Bike Fun

The  boys had so much fun playing with their cousins and uncle on Ma Wink's porch. It makes my heart happy, because I have so many fond memories of playing on her porch with my cousins. Potentially riding some of those same bikes, actually. :)

Porch Swinging

If you go to Ma Wink's house and the weather is nice, you've got to swing on the porch swing. Period. Silly faces are optional.

Building Crew

Earlier this week we visited the site of my parents' future home (sadly, their previous home was lost in a fire). Ellis was first attracted to the gravel piles, and then to the idea of helping Papou build part of the wall. Here are some photos of their construction debut. I look forward to revisiting these photos in the months and years to come, as both the house and the boys grow and change.

He was pretty tentative with the ladder at first...

Putting the block in place...

One block done...

Time to measure the next.

Very carefully supervised cutting...

Oliver thinks his garden hoe might be helpful.

Perfect fit!

The first and last time Ellis has permission to write on their walls with a Sharpie!

You can see his name if you squint...

Our climber scaled the ladder without hesitation.

A photo for posterity

Happily playing inside the house

Kites 2013

I'm a sucker for rituals and traditions. I love the feeling that I get when I say, "We do this every year." I love that we are creating memories and traditions for the kids that will add up to be their childhood. Last weekend was our family's annual trip to our local kite festival (last year's festival photos). Unlike last year, when we could plunk Oliver down on a blanket and Ellis was content to play with friends, they were both exploring all over the place--and most of the time in two different directions! It was definitely a team effort to keep track of them. Thankfully, we brought Yia Yia along for an extra set of eyes and hands.

This year was definitely colder, but we did have more wind, so we actually got to see some pretty cool kites get off the ground. The boys' favorite was a giant squid, and my mom liked the ones that whipped around in loopty-loops. All in all, it was a fun day, and I'm glad to have another year of this tradition.

Ellis was excited for a legitimate excuse to use the binoculars!

Lemonade break with Yia Yia

Ellis got his face painted as Spiderman earlier in the day. And yes, both my kids eat lemons.

The sun was super-bright; forgive our squinting.

Flashback Friday

We're still pretty much couch-bound, so how about an oldie-but-goodie? Here I am with my mom, circa 1982.

The story goes that my mom, who was 23 at the time, took me to get portraits taken, but hadn't intended to be in any photos. At the photographer's insistence, she got in the picture despite the fact that she wasn't "camera-ready." Thank goodness she did. She's always been beautiful, and this day was no exception.

Weekend

We had a fast, but nice weekend. How about you?

Friday night Eric and I had dinner with some of his colleagues. Grown-up time courtesy of Grandma--always a treat!

I spent Saturday cleaning while Eric went to the office.  (Who got the worse deal there?) Then my mom and stepdad came for a visit Saturday afternoon. They played with the kids, we ate out, visited some open houses in the neighborhood (for ideas as they rebuild their home) and generally caught up. Then we parted ways yesterday after lunch at Panera.

They always seem too short, those weekends. Especially the ones when we get to see Yia Yia and Papou. Ellis and Oliver agree. Ellis sweetly told them yesterday that he wanted them to stay forever. Then last night as I was putting Oliver to bed, he was crying, "Pa-POU!" over and over. This morning he woke up early and wanted to go nurse in "Yia Yia's bed."

It's hard on them to live apart from their grandparents. I know we're lucky to live as close as we do, where we can drive rather than fly, and we can make the trip in one day if needed. Even still, they can't understand why we can't just hop in the car and see them, or why they're here one day when they wake up and not the next.

Gosh, I meant to just show you a few cell phone pics of the weekend, and ended up going on and on. Anyway, here they are.

Our stingy kisser gives out some affection.

Begging Papou for "momey" (money, for games) at the pizza place. 

A little mama-baby love.

We had to travel with a basketball. I guess it's a boy thing. 

Oliver and  his "bah."

Christmas Recap: The Lead-Up

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. We had a really nice Christmas with our family--lots of good food, tons of presents, and just enough viral illness to keep everyone on their toes. We started our festivities on Christmas Eve Eve (the 23rd, in other words), and here are some of my favorite shots:

A Christmas tradition: family photos by the fireplace

I took about a dozen of these, and not one turned out. This is my favorite outtake, though.

Present opening

Cookware! I love it!

Yes, that's my foot. And genuine laughter.

Oliver and Great-Aunt Sheila playing in styrofoam packaging

You know what they say--the kids' favorite toys are boxes

Most moving Christmas moment: my mom opened a necklace my brother made her from some of the only items recovered from their house fire. It's a necklace made from remnants of my great-great-grandmother's silverware. The comic relief, of course, is that my stepfather beside her is obliviously tickled about his new coffee mugs. 

I think Logan even got a little choked up. He gives the most thoughtful gifts. And he's crafty to boot.  

Ollie & Yia Yia

Over the last week, we enjoyed a lot of quality time with our Yia Yia! We miss you, YY!

Snuggle Buddy

Oliver loves his Yia Yia and Papou, and they all enjoyed lots of snuggle time while we were visiting.

Another Book, Papaw!

There are so many fun things to do at Papaw and Grandma's house ... picking goodies from their garden, riding the 4-wheeler with Papaw, and reading Corduroy and all the other fun books at their house, just to name a few.

The sweetest of all for this mama to see, though, is when the boys curl up with my dad in the chair and bring him book after book to read.

Ellis needs his tongue out to concentrate.  One of those kids.

So sweet.