Sweet Fun

Events this week:

Harvesting the lavender

Peach picking at Chiles' Orchard

Picking his first peach

Arrrrgh!

We are soaking up Daddy-time since he got out of school on Friday. Tonight Michael took Noah to his first baseball game! UVA v.s. Oklahoma. Go Wahoos!

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Found in my journal, Aug. 31st of last year...

Today we were in the store and Noah asked to get some brightly colored cereal. Trying to think of a way to make it less desirable I said, "It turns your insides different colors- it might turn your heart green." Noah replied, "It could make Jesus green!" I just had to laugh.

Failure and Success

Success: Michael's awesome Challah bread that we shared with home group this week.

Finger painting fail: Read about making finger paint for Ethan to play with. End result was a meltdown and a messy baby.

Success: Coloring with crayons instead

Success: Noah requested that we sew a cape for "Belle" so that he could act out Beauty and Beast with his figures

I need to document more of my failures...I'm usually not thinking about how I want to share them. But transparency IS a good thing...

Fun with Boys

We have been having a lot of fun as a family recently! Since Noah is out of school, we've had more playdates with friends and have visited the POOL now that it is open on weekends. So far we've gone to the pool once, if not twice each day it's been open. Yesterday, Michael went down to stand in line (it is often at full capacity), while I got Noah all ready for the pool. I stayed with Ethan while he napped and I sent Noah down the hill, across the park all by-himself to meet Michael! I stood on the back deck and watched him the whole way. It was so cute to watch my little boy setting off alone, carrying his big pool bag. He only paused for a moment, as he passed the playground. Of coarse, Michael was right there waiting for him at the pool. What a big boy!

Here are some pictures from some of our recent adventures:

Cherry and Strawberry picking at Chiles' Orchard

Going on a hike through Sugar Hollow.

This is the same hike where we had the fortunate chance to see a black bear!

...with "Aney" of coarse. Sadly, since this picture, Aney has been lost.

Noah misses him terribly!

All the recent thunderstorms have made great days for making some play-doh!

Our first meal out on our deck for Memorial Day!

Our little pirate has needed to wear his patch for a couple hours a day again, but his cool new patch is much better than the sticky band-aid ones he used to wear.

Noah's first campout with Daddy - complete with milk and freshly baked cookies (c:

Ethan had to check it out the morning after

Noah's awesome bee balloon from the balloon man at the City Market

Ah, our sweet lavender bushes are blooming!

Last Day of School

First day of Great Beginnings Preschool this year...

Last day, today!

Ethan and I will be leaving soon to attend Noah's end of the year assembly. So much has happened this year - hard to believe we've been back this long already.

Mother's Day Weekend

While we didn't celebrate Mother's Day this year in the same way as we have the last 3 years in Peru, it was special all the same. This time I got to spend it with my Mom! My parents came for the weekend and we had a great time with them. Friday evening we attended the "Boogie on the Blacktop" dance event at Michael's school. Noah enjoyed doing the Hokie Pokie and Macarena with Daddy.

Saturday morning we went to Critzer's Family Farm for some strawberry picking! None of us had done it before (except for my Mom, when she was a child) and we had a blast, even though it was exceptionally windy! So we came home with loads of strawberries and decided to make strawberry shortcake for dessert that night and strawberry sorbet for Mother's Day. {Can't get any fresher than that. We have a big bag of frozen strawberries in the freezer that I'm looking forward to using for smoothies and other tasty treats. I'm trying to help our family eat things closer to their source, and this is a great town for that. Our Farmer's market in the park behind our house started last week. That will surely be a weekly "must" for us. It reminds me of Peru in some ways...}

Noah deemed Saturday another one of Aney's birthdays (I explained that he could have up to 7 in a year with the whole doggie years thing), so Strawberry Shortcake was an appropriate cake, since "Aney LOVES strawberries!"

Saturday afternoon, my Dad and Michael did a lot of "Honey do-s," to include replacing some warped 2x4s on our deck. THANK YOU!! Somehow, I got a nap on our hammock that afternoon.

A dear friend posted a blog recently about her two youngest (of 3) crawling into bed with them for different reasons and how she wanted to savor those precious moments. Thank you, Angie, for the perspective on that, and how it truly doesn't last forever. So, this morning, when Noah came in at 5:15 and said "Mommy, I'm lonely in my bed. I just want to sleep with another person," we agreed it was okay. Recently, he's been doing a great job of staying in his bed all night long.

Every day that I get to mother these little ones, is a gift. They bring me joy and teach me way more than I teach them.

"Sweeter than honey"

This morning, I woke-up to a little boy snuggling up next to me saying, "Mommy, you're sweeter than honey!" Awww. It's these little moments I'm trying to hide in my heart for those years ahead when he may not think I'm so sweet.

Yesterday, amidst a rather hectic day, Noah and I made a precious memory by attending his first musical! We saw "Beauty & the Beast" put on by Albemarle High School and it was pretty fantastic for a high school! We nearly didn't get in as it was totally sold out. Noah was crushed, and his big alligator tears melted the hearts of the adults with me in line. Graciously, one mother and teenage daughter who were on the waiting list to get in, got tickets and sold one to us so he could sit on my lap. The mother said she would rather Noah and I go together. WOW. We were so grateful. She gave Noah a bag of M & M's to boot! In case that mother ever finds this blog - I want her to know how appreciated that act of kindness was. Now, I'm not in support of Noah thinking that crying every time will get him what he wants, but we were grateful all the same. He thoroughly enjoyed it! His favorite parts were Gaston's song and the transformation at the end - complete with an audience filled with illuminated fake roses to help in making the magic happen. (c:

Ethan just figured out what kisses are and will give them when asked; if he's in the mood, that is. He and I just spent the weekend together again while Michael dropped Noah off with Grandma and Grandpa in Arlington and he took the train up to Hartford, Connecticut. He was interviewing for a summer masters degree program in music education with Kodaly emphasis. We all had a great weekend - Noah had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa, Michael's interview went really well and he got to see Matthew and Kerry briefly on the way back, and Ethan and I had a lot of fun at home together, going on lots of long walks and doing things around the house that I don't usually have time to do.

Here are some more recent pictures of my sweet boys:

Peonies from our garden that remind me of my Grandmother's in NY

Oh, how I love Spring!

Spring!

We have been in awe of the beauty that is Spring. We have missed it! We are so grateful to our home's previous owners who went to great lengths to plant some beautiful perennials! We are learning so much about gardening and have a long way to go. It has been really neat to just watch and see what comes up this Spring.

Our neighbor's wisteria is growing on a trellis that is gracefully leaning towards our house

Noah has already spent hours observing and capturing these marvelous little caterpillars. Yesterday we tried out the bike trailer for the boys - man, am I out of shape?!