Spider prank in the horse barn:

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and the goat judging:

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Netta and Bailey do have a lot of things in common.  They both have strawberry blonde hair.  They both have fair, smooth complexions.  They both weigh just over 19lbs.  They are both 10+ months old and they both share most of the same DNA.  But there are many things that make them different.  For posterity I thought I'd make a list of our current observations so that we may compare as they age.  Who knows?  Maybe they will change.  Maybe some of these things will stay the same.  Either way, here goes:

I’m working on location at the State Fair for the next week or more. Fun and exhausting. Each day I’m shooting a few photos based on a theme, any theme. Today’s was blue ribbon winning veggies.

And I’m also collecting a daily mystery audio clip. Here’s a link to the first one. What is it? Visit our facebook page to get each on as they arrive:
http://www.facebook.com/PioneerPress

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Just a week left before Art starts his thirteen year journey through school and before Lewis starts his first week of preschool. We are living it up this week, home together with no appointments or classes or camps or other engagements. I must admit I was worried about the boys fighting a lot, being cooped up while the girls have to be home napping twice a day, or just plain getting sick of each other. But I also didnt’ feel like making all kinds of play dates and arrangements. I don’t know. I just wanted to go at it just ourselves. I’m glad I did. These last two days have been quite wonderful for the Parker Garvin Quintet. The boys have been playing beautifully together, have a sort of mini-love fest. I wonder if it’s because they somehow know they will be seeing less of each other real soon? All I know is they were literally rolling on the floor of the optometrist lobby this morning holding each other and saying, “I love you!” (Optometrist? I have glasses now.) This morning they played intensely with a tub of rice. I put a cardboard divider in the middle with holes and they spent over an hour passing the rice through the holes with some predetermined goal, giving each other directions, asking each other how it was going on the other’s side and if they had enough rice yet. Then they moved inside and did something with blocks and cars before we left to pick up my glasses. I sure have enjoyed watching them these last two days. Just a few left before school starts. I’m happy for them to have each other.

Today we visited the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary. It’s just an extraordinary little eden. I could go on about the wonderful little trails for the kids to run on, the varied landscape (marsh, grassland, ferns galore), the smart little labels they have on plants to tell you what they are (Jessica especially digs this), the little educational cabin where the kids were able to touch and feel bones and fur and have their many questions answered by a naturalist, the many many butterflies and insects and flowers in bloom, but instead I’ll just post some photos.

I had fun pushing our capable stroller through the narrow trails.

While I wasn’t looking Netta, the especially grabby of the girls, grabbed a perfectly innocent flower and immediately began to rip the pedals off like a MAD DOG!

A photo of two wild turkeys! Ahh ha ha ha ha.

Nearly every time Jess or I sweep, the girls follow. They see the broom, all the fun little bits of food and hair and other tiny things to choke on and they just go for it! And they’re getting fast, which means you have to sweep fast. A video would’ve demonstrated this better but instead I have a bunch of sorta lame photos showing a girl (Bailey I think) clearly following Jessica through the kitchen. I grabbed the camera late, she initially started in the dining room, went through the kitchen and ended up in the entry way. Nearly a full circle! The extra special challenge is to remember to bring the dustpan with you. Otherwise, you have to sweep so far ahead of your baby that you give yourself enough time to race back and grab the dust pan and race back to sweep up the choking bits before your baby is choking (or just gnawing on something unpleasant).