Father's Day Classic

Cameron and Matthew were excited for Father's Day beginning in about, oh, April.  Way, waaayyyyy more excited than for Mother's Day.  That is, I think, in part because selecting a present for Daddy is much more likely to involve something the boys will also like.  They had lots of ideas, finally settling on a Lego Star Wars game that they were sure Daddy REALLY wanted.  The truth was, I knew he would like it and they would, too.

Cameron also planned a surprise breakfast.  "We'll burn the toast on purpose," he said, "and serve it to him in bed.  It's a classic."



Poor David ate a bite of burnt toast (see Cameron covering his mouth and giggling above?) before we revealed that homemade crepes with fresh fruit and marscapone were waiting at the table.

All grown up

*sniff*  It seems like it was only weeks ago that Pete came into our lives.  A cute little tadpole, all head and tail.  Ohhh, how clearly I remember feeding him bloodworms and cleaning his aquarium.  And then, before you know it, he's a frog. 

To prevent Pete from devouring his aquarium-mates and taking our home learning straight from "unforgettable first hand experience" to "traumatic childhood memory," we took Pete back to his original home last weekend and set him free.

To my great relief, he hopped away into the water without being swallowed by a fish or snapped up by a turtle.  The boys seemed completely matter-of-fact about the farewell.  "Can we eat now?" said Cameron.  "Can we throw rocks now?" said Matthew. 

So long, Pete.

Froglet

A few nights ago, Cameron pointed out that our largest tadpole had funny little holes on the side of his head.  And the next morning, those holes were gone and there were two brand new front legs!

Hometown proud

Neither of my boys have lived in Michigan, but David and I both grew up there.  And somehow, without trying, we have instilled in our boys a fierce love and loyalty for the mitten.  One day in May, I picked Matthew up from school.  "He sure is excited about the weekend," said his teacher.  "He's been following me around all morning, talking about how he's going to Michigan."  As we drove off, Cameron gave a sigh and said, "Well, it is always nice to get back to your home state."

Not My Thing

Things my 3-year-old said to me while playing baseball in the front yard this morning:

"No, no, no, no, no!  You've got to CHARGE a pop-fly!  Get right under it!"
"Bad pitch.  Watch me.  Look, step, throw.  Got it?"
"You should have dived for the base."
"What do you mean you don't know how to throw a curve ball?!?!"
"I have a feeling I'm gonna win."

Duh

Matthew:  You know why my laugh sounds different from Cameron's?
Me:  Why?
Matthew:  Because I'm a different person.

Finally! A camera!

Yay!  Photos!

Cameron with the new aquarium.

 One of the tadpoles.  Which one?  Couldn't tell ya.

 A recovered photo of my boys in Chicago.  I love this photo.

 Cameron rockin' the monkey bars.

 Matthew, unwilling to be beat at anything by his older brother.



Phew!

I feel like this school year has been a marathon of packing lunches, writing papers, driving to and from and to and from and to and from, preparing lesson plans . . .

Matthew had his last day of his first year of preschool about a week ago, and then I had my last day of Montessori class and then Cameron had his last day of first grade.  And now?  After a year of not writing for fun, not reading for fun, not . . . being much fun . . . I am reveling in summer vacation.  In the past few days, I've read a stack of books that I just wanted to read.  I've written a humor essay.  I've taken the boys to the river to catch tadpoles and spontaneously stopped at the aquarium store to buy a 10 gallon tank and some frozen bloodworms (ewwww!) to feed our new pet tadpoles.  I've cuddled on the couch with Matthew.  I've started reading a biography of Charles Darwin with Cameron.  I am loving, loving, loving summer and hoping to stretch it out as long as possible!

This is what happens when you feed your kids local organic produce . . .

In the car this morning, Cameron said, "Hey, mom, what do you call that thing that can last like two hundred years?"

"What? What kind of thing?"
"You know . . . it can last for a super long time because it's all full of preservatives?  And it's got a cream filling?"

"A Twinkie?!?!"

"Yeah!  That's it!  A Twinkie!"

Just in time for swimsuit season

Kids have this super special way of noticing little (or not so little) details.  Like a few minutes ago, when Matthew said to me, "Mommy, why does your booty smush the couch down flat?"