A week's worth...

Some little moments from our lives this week.

A Sunday afternoon playdate with neighbors...

 We have new neighbors on Somerton and the little boy, Leo, has taken a shine to Ivy.  She was invited to join him, under the supervision of our 5th grade friend Rachel, for a roving playdate that included time at Rachel's house, our backyard with chickens, and Coventry Park.  Ivy was thrilled to be off on her own with friends.  An "I love where I live" moment for this mom, for sure...Good neighbors make all the difference.

Crafting like crazy:  Nat is immersed in the annual construction of Halloween costumes and our dining room looks like a craft store exploded.  Inspired by their dad, the kids have been raring to help with all the things, from sanding the replica Nimbus 2000 to constructing their own wands, to discovering and putting together the Snow-Cone machine in a rare display of teamwork.

What's a little mess when there is so much creativity to be found!

The stunning weather continues:  A gift of a day on Tuesday, perfect for a walk with my honey by the lake.  Because I just spent the time this weekend getting my fall clothes out, that meant it had to be 75 degrees out.  I made sure to enjoy every bit of the "too warm" that I was feeling. And the incredible, unearthly blue of that lake.
Oh, how I love my lake!!

Bunnies.  Yes, two of them.  Turns out we rescued a loose pet rabbit  in our neighborhood, on Monday before piano lessons.  5 adults and 4 children working together to corner and trap the little guy before a coyote could get him... We were sure that he would turn out to be a beloved escaped pet from one of the nearby houses...and here we are a week later with "Buddy" or "Other Bunny" or "Grey" still in residence with us.  No response to signs and posting on local classifieds, sadly.
He's a really cute little guy, if a bit standoffish.    And he and Marshmallow really like each other-- through the bars of the cage anyways.  When we let them out together, there were a lot of... "dominance displays" (aka mounting one another with surprising ferocity...) to the point we had to separate them with a broom handle.  So yeah.  We're not quite sure how to proceed from here, but for the moment we are spending a lot of time cleaning up hay and bunny litter boxes.
What a life I have...

 Wednesday walks...  I'm enjoying taking Ivy to ballet and then sneaking off for a little woods time.  This week I dashed home and got my other girl to keep me company.  A little stream swim and then rolling in the nice rec center grass... happy dog.

Friday-- the day was so very luscious, it would have been criminal to not go to the lake.
As soon as I got home, we packed a dinner picnic and headed out.

 A quick stop at North Coast Harbor (we do love that little Pokemon player of ours...)

 ... and then Whiskey Island for sunset...

 Apparently renovations of the old Coast guard Station are underway, with plans for a kayak rental and concession stand out on the boardwalk.  Super excited about this because I do love this building.  And our Metroparks system, which is totally rocking its ownership of the Cleveland Lakefront.

Saturday Soccer!

 Fall color!  Like a switch has flipped.  The maples are spectacular...
And the weather is fine for soccer!  Cool and breezy beautiful and our kids played with joy.  Jack assisted Ivy's team as a fill in goalie and let in a shot from the other team to help even out the score when they were behind 4-0.  I was so incredibly proud of him for reading the situation and acting on it with kindness.  He has come a long way with his empathy.

We had so much fun at our games, we thought we'd head back to Denison field that night for the CHHS boys varsity game.  Some of the kids' coaches were playing for Senior night and talking it up, so the kids were raring to go.  My family, heading off to a tickets sporting event!  Who knew??

We had a blast.

It was an exciting game, made better by the home team winning 3-0 (despite Mentor's superior passing game.  We had one excellent goalie...).  Jack was rapt, sitting up ramrod-straight to watch the action and spending the latter half of the game up at the rail for a better view.  Ivy wa enthusiastic but increasingly tired and cold... so, lots of good snuggles with my girl under the blanket (which was thankfully still in the van from the afternoon-- we got to look like we were prepared! ha!).  Best moment from her:  after the second goal scored in under 2 minutes, with every person in the stands up on their feet cheering and stomping, little one looks up from playing on my phone and says, with all seriousness, "What?  Did we score???"

Best moment for my boy?  Halftime, when kids headed out to the field to kick a ball around, and he asked to go too... and headed out so confidently to hang out with his college-age coaches, stealing the ball, chasing, having the time of his life.  It helps that he knows this field like the back of his hand, and a couple of the (really great) young men who coach have known him since he was 5... but I was so very proud of his bravery to go out into a new experience, and embrace the fun of it so fully.
We've got a little jock on our hands, I think.  He's even agreed to go to a skills clinic for 6 weeks this winter.  Big boy.

See that little boy in red?  My son!  So big, but so very little out there with those young adults.  

Lazy Sunday snuggles with my favorite girls...

Sweet Cor doesn't come up onto the bed too much these days.  She made the effort this morning and just seemed to soak up the love and comfort.  My good old girl...

A week's worth of wonderful, for sure.  Feeling happy and blessed today.

