The Last Time

Chloe's reason for visiting the farm is this guy: Trip.

This was one very old horse. And, we didn't know it, but this was the last time we would see him.

We all stood just outside his fence and just watched him as he nervously checked us out. As we moved back a few steps, he came forward and we got to watch him drink some water. I'm so glad we took fifteen minutes to just stand quietly with him. It was peaceful and beautiful just like we want to remember him.
So it's just cows and some skittish kitties now. And Chloe isn't happy about that.
We didn't tell her he died. Just that he doesn't live at this farm anymore. Maybe they'll meet again on her horse ranch in heaven :-)

Big Rigs

At Seven

Evan at seven.....



~~He experimented with surfer hair this summer and when he finally couldn't take the hair in his face anymore, he asked for a hair trim. Asked for one!!!


~~He plays legos and transformers most often, but loves to join Chloe playing horses and trains too.


~~He is small for his age. Still wearing 5t clothes. Still able to curl up and fit on Dad's lap like a little guy.

~~He picks on Chloe a lot, but when saying sorry and making up from a fight he hugs her tight and kisses her and tells her "I love you. I won't be mean to you anymore." (If only that were the end of it... but it is sweet in the moment. His heart is right :-)


~~He started building mud pits again with his favorite fuzzy blanket. His off-roader collection took a break this summer but now they are back out on the trails. He has even started sharing these with Chloe which is a huge step for him!

~~He is not a fan of thunder. He thinks it's going to hurt him in some way so he gets nervous during storms. At least he's not afraid of balloons anymore.

~~He truly believes he is going to live at home forever and never wants to move out. He still says he wishes he could marry me, and I have to soak up every single kiss, hug and caress he gives because I'm sure the day will come when he realizes he isn't going to marry his mom...


~~He has the sweetest and most interesting chats with me now -- so much going on in that head of his. He is truly thinking his own thoughts and becoming his own person lately. Such a change from six.

~~He wipes out on his bike at least once a day on his "dirt bike." This kid knows how to take a fall! or maybe I should say a thousand falls.... but amazingly enough he hasn't hurt himself that badly. Just some skinned knees or hands and the occasional big bruise on the legs. Tough.

~~He is fascinated by Superman and reads his Superman book from Uncle Keir all the time. He doesn't believe in the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny or Santa, but he believes Superman is real.


~~He still adores his little stuffed kitten collection that started when he was four. They often ride in a pouch on the front of his bike. Although, now that he is seven, the pouch is his volcano bandana, not the polka dotted one :-)


~~He gets himself breakfast in the morning and is even confident enough now to pour his own milk. Ginger Snap Granola is his favorite cereal.


~~He taught Chloe how to play war with cards -- I love eavesdropping from the other room and hearing "I.. de... clare... WAR!!!" She learned really fast!


~~He has lost four teeth on the bottom since just before his birthday and has two new grown-up teeth growing in nicely. The fourth of these baby teeth just fell out yesterday while he was playing outside.

~~He is growing up slowly and steadily just like he should.

Today We

Today --


We spent all afternoon at the zoo.



We looked mostly at the tiny displays -- animals not usually noticed unless the zoo is not so crowded, like today :-)


We stood and watched. And watched and watched. Without talking. Then moved on to watch something else.



We spent over an hour at the climbing playground in the children's area. (Zoo admission money well spent in my opinion.)


We wandered around the children's gardens pretending to be a family of deer. We found hiding places and got drinks from the stream. We ate fresh leaves and found shade in tunnels.



We raced up and down the boardwalk.


We stayed till we run out of water and our feet ached.



We had a perfectly exhausting family outing today.

She Hates Pink

This girl.

How do you dress a girl who hates pink?
It verges on impossible, I tell you.


She is developing her own fashion sense at the age of four.

She knows what she likes and pretty much makes up excuses about the things she doesn't (it makes her sweaty, there's an itchy spot, she doesn't like buttons....).

She picks out her outfits (except on Sunday) including the 'matching' knee socks and shoes.


She is drawn to bright colors, especially RED, which has been her preference since she was about 18 months old. She will tell you red is her favorite now, but for the longest time she couldn't decide on a favorite.


Actually her favorite for months was 'the whole rainbow.' Once we got her this tie-dye shirt she never wore her green Thomas t-shirt again! She pretty much spent the entire summer in this shirt.


Her clothes drawer is full of purple, red, green and bright blue. Not a speck of pink. No dresses and only one skirt -- because I told her it went with some rainbow stripe tights.

Oh and lest you start to think she is just a tomboy or something, don't get me started on her love of all things sparkly (but not pink). Seriously, ninety percent of her clothes are bejeweled in some form :-)

The teen years ought to be very, very interesting.....

Dirt Bike Kid

He might just cry the day we call a landscaper to fix this "mess."

A Love of Dinosaurs

Surprisingly this is not a story about Evan.
He really doesn't care at all about dinosaurs.

But, Chloe.... loves them.

She borrowed a toybox full of dinos from friends (again -- I think this is the third or fourth time) and has played with them constantly.

She set them up beside Evan's mud pit to watch, and bash and crush cars.

They ate lunch with her. I love how she set them up in matching families before she even took her first bite.

Then she filled the stroller basket with all of them for our walk around the block.
A baby doll has never sat in the seat of this stroller. But she has carted pretty much every other favorite toy in the house in it at some point.

This time -- dinosaurs.

Mountainous Landscaping

This is quite a spectacle on our quiet little street.


One of our neighbors joked that we since had some pretty unusual methods of homeschooling, this was obviously a part of our kids' education.....

Let's dig a hole in the front yard and study geology guys!!! :-)



She was sort of right.




There is something to be learned from every aspect of life.



Although I think geology is best appreciated when the smell of sewer sludge isn't permeating the air around you.

Our New Dirt Patch

This is our front yard.

Where the dirt patch used to be, there is now a seven foot deep trench and a five foot high pile of dirt.

We have had drain issues since we moved into this house, and today hopefully is the end of all that.

Evan has hardly come inside except to eat since this excavator was delivered to our yard yesterday :-)
And I am ever amazed at the things my husband knows how to do and is willing to tackle himself. This is one job no one would want.

And he's in there....

hanging out in our new dirt patch.

Wild Waves

Today there were wild waves!

These are not your typical lake waves :-)

It was almost like being at the ocean....

When Jocelyn called to invite us to join her and the kids for a couple-hour outing to the beach, we just packed up and left and within thirty minutes we were hanging out in the sand together.




I'm so glad she called.

And I'm so glad Chloe didn't nap today.
(Yes, it was that worth it.)


This will be one of those days I know the kids will always remember even when they are grown.

The day the waves were over their heads.

The day it was so windy the sand stung their skin like little needles.

The day they were braver than they have ever been before in the wild and crazy water.



Evan even learned to jump waves with his best bud.

Good times.

The best of times.

I'll remember the sheer beauty of these few hours and how a spontaneous decision changed a plain old afternoon into this:


Magic.