It's so hot

I'd promised Jacob I would bike with him to the post office today to pick up our local paper, as he's anxious to make sure we don't miss the 4th of July festivities on the courthouse square. Actually, I'd promised to do it yesterday, but by the time we finished picking blackberries, it was 97 degrees with 70-someodd percent humidity, and we were ready to eat blackberries and lay over the air vents. So we did.

This morning, the ride was on. I'm not convinced it was an improvement, though. Lord, it's hot. But he got his paper, and we got out there and moved. 3 miles! Woohoo!

(Why doesn't he look sweaty there? He was - we both were. It was hot. But it was fun.) Then he somehow convinced James to do it again (this time to the corner store) this afternoon. By the time James and I returned from a meeting tonight, Jacob was out cold. I guess it was a good day.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Starting to Feel It...

The heat, that is. It's been a wet, wet Spring, and that means 85 degrees feels significantly less do-able than 70 did. Stepping outside feels like a sort of sauna-meets-obstacle-course. Which is fine if you have athletic ability and... gills. For mere mortals, however, it's a little tricky.

Not stopping us, though!

This weekend was the annual Howard Hill Southern Traditional Archery Tournament. (This is commonly shortened to the "Howard Hill Shoot", and for the purposes of this post will be, "the shoot".) This shoot has been a dream of Z's for years. Back when we lived in the desert Southwest, it was one of those Someday things - too far away to be plausible for two broke kids, but cool enough to merit a standing spot on the list anyway. But now? Now we're less than two hours away from it!

And we all have bows again! So, of course we had to go! Ward came, and some other friends came. It was hot. It was humid. The sun shone, and the atmosphere was fun. The boys shot,

and shot...

Em and Jase hung in there for the whole trail (thank you, hiking group!),

...and I have clearly not lost the ability to laugh at myself.

Z was in his happy spot. It was a good day in our little world.

Oh! We got to see Byron Ferguson in action! AND we got to meet G. Fred Asbell! (If you're into traditional archery at all, you know why this is cool. If you're not, it's the equivalent of Classical homeschoolers getting to watch Andrew Kern lead a socratic discussion *and* visit with Martin Cothran. Very cool.) And, just like every time I get to see Kern and Cothran, I walked off yesterday in a happy haze without getting any pictures. But it happened. And it was awesome. Everyone's got next year's shoot penciled in.

Because of the rain, we didn't go down Friday, and had a spare day on our hands. The Huntsville and Madison Anime Convention (HAMACON) opened, so I took those who like it enough to spend their own money on admission, and we spent a surprisingly fun day at the convention center. Parent Passes are free, too! That was a pleasant bonus.

There was some incredible art, neat activities, special panels and discussions. There were also regular showings of interesting (either new, or particularly noteworthy, or unique) anime. The gentleman running the projector took the time to give introductions, insights, and some Q&A for the audience. We had fun. Nerdy, nerdy fun.

And, we got a cat. His name is Homer, in honor of the Homer Ball. He came home with the boys after a hike on Z's birthday.  (Z has never wanted a cat. Hence, the name.)

I think he's comfortable here.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Waterlogged

I had to go through my pictures to see what we've been up to this week, but after I looked at the pictures it all made sense: my brain is waterlogged. This has been a week of water, water, milkshakes, and water. We were invited to share Memorial Day with some special friends. We sat on the deck and visited while the children roasted themselves to a gentle crisp in the pool.

Immediately after that, we had to get a few bodies squared away on camp physicals and vaccinations. Milkshakes all around! We had one visit a day, all week. It was a long, long week. The boys are all quite philosophical about getting a shot. Jase is... not. Well, he may be, but he has a very different philosophy than the rest of them. If my mother were here, this would be the part where she'd smirk and whisper, "One just. like. you." But, we survived! And on we went...

Swimming with our homeschool group. The weather threatened mightily, and it scared off many of the people who'd planned to come, but those who came had a BLAST. We had an hour of clear weather on either side of a slight squall. When the rain did come, the rule was that as long as there's no lightning, they could stay in the water. And they did. We had to lure them out with food and previous obligations ticking away on the clock or they might have stayed until dark. It was a fantastic outing!

