Fin

Lots of excitement here for the big day. It was held in the large auditorium on campus. And while that allowed for plenty of guests, it also meant tons of space for the kids to run around. I missed the entire ceremony as I too preoccupied with tracking the kids as the skittered throughout the second deck, peering over the edge to wave. But the end result was the same, I walked across the stage, hood bestowed, diploma hot it hand.

Visit to the Gardens

The next crocodile dundee?

Mimi and miss M

miss M gets a lift from Daaa-dee

We recently made a little trip to Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time exploring the creeks (looking at alligators!), the sculpture gardens and the kids' discovery room.

H on the lookout

me (and more impressive the trees in the background)

in silhouette

observing the giant dinosaur at the natural history museum from a safe distance...

photo credit: Lala

the picture flop

as the boys get older, they have become accustomed to the camera's frame. A chorusing buzz of 'cheezzzz' can be heard anytime there is a camera in sight. A smile is a rarity to catch on film- so in an exercise of patience and parenting, we attempted another photo session. Miss M was utterly terrified of the photographer and kept suspecting that she would likely be kidnapped at any given second. No need to fret: With the performance Miss M gave, she can rest assured that the poor photographer's last thought in the world was the take M home with her. While I don't have the any proofs, we have a few outtakes courtsey of Lala...

oh, to be a daddy

B and I had an enjoyable morning (after we resolved a few misunderstanding: NO! he didn't want his peanut butter sandwich cut out in the shape of dinosaurs! NO! He didn't want to eat it now, not now after I'd ruined it. etc...) but once, we settled down after a few friendly, early morning power struggles, B munched happily on his mangled sandwich.

A entered the kitchen and addressed B: 'Good morning, B! That looks like a great sandwich.'

B cheerfully chirps, 'Yes, I'm eating it alll up. I'm getting SO big. I'm getting big so that one day I can be a daddy, so I can play with sharp knives and drink BEER!'

Ahh, yes, the highlights of being an adult.

twins

My aunt was visiting awhile back. She and E were sharing a moment in the kitchen as she helped E to wash his hands. She attempts small talk with him:

Aunt: 'So, E, how do you like being a twin?'

E: 'Twin?! I'm not the twin. B is.'

...

snip, snip, sniff

the boys all underwent the razor to get the summer 'do. And while I am sure it is infinitely more comfortable with all the bike riding (helmet wearing) and other time spent outside, I miss those locks. Though their fuzz is soft and fun to run my hand across the top of their heads. And it has solved my daily battles with the bed head/cowlick from hell...