Grandpa

This morning, for no particular reason, I remembered the last conversation I had with my Grandpa S. He was about to leave his home in New Hampshire for a nursing home in Florida. Florida, with the palm trees he despised.

Keith and I were getting ready to move in and rent his house. I went over the night before he left to say goodbye. We stood, down in a dusty corner of the basement as he attempted to entrust his very particular home maintenance into my unskilled hands. He showed me the fuse box and how to empty the lint trap in the dryer.

We both acted as if he was just going on a short vacation. I think a part of him believed this. Cruel time put a lump in my throat. I tried not to let him see my tears.

Independent, stubborn, prickly, a fierce perfectionist, able to make us laugh until our faces hurt. I often see him in myself. A hard man to love. Loved deeply, nonetheless.

Doing the next thing

Hard to believe this month is almost over. A week of "firsts" is around the corner. Ethan starts fourth grade, Drew kindergarten and Adam heads to preschool. Soccer practices, already in full swing for Ethan, will become more of a challenge with Drew soon in the mix.

August has been busy- Ethan's birthday party (pictures here), soccer and our trip East (more pictures), filling up our days.

I keep waiting for life to slow down a little bit, to catch my breath, to feel caught up. Not gonna happen. Once school starts, life generally tends to get even busier.

Deep breaths. September, here we come!

Happy Father's Day

(Niles beach, Gloucester, MA, 1975)

I should get paid for this

Oh, the grand and laughable ideals I had before having children of my own. One was to play games with them as often as I possibly could. Ha, ha. I did play a lot more when Ethan was little than I ever have with the others but I can't say I enjoyed it much. There are only so many rounds of Candy Land a thinking adult can tolerate.

As Ethan gets older though, the selection is slightly less mind numbing. We have a good number of games that can be pretty fun if I'm willing to make the time commitment.

Sadly, there is always MUCH TO BE DONE. All the endless minutia that grows fangs if left too long. And, of course, facebook and blogs to read, pictures to edit. Down time to be fought for.

Enter Bananagrams. I hadn't planned to buy this game for Christmas but I saw it and remembered some positive reviews, so I grabbed it. Worth every penny.



It's a kind of informal scrabble. Each player works to use up their individual collection of letters before the others. One round can go quickly and the game itself is easily portable, a zippered pouch full of letters. It really is fun and there's the extra bit about it being educational and all. Like learning that "coved" is a word. Who knew? I didn't.

Ethan really enjoys it (when he's not losing) and it even managed to trump videogame time when he had a friend over today. Our less literate children play versions of their own, Drew spelling out his name obsessively and Adam making long lines of letters. Totally normal!

Sadie just watches from her perch and looks cute.

Goodbye

Grieving the loss of our little nephew, Isaiah Michael. Weighing only ounces, he leaves a heavy hole. Pray for his parents and his brothers. Even when surrounded by love, losing a baby is a uniquely lonely loss.

Thankful

So much to be thankful for. I was excited to find a fun Thanksgiving idea in Family Fun (thanks, Sara!) which we tried and plan to continue every year. Find a nice looking branch, stick it in a pot and hang paper "leaves" with things we were thankful for on the "tree". Simple, but satisfying and it looked nice too.

More cousin fun!

Luke and Grandma flew out to visit us yesterday. The weather hasn't been the greatest (either sauna-like, or rainy) and the rest of the week doesn't look too promising. They've been having a great time anyway but I was extra glad to have one good idea up my sleeve (thanks Emma for the link) which looked fun to me and I hoped would interest the boys.

I grabbed an unusually large quantity of color samples from the paint section of Wal-mart this morning, albeit somewhat furtively while entertaining visions of rebuke from the paint sample police.















I gave each of the three older boys a small notebook of their own and explained the concept to them. They took to it quickly with a few pointers and after picking out several colors and gluing them in their books, they rushed outside to find matching items. Well, Drew did his own thing but Ethan and Luke gathered a good variety of objects and came inside to add them to their books.















I was surprised at the variety of colors and matching shades they were able to find just within our backyard.














It's a good project to pick up again another day while exploring a trail or a park. There's more paint samples there for next time.

Filling Summer: Weeks 8 &9

Cousins come to visit...















(We love you Arthur and Lexie!)















...and party preparations consume us.






















No time for words.

In the land of cotton

Although we arrived a little later than originally planned, we were able to pack a lot into our few days in Georgia. My family helped us plan just the right amount of fun, kid-friendly activities to fill our time.

On the only real rainy day there, we headed to the Georgia Aquarium which is an amazing place. Ethan was reading up on sharks and sting rays leading up to the trip and I'm so glad we were able to brave Atlanta traffic and make it there together. Claire, Aiden and my mother accompanied us. In spite of the jostling crowds, and all the walking which tired out the kids, it is already a treasured memory.



