Three Days

Reveling in a 3 day weekend over here.  Coffee on the table, dog and bunny stretched out on the rug, a mix of sun and clouds through the window.  Nat heading off to teach, both kids still in bed, me in my robe preparing to hold down the fort.  I totally win today.

Next to my coffee, of course, is an ambitiously long to-do list, so this moment of relaxation-revelry will be brief. We've been doing a terrific job this weekend of ignoring the to-do's in favor of... well, lots of things. This weekend has been a delightful surprise-- the forecast had predicted 3 days of solid rain so the perfect weather felt like an unexpected gift. We enjoyed the heck out of it.

Friday:  Cleveland Heights Homecoming Parade!  We've definitely set this as a tradition, as the kids have marched with Boulevard every year since the inaugural parade 4 years ago.  Ivy was excited to note that this is her second year as an ACTUAL Boulevard student (never mind the two years she marched before she was one!)  This was also the second year of pretty awful weather-- active rain and cool temperatures as we gathered.  But the few, proud and brave gamely marched on, and by the time we reached the stadium, clouds were clearing, thunderstorms had vanished from the radar, and the evening was set up for a great football game.  We didn't stay for it.  (We never do, it turns out-- the hour - long wait between parade-end and game-start is just too much for our kiddos...)   But we DID get takeout Dewey's and one of Jack's friends for the evening at home... and we did have a great time chatting with parents and neighbors while we were out.  Loving our Tiger Nation this weekend!

Boulevard kids made their own musical instruments for a school-wide design challenge.  They were played extensively while we waited, not so much while we marched.  I got to parade with a flip-flop (intended to play jacks "tubes" but abandoned in favor of the impressive honking noise he could make by blowing into it...)

I ended my Friday by running off for a quiet and relaxing Mama's night at friend Alex's house... some drinks and conversation and munching on chips and the best salsa ever.  So many good things!


Saturday:  Happy October!  A tiny touch of yellow and orange to the trees, and leggings on the kids... finally starting to feel like FALL soccer!  I packed a blanket and rain slickers to prepare for rain showers and cold weather... and by noon it was sunny and warm.  You have me to thank for this, Cleveland.

Jack had an awesome team this week.  They really played together as a TEAM.  Not to mention that they had a pretty great coach (some guy named Nat...).  Great day out at Denison park!

After soccer the kids joined some friends for open skate at the rink. A spontaneous event which ended up including  three families' worth of kids, the loaning of pants and mittens, and a lot of fun.  Miraculously, our two remembered how to skate, though Jack was pretty tired from some hard soccer playing, and came home early.

 We hosted Lillian and Naomi for a sleepover-- and got a great evening with our grownup friends out of the deal, too.  We just love spending time with these people.

Sunday Morning:  Rise and shine and off with 4 littles in tow for the Heights Happy 5k!  One of my favorite races, small and laid back and full of community and friends...

Complete with extra friends as the Perry family joined us to run!

 The boys all ran the mile and the girls (who were wishing they had registered) got in on the fun and ran a little bit of the mile too.  (Next year: we will singlehandedly fund the entire race as we register them alllll....)

 Here's Jack and Greg running their hearts out at the finish.  Third and Fourth place respectively!

This one ran a 6:19 mile!  I am so impressed.  He reported not being able to feel his legs afterwards....He's pretty hard core.

 The clouds parted after the mile race and it was a glorious fall day by the end of the 5K...

Great day for my friend Tiffany, too, who ran her first 5k in many years and beat her goal time by 7 minutes!  I was under my goal by 13 seconds, which I am still ok with.  That 26.47 may get me into the awards in my new age group this time next year.  (file under;  The silver linings of turning 40...)

We hosted the 6 kiddos for a lunch playdate and then, because one active event with friends isn't enough for a day (not a day like this one!!) we headed to Hale Farm.

 A convenient meeting spot to return our friends to their parents...

 ... and a perfect place to spend a fall afternoon.   Pumpkins all over, wagon rides, cider and crafts.  We love Hale Farm!

The icing on the cake: A gift of a day off today for Rosh Hashana (Shana Tova to my friends who celebrate!).  We celebrated family and fall--  first a Valley meetup to run the dogs (and climb some trees!) with Gram and Bec, then lunch out together, then a quick lake stop on they way home (how could I resist!)

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And now I am closing my day like I started it, this time on the porch as the afternoon fades to evening, a little chill coming into the air, five out of eight things crossed off that list next to my coffee.  Jack and Nat are off buying fabric for Halloween costumes, and Ivy is on an extended, adventurous playdate with two neighbor friends.  They were just here playing with chickens and now have run off to go to Coventry Park with another dad, and my little girl is so independent! and all is as it should be.  Corydon and I think we'll enjoy the quiet here for a few more minutes before we go start supper...

Sending gratitude and love out into the world in return for this weekend I've been given!