School again, school again!

The little ones finally rolled out of bed at 8:30 (once again proving the rule that on days when you need them up and at 'em, they will not oblige).
Breakfast was homemade zucchini muffins (which Adrian loves) and vanilla yogurt. Adrian ate the muffins, Fiona ate the yogurt. Then I loaded them into the car to drop Fiona off at a friend's house, drove the 3 blocks back in the rain, and Adrian & I walked to school.
We saw familiar faces from last year--every sentence ending with an exclamation point--and new faces, hiding behind parents, with worried, furrowed brows. I encouraged Adrian to talk with the new boys in his class--later I explained to him that having a friendly face makes new things less scary sometimes. He's a natural ambassador, and was happy to make connections and chat up strangers his own size. It's those moments when you are so proud of the little people that they are. And yes, I spent most of the morning fighting back tears. Partially, it was watching Adrian dive right in and get comfy and then partially it was thinking of 2 little boys we know who will be starting this school year without their mother.
They are 5 and 7 and they live several states away. And every time I think of those boys, I get a lump in my throat and I just want to reach out and hold them close. To let them know that they are loved, and that so many people are holding them in their hearts.

It's the first day of school

And both the kids are still snoozing away.

When they wake, there will be homemade muffins.

And a cheerful mom! (A cup of coffee in the quiet does a body good.)

Buzz buzz

Hello and sorry for the hiatus.
Back to vacation recap!
One of the many things that is cool about Camp Ness is her amazing gardens. The other cool thing is that she has her own beehives. 2 of them. This is really cool to me, but to a 4 year old it is AWESOME.
What else could we do but suit him up? And take him out to meet the bees...

Nessa smokes the hive...

Pulls off some burr comb (which is what i think that's called, but fully welcoming any corrections here)...

And there stands my first-born...inches away from TWO HIVES full of busy, busy bees.

And lastly, our beloved Nessa, with a frame o' bees. The upper left corner is capped because it is full of honey. I know this because Nessa made me stick my finger into it, break the cap & taste some honey. While all of those bees were ON THE FRAME doing their bee thing.

(Anyone who knows me well will realize that this is a big deal. Prior to my lessons in bees I would have been doing the nervous dance, and not standing there with a camera trying to get pictures. Thanks for the new knowledge, Nessa!)

So now Adrian is agitating for his own hives....

On the Farm

Nessa took us to the Farm, where the kids saw dogs, cats, goats, cows, a sicilian donkey and horses! Lots of horses.
We visited them in the barn, and then...

Pudgy took Adrian on a ride! This is Silver, who also volunteers at a summer camp for disabled kids. It was a bareback ride. He's now a self-descibed "fan of horses".
Fiona watched the whole thing, and then declared that she too wanted to ride onna horse.

Or as she said "Oney do it. Oney ride a horse"

I love how fearless Fiona can be.

Huge Dogs! (Or vacation at Nessa's, Part 1)

Hello!
We have returned, slightly tanned, from our 2 week stay at Camp Newfie. The kids loved the dogs, the dogs loved the kids. And our own pooch looks like a pocket dog in comparison. Nanook, in front, and Pooka in back. You'll note that Pooka is taller than Adrian.

Adrian learned a few important facts about dogs while we were there. 1) Dogs respond to your tone of voice 2) You cannot be the boss if you are acting like a brat.

Fiona, Nessa, Adrian walking to see the horses on the farm.

This is Silver. There is an exciting horse story to be told, but Adrian is currently saying:

Mom! Mom! Watch! I can stand on one leg! Watch me! look! Look!

So I will have to fill you in later.

We are home safe and happy to be back.

(Happy to leave, happy to come home. That's how it's supposed to go, yes?)

I saw Cyndi Lauper in concert last night.
she stood on my chair.
my actual chair.
it was awesome.

there is something wonderful & terrifying about watching your best friend manhandle thousands of bees.
buzz buzz

the kids went horseback riding today.
also, there were goats, cows, dogs, cats, barn swallows, and a sicilian donkey.
yay!