Last lake trip of the summer?

Say it isn't so. But I think it might have been. Bummer.

Please enjoy these snapshots while I go bemoan the whole 'being a grown up and going to work' thing.

17 June 2011

A Joyful Ooze

I love the light, the smell of the air, the feel of the crisp breeze on my skin. Pumpkins, changing leaves, apple cider. And that's even before I factor in all of the perfectly posed photo opportunities the season offers.

Sometimes autumn fills me with such joy, that I feel like it's just going to bubble up and explode right out of me.

It seems I'm not the only one who feels this way.  I love a good joyful ooze.

Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other

My husband is good at many things. Really, he is. Examples? You want examples? I’ll give you examples:

• He manages all of the annoying household maintenance chores like changing the filters, winterizing the sprinklers, and getting the cars serviced with ease. At any one time, he’s keeping 35 different plates spinning without ever even breaking a sweat. Nothing about tedious paper work or red tape stresses him out: not the mountain of forms from the 6 houses we’ve owned, not the tangled insurance mess that being self-employed brings, not even when the IRS sent a letter telling us we were being audited. Cool as a cucumber through it all.  
• He can identify a song in 5 notes or less. He’d totally be the Ken Jennings of Name That Tune if it were still on. 
• He has the nickname of Google Andy because he always seems to know the answer to random questions. Those few times that he doesn’t know the answer off hand, he can find it faster than anyone I know. Sometimes when I’m bored, I’ll play a game where I try to tell him about some news item before he has a chance to read it himself. I always lose.
• Travel arrangements are his specialty. He has itineraries that would put the POTUS to shame. Canceled flight? No problem, Drew will have us on another one before the other passengers have even realized that the party’s over.
• He’s a very good driver. But don’t tell him I said that. Yes, he drives too fast, but he’s got good enough reflexes to pull it off. So far anyway. He even knows how to use his mirrors properly which as you know is something that I find to be very challenging. Plus, he never gets lost. Even in strange cities with odd traffic patterns—he somehow arrives at his intended destination with nary a detour. I don’t understand it though I think it might have something to do with him having a GPS embedded in his brain. Perhaps the most compelling of all: he drives “The Bus” as I call his extra-long SUV and never seems frazzled about parking it. Though it pains me to admit it, he does have the gift of drive.

There’s more, but I’ll save those for when I need to do a little damage control. My point in all of this is to show that what I’m about to tell you isn’t just a nagging wife thing: it’s an objective statement of fact. Because for as much as my husband excels at those bullet-pointed above items, there is one skill that completely evades him: photography. I kid you not, in this one area, he is truly inferior. But don’t take my word for it. Let the evidence speak for itself.
As you probably know, we hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for Amaya’s friends on Sunday. I handed the camera off to Andy to follow Amaya around the yard as she gathered her prizes in her bucket.  I should have known better. This was the first frame:

Yea.
The kids probably spent 15 minutes running all over our yard looking for colored ovoids. Do you know how many pictures he took of this? 13. 13! I can take that many in a single minute. I mean does the man think that he has to pay for every individual photo he takes?  We’re not using Polaroid or Disney Photo Pass here Drew. 
Ok, so if he’d gotten 13 really great shots, I’d shut up. But that’s far from the case since right off the bat, 5 were easily eliminated from the possible “great shots” category . But still, 8 really good pictures would make me happy. But umm…would this qualify as a good shot?   Or this?

Nope. 3 down, 5 to go. Odds aren’t looking so great.

Still looking for the money shot…

Face! We’ve got a Face!  But when looking at this photo, my eyes are drawn to my duck feet and the big brother with his back to the world. Definitely not frame worthy—not that I bother with frames, but you get my meaning, right?
At last! A half decent picture of the girl in her Easter dress and Converse kicks.  We’ll talk later about her fashion foibles as I think that will probably need an entire post to itself. Or 3.

After viewing the evidence, I think it can be concluded that Snapshots + Drew = FAIL. But since I’m too cheap to pay for a travel agent and have no desire to visit Jiffy Lube anytime soon, I’ll go ahead and give him a pass on this one colossal deficiency. I just hope he remembers the benevolence I’ve shown when my Anthropologie order arrives tomorrow.

Can you guess the greatest thing about being at the lake?

