And this is how it is....

Howie loves a good task.  

When the kindergarten form asks, "What motivates your child?" 

I write, "He motivates himself."  He does.  He loves to have a project and create things.  

Johnny enjoys life at a different angle.  

And these pictures tell the story of our household...  

Howie rakes.

Johnny jumps.

 Howie rakes.

Johnny jumps.  

Yes, my friends, this cycle repeats all... day... long.  

My Little Pumpkins

We have a collection of pumpkins on our porch. 

It represents our family.  

It will be such bliss when we are all together soon.  

Grinnell Mill

The family enjoys another fun visit to Yellow Springs.  

If you live in the area, you need to know about this great place: http://www.grinnellmillbandb.com/  

It's one of the most reasonably priced and interesting places to stay.  

We enjoy the hiking and a few moments of the local farm before the thunder hits.  

Thanks to Jim and Randy for a great visit!  

Howie enjoys his crafts at the dining table.

 Cousin Love!

Johnny spent most of the weekend finding things.  

He enjoys seeing the world around him while Howie is content to forge ahead.

The gang on a rickety bridge... watch out for that missing plank.  Oh, and another...

Rocks + Water + Boy = Hours of Entertainment (every time)

A brief visit to the pumpkin patch gets Johnny talking about pumpkins for weeks afterwards.

Baseball Game

I had the honor of attending a Red's Game with Howie and Paw Paw.  

The Red's didn't have such a great day, but all of the other interesting things at the stadium kept us entertained.  Howie particularly enjoyed the clapping patterns and chants that they broadcasted across the entire arena.  This boy loves to hoot and holler with a crowd.  

He enjoyed a $10 Slushy (it's $1 at Target for the same thing!!) 

and we found some shade to watch the antics of the various mascots.  

With a family filling up with boys, I have a hunch that this isn't my last baseball game.  

Such fun!

A Little Boy's Treasures

Howie is *Star of the Week* at kindergarten.  

Each day he gets to share a little treasure of his life with his class.  

Tomorrow he gets to bring in his favorite toy to show his buddies.  

When I read the paper, I was already guessing what he might consider taking: 

Legos, his Perplexis, a favorite football... 

What did my little boy have in mind?  

He has insisted that he takes this dirty, old golf ball he found in our yard.  

I'm certain it truly belongs to the former owners, 

but I'm guessing they have moved on and do not want it anymore.  

He has all these really great toys (thanks to grandparents and birthdays), but he 

really, really, really wants to bring this golf ball to school.  

"Why?" I ask.

He replies, "Because I found it."

(Pause)

Doesn't that sum up childhood... 

finding things that you didn't expect to come along and then savoring them, 

no matter their worldly value?

So I put aside my Type A personality of perfection and 

help him pack the backyard treasure in his backpack.  

And he is giddy.

John's Wedding

Uncle John gets married in DC this past weekend.  

We enjoyed the festivities and some great family time.  

Congratulations to John and Dominique!

First, the kids...

And now, the adults...

Flying Squirrels

The other day, Johnny came running in from the backyard, "Mom!  My see flying squirrel!"  After a few clarifying questions to make sure I properly understood him, I said, "Oh, I don't think that there are flying squirrels in our yard."  He replies, "Yes!  Is!"

I chalked it up to just be a combination of too much Wild Kratts and Johnny's budding imagination.

But this morning, we were out on the deck and he points to the squirrels that were jumping around in the trees of our yard.  He sees his opportunity to redeem himself and adamantly points out, "Him on one tree and now him jump to another tree. That means he a flying squirrel."  

He's kind of right, they do look like they are flying about above the ground.  

Johnny's First Day of Preschool!

 Our Johnny has grown to a big boy, right under our noses.  

He had a great first day of preschool and can't wait to go back tomorrow, 

"My want to go back and pet that rabbit."  

Doesn't he look delighted?

We love you Johnny!

Just when you think you've heard it all...

While walking to the bus stop today, Howie informs me that he has a few friends at school that are, "Learning how to talk because their parents don't speak England."  I think he meant "English".  Do you hear the irony in this comment?

Later in the car, Johnny asks me if the library book he was holding was in the laundry.  "No Johnny, it wasn't in the laundry.... what makes you say that?"  He responds, "It was hot."  Turns out that the book was warm from sitting in the warm car and figured it just came out of the dryer like his warm clothes do.

First Day... Hooray!

Howie got on the big yellow bus for the first time today.  

He is so excited about going to school.  

He loves everything about it... 

the tasks, the pencils, the computer lab, the gym classes, the book making, drawing, playing...  

This child was born to go to school.  

SMOYFest

"Going round and round... it takes us up and it takes us down.  

I love the sights and I love the sounds. 

Riding on the wonderwheel..."

We are lucky enough to have a great church right across the street from our neighborhood.  And they throw this AMAZING festival each year... SMOYFest.  The family walks over to enjoy the lights, sounds, games and rides.  The boys were in heaven as they had watched the rides and booths being put together during the previous week.  The anticipation was high and the weather was perfect!!

A neighbor friend!!

Sno-Cones! 

Who is the biggest kid here?

Soccer

Howie played soccer at a church camp. 

Think he had fun?