Farley's, continued...

There is something about being at the lake that makes our children grow up faster. Since we've arrived, they both seem older somehow. There are the tangible changes, new skills learned-- the fact that Ivy can now walk over uneven terrain with tremendous aplomb, that Jack can navigate the point on a scooter... But there is something else too. They have flourished in this climate of freedom and independence and in just these 5 days they seem taller and more competent in a million subtle ways that I cannot seem to capture in words.

What I can do, however, is try to capture a few of the past days' events for you.

Yesterday we attended the Aurorafest Parade, the highlight of which was most certainly the copious quantities of candy being thrown out the windows of city vehicles. ( At least, that was the highlight for Jack. Personally I enjoyed the fife and drum band...) Jack and Elliot (son of Nat's friend Sara) jumped with excitement at the approach of each new vehicle, waving and shrieking, then raced after the loot as it scattered to the pavement. Elliot, being 6, was much more proficient at the candy grabbing and probably had a 3-1 ratio to Jack, but our little boy did manage to procure a pretty good haul. Today, as Jack and Ivy and I took a morning walk around the end of the point, Jack was admiring his ziploc baggie-full of candy: " Look at all these! I can't believe I got these many! This is the BEST!" Pause. Then, "Mom, did you tell me the parade was going to be AWESOME????!!!???"

Can you just hear him saying that? And can you sense that he is, somehow, older? See what I mean?

We also attended the annual Joust. (Of course Aurora would have a Joust as part of its summer festival..) Both kids were pretty tired but Ivy was riveted by the horses and Jack was a big fan of the sword fight at the conclusion.

This weekend, in addition to being Aurorafest, was also highlighted by a visit from Jamie and Casey.

Jamison cooked amazing gourmet dinners for us all both nights (the man is a master of the grill! Ever had grilled pineapple? My new favorite thing...) and we enjoyed staying up and having a drink with grown ups after the kids went to bed. Novel idea! And, a tiring one as the kids never do seem to understand when mommy and daddy just want to sleep in. Or, maybe they do understand and they are just cruel and vindictive little things.... hmmm. At any rate, it was wonderful to see our friends! We will be seeing them again in just over a month for their wedding, too. Exciting times!



Cousin time and swimming continue to define most of our days, though Jack did get some one-on-one time with Lulu today while the rest of us had some consumer therapy (5 days without Target! How have we survived!). Then, it was back to the lake and back to family immersion for the traditional Sunday Dinner. We served 21 tonight...




Family picture! One of the few with all 5 of us. This may end up as our Christmas card picture by default..



Finally, a little video for you. I've offered Ivy a lick of a popsicle on a few occasions and she's never gotten into it. But, oh, you should have seen her eyes light up when I handed this one to her! Apparently she just wanted to be in control of things...


We have about a gazillion wonderful pictures of the kiddos to share (lake lighting looks good on them, what can I say?) but running after our growing darlings all day in the 90 degree heat? I need some bedtime before I can sort through and post any more...

Look for pictures, in some form, tomorrow!

Farley's

We're here.



A lovely smooth drive out on Wednesday ( we only stopped once! haven't made the trip this quickly in 4 years! ) brought us to the beginning of our 2 weeks at Farley's. A much anticipated trip, especially by a little boy. Happily, our first two days have not disappointed. The weather has been sublime. Hot enough by day to make the lake the most appealing thing around, soft evenings and nights cool enough to snuggle under a blanket (or, in Ivy's case, her favorite fish print beach towe1). Jack has been thrilled, overwhelmed, and exhausted by his cousins-in-residence, spending nearly every waking moment with the triplets, running off to the playground with them, fishing for seaweed off the dock, scooter-ing all over the place. I really feel like I haven't seen the boy in the days. And that he's grown up, tangibly, in the space of this time as an independent man of the Point. Farley's is a magical place that way, so self contained and safe that all the littles learn to run free, confident that they are being watched over by the community at large.

