Driving, driving, driving

We had to take Kevin to the airport Sunday to fly back home so he could go to work and bring in the moolah. They boys and I are hanging out here in the hills until he gets another 4 day weekend, then he'll fly up and we'll drive back home. Going to the airport we flew through my grandparents' house for a very brief 'hello' then rushed to the airport, then on to my mom's house in Kentucky. Spent the night there, then drove around the next day to Ashland b/c I needed tires. Should have gotten them before I left, and thanks SO MUCH Danny for pointing it out AND for all your help with buying them b/c it had completely left my mind. Although subconsciously it was stressing me. Now I feel much better driving. Not that I feel much like driving.

Anyway, another 4 hour trek back to my brother's yesterday evening. The boys have been great troopers, although Zach did get carsick yesterday. A little Dramamine to the rescue and he did fine on the long ride back to WV. We plan to stay put for a while now.

So, not as many pics and certainly not much time to post them. But here you go :)

Did someone say mischevious?



















Daddy makes a good horse. For a few steps, anyway.


















Playing hide and seek...little boys and girls don't always look UP, this spot served him well for quite some time.












Fireflies!













Wild raspberries, his new favorite.


















Not quite American Gothic, I think they look too happy to qualify.

Coming Home

So we decided to be brave and plan a several week long excursion to WV, and we were doubly brave by decided to drive up. We took a couple of days to do it and the boys tolerated it as well as could be expected. Better than the misery I was expecting, thankfully Owen actually enjoys watching videos which helped immensely. Along the way we stopped at my sister's house in NC and spent a night, where Zach had a BLAST playing with his cousins, holding baby bunnies, chasing chickens and just getting all out dirty. Owen took some time to warm up to his extended family but he giggled nonstop running barefoot in the grass and feeding the goats.

The next day we made a side trip to Mabry Mill where we saw gorgeous watermill and building from an era long past. Again, more open green spaces, trees to climb, cousins to play. They have been in heaven, definitely a good decision to make this trip. So expect lots of photos, although I may not actually get them here on a daily basis.























And somewhere along the years I lost my ability to climb trees. Need to work out those arms! At least I have a supportive husband.

June 19

I'm not feeling particularly wordy today, so I'll post quickly and slip on out. Got some pics of the boys outside, mostly Owen. If you can see it, he's got a nice purple lump right smack dab in the middle of his forehead, although his bangs are doing a good job of camouflage. He tried his rocking horse/stepstool/light switch trick today, only he used his tricycle instead and it rolled away from the wall, dumping him square on the tile floor. Face down. Oy vey. It's so tough to keep him safe from himself.




































This lavender shoot looks like how I feel at the end of the day. Both hands raised to my head, sighing 'Dios mio!' and ready to fall over.









And finally, the boys playing together. Happily.

June 18

Today I accompanied dh and the boys to the pool at Grammy's house. Grammy and Grandaddy are out of town, but they allowed access to the pool (and geez, who could resist these two cuties? three, if you count dh!). They've been every day this week and I heard that Owen was a maniac in the water wings. I was impressed that he had actually learned to keep his mouth closed in the water, as he hangs down low enough that it's half up his chin. Opening up just provided a direct access for water flow to his lungs, or stomach. Depending on what's happening in the throat.

But we had fun. I actually did try to get some pics of me in the pool with them, a rarity let me tell you, bathing suits are not so fun these days, but alas, Zach decided to keep splashing and I wasn't risking a camera and lens just for a quick snapshot. How ironic that I kept typing that 'snapsnot'?

Unfortunately, I took a Zyrtec before we left b/c the sneeze fits were setting in, and I crashed hard, passing out for most of the afternoon when we got back. I won't be able to do that again for a while!












Zach doing a belly flop...












and a close up of his freaky looking face distorted by the water.

June 17

Ok, so I uploaded a few pics yesterday b/c I have actually taken a few here and there. Not a total hiatus from the project, just a break. But I did enjoy holding the camera and using it and I felt compelled to take a few 'official' photos for the 'official' Project 365.

Here is some lavender water. Get it? A drop of water on a lavender plant/shoot/whatever.


















And here is Owen. It's a freaking rocking horse, not a step stool!

Ok, OKAY!

Here are some pics. I'll leave it up to you to figure out what they are/mean/etc. No dates, no explanations, just pics.

So I've been on a hiatus.

Apparently I've been dealing with a subconscious photography rebellion. I don't know, does that sound good? I haven't touched the camera in days. It's like a switch turned off and I couldn't make myself pick it up. Photo overload. Anyway, I did grab it today and I took a few pics and I think I actually have some older ones from a week or so ago, but I'll probably upload them later or tomorrow. Just thought I'd pop in and state my confession in case anyone's reading.

Ciao!

June 1

Welcome Hurricane Season! Not. I'm sort of worried knowing I'll be gone to WV and a hurricane might come along and wipe out my house. I'm pretty sure dh won't give a sh*t about my herbs and whatnot. Actually, he's pretty good, he'd probably bring them in. But will he remember to move all the photos and things to a higher area? Will he move the computer and external hard drive to a safe place? Etc etc etc. It's impossible for me to not worry.

It's also impossible for me to clean the house if I can occupy myself with another meaningful activity. After getting groceries today, I realized it was IMPERATIVE that I spend time making wontons. For dinner, and for freezing so dh can make his own wonton soup while I'm gone. I'm sure frozen foods more than compensate for dirty floors. I did get some laundry done, though.

May 31

Is it the last day of May already? Yikes. This is actually a cheat photo. We had a 'do nothing' sort of day and although dh went out and bought all sorts of water play stuff and spent some time in the back yard with the boys, I stayed lazy and didn't even take a pic! Bad bad mama. However, this baby corn looks the same today (June 1) so I figured it would be ok. Grow baby corn, grow. Actually, I think it's getting close to full grown.

May 30

Since I was on a roll yesterday, I called Kathy to see if her girls would like to spend the night. So this morning we all went to the beach. First thing there, we saw this little crab scurrying across the sand. I grabbed a quick picture of him...












There was a group from the YMCA doing a sand sculpture contest, and they had some really cute ones...Bikini Bottom, an octopus, a sea turtle complete with babies headed for the water. But my camera battery crapped out on me. However, I did get a few of the kids playing before it died.

May 29

It's officially summer vacation. While we have plans to spend 4 weeks in WV later, I want to do better at getting out and being active, doing fun things with the boys. Not sure if I can keep the momentum going, but we got a good start today. We went to the zoo bright and early and bought a family pass...they have put in a new little water play area with kiddie pool and splash zone, and the boys have both been there with the grandparents and it was deemed a success. So now I'm hoping to make it once a week or so. We'll see how it goes.

Owen had a great time in the water, it was shallow and he could walk around and play a fair bit. However, it was pretty crowded. They have also put in some new aquariums with small aquatic creatures, and I got a few pics of them.

























Later, on the 'ant mound' Owen got brave enough to attempt the swinging bridge all alone. He's quite the agile little guy!