Pictures in the Park

It's been a long while since we've had family pictures taken. Somehow it always seems like a thing we should do but never get around to. As the family picture-taker, it's not always easy to get picture of myself, but this weekend I decided it would be a good time to take some updated pictures of the kids. 

Although it is May, and things are starting to get greener, it's still a little early for too many blossoms. Still, a park is a good place for fun pictures. The park we went to has some little trees that the boys like to climb. They picked there to get their pictures taken. With the objective of happy faces, it seemed like a great choice!

They aren't super patient with being in front of the camera, but I managed to squeeze in a few good ones. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Then, as we were leaving, we walked by these logs on the ground that had some gorgeous, teeny flowers growing up all around them. They looked to me like fairy flowers:

Not a bad days catch!

Halloween!

 Like so many things in this crazy year, Halloween was a little different than typical years. Many years we have many, little parties - parties at school, parties at church, parties at home.. This year, however, there were fewer options. Still, there was fun to be had. 

There were some traditions that didn't change. We still dressed up our front door. This year, I went with a fierce decor. Moon was adamant that there be teeth on both the bottom as well as the top for the Monster Door, as he dubbed it.

And, of course, there are the yummy, macabre treats. Doorbell ditching friends and leaving them with a  plates of treats is definitely compatible with social distancing:

There actually was a little party that we attended. Over the summer, my boys went to a little summer camp and we connected with the folks who ran it. They invited us to come to their little Halloween and Day of the Dead celebration. Initially, it was going to a couple of hours with activities indoors and out in the yard. However, a week or so before the party the local COVID numbers were on the rise so, to be safe, they abbreviated the festivities and had a few activities outside: pumpkin hunt and pictures in front of their spooky dressed up porch:

The kids were a little disappointed that we weren't able to stay longer, but we had a good time. And I enjoyed reconnecting with the ladies who run the place. 

Our town did hold trick or treating, but our family opted out. There weren't any school or church parties this year, but Halloween was on a Saturday, and it seemed a waste to let the day pass without any revelries... so we decided to have a day of games at home. 

The boys were actually really excited about planning out the day. A few days before the 31st, we sat down as a family and wrote down all the things they wanted to do.. then we had to talk about how the day has a finite amount of time. So, we narrowed it down to the most fun activities and, in order to make sure we could fit it all in, we made an outline and we had a plan for the day. 

Townshend actually took on a couple of the activities, himself.. set them up and lead Moon through them. They did some Halloween bowling while Hubby and I made breakfast. Then, during clean up, Townshend drew a cow on our kitchen chalkboard and they played "Pin the Bat on the Cow" (a game of his own creation) with a bat decoration we had around. (Sadly, I forgot to take pictures) but I was really impressed at his determination to fit it all in.

We had some crafts, and made mummies (Townshend was less into that):

The boys have been asking to play Rock Band for forever.. I don't think we've played that game in years, though we've kept all the instruments and things just in case. So, we finally brought that game out of retirement. Hubby and I really enjoyed it.. the boys were less impressed. Moon was upset that the guitar didn't actually make any sound, so I let him use my real one while the rest of us rocked out with our virtual instruments:

In the afternoon, after Saturday baths, lunch and quiet time (so the parents could have a break), we jumped back in with an in-house trick or treating followed by a Halloween egg hunt:

Then, to cap it all off (and burn off some of that sugar energy) we finished off the day at the park. So funny that last year we had a blizzard that dropped several inches of snow on Halloween, and this year we wore sweatshirts to the park. That's a Midwest autumn for you!

It was a full day! Honestly, we probably partied harder this year, making our own fun, that we would have in a more normal year. It's all good though.. it was a blast. It's definitely one for the books!

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

This crazy virus, and the massive uncertainty that it brings, seems to be the defining characteristic of 2020. It touches all the elements of life - weekly grocery shopping to day-to-day work schedules. The unpredictability of things - how long will it go on? how widespread will it get? how catching is it? how careful does one need to be?? - make it difficult to make plans too far in advance. 

However!

What are humans if not creative? It's been some months since I've hung out with my family. Funny how far a neighboring state, a town just a few hundred miles away, can feel. And, as summer's end draws nearer, bringing on the cold and flu season (which one can only assume will be more intense this year, what with COVID and all), it was feeling like we ought to make hay while the sun shines; figure out a way to get together while the states were still open and restrictions relaxed. Quick before the colder weather sends everyone back inside. 

At our house, here in Chicagoland, we're being very cautious and careful about our little quarantine bubble; careful where we go, careful who we see. This makes it hard to visit family, even just a few hundred miles away. But, then it occurred to me that we should meet in the middle!

My dad has a great eye for finding fun places to ride bikes. So, I asked if he might have any ideas for a good place with a bit of a ride, plus a nice spot for the kids to play before we rode back again. And he found a great one - it had everything we were hoping to find!

It had rained the day before, but by the time we got there, the sun was shining and the flowers were blooming and everything was beautiful. The fun thing about biking with my folks is that they enjoy taking their time, and aren't afraid to stop and smell the flowers (or take pictures off bridges). The path took us past some really lovely sights, so we found lots of things to photograph. 

My two kids came along as well, thus the importance of having a playground at the end. And this playground did not disappoint! It was one of those rare, old fashioned ones with wooden equipment; the sort with multi-level areas and secret paths all throughout and in between. Plus some cool artwork in the teepee. So fun!

We brought a little picnic and let the kids go! Though the temperatures weren't too terribly high, the humidity was intense. So, the grownups spent a fair amount of time chatting in the shade, while the kids spent more of their time running around.