Nope, it's not how gorgeous the water looks in the early morning as it reflects the world back to me. That's great, but it's not the greatest thing about being at the lake.

It's not the awesome father/daughter photo opportunities I get to see. That's great, but it's not the greatest thing about being at the lake.

Watching Chase run up and down the dock? Nope. Wrong again.That's great, but it's not the greatest thing about being at the lake.

Amaya throwing rocks with Grandpa? You're getting warmer, but you're not quite there yet.  That's great, but it's not the greatest thing about being at the lake. 

Chase stirring up the lake with Grandma? You're so hot now that you're practically on fire, but it's still not the greatest thing about being at the lake.










Yes, all of those things are great, but none of them are the greatest thing about going to the lake. No, the greatest thing is kicking back on the dock watching all of those things unfold while other people entertain my children. There's nothing better than that my friends. Nothing. 

Spoiled? Who? My kids? I plead the fifth.

Andy stopped home for a surprise visit this morning. In his hands he carried an iced latte, egg salad sandwich and a rather large box. The box came all the way from England, and Drew informed us that it was a surprise for Chase & Amaya. I was wary as I opened the box as my husband has been known to go a bit overboard. He did not disappoint.

I opened the box, tipped it over and out fell a lifetime's supply of Chuggington trains.

 Since they're not available yet in the USA, I imagine Drew reasoned that if he had to pay for shipping from England he might as well buy the entire collection and get his money's worth. Cause obviously waiting a few months until you can buy them at the Target right down the road was out of the question. The term "restraint" doesn't seem to hold a lot of meaning for the man.

Let the record show that while yes, my children are spoiled; I had absolutely nothing to do with it.  I would very much appreciate your ruling on the matter prior to my posting the Easter pictures.  Double jeopardy, what?

10 things making me smile today

1) The rain. Yes, I know that a number of you will disagree with that. However, if anyone out there has been experiencing the symptoms of stuffy nose, sinus headache and runny eyes from early spring allergies, then you probably appreciate the relief the rain brought too.
2) My children playing independently together. Happily.

3) Chase’s hair in this picture. I love when they get little random pieces sticking up.

4) The way my daughter attacks her cupcake—fingers straight into the icing. The only way to eat that particular confection in my opinion. Also, the birthday party hats from Sofia’s party.

5) Finding Amaya “reading” in her crib in the morning.
 
6) Followed by listening to Chase “read” us a story while Amaya gets dressed and ready for the day.

7) The Bradequinn in Andy’s office. Every place of business needs a headless, racing fire suit-outfitted mannequin.
 
8) My little Amaya Thug sporting her brother’s hoodie and a tutu. Fashion icon.
 
9) Watching Chase, Amaya and their friend giggling like little gremlins while playing air hockey at Chuck E. Cheese.

9.5) Mountaineers in the Sweet Sixteen.
10) And last, but certainly not least—daffodils. Welcome spring. I promise to enjoy you more as soon as you stop shooting rockets of pollen into my breathing space.
 

Tales from the Pumpkin Patch

The weather was absolutely gorgeous when we ventured to the farm on Tuesday. We chose the best possible day because the rest of the week was rainy and cold. Good call Weatherman Drew.
Both kids loved the giant yellow chair. Isn't it funny how everyday objects become so intriguing if they're giant sized. Or miniature. Why is that?

We revisited the giant slide from last year. This time Chase chose to ride tandem with Daddy or Mama. Both of them loved the thrill of sliding between the hay bales. They didn't want to stop, but after a few trips up the steep hill carrying the 25 lb lug known as Amaya, Mama found a way to move them along.


Someone's farm boy roots are showing.
Amaya loved this cow. She just kept staring at it and trying to pet her nose. I'd try to lead her away, but as soon as I'd let go of her hand she'd run back to the cow. It was hilarious. I finally had to pick up her wriggling body as she said, "Noooo, nooo, nooo, noo" and carry her off to the next attraction. I think she might end up being the vet in the family.
Family photos.
Chaos!
Pretty cute!

She's on the move! Probably saw another cow.

Chase sitting with his pumpkins.
He can turn into a pumpkin monster when he feels that his harvest might be in danger of being stolen by produce thieves.
The monster didn't seem to phase little sister though. Here she is trying to lift a pumpkin like she saw her Daddy and brother doing. Maybe next year, Amaya Brown.