And Saturday, we got to join some friends and the Friends of the Locust Fork for their annual hike to Cornelius Falls. It's a fairly challenging hike, but entirely do-able. (Although the Littles stayed home with Dad, and that was a good call.) The payoff at the end of the trail is magnificent! We swam and played in the falls for an hour or so before heading back up the banks to go home. It was hard to leave. This is a seriously gorgeous little spot.

We've got our bags re-packed, our on-the-go food prepped, and we're ready to go back for more! For the first time in a long time, I can actually say I'm looking forward to Summer - good friends, beautiful country, and a willingness to explore - what more could we ask for?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Little Service

The boys and I drove down to Cullman yesterday to help the VFW place flags on the graves of veterans for the coming Memorial Day observation. They had a lovely turn out of people from all seasons of life, and everyone was very thoughtful and respectful.

Cemeteries are a big thing here in the South. They have decoration days and walking tours. People make a point to visit them when driving to other places. It's definitely A Thing. I love the idea of it, but after two hours of reading each and every headstone in this cemetery (so that we did not miss any of the veterans, we read each one carefully), I don't know that I could do it as a past time or a hobby. The endless litany of the lost -- infant children, toddlers, mothers, fathers, siblings, soldiers... every headstone representing an entire home, sometimes an entire community, mourning and filled with sorrow... it's a crushing weight when focused.

And people get attached to their cemeteries, here. One kind lady we spoke with was telling us about the cemetery where her parents are buried, and how there are many unmarked graves from when workers would follow the saw mills for work. If someone in the family died while they were stationed here, they would, understandably, bury the person there locally. I thought it was the lack of marker identification that bothered her, but she wrapped up her story with, "And then, when the work moved on, they just up and went! And left 'em there!" As if that were the more incomprehensible option. Well, I guess to her, it was. I don't know if the boys caught that, but I had to suppress a smile.

But I do get it. The cemetery my father is buried in is behind one of the high schools I went to, and I would often wander over during my lunch hour to sit in the solitude to think and pray. There is a sense of connection in the individual. And we need to strive for a sense of connection to the whole, to every soul who shares this earth with us. But for me, the weight of loss in finding that connection at the cemetery is too much. I'll seek out connections among those who share the earth with us now, and try to make our involvement one that makes the story a person will have a better one. It won't show on a headstone, but it will show where it matters most, and that's okay.

Kiss those babies!
Dy

A Soggy Adventure With Good Company

That was pretty much the gist of our weekend. Since last year, when I first found out about it, I've been anxiously awaiting the return of the Chickamauga & Chattanooga Battlefield's once-a-month bike tour. Normally, you have to walk these tours. I don't mind walking. We hike every week. But I do have a little bit of a mental block about walking civil war battlefields. in the South. in the Summer. We did one once. It was horrific. The whole experience was just one of those things that'll be funny in ten years. (It hasn't been ten years yet, so I can't properly tell the story yet. Someday, it'll be hilarious, though.) And while I was certain it would be a completely different experience with a completely different group of people, well, it left a mark.

So I was anxious (really anxious) to rally up a new experience to wipe the RAM and re-set the whole memory bank. (Been talking with James a lot today.) I asked a friend if she thought her family would like to go, too. They said yes! WooHoo! (I love them.)

So, last weekend was the first one of the year, and we were ready to go! The kids and I got all the things squared away: tents, food, chairs, first aid kit... Z modified the trailer to haul a billion bikes plus a cooler and the plow disc.

Reservations made, dates and times confirmed. (Ohhh, yes, I felt like such a grown up! No more showing up in New Orleans two days into Mardis Gras and no clue it was happening. Not this girl. At least, not when I have children depending on me. I could unravel completely after Jase leaves home.) But this time? I had this.

Except, the weather. The rain came, and it stayed. The weather app just showed clips from The Neverending Story as The Nothing swept across northern Georgia. We broke camp in the morning, just in case. (The lady at the campground couldn't believe we were checking out early and was rather insistent that the folks giving the weather report were from Atlanta, and they have no idea what they're talking about.) We smiled at each other as the rain drops began hitting the windshield as we pulled out of the visitors center.