However, eventually, all good things must come to an end; a day trip only works if you get back home before too long. So, we mounted up the bikes and headed back the way we came... but not without another stop or two for the great scenery. 

Eventually we said our goodbyes (though, of course, not without the traditional 35min Midwestern goodbye conversation), and we took to the highways - them going north, and us heading south. 

It was a good thing we decided seize the day when we did. Chicago, and the surrounding suburbs, have a travel ban in place; an on-your-honor quarantine-for-14-days-when-you-get-back-if-you-travel-to-certain-states sort of deal (which I'm trying to avoid, what with school and stuff starting up again soon). The list was slowly growing, and - on the day we met up - Wisconsin had only been given a warning that they were next if their COVID numbers didn't improve. Not a week later, they got added to the ever-growing list of restricted states. 

I feel very blessed! 

Communing with Nature

During the last few months, my church worship has had some pretty dramatic changes; we haven't met as a congregation since March. Some areas are starting to venture back but, as far as I've heard, my area is not making any moves any time soon. So, as a family, we do our lessons, we read our scriptures and pray. Those things are great, but I also find that on Sundays, we tend to try to be outside more.

Nature is God's creation and I find great peace when I go out hiking, or stand near great bodies of water.. I love the fresh air and the time I have to appreciate this beautiful world of ours. Also, standing near big things that make me feel diminutive, often gives me pause and I think about my place in the grand scheme of things. Kind of like in this song.

This week, I had the chance to take the boys and meet up with some friends for a (socially distant) get together. It had been a good while since we'd hung out, so that was an exciting prospect. Plus, they'd been talking to me for a while about the joys of flying kites and I'd recently gotten me one and was eager to try it out! As it happened, the weather was right on Sunday afternoon and we seized the day. 

It was a great day for it. We'd finally gotten a break in our never-ending heatwave; it was still sunny but it was a nice temperature to be outside. The park wasn't very crowded, which was a relief. And, of course, that which brought us out - the lovely breeze. These folks are fond of flying kites and they had several they got going pretty quickly. 

While the kids held fast to their strings, my friends helped me get mine off the ground. I hadn't done much kite flying to this point but, happily, I'd been led right at the store and this kite caught the wind well and was nice and easy to get going. 

Kites are funny things. When you look at them, the colors are often garish and overly bright. However, when you get them up into the sky, and the sun shines through them.. it's a little like stained glass. And finding a good breeze is a little like fishing, not that I'm much of a fisher, but when you find a good current and your kite is sailing smoothly, it's calming and meditative. Standing, holding the string, back on the ground, you can watch the kite bob and soar, and it gives you a moment to appreciate the beauty around you, and take a moment to see the goodness in the now and, really, just contemplate lots of things.

While we were standing around, being contemplative, my friend and I chatted a while about how kites can be like faith or testimony. How you have to really be watching the kite, keeping track of the tension on the string, or else it will fall. Or how to you have to seek to find the good currents that take you up. And sometimes you kite will plop right down, but then you pick it up and go again. 

Anyway, it was a lovely afternoon; good friends, good conversation (even thought provoking), and the kids got to run and play. I came away feeling uplifted and fed.... and like I just might need to get another kite.

A Banana Experiemnt

There's a truth, common enough that it's been made into a meme:

Apparently, at my house right now, we're in the part of the cycle where no one in my family seems to like bananas anymore. There were nine(!) spotty bananas in my kitchen and I knew that if something wasn't done soon, they were destined for the garbage. So, I decided to do something about it. What better than to make banana bread? 

Nine bananas is enough for three loaves. I was chatting with the kids and suggested that we make banana bread . Moon was excited to help. And when I suggested that we do an experiment, Townshend's ears perked up ... since we had enough for three loaves, and we didn't have a "perfect recipe" that we love, we should do a comparison! 

So, Townshend helped me pick out three different recipes online and Moon and I set to work. 

We tried this one, which we called Banana Bread A:

This one was Banana Bread B:

And this was Banana Bread C:

Once they were cool, we all tried a slice. Well, Moon opted out. Turns out the two kids are a good pair, Moon likes to make it and not so much eat it, and Townshend doesn't much care for the mess of making, but enjoys researching and trying out the finished product. 

It was a LOT of banana bread.

It took most of a day to get the three loaves made, so we waited until the next day to have the taste test. We all took little slices from all three to sample, side-by-side. 

They were all quite tasty. Though, Hubby and I liked A the best. Hubby commented that the chocolate chip bread was in a class unto itself; hardly a fair comparison. However, it wasn't quite unanimous among the four of us. Townshend (who doesn't really like chocolate anyway) thought A and B were both equally delicious and didn't like the chocolate bread at all. While Moon refused to try any except the one with chocolate (and he thought it was "very good!"). 

It's Tough to be Three

My little guy has big feelings... he's always had big feelings. Happy, sad, angry, amused... big feelings. Moon has been known to wake up in the middle of the night sobbing about needing a nook (pacifier).. or one more chocolate...

More recently, he's been having big feelings right as the morning is starting. Sometimes it's something we can help with (just one more snuggle) and sometimes is a little more difficult to determine what it is he needs.

This morning, the little guy was so, so upset about needing a firetruck, that much was clear. However, it was less clear what firetruck, exactly, he was wanting. In our attempts to figure out what the trouble was, and our efforts to help, we were only succeeding in making the little guy more upset. It's tough to be three!

In these instances, the big guy is always so helpful. Towsnshend often will get his iPod out and make a playlist to help little brother feel better. This morning, his ideas were creative in a different direction - he drew a picture of a firetruck for Moon to drive around. Which, naturally, lead to drawing an ambulance and a police car...

It really helped! They actually played together for a good while. The firetruck was a success. Hooray for loving brothers!