Budding Photographer

I was trying to take photos of Hunter playing with the water beads the other day (mainly because he was submerging his elbow and trying to dunk his face in 'em), when Leah offered to help. ("I want to take pictures, Momma.") So, after doing my best to snap a few, I handed the camera over to my junior photographer.

Looking at the photos today when I uploaded them, I had to laugh. Ahhh, life from a child's perspective. There were images of the toy shelf, the high chair, and the map, in addition to those below. (She took all of them except for the first one.)

I'm not sure what prompted him to do this; I guess he was bored with squishing them between his fingers. Oh, and do you like his semi-mohawk? It almost looks like there's something wrong with the photo. It's not. It's his hair.

Leah took this image of one of the water beads. Not too bad, eh?

And she took this one, too. I love that it captures Hunter in the midst of his play... completely oblivious to what was going on around him.

And guess who took this one? She also had a couple chin, leg, and belly shots, but they didn't turn out as well. She was having a good time taking pictures of herself.

Something about a lost art

Though I don't read them as often as I'd like, I try to check my friends' blogs regularly. Each person has a distinctive style and voice, allowing me a glimpse into their lives (which is helpful since I don't see any of them regularly). Aside from those glimpses, the former teacher in me enjoys the voice in each blog. Some are factual; some narrative; some reflective; and some comical. The beauty of each is that not one has a background in English (scratch that! one does), yet all have a way with words.

And this makes me reflect on my own writing. Quite frankly, my lexicon is a bit lacking (surprising since I taught English for ten years; you'd think my vocabulary would be more extensive/ descriptive/ etc.). And often I find myself at a loss for words, or at least for turn of phrase when writing.

I wonder if this has to do with the lost art of writing -- you know, putting pen to paper. In high school and college (though I did use the computer in both), I preferred composing my thoughts the "old school" way first and then typing them. Though typing is faster and more efficient, the act of actually getting all of my thoughts down on paper helped me decipher and focus those very thoughts. I could then scratch out, rewrite, and revise with all thoughts present, unlike now when I simply hit "delete" anytime I change my mind or shift focus, erasing forever the initial tangent/ thought/idea I considered exploring. Yet actually writing the words, seeing all my options, allowed me to figure out what I wanted to say.

Even now, I find that when I sit down to write (type), I have a general topic, but no real focus, or don't even know specifically what I want to share. Rather than taking the time to work through the brain fog, I simply type, hoping that somehow, some way, I'll figure out what I want to say and effectively communicate it.

Though the process has gotten easier (and, to be honest, it's more efficient), I still miss the physical act of putting pen to paper.  Maybe in a future season of life I'll have a chance to write, but in the meantime, I suppose I'll have to be satisfied with the alternative-- adapting the writing process to the technology available-- and savor those moments when I do get to put pen to paper, like making a weekly shopping list.

A Mid-May Visit

Last month, the kids and I trekked up to NY for a brief visit with my in-laws. As eager as I was to make the trip, I was a bit nervous, too. After all, this was the first time we'd be making the trip without Scott, AND I had never undertaken a solo trip of that distance before with the kids. (I know, all of you who have done that countless times are just laughing at my trepidation.) I had no reason to be anxious (thankfully); the kids traveled remarkably well, and we only had to make two stops. (Channeling all my anxiety into thorough planning helped; instead of stopping for lunch at a restaurant, we picnicked at a rest stop. The only downside to that was NOT anticipating the VERY chilly -- make that downright COLD-- temps. I pulled up the picnic blanket around Leah and Hunter to diminish the wind chill.)

Because of the visit's brevity (arrived on Monday, left on Thursday), we hadn't planned much. After all, the main purpose of the visit was visiting Grandma and Papa, whom the kids hadn't seen since Leah's birthday in March and probably wouldn't see again until late June/ early July (for Hunter's birthday). Really, I just wanted the kids to have plenty of time with their grandparents. Still, that didn't mean we couldn't do anything; it just meant we had downtime, too.

So... Tuesday morning we went to Frog Pond, which is like a permanent farmer's market. In addition to produce, they sell animals, so the kids had a chance to pet the goats and pigs, look at the chicks/ ducks/geese/roosters, and admire the bunnies. After they tired of that, they played in the corn box, before we picked out some honey sticks to purchase.

That night, the kids had a chance to play with their cousins, which involved plenty of running around the house (at least on the part of the girls; the boys entertained themselves with a small keyboard.). The next morning, Leah and Hunter had a chance to play with two of their cousins (Kate was at school) at Mila's gymnastics class followed by open gym. Granted, Leah and Mila didn't play together much until the end of the open gym hour, but considering the variety of equipment, I'm not surprised. Leah divided her time between the foam block pit and the trampolines. Hunter had as much fun as Leah; he tried the foam pit and the trampolines, but he also liked playing with the balls and hula hoops that were available. (Side note: Cam and Hunter didn't play together much, but that's primarily due to their ages. They did haved some bonding time at the start of open gym; Hunter kept feeding "Ham" Goldfish.) Leah thoroughly enjoyed herself, and at one point asked, "Momma, is this my first day at gymnastics?" Hmmm, guess that's something I'll need to look into now that we're home.

After gymnastics, we headed over to Grandma Teddy's (Great Grandma) for lunch. My two very tired kids devoured their pizza and fruit, and then snuggled/ cuddled with Mel (Grandma) and Grandma Teddy for a story or two before we left for Mel's. Considering how hard they had played, I thought for certain that they'd both nap. Silly me! Hunter did fall asleep on the way home, but only slept for about an hour. As for Leah, she absolutely refused to even consider napping. (She did rest, but she didn't want to settle and sleep, even though she needed it.) Her resistance certainly didn't deter ME from resting; and while I napped, Mel took the kids up to play outside with their cousins. Needless to say, by the time they got back, the kids were exhausted.

Looking back, I see that maybe we did cram a lot in two days, but it certainly didn't feel like it at the time. Maybe that's because we did have some downtime for us to relax and visit with Mel and Roger. And since the trip (travel) was so successful, I suppose we could try it again sometime.

Going for a wagon ride at Frog Pond. They didn't sit in the wagon for long.

Shushing the geese.

Leah's favorite: Pigs!They came right over to us, and just stood there patiently, apparently waiting for a special treat.

These porkers didn't disappoint. We nicknamed them "the three little pigs" even though there wasn't anything little about them.

This one took a liking to Hunter.

Digging in the corn bin. I think Leah enjoyed this more than Hunter did.

Hunter and Leah with Grandma Mel

Hunter and Cam cheese it up for the camera.

Hunter feeding "Ham" (his nickname for Cam).

Crawling in the foam block pit. Leah also tried the rope swing that swung over the pit, but I couldn't get a good action shot.

No fear sliding into the pit; it was getting out that caused the problem!

Bouncing along.

Hunter had to try out the balance beam after seeing Leah do it.

The beam didn't hold Leah's interest, especially when there were trampolines to jump on.

Rolling a foam block.