Then we raced over to the Battlefield to see if they were still having the tour, or if it would be postponed. Yep, still on. They knew it was going to rain, but didn't really mind. So we dismantled the Rube Goldberg machine that has become our trailer, checked the bikes, and saddled up. Off they went!

I stayed behind. EmilyGirl still hasn't quite mastered bike riding. (Comes of living on a damn steep hill with a gravel drive and a terrifying drop into the creek if you don't stop in time. Since we've moved here, the kids have been learning to ride later and later.) So she and I trundled about in the grass, in the rain. We made it about half a mile in two hours, going one half a pedal push at a time. She never quite got the hang of it, but she never did give up. She did, however, fall quite a bit, and that was her biggest fear going into it, so... yay? I think. (I'm not glad my child wrecked. But at least now she knows falling off your bike isn't the most horrible thing that could happen. Conquering fear is good. Conquering fear on grass is even better.) I didn't make her cry, and she's been back on since we got home. I'm going to call that a win.

The boys returned wet, tired, and happy. The park ranger was amazingly knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The group they rode with was a great group. Jase had his inaugural ride on the Trail-A-Bike, and he was walking ten feet tall by the end of it.

And that's when the skies opened up and let loose the fury of a thousand shipwrecks. Holy cow, that was some amazing rain! We smiled at each other again, glad we didn't have to go back to break camp in the storm, and we all headed back home with a stop at Jefferson's for some oysters and burgers, and the necessary stop at Unclaimed Baggage to see what we could see.

And you know, it was a totally different experience. We just had to go with the right people. Our people. And it was fantastic!

Hands On Life

The older three had an incredible opportunity this past week to take a course through the Alabama Water Watch. This day and a half course taught them the processes and importance of water monitoring and testing.

The first day, we learned how to do the basic chemical panel: taking ambient air and water temperatures, testing for pH, alkalinity, hardness, oxygen dissolution, turbidity, and more.

We learned the importance of understanding these indicators of overall waterway health, and what information to gather when you want to know what's going on in your water.

Sergio and Mona were fantastic instructors. They clearly love what they do, and the kids felt that enthusiasm.

That night, there was a camp fire, music, star gazing, and romping about in the woods until the wee hours of the morning.

(It did eventually get so dark that our hosts called the kids in from the woods before someone fell in a hole.) They reluctantly returned to their tents and passed. out. cold. It was a good time for all.

The second day, we focused primarily on bacteriological testing: how to sample and culture for e.coli and other choliforms.

After class ended, we broke camp and hit the river. Unfortunately, we didn't have the results of our bacterial cultures. Fortunately, we're all fine. ;-) (Our hosts live on this river and swim in it regularly, so we were relatively certain it was OK. Although the kids are excited to get the final culture, just to see what they can see.)

Until they're 16, they'll have to do all the testing under the supervision of a certified adult (this was my excuse for taking the class - score!)

But they'll be involved, and active, and know why they're doing what they're doing. And really, that's a big part of growing up - know why you do what you do, and do it well.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Small Town Fun

Steak sandwiches made with real ribeye steaks, grilled there on the courthouse square, live music (fantastic Fleetwood Mac covers - wow!), local vendors, good friends, and, as a final touch, some of the most spectacular fireworks you could ever wish to see...

That was the game plan at the annual town celebration today. That doesn't even count the antique car show, the 1 mile fun run and the 5K. 

It doesn't include the beautiful skies and friendly local personalities, the charitable groups doing good things for people in the community, and the community itself.

Sometimes, it's just awesome to live here.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The End of the Year

Well, not our year, but the year-in-general. Co-ops are wrapping up, SAT tests are everywhere, and just about everyone I know has that weathered, exhausted look in their eyes that says, "Is it time to play yet?"

The weather was perfect for our hike today. The teens covered about 4.5 miles, and you could hear them laughing from a quarter mile away. Jase and I ambled about in the back, holding hands and looking for interesting things. He was in a bit of a mood at the start, but seeing turtles and snakes and dragonflies up close does wonders for the soul. On one log, we saw a snapping turtle and a red-eared slider. Jase wondered what they eat, and I said we should find out. He smiled up and me and said, "You should ask Google." So I did. Turns out, they eat everything. And now we know! Thanks, Google!

