Birthdays and beaches

So yeah.  Somehow it is September.  Life comes at you fast.  

These two weeks!  What a ride.  In brief, they have included:  recovery from surgery (silver lining:  several lunch dates with my husband), the kids' first two weeks of school, my son's tenth birthday, the death of my dog, a hawk attack on our chickens, the completion of several house projects, and a great labor day weekend that included some terrific gatherings with friends.  Oh, and also the beach, the Air Show, the pool, and some gorgeous early-fall weather.    Whew. 

Pictured for you here:  some of the good parts.

A trip to Edgewater...

 The day after Jack's  party, we were all pretty worn out.  So we came to the lake to walk and sit and chill together and as always it was just right.  

Yes, Jack is smelling his sister here.  He said she smelled terrific. 

 We both knew and didn't know that it would be Corydon's last visit to the lake.

 She waded happily for quite a while and then laid down for a nap while we all relaxed in the sand.

 Wise, beautiful girl.

Monday: My boy turns 10!  We had the luxury of a special day breakfast together, and spoiled him silly with gifts.

 The hit of the day, of course, was the boy's first $50 bill.  He's a money lover for sure.

 Another hit of the day:  Coffee out with my honey at the cutest hipster coffee shop on Murray Hill.

 And, a lovely birthday dinner for Jack, complete with this priceless moment.

 And this one-- Jack's request for his special birthday dinner:  Canned chicken!

 And more money!  His Gram sure spoils him.

Wednesday was not really a high point, seeing as it started with taking our dog to be put to sleep.  

So we distracted ourselves with a last minute, after school trip to Cumberland Pool.

 Saturday:  A morning trip to MOCA for free First Saturday.  We always have a great time with the interactive activities there.  We did look at one art exhibit, I promise!  But we mostly built forts and painted, and it was terrific.

 The instructions in the painting room were to paint from a photo that is meaningful.  The timing seemed right to work on this one.

 My kiddos just love making art.  they could have stayed here all day.

 I love the way Ivy noticed the shapes and proportions in her little monarch representation.

 After some time at home for Jack to have a Nerf playdate, we went to Melinda and Will's for supper.

 It was a bit a of a party, complete with yummy grilled food, apple wine and conversation, and even a dancing game invented by the kids which got all of the adult grooving-- and giggling.  Everything is more fun when you participate, right?

Sunday-- a trip to take in the Air Show.  Of course we are cheapskates so we did not pay to go in.  We'd planned to go to Whiskey Island-- lakefront and fields and city views as a bonus-- but apparently everyone in Cleveland had the same idea an the road was closed!  So back downtown we went and joined some crowds outside of the Convention center.  Not a bad place to spend a couple hours on a beautiful afternoon.

 Though there was a bit of time spent waiting for the show to start...

 It was worth the wait, though.

This guy was awesome.  SO into it.

 In other weekend news, we have *mostly* finished our playroom re-purposing project. We now have a combination game/craft/laundry room that includes an animal habitat, and the basement now contains almost all the toys-- and  big mess.  That is next on the list.

 For today I enjoyed watching the children soak up the newly calm and organized space, overjoyed to re-discover clay.  Tomorrow we pick up a cute little table to replace the old card table.

 Projects are fun.

So are beaches.

 Our Labor Day started with a lazy morning and then a trip to Fairport Harbor.

 We met up with some friends and Nat and the kids tried paddleboarding for the first time.

 Jack is a huge fan.

 After a great lunch at the world's best (cheapest) beach concession stand, we headed to our next event:  A picnic with our Hiram friends at Tiffany's house.

 How have these littles gotten so big??  Tree climbing, Nerf battles, video games...

 And plenty of time for the adults to feast on a great pot-luck buffet, enjoy some wine, and remember just how much fun we have with each other.

 Oh, and we got to hold babies, so it was an extra good night.

In the midst of crazy times and all the ups and downs of this life, we are really so very lucky, aren't we?  We have the best of friends and the best of children and we live in the best of times-- these times right now, the only ones we've got.