Good weekend.

Except for Sam coming down with strep throat. Crawled in bed with us Friday night with a raging fever. In contrast to every time in the past eight years that his temperature has exceeded half a degree above normal he managed not to throw up--at least, until his was sitting on my lap in the doctor's examination room. 

Fortunately by Sunday he was feeling much better. And in the meantime his loss was Josh's gain--I had to get Josh out of the house so I took him to the Play Museum. He loves going there without Sam, since that means his path is his to determine. (See below.)

Sam's doing the local library's Summer reading program. In addition to reading half an hour a day, there are activities. This week's was making paper airplanes. So I got out some books on the topic and he and I spent an hour making planes--and he spent more time later on trying to innovate with his own designs. 

A good time was had by all.

Big rainstorm rolled through today. Josh and I were out grocery shopping at the time, and afterward sat in the garage watching the torrents from a safe and dry location. While we were sitting there, to make conversation, he turned to me and asked if I remember... the garage. I said yes. (We were in the garage at the time.) Then he asked if I remembered casseroles. Yes! Then he asked if I love casserole.

Never really know what you're going to get!

After it let up, we wandered around through the puddles. 

A sure sign summer's arrived is Sam rearrange small things in rainbow order

There's a garden outside the Play Museum, and it has some nice features. Here's a planter made to look like someone bathing.

Got some new sidewalk chalk.

Joshie watched the rainstorm from the safety of the back of the van (tailgate open). 

And here are the torrents. 

From Susan:

Josh, trying to be like his big brother, told me this evening he was sick and it hurt. I asked what hurt and suggested perhaps his head, but he said no, it was his teeth. Also, his ear broke.

Oh, late bedtimes these days. Josh is not settling in smoothing to his big boy bed. Keeps wanting to wander around, make noise, etc. Susan's been breaking out glow sticks as a special treat for the boys, but Josh is unable to behave long enough to retain his, at least most nights.

Susan again:

Last night Josh wouldn't stay in his big boy bed but kept popping out to play with toys in the dark. When I sat in the rocker in his room, he stayed in bed but kept himself awake singing numerous verses to "Wheels on the Bus." Finally I gave up and left. Soon after, it grew quiet...

I went to check on him and sure enough, he was finally asleep (at 10:45!). But there was a red light reflecting off his face. Turns out he'd dragged the digital clock from his dresser over the side rail of his bed and fell asleep with that red glow right in his face.

One other Susan note:

So now Josh, instead of leaving with Daddy in the mornings for school, stays home and says goodbye when Daddy pulls away. Today he stood car side chanting, "Bye Daddy! Love you! I'll text you! Sleep well!"

The essence of having a younger brother!

The boys with a favorite babysitter, Dianka (you've heard from her before!) and a friend of hers

Enough for now...

A photo update

Josh's new haircut!

Sam, waiting for his piano lesson to start (Thursday around dinnertime)

Josh in a new hiding place in Eastman

Josh, riding through puddles after one of this week's big storms

Sam at his piano lesson

Hope you are all well!

One ship passing in the night another thing that's not a ship but is in fact a house with us in it

Nana and Grandad drove threw last night on the way up to "camp." It was a very enjoyable sixteen hours or so: They joined us for small group, even, and we gave Dad his Father's-Day gifts.  

 

Sunny but cool

I made some bubble formula--got some glycerin and everything, and made a bubble wand by (at Sam's insistence) wrapping string around a coat hanger, as he'd seen our neighbor Dick had done. Worked great!

Susan made me a Father's Day cherry pie, which meant letting Joshie roll out some pie crust as well.

Finally (and this really has nothing to do with the boys) put in some shade perennials. They are in a location which has previously gotten deluged whenever it rained due to some clogged gutters. The gutters now cleaned, I am hopeful these will thrive.

Spring Campout

Time for the cadets' spring campout.  The long-standing tradition is to take the boys, who range from first to fifth grade, to some private land 50 minutes away near the south tip of Lake Canandaigua, and camp from Friday night to Sunday morning.  It's a pretty area on a hillside with a stream running next to it. Both nights they make s'mores, and Saturday before dinner there's a fire-starting contest. Saturday, and time permitting Sunday morning, there's a hike. Oh, and Saturday afternoon they go fishing on a local pond.

 

There's also plenty of time for the boys to wander around and find salamanders. This area is rife with them for some reason.

 

There an old out house which the cadets built years ago. I think Sam and I were the only ones who used it.  Everyone else either, well, held it until Sunday morning, or dug a hole using Danny's shovel. (Danny's the head counselor.)

 

Last year Sam came down with strep throat, threw up twice Friday night in the tent, and we left Saturday afternoon. This year he did fine, but I had Coxsackie disease (hand, foot and mouth), a Father's Day gift from Joshie who'd suffered a fever from it a week before, with no other symptoms. It was mostly gone by the campout, thankfully, except for some red spots which made it unpleasant to walk or hold things.

 

(I also got food poisoning eating an undercooked burger Saturday and spent an unpleasant Sunday in bed--but the campout was over by then, thankfully.)

 

I did devotions Saturday and Sunday on FIRE, and God's holiness. Also taught the junior cadets how to make a one-match fire, 2 of 3 of them managed to do. When the contest came they made a fire in four matches which grew to a nice size and lasted for hours.