Sadly, by the time we got to Skate Day, he was tired and hot and just plain out of energy. It's hard to learn many things at once.

Our local homeschool social group breaks from official meetings and regularly scheduled events for the Summer. Today was the last of the Skate Days until the Autumn. Of course, we're all going swimming later in the month, and there are still field trips on the docket, so the kids didn't have that End of Year feeling that I remember from the last days of school. Mostly, they were stoked about the glo-skate. (30 minutes in the dark with black lights and fog! On wheels! I usually just stay in the snack area, not looking, and assume if someone gets hurt, they'll let me know. Otherwise, I'd probably cause a wreck with all my gasping and yelling, "Watch out!" It's better this way.)

Glow sticks are always fun! (For Jacob, everything's fun. Although when he saw this photo, he asked when I'd taken it, and what on earth he'd been doing. "Ohhhhh! Yeah, I was showing you my glow sticks!" Admittedly, I should have turned off the flash.)

Our little town Celebration is coming up, and we're ready to enjoy some local food and fireworks! What are you up to this weekend? I hope it's a great adventure.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Awesome Weather!

This is why we school year-round. It was so cold, and wet, (and did I mention cold-for-here?) this Winter, and we know Summer's going to have its hot'n'sticky days (it always does...) So we've been running amok now, with highs in the low 70's and lows in the high 40's.

We went to Clarkson Covered Bridge and spent the day playing games, roaming about, enjoying the day.

We went to Monte Sano and spent the day running about, enjoying the view, and refreshing our spirits with all the color and laughter the day had to offer.

Our local homeschool group had Field Day this week. We spent the day... well, you get the picture. Plus, there was ice cream!

The chicks are out of the basement and into their tractors!
Em told me the other day that she really enjoys reading.
Jase loves phonics. (Classical Phonics, from Memoria Press. If you have one that likes to illustrate and doodle, this is a great, great program!)
We've had to replenish the duct tape supplies twice this week.
James is gearing up for a trip. (I can't wait to tell you more!)
John is happy.
Z is happy, and busy, and making things, and just generally excited about life.
Aside from the fact that I simply cannot get a grip on the house right now, life is pretty darned fantastic!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Friends Make Everything Better

It seems like friendship is this year's theme. That makes me smile to my toes, really.

Yesterday morning, EmilyGirl and I slipped off for brunch with a friend and her daughter. It wasn't a long visit, but it was a sweet visit, and I'm so glad we went. Of course, the boys were a bit flummoxed. "Wait. What? Where are you going? Are we going? Should we load up the gifts now? You're going alone?! Weird." Can you tell Em and I haven't done anything like that before?

Em mentioned that she needed more felt. (We'd just bought her a huge pile of felt the day before, no questions asked, for a surprise she wanted to make for Easter. Already she needed more?) I raised my eyebrow. She smiled brightly. We stopped for more felt after brunch.

This was the surprise: Easter Baskets for everyone!

Then we all loaded up and headed to a birthday party for a very special little boy. He's turning four. Dear heaven, that's a cute, cute age. We weren't there five minutes before James had him in his arms, letting the little guy give him a tour of their chicks and chicken tractor. Although we'd built the chicken tractor and know it inside and out, James enjoyed the enthusiasm and joy of the little guy showing off his special things. 15 is a pretty awesome age, too.

Isn't that an idyllic setting? There are a lot of bodies hidden by flowers and trees. It was a perfect day to hang out with friends and celebrate together.

The kids gave the Little ones Easter baskets, homemade foam swords, and a shield (they made a sword for his little sister, because it's hard to observe a birthday with no gifts for you when you're wee tiny, and also so they can play together). Z and I apologized pre-emptively for all the things that are likely to get broken and bruised because of our involvement.

We came home, worked hard for an hour, and then the day disappeared into game time. The day was stacked pretty heavily with Highs when we did our Highs and Lows at dinner. What a great day!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Oh, Such Beautiful Weather!

We have been on the go, go, go! The weather's been perfect - highs in the 50's and 60's, lows in the high 30's and 40's. The ticks aren't out in force yet, and the mosquitoes haven't arrived, either, so we've been out and about.

