunbathe at daily in high school.
Now tell me again: Why don't I live in beautiful Coeur d'Alene?

Gallant and Goofus

 

When I looked at the backseat today, this is what I saw: Bryce, smiling and cheerful, and not covered in toothpaste; Deacon covered in toothpaste, though also smiling and cheerful.

Deacon had brought his penguin backpack with us on errands. And Bryce informed me that it had both a toothbrush and toothpaste within its vast depths. I told Deacon to make sure he didn't take either out while we were running errands. Now I'm not sure whether or not he got me on a technicality, but after I announced, "Boys! That's it! All done! We're headed home to play some more!" quite unbeknownst to me the toothpaste came out.

I must emphasize, not that I knew this at the time, but piecing it all togther I recalled hearing some distinct penguin squaks (if you have a penguin of any variety you too would have recognized the distress call) and than an attentive keeper comforting, "It's okay penguin. I'll help you". Followed a bit later by Keeper Deacon's voice again, "Now for some more eye drops" and shortly after "I need to comb my [hysterical laughter] ears" (read Olivia anyone?).

Finally, Bryce was just flabbergasted by the whole situation, and said, "Mom, Deacon's got toothpaste everywhere". I peeked back quickly, and shouted, "Don't touch anything! I'm pulling over!" Not to clean up mind you, but to capture this moment for all time. Once home I asked Deacon why he'd put toothpaste on his ears and eye. He replied, "It's my costume Mom!" When I dug a little deeper, "What costume?" The answer was obvious, "A knight or a big toothpaste".

Here's to being minty fresh!

Spankings or Kisses

[Above: Deacon exhausted from scaring his mother to pieces.]
Today, for less than five minutes (which felt like my entire life) I lost Deacon at the pool. Usually, he bounds back and fourth between me and the pool, crashing his soaking body into my lap to ask for pretzels or his already damp towel. I've been cheering his pool confidence and encouraging him to "be brave".

Foolishly, I took it for granted that he wanted to keep me in sight as much as I did him. I've gotten confident that the boys will stay in certain areas, and sometimes, I look like an avid tennis fan, swapping my gaze between the two boys. Today, one minute I was looking at Deacon amble around the water arches, in ere millimeters of water. The next I was checking in on Bryce jumping up and down in the big little-kid end. I looked back to the arches . . . but I couldn't find Deacon.

I walked into the water, telling the friend I'd been talking to that I couldn't see Deacon anymore. I stood by the edge where Bryce was, scanning the toddler section as I walked hoping he'd just been perched for over-long on the froggy slide. No Deacon. No shark shorts.

Then I walked back by my friend hoping Deacon would have wrapped himself up in his towel in my absence. Alas, so I said, "Maybe he saw a friend on the grass?" No Deacon. No shark shorts.

Again I walked back by my friend and to report that I couldn't find him, and was going to walk through all the water. As I took off I heard her asking people around if they'd seen my shark clad boy. I saw other people I knew and said only, "I can't find Deacon", telepathically imploring them to find him for me. Another's friend's mom visiting from another country called out to me, and I only registered her voice well after passing her, because I was busy planning: first I'll Phil to come look for Deacon, then I'll have them clear the pool and drain it.

I became terrified. I wanted to scream his name above the din. I wanted to line up all the children. I looked back and saw my friend looking, looking, looking as she watched her own children.

And then I looked in a place that I would never have looked if I hadn't begun to lose it. I saw him. Out of the water. Toeing the naughty-line. He was a safe distance from the edge of the lazy river. I ran through the water, scampered over to him, scooped him up and covered him with kisses and admonitions.

In a tremendous show of self-control I did not cry. We left soon after and now I wish we were the sort of people that keep fixings for a stiff drink in the house.