And, littles there are! The past two evenings have seen the full contingent of 10 in this youngest generation to play at the Randall/Burnett cottages. Last night, Melinda and Will joined us on their way home from Boston and the number of "under 6's" jumped to 11. It really was almost too much to handle. I couldn't seem to maintain the appropriate small talk because I was just to busy soaking in the tableau of these little humans, riding bikes and chasing balls and running to the playground, the youngest in the crew playing on a blanket or vying for the cozy coupe, the older ones all clad in bike helmets and giggles. Watching them, reveling in their freedom and their togetherness, this group of cousins who will take each other for granted, this beautiful family and built-in friends-- it was almost breathtaking to watch the memories being made, right there before our eyes.

Sipping on a gin and tonic as the sun set over the lake? That was pretty nice too.

Ivy and Jack treated us to a remarkably good first night of sleep. Girlie was only up twice and then there was time we heard a little whimper and awoke to find Jack (who is stationed on a mat on the floor between our beds) fully under Nat's bed. He was asleep again almost before we finished coaxing him out and doesn't remember the excitement now, but we have placed some pillows to each side of his bed to prevent any future sleep-sliding.

Today we enjoyed the fascinating effects of "5 is less than 2" as we hosted the triplets for a portion of the day and watched Jack simply become one of the group as they played, created a band, ate lunch, explored the field, gathered flowers, made potpourri, swam...Around them he is almost fearless, and so grown up-- yet so little still! It seems impossible that in just 2 short years he will be one of these capable little people too... Ivy of course is not to be left behind and insists on going everywhere the big kids go, sitting on their bikes, playing with beads, you name it. Unless we're swimming, then she wants to be with Corydon, apparently...


(Corydon, as you know, can't be left behind when we swim. So, we usually float her on the kayak. Ivy insisted, absolutely insisted, that she be placed on the kayak with the dog. And this is where she "swam" today, with mommy holding her on, of course, and Hannah and Sarah pulling her around. Little queen she is, she just ate it up.)

There are simply too many pictures (already!!) to choose only a few to post. So here is a slide show of our first two days...More memories to come!

Family Reunion

On Sunday ( 1 day before the 4th, 3 days before leaving for Farley's ) I took off with the kids and Gram Gram on a trek to Detroit. Why in god's name did I do that, you ask?

Family.



We drove for 3 hours each way and got home at 2am for a 3-hour pool party.
And it was totally worth it.

We went to see some of the Henderson family I have not seen in years-- my cousin John and his wife Heidi, and their two daughters who I would not have recognized because kids sure do change in 5 years! They were up in Michigan from Charlotte and were in Detroit for the day for a ball game, and 3 hours is much more do-able than 10 so we grabbed the chance. Aunt Mary, Laura Kay, and James and Meghan also met us there and the outdoor pool at the Quality Inn served as our reunion site. It was quite perfect for our purposes, especially as Jack has realized that swimming is, in fact, fun. And swimming with cousins? Heaven. He and Ivy both took an immediate shine to Paige and Abby, who obliged by playing many rounds of hide and seek with the boy and fawning over Ivy the whole time. Watching the second cousins meet for the first time, and love each other instantly-- that was the highlight for sure. Catching up with my family was certainly a close second!


We also had a lovely time on our own at the pool, before the rest of the family arrived at 6. A good "warm-up" period for Jack, who has advanced to jumping off the side of the pool into my arms. We had to have a little talk about waiting to jump til I get to "three". Ivy, too, learned to jump to me (with a little more assistance) and there was a fun period of time wherein I juggled the two jumper. Sometimes quite literally...





It was a nice treat to have so much time to talk to my mom, too, as littles napped in the car. We had a brief stop at the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, which was too a)crowded b) huge and c) expensive for a quick visit, but we have decided that this trip ought to become a full weekend at some point in the near future so we can visit the museum and Greenfield village, as well as see family again...

Just a little something...

... to tide you over til I can post about Michigan, and the Fourth (It takes a while to sort through 400 pictures...)

Happy Fourth of July!

A wonderful Independence Day was had by all here in Cleveland Heights. One of our favorite days of the year around here, when we fall in love with our neighborhood all over again. This year we went for breakfast with the neighbors. It seems like each year we add on another event as we become more comfortable and enmeshed in this community.

A highlight this year was taking the whole family on the rocket car. Both kids had a "blast".

Jack was very excited about decorating his trike and really got into the blue crepe paper. This was evidenced later by his blue hands.