The Friday hiking club activities have been a blast. We've gotten to know some truly delightful young men with the hikes. Jase found Fairy Dust on the last hike (granite dust). He brought home an acorn cap full, but I think it's... still in the Suburban. Oops!

We made the drive to a town South of here for another game day with another teen group - it's a haul, but the group is great and the boys all voted that it's worth the drive. I've got to replace an oxygen sensor on the Suburban and see what else I can tweak to get the gas mileage up on that thing if we're going to keep pace with the boys' activities. In the meantime, some of them have said they'll be at the next game day here, so, yay!

Thankfully, there's still plenty to do at home. We spent a good portion of this past weekend working on the back yard. The leaves are burned and we have some good spots picked out for flowers. We had thought to stain, since there's no rain in the forecast, but we had the chance to play with sweet friends. The stain and landscaping can wait... these opportunities aren't for passing up.

And really, that feels like all we've done this month. Hike, play, read, work, laugh. It's been a good, good, month. For that, I am thankful.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Huh. That went well.

Oh, look, right after I got all excited about getting to bed early on a regular basis, here I am, up at the witching hour. Oops. The Bigs and I got in late tonight, the bed was full of Littles, and I caved to the siren song of solitude. Tomorrow's going to bring some stout natural consequences. But while I'm up...

The boys attended a Scout meeting tonight with this other Troop. It was... whoa. The difference in this meeting from what we've known as Scouting was astounding (and I'll probably spend the next month kicking myself for not moving them over there four years ago). Wow. They went just to see what they thought, and all three came to me after the meeting and OK'd putting in their memberships. They're all in. They're each in different Patrols - I think Jacob was a little unsure about that, but his brothers assured him that it'll be okay, and that they're still *right there* if he does need them. They reminded him that they were in different Patrols at NYLT, too. 

Pancake breakfast fundraiser at Applebee's in Decatur this Saturday, if anyone is feeling generously inclined toward donating to the boys' efforts to pay for Scout Camp this year! (I did the math on the drive home for three boys, plus getting Jacob geared up, and got just a wee bit queasy thinking about that part, but it'll come together. And for a positive experience, it will be worth it a thousand times over.)

Watched a new show in the quiet time tonight: Zen. It's a BBC America production. Rufus Sewell plays a character who is Not A Villain, which he does very well. The show is spectacular, but since I remember him mostly from his villain roles, I spent most of the first episode waiting for him to bring out the Count Adhemar or Adam the Vampire. He doesn't, and the end result is a delightful police show, as far as I've watched.

School went so well today. I kind of wish we could do a once a week plan and call it good. Everyone is so energetic and enthusiastic (and focused) about one day a week...

Oh, and with the absolutely beautiful weather we've had, today we had lunch on the balcony. It was fantastic, aside from the blinding light. Even with sunglasses on, we ended up shoveling the last bites in as we walked toward the door. I think the general consensus was that we'll try again for breakfast and hold off on eating lunch out there until there's some foliage to help buffer the glare.

Overall, as the Littles would say, "it was a pretty good day".

Kiss those babies!
~ Dy

A Playset

We've wanted to build a tree house for ages. But when you're working with various personalities, and time demands, projects don't always get off the ground. Or into the tree. James and John are no longer interested in having one, and Z and I both got a little panicky last month about never having a tree house for the children!

Craigslist to the rescue! Sort of. We found a standard play set. The ad said it was "gently used", and the price was good. It was a bit of a drive, but we called it a Date and justified the trip.The whole thing turned out to be a reminder that using Craigslist can be a cautionary tale. Ask for more detailed pictures and measurements before you make a drive to pick something up. We knew this, and yet... well, I guess we just needed the excuse to spend some time in the car, alone.

"Gently used" included a two foot wide hole in the middle of the slide, and a good bit of rot on the wood that made contact with the ground. That actually made us laugh, and laughter is good for the soul. The "paid $1100 new" set can actually be purchased brand new today for $600 at Wal-Mart. I know they're fond of price droppers, but I'm guessing that's... not it.

