Rudolph

This little guy (and his less-shiny friends) won't be unveiled in my shop for another couple of months, but I just had to share him here. I think he will need a less startled look in the future, but he's not bad for a first attempt, and I think he'll give the teddy bears a run for their money.

Blueberry Picking

Quotable

Taye came to me today and said,

"Mama, I have to tell you something. I'm not gonna ever do anything that isn't Mario. (thinking) But, I sure will sleep! And that's not a Mario thing - that's not an anything thing!"

The Garden

I still haven't killed it yet! Though the tomatoes have really overtaken the peppers, and the cucumber has gone crazy! I don't think we'll get much out of 3 of the 4 pepper plants, they're just not getting much sun. But we've got one good one, and I'll take a tomato over a pepper any day (Darius would disagree, he is a pepper fan).




My favorite to watch is the watermelon, I can't wait to see how it turns out. For some reason, I find it hard to believe I could actually grow watermelons. It seems tricky somehow. At any rate, I'm excited to see how the vines are coming along, and can't wait to see the little melons growing!

Swimming

Sunday, Jackie called and wanted to know if we'd like to do something "in nature" with her. Apparently, she was feeling a need to connect with Mother Nature. Anyway, after some back and forth, we decided to head to the lake for some swimming. Taye didn't want to swim, but wanted to play on the playground, and for us to bring his bathing suit just in case. Darius and Mya were very excited at the prospect of a swim. When we got there, Jackie and I brought them over to the water, where they instantly changed their minds. We put our towel right near the water, and I stood up to my ankles, just waiting and talking to Jackie. The two of them stood, looking at us as if we were evil for bringing them to that terrible place. After a moment, they reached out and held hands, united against the water monsters and evil Dr. Mama. Which is just how they stayed until Taye came bounding over, wanting to swim.


Well, then it was fun! If Taye was doing it, it must be a good thing. We all spent the next hour and a half or so swimming around. Taye goes in by himself, the others two prefer to cling to us, just in case.

When we left, we had to agree - that was the best $5 we've ever spent!

Old Home Day

On Saturday we went to Swanzey's Old Home day. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and there were lots of fun activities for the kids. They couldn't wait to go.


In the parking lot, they had all sorts of vehicles for the kids to check out, climb around in, and attempt to lift...

They even had a hot air balloon, which was inflated and just visible over the roof of the school while we were walking around the parking lot. By the time we decided to head over and get a closer look, they were deflating it and packing it up - apparently it was too windy. This is probably the third or fourth event we've been to that promised tethered air balloon rides (not that we've ever had the funds for that - it aint cheap - but we'd love to see them fly). Anyway, not once have they actually had the rides. It's always too windy. Very disappointing.

After the balloon, we decided to find a spot for our picnic lunch. They had kung fu and cheerleading demonstrations going on, so we decided to put our blanket nearby and have our lunch with entertainment.

The "train station" was right next to us, so as soon as we finished eating, Luis and the kids hopped on for a ride. The train had no tracks, it just rode around the parking lot and the buildings nearby.

Then there was face painting, a bounce house, dunk tank, and half a gazillion vendors. When we'd had our fill, we walked over to the library for the book sale. They were looking to get rid of as many as possible, and offered us a bag to fill with kids books for free. Then they sold me the dozen books I chose for only $5. Not a bad deal!

Up the street they had a big flea market, so you know we had to go there too! We got a few things, the big hits being an easel and an old Fisher Price toy.

I wish I knew what this is called, because it has been used non-stop since we brought it home (and you know all the tiny pieces will end up lost!)

Taye, in particular, really loves it. He used it for several hours that day. I'll give three guesses what he made first.....

Mario, of course!

Lately...

Darius and Daddy had a little fun with his hair one afternoon, while the rest of us were out.



Otherwise, there hasn't been a whole lot going on around here. We're boring, what can I say?