Memorial Day Weekend

 We've had a wonderful three day weekend.

Nat was out of town for a few days this week, at a conference in Chicago. The kids and I managed to survive on our own -- with quite a lot of help from our village.  And a little boost from the lake.

It was a busy week at work and the fun of scheduling child care and taking care of our menagerie of 15,000 living things on my own was pretty tiring.

And yet, Friday night arrived and it seemed like a great idea to take off at 6:00 for a pizza-picnic at Euclid Beach.

And it was.

 The lake never disappoints.

 This old girl enjoyed wandering the quiet beach.

 And these two kids sank into castle building as the sun sank in the sky, even collaborating for a while on a series of tunnels.

 On our way home we discovered an abandoned observatory.  So that was pretty cool too.

 Saturday:  The kids talked me into doing a "trunk sale" at a local church-- they've been jonesing to have a yard sale and this seemed like it might be easier...
Pictured here are some high points:

 Chatting up the customers (few that there were)

 and making friends with other bored kids...

Not pictured:  The dead van battery AFTER we loaded all the things, meaning we had to transfer all of the things into my tiny car, and the saddest boy in the world when his sister made more sales than he did, and the hot, rangy lot of us that headed home with a few dollars of profit at noon.

Just as the lake never disappoints, yard sales ALWAYS do.


Saved by the village.  Jack was invited to swim at the South Euclid Pool and Ivy joined a neighbor for a playdate and I got myself back together and we ended the day at an idyllic playdate with our friends.

 The only disappointment here? When I told Ivy she could not take her "trained" toad, Moonlight Obey Morehouse, home with us.

Sunday-- Nat is home!  A relaxing morning ensued.  And then, an afternoon at another pool...

... and another cookout with more friends.  

 This time, our extended Hiram family...

 ... and all of their beautiful babies!

 A doozy of a summer storm hit about halfway through the party, but that's why god made TVs...

 Today:  Morning at Edgewater...

Things were hoppin at the dog beach.  It was awesome.  Poor Cor just kind of watched.  Having an old dog is not an easy thing.

 ... and yet another cookout with Gram, Bec, and Joe.  Picture perfect and delicious.

 Complete with a Corvette ride with Joe!

The kids and Nat spent the later part of the day at yet another pool -- Beachwood, with friends-- while I stayed back to get things in order for my trip to DC tomorrow.  3:30 am is coming soon so I'd best sign off.  Not a lot of words on this post, but really, how many do you need to say "We are pretty darn lucky."...

Half-past May

 It has been a nice week here in Cleveland Heights.  Time is flying in that way it does at the end of the school year.  When we are so so ready for summer but not *quite* done with school. I  have some more teaching I'd like to do, actually.  And so much paperwork and cleaning to finish in so very few days.  The kiddos, too, talk of summer and countdown the days and as the chain of numbers gets smaller, their emotions get bigger.  There is a lot of drama around our house these days.  A boy who is extra snarky, a girl who is quick to cry.  I am trying to hold my own emotions in check and remind myself that they are sad and scared to see this year end, that times of transitions are hard for all people but in particular small ones.  That these big, increasingly capable kiddos of mine are still pretty small...

Some 90 degree weather midweek gave a trial run for summer. We've now got the air conditioners installed upstairs, and Ivy moved her sundresses front and center in the closet.  The temperatures quickly dropped back into the 50's by the end of the week, of course.  It IS Cleveland, after all...

A "faux-summer" trip to Peace Park.  We've learned the sad news that the district is selling this school and accompanying 6 acre parcel of land.  So, all of a sudden the future of our treasure of a community park (as well as the locations of 11 nonprofit organizations using the building) is unknown.  Sigh.  Enough with this, 2017!

In the meantime we have resolved  to visit our park as often as possible this summer....


Every kid in the neighborhood was there on Wednesday.

 
 And all of them wanted to love on Corydon.  Old girl shuffled around soaking up the love, and slept for pretty much the entire next day.


 My baby girl.

 Also this week:  Butterfly release!

 Happy free-range ladies.

A super fun field trip to the zoo with my sweet students on Friday.  I have enjoyed this group of kiddos all year, and we just had a blast on Friday.  Cool comfortable weather and active, interesting animals.  I always forget just how much I enjoy the zoo.

This orangutan was RIGHT up against the glass.  Not every day you can get a selfie with an orangutan.

Learning to sew!  A quiet Friday at home, plus a dinnertime discussion about my students' forays into sewing that day (for a volunteer activity) led to us digging out all of the fabric scraps from the basement and learning to hand-sew pillows and make applique monsters.  You know, like you do.

 Also this week:  Snuggly animals:

Even Tiny is getting so big!

Chipmunk is still the winner for sweetness.

And snuggly kids:  Ivy has fallen love with Sissi, our boarder, and Sissi is very sweet with her.  Ivy invited her to watch a movie with us and Sissi very patiently watched the whole thing.  How could anyone walk away from Ivy-hugs, though?

 And-- snuggly babies!

 Ivy and I were invited to help out a friend by watching her 4 month old love-bug for a few hours on Saturday.

 What a joy.

Then-- Saturday!  Nat treated me to a day at Stan Hywet for my mother's day gift.  The kids had a spectacular day at my mom's, complete with musical theater and outdoor play, while Nat and I had an afternoon of this:

 Nat bought me tickets to the "Nooks and Crannies" tour of the house and we got to go through all SORTS of locked doors and up ALL the stairs and it was terrific.

Apparently the neighborhood kids used to sneak through this 200 foot long drainage tunnel to come into the house and play with the Seiberling grandchildren!

After our guided tour of the "unseen" spaces, we went through the main house on our own.  We were among the last people there and got to linger and get close to things and bother the docents with all sorts of questions and that was pretty terrific too.

 There were two weddings going on around the gardens, which lent an air of festivity to our stay.  We met this lovely bride who let Nat take a few pictures of her, in all of her joyful perfection.

 We had fun taking "album cover" photos as we explored the grounds...We also completed a "quest," following clues to find certain spots in the gardens and locate a hidden logbook to record our success.  Quests make everything more fun.

And even better-- the kids stayed over night, so Nat and I took our time, closed down Stan Hywet, and got dinner on the way home.  I was even able to join some mama friends for sushi and an "Escape Room" night out, and a fun "after party" back at home.  Yes.

Today- a quiet rainy day at home, cleaning rooms and gathering items for our annual attempt at a yard sale.   The kids each had a friend over and the afternoon was spent cuddling chickens, playing on tablets, and exploring in the very very muddy gorge across the street.

Tomorrow-- off to accomplish our last 5 day week of this school year.  The rush awaits.