So we offered her what we were willing to pay for it, and she acknowledged that she was probably making out pretty well, all things considered. We dismantled it and brought it home. Yesterday, Z and the kids spent the day putting on better quality wood and reinforcing the frame. They cleared a spot in the back yard, and the Littles could not be more excited if we'd built an actual tree house. So, that's good. We also bought some stain to protect the pieces that are still solid, and will have it cleaned up in no time.

We think we can replace the broken slide with sheet metal, using the existing frame. That'll be less static-inducing, and a little faster. Also, less likely to give way while in use, because regardless of one's definition of gentle use, I doubt we'll fall into that category. In the end, the cautionary reminder was good, but everyone is happy with the results.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

The Week in Review

We had Snow Week!

 Not just a day, but four days of snow and fun, cold fingers, wet pants, snowball fights and gimpy snowmen. It was wild, and wonderful!

Then Friday was so beautiful we were still able to get out and hike with friends! (The hike also involved cold fingers, wet pants, and a fairly awesome 11th Doctor snowman. But it was warm enough that we only needed light jackets and t-shirts. Double bonus, if you ask me.)

This coming week of school is going to be... hard. We're all sort of girding and trying to find a way to not cringe when we think about it.

Jacob had his second week of communicants class. I ran some errands to get ready for small group, and so missed most of it. Of course, this was the night they asked some pretty in-your-face questions about church membership (and we don't plan to join this church, but it's a somewhat nuanced position that's challenging for a 40yo to explain, let alone a 10yo...) JakeRabbit sounded like he'd handled it fairly well, though. He's cool like that. And he enjoys the class, overall.

Our small group also had its first gathering. That was, oh man, so nice. Good discussions, a lot of laughter, and some very real conversation about things that matter, and why. I'm glad we're in this group. Hopefully, we won't be the weird ones. (Or if we are, maybe it will be in an affectionate way...) There aren't any teens in the other families, so James sat in with the adults. He may be the one to pull up our average score from the judges - such an insightful kid, and so thoughtful.

So now, it is with a good deal of gratitude, wet clothing, mud on the floors, and wood chips in the foyer that we head into another week. I can't complain. (Obviously, I can't clean, either.) Right now, it's all about the Good Stuff.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

And then...

WeStayedInsideForWhatFeltLikeForeverAndEver.

But it wasn't forever and ever. It was only a few days where the high was in the 20's. The kids got a kick out of how cold their faces got just going onto the porch for wood. I contemplated (for the first time in quite a while) putting a woodbox in the wall so that we could just open a lid on the inside of the house and reach in for more wood.

Thankfully, that urge passed. I don't think we'll do any more work that involves removing and replacing brick. Not willingly, at any rate.

We did get out to the Space & Rocket Center to see the DaVinci exhibit. If you have the chance, check it out. It's a pretty neat exhibit.

 We had a few striking memories from it:

* DaVinci was more of a genius than we realized (and we went in *knowing* he was brilliant).

* So are the historians who could tell his tank was not, in fact, a space ship. I'm still skeptical. ;-)

* DaVinci's handwriting was atrocious, but James was able to read some of it using a mirror app on his phone.

* It makes me smile that he thought to do that.

* The exhibit is a perfect blend of hands-on and do-not-touch displays. I'm the only one of us who ended up missing one of the do-not-touch signs and touched something I shouldn't. Thankfully, John playfully smacked my hand and shook his head. He may also have mumbled something about not being able to take me anywhere.

* We need to go back. An hour and a half wasn't nearly long enough.

Kiss those babies, and stay warm!
~Dy

Circus and Friends

I-65 was particularly treacherous after the ice coated most of the state last week. The Thursday circus showing was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, because the troupe was stuck in Southern Alabama. I'm glad they weren't stranded on the Interstate, or injured trying to get North.

Still, we already had a lot of plans for Sunday, from Sunday School and service, to Candlemas dinner with friends, to small group and youth group. We don't handle Busy well under the best of circumstances, so I was hesitant to try to pull this off.

But Circus.

And little ones who had been guarding their tickets zealously for longer than they've not lost anything in a while.

We didn't want to skip church for the extra time.

We were all looking forward to our time with friends, though, and weren't willing to give that up.

Thankfully, they were willing to come to the circus with us! We enjoyed a lovely meal with them and headed out, convoy style, for the rest of the day.