He rode in the Somerton Parade briefly before deciding the band was too loud. Our sensitive little soul. Ivy enjoyed walking around and petting any dogs and bikes she could get her hands on.

This evening we had a backyard picnic then a campfire, sparklers, and firefly-hunting with the boy.

Magic.

Here is a sampling of the day, in pictures...


And a few videos...

Of Shopping and Submarines

You know whats bound to happen when you give us free reign with a minivan...

We're going to go to IKEA.

We traded vehicles with my mom in advance of our trip to NY next week and Thursday, we weren't doing much. And Ivy needed a morning nap, and we were wondering where we ought to drive to give her a chance to sleep. Why not drive two hours to our favorite mecca of consumerism?

Turns out it was a great idea. We not only got Jack's new big boy bed (about which he is very excited... we may not be able to wait til his birthday to set this up!) but had a really nice chance to chat while kiddos napped on the way home. AND we even got to visit with Fi and Anthony despite our last-minute travels, catching them on the way to their cabin for the weekend. That gorgeous daughter of theirs! It was wonderful to see her too... other people's babies grow so fast!

Here are a few pictures from the day.



Best "soft toy" find ever!



Ivy and Keely may grow up with an unnatural attraction to swedish design...



The girl will always find something to climb on, you can count on that...



"Quick! Everyone put your hands on the table!"


"Scuse me, can I get by??"


Jack did come along too! He just spent most of the time in the ball-crawl childcare area, where he would have gladly stayed all week had they let him...

Rewinding a bit in our week-- Wednesday we had a great outing to downtown, where Jack and Daddy toured the USS Cod submarine, and we all visited the Cleveland Public Library.


In the reading garden


Ivy really loved this shopping cart and this little green shape.




The submarine



The boy who was really excited to be on the submarine.


The boy manning the guns on the submarine.

Finally, to rewind a bit further, here is Ivy with our wonderful friend Meg, who came to visit and stayed with us Monday night. Our kids absolutely adored her, instantly. Not surprising. :)



And, for the fun of it, we thought we'd put big girl in her chair with bear. Um, I think she's still growing, eh?
We're going to try to do this monthly...

The book is this photo is one of her favorites, along with "Baby Animals" and "Farm Animals" and "Where's Spot" and "Kittens". Sensing a theme? She's so great to read with these days, touching the pictures and vocalizing earnestly, clapping her hands with excitement at a favorite part, making animal sounds (snake hissing and bear growling are my favorite, though her "oweee" for meow is pretty stinkin cute too. She's just this hilarious little person who does circuits around our house carrying random things, wearing lanyards, and talking to herself...I love it.

Today we had a great day hosting Jack's best buddy Greg. I took the crew of 3 to the History Museum on my own and it went pretty darn well, actually. I wanted to just drive around all day listening to those two 3 year old boys just chatting away behind me in the van. They were awesome. Jack: "I want multi-grain cheerios for lunch!" Greg: "Green cheerios! Yuck!!" Jack: "Actually, they're brown, and they're really good. You know, Greg, Pig says you should try something new..."

Nat and I just got back from dinner out for our anniversary. It was a lovely evening to be out on Shaker Square, with a decadent amount of time to talk with JUST each other. Of course, as usual, we spent a large percentage of that time talking about children....

And tomorrow, I am off with the kiddos again-- this time only my own, and with Gram to help, too!-- as we head to Detroit for a day trip to meet up with much of the Henderson clan for a quick reunion. We might have made an overnight of it but we've got to get back for the 4th as the jam-packed schedule for the Somerton block party begins at 10am on the 4th!

You can look forward to a picture extravaganza soon, faithful readers! In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday weekend!

5 years

Today is the anniversary of the day I married my best friend in the world, my amazing husband and father of my children. It's almost hard to see back to that day considering all of the toys and baby equipment that have cluttered the way between then and now. But I will always remember the glimmer of summer sun on the water of Cayuga Lake...



5 years, 2 houses, 2 jobs each, 3 dining room tables, 2 children, 1 dog... its been a great ride. I love you, Nat, now more than ever. We are so lucky, you and I. Here's to many many years to come...