spew-ta-tion-ous

My 5 year old came to me today with this bit of insight:

"I have a spewtationous problem.

Naps were made in

the 1960s. They could

never work today,

because the government . . . "

I lost it!!!

He said more, but I couldn't hear him over my own wild laughter. "Spewtationous" was enough to get me giggling, but blaming the government for his inability to nap???!!! And where did he get the idea that naps were a hippie thing?

Hilarious!

Free water park in Boston

Boston is known as an expensive place to visit. Just parking can cost you $35. BUT once you arrive, the city is full of free or nearly free entertainment. From the Swan-boats and "Make way for Ducklings" statues, to concerts, parks, museums (okay, those are a bit expensive, but worth it), and historic sites we never seem to run out of things to do here.

Now we have a new discovery to add to our list of favorites, the Aquatic Park across the street from the aquarium. No slides or pools, no brightly colored plastic playthings, but what it is will tempt even the grown-up-ed-est person you know. It is almost deceptively simple. A flat concrete area between the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic with lots of water jets that spray in a pattern of organized chaos, causing squeals of delight from the kids playing and their parents too. It is hard to walk past without touching.

We have seen these exhibits before, but always much smaller and inside an amusement park. It is so much more fun on its own. I love this city!

It is a good thing that I carry a change of clothes for the kids in the car. We simply couldn't pass by this much fun without joining in!

End of the School Year

The last day of school is always a bit chaotic. Everyone is excited for a change of pace and the summer sunshine is absolutely screaming at us to play outdoors. You would think that this would be different for kids who don't "go to school," especially ones like mine who still do math and reading regardless of the season or day of the week, but it isn't.

Our last day with our co-op was filled with energy, noise, and distraction. The kids launched the rockets that they built themselves, watched salmon swim up-stream and learned about hydro-electric power. Not bad for a blow-off day of school.

We also had a celebration dinner at Crystal's house. The kids entertained us with the songs that they learned this year. Who knew that the scientific method, days of the week, insect anatomy, and citizenship could be so entertaining?
Check out those happy kids - I love it that almost all of them are barefoot, some are in pajamas and others are dressed like princesses. They make me giggle.

Happy end of school! Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

He Was Right

This was my primary mode of transportation before kids:

Sad isn't it.

After receiving my much-loved blue Subaru (which I have since replaced, but still miss) my husband decided that we needed to keep the truck because "everyone needs a truck." Um . . . okay. So we kept it. He drove it for a little while. Sometimes I even used it. Then it broke a gas line and we received a new truck from my husband's company.

So it sat. And sat. And sat.

Occasionally I would ask, "can we donate it to charity?" "No" my husband would reply, believing that it is far too valuable a truck to just give away. He truly thought that someone would actually pay money for it someday.

He said we should repair it and then put it up for sale.

But life got away from us, and we had lots of house-related projects that kept him busy every moment of the day (and if you know my husband you know that I'm not overstating things. He is seriously busy doing something every minute of the day). The truck never got repaired. If anything it got worse.

As before, it sat. And sat. And sat.

I'd ask to donate it again, and he would say no. And the cycle repeated.

For about 4 and a half years.

But . . .

My husband walked in and handed this to me last week.

Yahoo!!!

Oh, and for the record, YES HONEY, YOU WERE RIGHT AND I WAS WRONG. There really is someone in the world who was willing to pay for that truck.

There I said it.

Oh and want to hear the funniest part? The guy who bought the truck asked if he could fix it in my driveway. Really.

My answer?

"NO! No. No. No. No. NOOOOOOOOoooooooo! Get it out of my yard. Out. Out. Out!" Okay, so maybe I didn't say it out-loud that emphatically, but that's what I was thinking, and my message was clear. No broken trucks allowed in my yard anymore. Period.

My sweetie borrowed a trailer and delivered the truck to its new owner just last night. When he got back I hugged him. Gotta' love a guy who was right!

Worth thinking about

If you have 15 minutes free, listen to this. (nothing political, despite the mention of names in the first minute, I promise)

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate . . . We must think anew, we must act anew."

- Abraham Lincoln, Dec 1862

(BTW - I highly recommend that you subscribe to TED on your google reader. I don't always agree with every speaker, but the ideas are compelling)

Island Neighbors

We have a new family at the lake. Wanna' meet them?

See that island on the right?

Notice the big nest.

Try now.
See them? Bald Eagles! One is flying, One perched on a branch to the right, and the nest is below the tip of the right wing of the bird that is flying.

You can click on the photo to see it larger but I didn't bring the right camera lens, so these shots are already zoomed up quite a bit . . . Sorry . . . I'll do my best to get better photos next week.

Here is a closer (and fuzzier) shot of the nest.

Can you see the black spots in the nest? They have TWO LITTLE CHICKS! The chicks already look enormous. Statistically speaking eagle babies are the fastest growing birds. I believe it - these guys look as if they could swoop down and grab my little 6 pound dog for their lunch. That is, if they could fly. They are standing in the nest right now, but not venturing out onto the edge yet. When they do take flight I'm sure it will be spectacular. I can't wait! (but I will keep an extra eye on the pup)

This is our third year watching this particular bald eagle. Year 1 he (she?) was a juvenile (almost all brown) and we discovered him when my daughter picked up his feather while on the island. Year 2 he found a mate and built this nest, but as soon as the boat traffic picked up around Memorial Day, they abandoned it. We spotted them a few times, but never on the island.

They really are majestic birds. It is no wonder they were chosen as our national emblem. (Ben Franklin was just plain wrong - can you imagine being the nation of the turkey? No thanks.)

It is such a great experience to catch sight of a Bald Eagle, but to see them nesting is nothing short of amazing. Talk about being blessed!

5 years ago

THIS was what my life looked like on any typical day . . .

Look how tiny my "big kids" are!

Look how ridiculously small my kitchen is!

Look at that terrible old flooring and the cigarette stained countertop.

You can even see the old office with its formerly-oh-so-fashionable wood paneling.

I have no idea who snapped this picture or what we were doing on that day, but I love the every-day-ness of it. My hair is messy. I'm juggling both kids. The kitchen cupboards are open, and there appears to be a thumb across the right hand side of camera lens. Not perfect, but happy.

It is wild to think about everything that has changed since that day 5 years ago.

Doesn't it just make you smile? :o)