By the time the show began, Jase has been going 90-to-nothing for ten straight hours. Z and I were starting to fret a little. I mean, the rest of us had been going that hard, too, but we're a bit more grizzled than the little guy... and there was cotton candy! (There were also cheesesticks in my purse, and about the time we all needed a little protein, those came in handy.)

He was so stoked. And with every new set of performers, he was amazed. "That's impossible! How can they do the impossible?" (Z and I felt the same. We kept whispering back and forth, "I can't do that. Just so you know." And we can't. No chance, even with ample warning and a personal trainer. We're well-matched that way.)

He thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the show, and about the time he started asking if we could go home now, they announced the grand finale. Perfect timing!

Z and I have never been to a circus together. We've never taken the kids. I have no idea why - this little show was really fantastic. It's heavy on human performers, which was very fun. (I'd planned to take more pictures, but at the beginning the Ringmaster said no digital recording of any kind is allowed, which I thought meant photos, too. Then at the end, he invited people to upload photos of the show to the troupe's Facebook page. So. Misunderstood that one. No pics for us.)

Em was enthralled with everything, from the costumes to the acrobatics, although she did murmur, wide-eyed, a few times, "Oh, no. I don't think I would like to do that!" And the boys enjoyed the performances - on one level, they appreciated the skill and effort that goes into this kind of thing, but on another, just the pure thrill of daring. I love that they haven't lost that.

Meanwhile, outside, the temperature outside plummeted by 15 degrees, and a cold, hard rain moved in. Z let us wait beneath the pavilion while he went to look for the car, and he said the rain was so heavy he nearly walked right past the car without recognizing it. We were all pretty played out for the day, and the idea of driving through that into town for another two hours of activity seemed... daunting. We bailed. We came home, started a fire, ate soup, and crashed like tired zombies.

I guess we're learning how to handle Busy well. Whether it's getting things together to get out the door, taking care of business while we're out, extending grace and kindness to ourselves and each other, or being willing to adapt as things go, we're doing pretty darned well. We're even better about remembering to stash protein for while we're out. I'm proud of us - of the kids, of Z, of myself.

We had a wonderful day, but it was very definitely a team effort that made it happen.

Kiss those babies!
~ Dy

We got out!

So, remember my concern that Jase wouldn't take kindly to the whole Hiking thing? I didn't know there would be rocks:

Gorgeous rocks! Big rocks! And they were everywhere! I knew we'd picked a winner when Jase filled me in on what I'd missed (in the short time it took me to take off my own pack and go climb with them):

"It was huge and slippery and kind of scary, but James helped me get up there! And then John helped me jump over the hole near the edge. And then we climbed some more. And Mom :inhale deeply: THANK YOU for making us come! This place is awesome!"

I even got a hug for my efforts.

James and John got in on the action. Emily could happily spend days on the trail, seeing all there is to see. And Jacob? He was amazing. We hiked about 1.5 miles, but covered a lot more than that with segues over the rocks, vertical coverage, and other miscellaneous distractions (including a stop at the creek). I'd estimated we would hike "not nearly long enough for the 10yo, but a little bit farther than the 5yo will willingly go", and that turned out to be just about right. I'd brought chocolate for that last leg. One square of chocolate will buy me about 30 yards of complaint-free progress. 20 yards if it's steeply uphill.

That said, we have got to go more often. The two littlest aren't quite as... adept at scrambling about on rocks as the older ones are. (That's entirely my fault - when I only had two or three, we went somewhere every week, and they learned to scramble shortly after they'd learned to walk.) You have to have a good relationship with your own center of gravity to be comfortable on rocks, and you can only really develop it by getting out there and exploring it. So, we'll go. I spent too much of  our time on the trail trying to control my own breathing, catching myself from yelling, "Watch out!" by making weird squeaking noises and clearing my throat a lot. We went with new friends; I'm sure she thinks I have a verbal tic and a nervous condition.

Jase wasn't daunted, though, and he did a fantastic job!

(There's a 40' drop on the other side of that rock. If this were video, you could hear me squeaking to myself when he got to the top.)

I'll follow his example. It's a good one.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy