Planting

On the way home from school, C pulled two seeds out of his pocket. It seems he saved them from his orange at lunch today, and he wanted to plant them in the back yard. He ran right into the garden, dug a hole, planted, then watered the seeds for his orange tree. We are also "growing" a plum tree thanks to C.

Me in a Tree

Mom in a Tree, by C

This picture got a little greased up somehow en route from school to home, but I think it's too funny. It's me (I'm the turquoise one with hair), in a tree. And those three little things floating around it? Those are butterflies. Gosh, I love this stuff.

Hole in the Wall

Tonight we enjoyed a nice little walk, and the first visit of the season to our local ice-cream shop. H couldn't finish his, so even Storm got a lick. Here's a close-up for your viewing pleasure.

Galena Triathlon

We just enjoyed a whirlwind trip to Galena, Illinois. We had never been there before, and I have to say, it was a really neat little town. And the scenery was amazing. It was rolling hills for miles, filled with farms (which I love) and fields. Beautiful. We went with our friends The Frigs to watch Brian and Chris compete in the Galena Triathlon. I have to admit, as beautiful as those rolling hills were to look at, I thought the guys were nuts to ride bikes and run up and down them. And yes, there was a swim! In freezing cold water. Turns out, the water was warmer than the air, so it wasn't too bad. We waited by transition 2 and the finish line to cheer them on. Brian and Chris both looked strong and did really well. Brian finished in 1:57:16. We had a great time. And, I can't wait to get back to Galena some day.

(P.S. We ate dinner at Fried Green Tomatoes, lunch after the race at One Eleven Main and stayed at the Ramada, which was perfect for a night with the kids because they have a huge indoor pool -- however, there are a ton of B&Bs which I'm sure are more charming.)

Art by H: Circles

Color Circles by H

Losing Teeth

First grade is prime time for losing teeth. Most of H's classmates are up to 3 or 4 already. He and one other boy in his class were the last to lose one. And it really bummed him out. (They are also the shortest ... for now). About a month ago, one of H's baby teeth started getting really loose. And today, it finally came out. He said he twisted it, and pulled it. He grossed everyone out when it started bleeding. I think it was the entertainment for the day in his classroom. H couldn't be more thrilled. He even got to go to the nurse's room and get his tooth-shaped tooth carrier to bring it home. We'll have to see if the Tooth Fairy pays him a visit tonight!

Tortilla Head

Sometimes, it's hard not to laugh when the boys are playing with their food.

Speaking of Birds ...

Check out this bird chandelier, by Mathieu Challières. (via Cookie Magazine's Nesting Blog)

Bird by C

Bird by C

We love birds around here. And I'm happy to add this one to our collection.

My Mother's Day

What a treat today was. I had a fantastic Mother's Day, which started with breakfast in bed. Strawberry pancakes. Yum. Then boys gave me a few gifts. One of my favorites was the coupon book H made for me. I already used the "good for one hug" coupon, but he said I could use it again. Then I went for 4+ mile run, took a quick shower, and we headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA). The Buckminster Fuller exhibit was great. In fact, a couple of H's favorite "rooms" were from this exhibit. He liked the floating city and the dwelling machines. Our boys don't have much patience for museums, to be honest. But the final exhibit was really fun for them. It was the Olafur Eliasson exhibit. The first hallway was lit by only yellow lights, and it made it so everything in that room, including us and our clothes, were yellow and black -- almost sepia. There was also a room with lights that changed color, and a few other really fun spaces. We ended with brunch at Puck's, which was really nice. After brunch, we walked around a bit, then headed home.

I'm such a lucky person. Thanks to Brian and the boys for a perfect day. And Happy Mother's Day to Moms T & P, too!

Chris Frigs Birthday Party

It was our friend Chris's birthday on Thursday. And to celebrate, Penny and he had a party tonight. It was fun evening spent with great friends (and of course delicious food).

Home Again

H had his first sleepover last night ... it was at his school. I have to admit, I actually told him at first that I thought he was too young and he couldn't go. But then I overheard him telling a friend that he wasn't going because "my Mom won't let me go," and I felt so bad. And lame. So we left the decision up to him. He was so excited to go. Then, a couple nights ago he got really nervous, and said he didn't want to go anymore. Over the last few days, he was really looking forward to it again, but I still fully anticipated a call in the middle of the night. Brian and C dropped him off because Melissa invited me last minute to the ballet (which was so fun). We woke up this morning -- without any mid-night wake-up calls -- and I couldn't wait to pick him up to find out how it went. And guess what? He had so much fun. They watched movies, played in the gym, went to sleep at 11:30, had pancakes for breakfast. It was a huge success.

Portraits by C

In case you were wondering, I'm the one on the upper right and in the larger image on left. That dark mark on me? Well, that's a baby. In my belly. Poor C. Unfortunately for him, he's always going to be our baby. We haven't gotten many new pictures from him lately. He's been too busy drawing hearts for E in his school.

C & Storm