How Did We Miss This?

They love it.

Oh, they do.

We went back to the skateboard park and saw that they had added something while we were gone.

Oh, boy.

They weren't quiet sure how to tackle something so big.

Whoa. Let's get a close up

of this one---

I feel your pain,Tristan, I really do.

Funny how they bounce back so readily. God knew just how to design kids.

They still used the other side of the park, too.

Here's a rogue head without a helmet.  Then the helmet police noticed and yelled,

"What are you doing? Cover your noggin!"

They love it when I'm The Mom.

They brought bikes too, which would have been a lot of fun, but...

He'd psyched himself up to go down this ramp. It was one of those situations where everybody had to wait while he mustered up the courage.  

Can you tell how bored Greyson is?

It took a long time.

A really long time.

This long.

In the end,

He did it.  But we'd already moved on to other things, so I missed the shot.

 Poor kid, this was the competition.

Greyson brought his scooter.

There weren't enough prize toys to go around so there was waiting involved.

Unless you wanted to use a dud toy.

Tristan finally got the Ollie.

Sawyer finally got to ride a half-pipe.

And a cool skateboard guy...

 ...even stopped to show him some tips.

 He just loves cool skateboard guys.

Ya' know what I love?

Using my offspring to hone my photography skills.

They've come in quite handy.

The Face

What do this face and...

... this, have in common?  

This might look like a bunch of wooden block cast-offs so I'll give you one more picture as a hint.

It kind of gives it away.

Do you recognize the Car Face now? Every boy makes it. It's necessary to produce the correct sound effects.

Frogs and snails

And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little buoys are made of.

They were both out here, setting up the park.

Curiously enough, most of the cars sat unused on the sidelines.  So I guess I was wrong about the Car Face.

It can be a Skateboard Face too.  And just look at how it's hanging on by the seat of it's pants.

I know how it feels.

I might just make a poster of that and hang it in a central location.
There are a lot of people who could use it right now.
When they are asked, "How are you?",  they could just throw a glance toward the poster and not say a word.

This could be big.

One more thing,

I just wanted to share this rare moment with you--

Clean fingernails.

What I Love Finding...

Sapriz notes.

Surprise chores, 

done.

And "S's", 

backward.

Laundry,

monogrammed.

In individualized piles, sorted by family member.

Taking credit, where credit is due.

The humble helper.

It's My Fault

The air was pulsating with expectation, the kids were so excited to show their hard work at the Homeschool Expo.  And I was able to go just long enough to capture it all on film.  Eva said she'd take the kids home so I could leave as soon as I needed to.

As a mom, it was exciting for me to see them stand publicly as individuals.

 The rewards of all that planning and execution were finally here.

Pride and a sense of accomplishment were almost tangible. 

 There was a huge variety of displays,

Creativity galore,

And in the midst of all this, what was I thinking of?  What was standing out in my mind more than anything else?

See the gaping space there, just under "Coca-Cola"?

See that vortex, that vacuous expanse of immense proportions?

That was MY fault.

Greyson put his report "down low", heeding my warning that if it were too high it would be covered up by the title sign.  He was just following my instruction, and when we got there it was too late to change it.

This gaping hole is what haunted my soul in the whirl of otherwise enjoyable festivities.

It didn't bother him at all.

He was too busy doing taste tests of Coke vs. Pepsi.

Coke won, by the way. Something like 30 to 17.

What you see here is a master shot, with Todd!

And what I see is a gaping hole that was my fault.

This is more towards the middle of the gym,

and My Fault there on the left.

This is the opposite side.

My Fault is mercifully out of the picture but not out of my mind.

I also came away without a picture of Tristan's diorama.  It's hidden there, just in front of those spectators.

I'm sorry you can't see all the special touches he put into it to create The Environment of the Wolf.

But hey, enjoy this fur rimmed brown hooded jacket as a substitute.

These happy accidents so seldom occur, I should be thankful, I know.

How to Do a Chin-Up

Step One: Purse lips.

Step Two: Flail lower appendages.

Step Three: Look at The Mom.

Believe. You can do anything.