This week’s theme at camp was ‘food’. They made butter, fancy rice salad and, as seen here, pizza.

Art and Lewis have gone to a few ‘summer camps’ at their preschool over the summer. This week was the last one, and afterwards a few families went for ice cream. I realized that, sadly, it was the last time Art will be in a class with this good friend Si. They’re off to kindergarten at different schools. It’s a lamentable situation for sure, but of course they’ll move on, make new friends, blah dee blah blah. And still get together outside of school. It was also likely the last day Arthur and Lewis will both be in the same ‘class’. I realize this is the kind of thing only a parent thinks about, but it’s still important god damnit! So, here are some photos from yesterday:

From left, Anthony, Ben, Si, Lewis, Henry and Arthur.

First of all, take a moment to notice the walking disaster that is our wonderful little boy, Lewis. Drool coming down his chin. He’s outside in his socks getting them totally dirty, for sure. His shirt is stained with salsa. He’s got some kind of scrape or insect bite on his shin. And really, this is very very clean and put together for this energetic and inquisitive young person. There would usually be dirt and mud all over his hands and legs and some kind of food or other substance on his face. Then look at those legs sticking out of those shorts.

I love these shorts and I especially love them on a boy. There’s something innocent and nostalgic about short shorts on a boy. Maybe because you get to see so much of those wonderful little boy legs while they run and climb and dance. The shorts might make me nostalgic because Art wore them. Or maybe because they are size 24 months. (They are wide and have a very generous waistband.) Anyway, I hate to pack them away but Lewis stuffed a granola bar in his pocket and said the shorts were tight. So I will retire them again. Goodbye little shorts. Goodbye little legs.

It’s obvious but at the same time ellusive: when kid does something the first time you have to tell him how. Tonight Arthur combed his hair for the first time (!) and I had to tell him a number of times, “No, try starting in the front, not the back.”

Keeping the window to our back porch clean would be like trying to keep Arthur from eating a piece of candy sitting on the table in front of him. It would be impossible. So we don’t try. The back porch window has turned out to be an activity center of sorts. Babies stand up and bang on it (see video), little boys and mamas and papas make faces through it, and 3-year-old fingers get crushed and finger nails eventually fall off (after weeks of a little boy saying, “look at mine finger nail, Papa” as he’d enjoy rocking it back and forth.”

Ben has been shooting the Minnesota Lynx basketball lately and has had such a good time he got us tickets to the game.  Art, Lewis, Ben and I watched the team go through the motions with the unfortunately inferior Tulsa Shock.  Ben said it is a LOT more fun when the teams are evenly matched because the Lynx play such a good game (they’re the best in the WNBA right now, apparently) but we all had a really good time.  In fact Art was talking the phone to his best friend, Si, today telling Si all about how they ate “all the good things” – pizza, hot dogs, snow cones – and that he and Lewis threw the ball in the basketball goal (this was during halftime in a kid area).  But really, the best part was I scored us a free bag of kettle corn!  At the end of the game there was a promotion for some kettle corn and I saw them standing at the end of the bleachers with the barrel of popcorn bags.  I knew they were going to throw the bags to the crowd and I was determined to get one.  I really wanted that popcorn.  And I GOT IT!

It was really good, by the way.  And I did share.

It’s been too long since nature day. Today, bright and early, we headed out for the always fun bird sanctuary and flower garden near Lake Harriet. I’ve been reading some of the book “Last Child in the Woods” and feel a certain urgency about letting Arthur and Lewis explore the outdoors undirected. I’d love to live near the woods or something more earthy so they could play outside whenever they wanted without a special trip. But, that said, just being outside I think does a kid (and a parent) quite good. One quote I shared via twitter the other day that I especially love from the book: “Unlike TV, nature doesn’t steal time, it amplifies it.”

Again, we saw deer. Jessica took this nice photo. Nice photo, Jessica!

The boys were pretty excited about finding this ‘pokey’ caterpillar.

Running through the woods leaving scent trail of deet.

After our walk in the woods the babies napped on the grass. Art, quite spontaneously, quietly went over to Bailey and just sat next to her. I think he really really love Netta and Bailey.

Lewis has a somewhat annoying (at least for his Papa) habit taking his shoes off in random places and then not remembering where he left them. Here’s where I found a shoe and socks during a recent outing the boys and I had to the zoo.

Yesterday I got a call from Josh. “Ben, I was in an accident. I’m okay,” was the first thing he said. Which was good cause if I had heard that was in a rollover accident going 70mph while towing a boat I would have assumed the worst. But it’s amazing, it really is. Nobody was seriously hurt. He and two friends were returning from sailing on Lake Superior at the Apostle Islands (he called from the water, “Ben, this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen, you wouldn’t bevieve it!”). On their way back they were on the highway and swirved to avoid tire. His Toyota Rav4 flipped and rolled five times, boat was destroyed. Apparently all the airbags deployed and everyone walked away. Cuts and bruises, that’s it! A miracle of sorts in my view. Jeez. The policeman said they would have probably been killed had they not been wearing seatbelts. Here’s what Josh wrote: “Here’s a photo of the Rav4 that ash and I USED to have.  It has gone bye bye.  I tell you what though–that damn car saved three lives yesterday.  No doubt.  the side-curtain airbags popped and prevented Drew from flying out of the car, and Annie and I from smashing our soft and juicy heads onto the pavement as we rolled 4 or 5 times.  All and all, it was very lucky.  whoa.  The boat cracked like an egg.   total destruction.  She was a good craft, and I loved her dearly.  Lots of fun for sure.” Josh ———————————- Josh just sent this new photo and note regarding the crash: here is a pic my friend Drew, who was in the wreck in the back seat, took with his iPhone when we were on the side of the road. I found his phone in the wreckage and handed it to him cause I knew he would want it, and he had the foresight to take a quick pic before the ambulances came to stap us down and take us away. you can see in this pic the hole in the window where I punched my way out and emerged like a beautifu butterfly from a cocoon. Also note the boat upside down and in the other lane of traffic on the highway. the trailer is somewhat still attached to the car. The white thing in the window is a bit of the side airbag. This is the thing that saved our lives. Go get a car with side airbags today!

So, the girls got a bath tonight. They sure love to imagine they could grab that water stream!
 

Two naked babies are hard to wrangle, so I just let them crawl around while I gathered clean diapers and clothes for them. I couldn’t help but laugh at the MUSCLES! And the feet! They are destined for ballet. 5th position, baby. I mean, babies.

And en pointe, too!