Andrew’s New Friend

Josh had a meeting for WordCamp Minneapolis last night so he dropped us off at the megamall last night.  I can’t say I’m thrilled that Andrew LOVES the megamall but at least I understand why with LegoLand and Nickelodian Universe, junkfood galore , etc.

We were reminded why we choose to live in Hutchinson after battling 494 both before and after the mall but the kids were good sports about it.  As one of Josh’s co-campers tweeted, 494 was a “parking lot” last night at 9:30.  We pretty much crawled at 4 mph for a half an hour before an exit came up and we were able to get up on the crosstown.  Argghhh had the kids been any more exhausted both Josh and I may not be here today to tell you about it lest we end up in loony bins from the  screaming 2-month old and 2-year old.

I was so lucky to have Erin show up with Maya!  Maya was born 1 week after Andrew but the two hadn’t met yet.  Andrew (beings as he isn’t in daycare and has almost 0 exposure to other kids his age) isn’t always the best playpal but Maya grabbed his hand and off they went the rest of the night- two peas in a pod!

One of Those Perfect Days

Today the kids were mellow.  I don’t know if it was the weather or what but both were even-keeled and later even took naps at the same time!  This rarely happens but when it does it makes up for all the horrendous activity that goes on the rest of the week.  One thing I did learn is that if you give a kid a bag of cotton balls and a glue stick they are content for about an hour:

I love arts and crafts time!  It’s so fun to see what they can create.

Mark Twain Once Said . . .

fireflies in a jar, originally uploaded by jamelah.

“The difference between the almost-right word and the right word is really a large matter- ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
-Mark Twain

I like watching both lightning and lightning bugs but haven’t seen either this summer. The lack of lightning can be blamed on the drought but I’m blaming the lack of lightning bugs on pesticide use- only because I have noticed the decline little by little each year. When I was a kid they were out every night- oodles of them. I think I have seen a total of 5 fireflies in the past 3 years! Have you seen fireflies/lightning bugs in your area?

Erwin Wurm: House attack

Erwin Wurm: House attack, originally uploaded by Dom Dada.

Over the years I have followed Christo and his amazing architectural work but I have never heard of this guy. Wow! I need to check into him and see what else he has done. This is amazing! Reminds me of an upside-down Wizard of Oz.

zinnia

zinnia, originally uploaded by DelphiniumSpy.

Waiting for more zinnia action in the garden. These things take forever to grow!

Some SLR Shots

I have been experimenting with a retired SLR (dad upgraded to a digital SLR).  It’s expensive to dabble with but some of these shots are worth it.

Andrew Shucks Corn

Although only one of Andrew’s parents hails from Nebraska, I fully expect him to be a professional corn shucker by age three. Today he got some practice. We walked down to the farmer’s market and he picked out corn, raspberries and honey butter. We plan on making this for an afternoon snack/early supper.

In other news, Chloe turned two months old yesterday.  It’s been a pretty long road dealing with a baby that has colic but I am starting to figure out ways to keep her relaxed and happy.  Yesterday I gave her a spa sink treatment.  she was pretty relaxed during it so maybe we will need to make it an every day occurrence.  Um . . .that would mean keeping one sink empty at all times and that is a total rarity in this house.  I guess I need to teach Andrew how to do the dishes after he graduates from corn-shucking school.

Chloe at 7 Weeks

Andrew the Budding Photographer

Here is a picture I took of Chloe this afternoon:

And here are a bunch Andrew took this afternoon:

Looking down

Mommy watering

He loves the water hose

A lot

Dino shoe

Baby basil

I’ve been posting most of my garden photos over here.