Real Life With Boys

I don't really have the time to write the story of "real life with boys" this evening, but the title seems like a good one to describe this day. Nathan was home from school, and so the day started with a bowl of cereal in our pj's (except for Mark, who had quickly gotten dressed and was all set for the day.)

Pretty soon after breakfast the boys asked if they could go outside to play.  It was mild, and I had no other specific plans for the morning, so I agreed.  Only thing was, they didn't want to go alone - they wanted me to come with them.  So, as soon as I tossed a load of laundry in the washer, and cleared dishes from the table, I brought out a cup of coffee and a Bible and sat on the deck in my bathrobe to watch them play.

No sooner had I sat down, but Nathan handed me a walkie-talkie and wanted to talk with me while he roamed the yard.  Mark wanted to hunt for hidden army men (that story comes later).  It became apparent that they were competing for my attention, so I suggested we take a bike ride.

They were really eager to do this - Mark even fastened his own helmet all by himself.  We set off down the street to the cul-de-sac to ride some loops with our friend who lives at the end.  When this adventure was complete, we played "red light, green light" on the ride back to our house.  The kids asked to play outside some more, and I agreed. We ate cheese and crackers in the tent, and then kicked the soccer ball around for a long time.

A bit later, it was time for lunch - leftover hot dogs, sliced, with leftover mac and cheese.  Oh, they ate it up and asked for seconds on the macaroni!  For dessert, I drove them over to Quick Trip to use their birthday gift cards from their Aunt Kate and Uncle Dub.  We each ate a HUGE soft-serve ice cream cone outside. The weather was mild, but still a little bit cool - and by the end of the ice cream they were both shivering.  So, we warmed up by washing our hands in warm water in the QT bathroom, and were then on our way.

Back at home, it was time for "quiet time,' after which Nathan played some songs from his summer VBS cd for us, and we all read Mark's new book together.  It wasn't long before they asked if we could play outside AGAIN, and again I said yes.  This time, we played a game we have called "hide the camping men," which involves the boys hiding a dozen plastic army men (green and gray) around the yard for me to find.

We played probably half a dozen rounds, before having to halt our search efforts for the evening. We had to leave a couple of guys MIA but hope they have good enough survival skills to make it through the night. There is a makeshift tarp-tent out there leftover from this weekend's birthday party if the find their way over to it for shelter.  Nathan asked Greg to "please leave that tent set up a while longer, because we really love playing in it!"

Over a dinner of leftover poppyseed chicken and rice with corn on the side, Nathan proclaimed that he could eat every bite because he loved it all. We polished off the meal with some birthday cake from last weekend...we have had entirely too many sweets in this house...after that, baths and a reading from Prince Caspian of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.

It was a delightful day.  I still have laundry to fold, and honestly I never got around to taking a shower, but I was as happy a mama as you could find today in my torn blue jeans and old t-shirt because today was a very good day with my little boys.  I have struggled lately with realizing that they are already 4 and 6, and will never be little babies again.  That chapter of our family life seems to be closing, and while I have known it was coming all along, the transition to the routine of school life has been a bit challenging for me.  I thought I liked structure, and I do, but I guess I truly love days like this the very most.  I love the hugs and kisses and chatter of my little boys, hearing them giggle, watching them play, feeding them until they are full (for a while, at least) and tucking them in to bed all clean after Monday night baths.  So thankful for a day off from school, and a chance to enjoy the comfortable rhythm of home life with them with no distractions.

Pumpkin Farm

Last Friday I chaperoned Nathan's first field trip with his Kindergarten class.  We went to a local pumpkin farm where the kids picked pumpkins, explored some farm animal exhibits and played on some pretty neat slides made from farm equipment.  It was a great day!

After a hayride, picking the perfect pumpkin

Under the big cow

Feeding the goat

Wondering how on earth they got a school bus up on those poles

Shooting out of a slide

Clowning around

Relaxing at the picnic tables

Nathan took this one of me

Taking a photo together

Star Student

This week is Nathan's turn to be the Star Student in his class at school.  The week officially began on Friday afternoon, when he brought home Curious George, the class mascot. 

