Just a quick shout-out to ...

and ...

Plein Air

This afternoon we took the boys to a plein air painting event on campus. We checked out the artists' works-in-progress and did some of our own.







This is Owen's rendition of the winding river.



Alex prefers his representations to be a bit more abstract.



After painting, the boys played in the dirt ...



Rolled in the grass ...



Acted goofy ...



And played in the dirt some more ..

Cheese!

Alex has decided he likes to have his picture taken. This morning, he crouched down, said "cheese", and waited for me to grab the camera. I was happy to oblige.



Owen prefers to be behind the camera most days, but, today, I captured the boys finding some reprieve during a way-too-long shopping trip.

Happy Birthday, Owen!

You've come a long way, big boy!

1 day old ...



3 months old ...



6 months old ...



1 year old ...



2 years old ...



3 years old ...




4 years old ...



And, now you're 5!!



This year, you ...

survived six days with no electricity after a wind storm
saw productions of Peter Pan and the Nutcracker
dressed up as Batman for Halloween
traveled to Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania ... and China!
became a big brother
climbed the Great Wall
learned how to tread water and swing all by yourself
climbed around on a firetruck and a tank
completed your first year of preschool
avoided the stomach flu
played t-ball
started to appreciate the wonders of Indian cuisine
went to the zoo and the Children's Museum
watched Civil War re-enactors in action
made your own pizza at the local pizza place
carved a pumpkin
played miniature golf

and made your mommy and daddy very, very happy!

Soccer!

Owen started 4- and 5- year old soccer this evening. He did great ... scored three goals and seemed quite proud of himself. He spent lots of time waving at us and giving us thumbs up signs from the field. Very cute.

Here's the big boy during a water break ...



And in action ...



Getting to the soccer practice went a bit less smoothly. We didn't have any shin guards for Owen, so we had to make a quick trip out to the sporting goods store. Everything was going smoothly until I turned my back on Alex for a few seconds (really!) to pay. Suddenly, I heard Owen say "uh, mom ...." and then Alex started screaming. He had discovered a big bin of balls and had somehow managed to wedge his little arm into the very sturdy metal grate holding them. He's done this sort of thing before (once at the doctor's office, once at the dentist -- both times involving toys), so I tried to remain calm and extricate him. And I tried. And I tried. And he screamed. And he screamed. And the cashier and several customers looked on ... I did finally get his arm out, but not before I began contemplating what the next step would be. Who do you call when your child's arm is stuck in a metal grate? The police? The fire-department? The local pharmacy (vaseline, anyone)? Ah well. We escaped relatively unscathed. Though I do need to find a new sporting goods store ...

Good thing he's cute.

Gotta Love Kids' Artwork

Sunshine and rainbows, I tell you. Owen and Alex's room are upstairs. Somehow, Mom and Dad's room made it's way downstairs next to the only other notable room in the house: the CHN (aka kitchen).

We're Mobile!

Bill and I have been contemplating ways to get both boys in to daycare/preschool this fall without having to take the car. Although Alex does pretty well on his bike, our guess is that it would take him 45 minutes or more to make it in to school (with lots of stops to check out rocks, contemplate alternative biking positions, etc. along the way) and that he might never make it home. We considered his stroller, a wagon, a bike trailer, and a rear-mounted bike carrier, but finally settled on a center-mounted bike carrier. It's great!! And we're mobile!