There's a little historic park and playground not far from my parents where the boys were able to explore a little train and ring its bell among other attractions.



























One sunny afternoon, we all returned to a local wildlife preserve, Noah's Ark, which we had visited last time we were in Georgia, about a year and a half ago.





















We brought a picnic lunch and then walked along the trails, enjoying the variety of wildlife. The noisy monkeys were a highlight.



















The real highlight of course, was being able to visit with family, to watch the boys play with their cousin Aiden and get to know grandpa and grandma, Uncle Brad and Aunt Claire better.

How it began

Easter morning and we were up bright and early. 2 a.m. to be precise. We wanted an early start for our long drive to Georgia. Adam slept maybe two hours total of the twelve hour trip and the older boys a little more.



This was how I felt much of the trip myself, especially when driving.

Boys in the house

We just enjoyed a visit from my sister Claire and my utterly adorable nephew, Aiden. It had been a year since we'd seen them right after Aiden's birth so it was good to visit and catch up. The older boys, especially, enjoyed interacting with their cousin. Adam wasn't so sure.















I don't think I've ever seen such a content, laid-back baby. Aiden was happy and social, smiling and laughing and imitating all sorts of sounds and squeals. Quite a joy to behold.

Looking forward

It's been a long December (isn't that a song?) between the interminable sickness and rigors of travel. There were highlights that I haven't managed to document very well. Driving from blizzard to blizzard, we were able to visit with family in NH, catch up, marvel at kids who had grown and share Christmas together. We had a good time, we're all safe and we enjoyed our first Christmas in this home.

Good things are coming and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last (wait, isn't that part of the same song?). At this moment, preparations are on for two special visitors arriving tomorrow.















Windows are being washed (the chore of choice around here) as well as a few other things.















Welcome banners are flying and excitement is running high.






















...I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass.
-A Long December (Counting Crows)

There's been some extra excitement around here lately. Grandpa and Grandma (Keith's mom and dad) are staying with us for about a week. They brought with them bagfuls of fun stuff to occupy Ethan and Drew. They've been busy with chalk, kites, water balloons, and even the creation of culinary treats.















Drew is now old enough to take things in and get to know his grandparents more which is fun to watch. I'm so glad the kids will have these memories.

Summer night

What could be better than a summer solstice bonfire?















One with S'mores, of course. Keith commented tonight that I am at my most patient when roasting marshmallows. I laughed because it was true.

Of course, no opportunity to make fire would be complete without some small-time firecrackers from Keith's ever-present collection of combustibles.


















The fire burned down and we watched the stars appear. Can't ask for much more than that.

A birthday

::While I'm worth my room on this earth,
I will be with you.
While the Chief puts sunshine On Leith,
I'll thank him for his work
And your birth and my birth::

-Proclaimers, "Sunshine on Leith"


Most people probably don't realize this about Keith but he is a sentimental type. He has nothing but good to report about all aspects of his childhood and the place where he grew up. I know he misses it and in fact, many of his dreams still take place in some version of the old green house he called home.

I suppose, in a way, I am a beneficiary of each unique variable that made him who he now is. He is generous and takes care of his family. He compliments me probably every day. He is smart and witty and makes me laugh. He is trustworthy and honest. He is a good father.

I'm hoping for a good year for him. Happy birthday, Keith.

Day 9: Making up for lost time

My kids don't get to see their grandparents nearly enough. They've been having a great time this week catching up, playing games, reading books and getting to know each other better. It's good to see.

Day 6: Coming and going

The Nikon left today and will be gone about a week. We will miss it dearly. On the other hand, my parents are arriving tonight for a few days. We are excited and the kids were even able to put aside their almost constant bickering to create a welcome banner. They managed to color and coexist peacefully for a few minutes at least.

For Grandma

...who is in surgery today.













We love you!

It is a great art to saunter

--Henry David Thoreau


















We took advantage of the warmer weather and this town's beautiful walking/biking trails this morning and had a fun little hike as a family. I'm so glad to be close to these trails and hope we get out and use them often.

Some very good things

It is good to be done with traveling, to be out of the car and safely home. Our trip to Georgia went smoothly and was considerably easier due to our hotel stays (thank you, you know who you are!).














We were able to stay with my parents in Georgia where there was plenty of space for the kids to run around and play both inside and out. It really helped to have our own downstairs apartment space to unpack and settle with a separate room for the older boys. It was as restful and relaxing as a trip with three kids could be.













Christmas day was full of the usual fun.













We had a little extra excitement when we found that Drew won the coloring contest for his age group. The best present of all was going together to see little Aiden in the hospital.
















We're so happy for Claire and Brad and excited to welcome another little boy to the family.