Summer = Baseball

If Owen could play baseball everyday he would. Oh wait...he does play everyday. In the day baseball league there are games 4 days a week for six weeks of the summer. When I first heard about it, I thought it was a bit excessive and figured we'd miss a few games here and there. But Owen enjoys it so much and his enthusiasm is contagious. I've found that the daily (Monday-Thursday) ritual of hanging out at the park watching baseball for an hour has been a fun part of our summer routine.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This morning when I woke up, this is what I found in the plastic bottle that has been home to our swallowtail caterpillar for the past month. We transported 3 caterpillars from Nebraska, to Kansas, and back to Minnesota. Out of the three we found, only one made it through the entire metamorphosis. Looking back, I wish we would have documented the transformation. We learned that Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is quite accurate; they eat A LOT and grow VERY fast. We also learned that they poop out as much as they eat, so we had to clean out the bottom of the bottle everyday. Next time you are in a dill or fennel patch, keep your eye out for these friendly little critters. They make great pets for about 4 weeks.

Summer Highlights

In a nutshell, here's what we've been doing since school got out on June 11th:

Weekend "up north" at the Baker cabin (like living in a Country Time Lemondae commercial)......Visiting Grandpa and Grandma in Nebraska (tractors, garden fresh veggies & being off the grid).....4th of July in a state where fireworks are legal (Owen's inner pyro came out)......Celebrating Cathy's 40th birthday in Lawrence, KS (my oldest, not "old"est friend).....Rhonda's traditional summer visit (of course I'm just the boring mom after she leaves).....Finishing my second sprint triathlon (swim, bike, run).....many many days at the pool.....Owen's (many many) baseball games...dinners on the deck.....bike rides.....and soaking up every ounce of sunshine possible since we know in 3 months the snow could fly.

Gold Medalists

The boys participated in their third Twin Cities Kid's Marathon. Miles ran the mile and Owen completed the two mile. Eli hung out in the stroller munching on goldfish. Upon their urging, I ran part of the race with each of them. Much to my delight both boys grabbed my arm and we ran hand-in-hand for a while. I'm writing about this so I remember these tender moments as they get fewer and far between.

The Little Hoarder

I often refer to Eli as a little hoarder. I rarely see him with just one toy in his hands. Whether it's cars, trains or dinosaurs, he has to have an armload so big that toys are falling from his arms as he moves about. My friend Catherine suggested that in a previous life maybe Eli lived a life of complete deprivation and now he's making up for it. Whatever the reason, I hope he outgrows it before trains and cars turn into cell phones and video games.

These are some random photos from our week of rain.

Happy Mother's Day!

Christmas 2009
Summer 2009

Happy Mother's Day to the two mothers and grandmothers in our lives. Thanks for all you do and have done for us! We love you!

I'm still trying to figure out how my mom managed to sew most of our clothes (even Barbie doll clothes!), can & freeze vegetables from the garden, make quilts, iron all of our clothes (including dad's handkerchiefs), make most meals from sratch, be PTA president and the church pianist among many other things. She did all of that while raising 3 kids.

Liem's mom lived through a war, various refugee camps, learned a new language, assimilated into another culture and worked full time while raising 5 children (and other nephews and foster children). Just thinking about all of that makes my job seem pretty simple.

Nature vs. Nurture

I've always had an opinion about the ongoing nature vs. nurture debate. I'm sure both factors influence how a child develops. But this morning when I walked into Owen's and Miles' room, I have to say I think it's more nature than nurture. I've tried to incorporate making the bed into their morning routine. Clearly it's taken hold in one boy more than the other. Really I'm not sure why I even care if their beds are made since most of the time mine looks more like the one in the bottom picture. I'll leave it up to you to decide which bed belongs to which boy. BTW-Meghan-do you recognize the white bed frame?