 

All in all, it was a good trip. (Well, especially good for Sam!)

 

They found dozens and dozens of salamanders

These are Bob and Charlene. Sam could tell you which is which.

A New York state department of conservation web site tells me that this is a "red eft" (or "red spotted newt"), and has toxic skin. Didn't seem to bother Sam, I am glad to say.  

Sam caught a nice large-mouth bass again this year.

Here the boys are at the pond waiting their turn to fish, passing the time by letting tadpoles suck on their feet.

The tadpoles do this to rocks if there aren't little-boy feet available.

Here Sam is working on the fire with one of the other two junior cadets, a boy from Eritrea named Holyote.

Annuals!

Got the boys' help Saturday putting in annuals next to our front door.

Josh's help came in the form of cleaning up the boxes by removing leaves, sticks, etc., and watering the new transplants. Sam helped by chasing Josh at the plant nursery. And they both helped me pick out the flowers.

Spring Children's Program at Church

This may not look like it has anything to do with the spring children's program, but it does: while Sam was busy Saturday morning rehearsing with the other kids, I was following Josh around outside hunting for bugs. We found this snail.

Here's Josh trying to feed some grass to the snail.

This is Josh, earlier in the week, home from school with a fever of nearly 103. This is the first fever he's had that we know of. If Sam had this fever he'd be throwing up. Josh has never thrown up.

This is the Sunday-morning rehearsal before church.

 

Here, btw, are some snippets from Susan on facebook:

 

Josh is coughing a bit. He told me he's sick and needs a shot.
"Where should you get a shot?" I asked.
"In the doctor," he said.

Yup. Right in the ol' doctor.

 

Also from Susan:

 

Tonight when Sam and Josh realized we were having cupcakes for dessert, and that I was getting up from the table to frost a couple so they could eat them right away, they were so ecstatic they screamed. I don't mean, "Oh cute, they're squealing." I mean: Actual. Prolonged. Screaming. It was literally a very painful experience.

So I guess this is what they mean by "Love hurts." And it refers not to the love one person has for another, but to the love a boy has for his cupcake.

 

And:

 

I got to observe Josh's "toddler community" at Montessori today, and it was so interesting. Best part: the little guy who walked up to a little girl and went PPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTHHHHH all over her head with a mouthful of water was NOT my Josh. 

 

 And also:

 

Got a gorgeous summer skirt for my birthday, in a flaming orange/red batik sort of pattern - very flowing, very hippie dippy. I slipped it on this morning for the first time and Josh said, "What's that?" I said, "It's my new skirt." And he lifted one edge, stepped under, and followed me around like that for the next ten minutes, giggling.

I said to Tim, "MEN."

 

And:

 

Charming: Josh painted me a flower pot at Montessori for Mother's Day and helped plant the plant in it.
Also charming: Josh insisted on holding it on the way home so he could admire it.
Less charming: I think he snacked on it on the way home. I turned around once to find tell-tale dirt crumbs and a tiny blossom or two around his mouth.

 

Well, okay, also:

 

Josh, riding his balance bike in the driveway: I'm going to Africa! Now I'm in Africa. This is Africa.
Me: Cool. Where are you going next?
Josh: Wegmans.

 

Finally, here's Josh puttering around on Saturday, in the late afternoon, singing, "I'll be Working on the Railroad":

 

 

Some photos from last weekend, and Stu's visit

Believe it or not, it was just warm enough by the end of the day for me to break out the sprinkler. It helps that Josh had never really seen one before. He was enthralled.

Some behaviors are instinctive.

Okay, this has nothing to do with Josh and Sam except that they only visit for a brief period during the day-long 40s-and-over tournament which we won. (Did I mention we won?)

Uncle Stu visited for the tournament but allowed us a couple of pleasant walks as a bonus.

Down in the corner is Josh up behind the lecturn of our church sanctuary hunting for ladybugs. This is a weekly event.  The one he found last week he named Bob. Happily it doesn't seem to ruin anything for him that they are dead.

Memorial Day

Had an Amy visit over Memorial Day. It was a pleasant, relaxing weekend of hanging out at home. Below are some photos...

 

The boys have been spending time in the sandbox now that the weather's warmer. Here Sam is making a tunnel while neighbor Connor buries the leg of his brother Ethan.

Here's Josh using a toy lawnmower (one which produces bubbles) to mow the forget-me-nots.

Sam hanging out with Aunt Amy and playing a game on the ipod.

Oh, and Aunt Amy grew a moustache.

As did Josh.

Sidewalk chalk in the driveway.

Sam showing off his little civilization.

While Sam was busy at a playdate with his friend Lexy and Amy and Susan were out shopping, I took Josh alone to the Play Museum. What fun to be able to let Josh go wherever he wanted!

Sam and Lexy playing with this generation's much cooler version of the Big Wheel.

Last fun even of the weekend was going geocaching with Aunt Amy (and Josh). Hit and miss: Found two caches, though their contents were lame. Tried to find another two, but one had been removed and the other we never located--though we did find a vast cloud of mosquitoes and lots of mud for our shoes. Sam vows he'll never do it again. We'll see.