George got to spend the weekend with us.  Nathan truly enjoyed having George at home.  The first thing he did was read books to him Friday afternoon.

 

Then he took George outside to play and swing with Mark and Charlie.

We had pizza for supper and cookie bars for dessert that night.  On Saturday, we took George for a morning walk.  Then, we went to Discovery Place for a short visit. 

Back at home, the boys and George watched some Curious George episodes on TV. On Sunday, George watched Nathan and Mark go through a "Knight Training Session" with Daddy.

Both boys are going to dress us as knights for Halloween this year, and there have already been several dragon-slaying, Mama-protecting events at our house.

Goodbye, Curious George.   We'll miss you!

Team Fire

Here are the photos from Mark's first soccer "game."  It was great fun! His team name is "Fire" and his number is 17.

Daddy and Uncle Rick helped with warm-ups.

Aunt Melanie and Nathan were the fans

Waiting his turn

Taking it all in

Crab-walking

Kicking practice

The Meaning of a Weekend

Now that we are in "school mode," I feel the value of the weekend even more than I did before.  This Saturday morning, the boys woke up around 7 am. 

We had a surprise pastry breakfast from Gram and Gramp to celebrate the first days of school, and after we sampled the tasty treats the boys and I went outside to enjoy a cool August morning. 

It is so strange to be able to say that, but it truly was about 65 degrees outside!  I sat and enjoyed my coffee while they swung and climbed and slid. Eventually I was invited into the playhouse with Mark, and I accepted.

Then the boys swept the deck to clear it of the fallen leaves.

A little later, Nathan and I sat on the front porch and he made a home for a beetle.

It just felt right to be here, doing the "little things" together.  I will miss him while he's away at school tomorrow, but I know he is in God's care and in good human hands, too.

First Day of School

We dropped Nathan off for his first day of school today.  He woke up happy and eager to get dressed in his uniform.  He likes wearing his belt!

Mark was eager for the school day to begin, too.  I don't think he quite understood why we were taking all of these pictures, though.

Looks like we got the right backpack and lunch box to match his class t-shirt color.  Don't worry - we will quickly switch to Carolina blue shirts in the days to come.

Daddy got to come see the classroom and Nathan's desk before going to work.  Nathan liked checking out all of the school supplies that were stored in his desk cubby.

We already love his teacher.

Now Mark and I are back at home, trying to figure out what to do without Nathan!

A few things I want to remember

When the boys were smaller, I did a pretty good job of writing down the things I wanted to remember at different stages of their development.  I have gotten away from journaling on a regular basis, but there are a few things on my mind right now that I would like to capture in writing.  

This has been the summer of preparing to launch Nathan into Kindergarten.  We have made a lot of good memories with our family and friends, and there has been so much growth for both boys.  

After spending the week in Cheraw, Nathan decided he no longer needed to sleep with a lamp on at night.  Now, he sleeps with a very dim mini-lamp on his bedside table.  This week he went to Kindergarten camp at his school, and after the first day he said he "couldn't wait for real Kindergarten to start!" He is happy about his teacher and his classroom and all that he thinks will happen at school.  

Also, just yesterday he figured out how to put his head under water and really swim!  He can swim atop the water and also go under for short periods of time all by himself.  This is the same child who would not let his ears get wet a few months ago! I am amazed.  

We have been trying to do a few of our favorite things before school starts.  This week we visited the Reedy Creek Nature Preserve and the kids had it all to themselves for a little while before the crowds came in.  They still like pretending they're on a camping trip and playing with the binoculars in the Nature Center.  I love that this is a special place for them.

Aunt Kate and Uncle Dub's visit

Here are the pictures from our week in Cheraw with Nanny, PopPop, Aunt Kate, Uncle Dub, Aunt Melanie and Uncle Rick.  As it sometimes happens when we are with family, I only took a few photos - but I have a lot of good memories!