184/365
11:20am
The boys discovered this hollowed out tree stump just a dozen feet off a whirling, swirling park playground. While the sights and sounds buzzed in the background, the boys briefly transformed this space into a pedestal, and just as quickly abandoned it to head back toward the Merriment.
183/365
5:45pm
Charlie, in his To Thine Own Self Be True fashion, celebrated with bubbles and dirt.
182/365
5:09pm
Regardless the age of your child, are you ever taken aback by a sudden growth spurt? You're all walking along the Life Path doing the whole Rinse, Lather, Repeat thing and your 6-weeker has surprisingly gained two pounds in ten minutes or your 2-year-old is a sleeping GIANT all spread out in his crib or your five-year-old starts driving the family car immediately became all Big Kid-like and not at all preschool-like anymore. His manners are Big, his attitude is Big, his interests are Big, his thoughts are Big, his activities are Big. And you're all proud and your heart swells at his Bigness and you wonder how in the world this happened because he was just a 6-weeker gaining two pounds in ten minutes; therefore, the only logical explanation is that he got into the fertilizer.
181/365
3:33pm
Ok, so this what you do: Make a double batch of Grandma's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe (minus the nuts, the lady's crazy for nuts) and homemade vanilla ice cream (substitute pure vanilla for the whole bean pod because, really, it's insanely expensive, and possibly more important, it's an extra store to schlep two kids in and out of). Slam the two together (the cookies & ice cream, not the two children) and voilà: instant ice cream headache. You want one, don't ya?
180/365
6:03pm
Charlie and his imaginary snake accompanied me on a one block garden tour. We would have gone farther, but the snake got lost among the daisies.
178/365
11:36am
Both boys have thoroughly enjoyed their lessons in the past two weeks. Jack has made more progress in this daily session than months of weekly practice, and Charlie mastered all of his Level 1 skills before the first week was over. As far as I'm concerned, the kids will take lessons until they are unexpectedly tossed into the deep end...with icy waves....and sharks Arctic Ocean and they can rationally swim to safety.
What? Too extreme?
177/365
4:29pm
Because of the copious amount of juicy goodness, I had to send Charlie out on the deck with his chin-drippin' nectarine. I chose this Charlie Attacks Stone Fruit picture over another shot of the juice pooling on his chin for, um, obvious reasons. However, you can see that the juice's final destination appears to be gathering for a party at the top of his shirt: down and under the chin, a slippery slope down the neck, and bath time.
176/365
4:20pm
I really would not have put myself in the She Who Shoots Food category, but here I am again, shooting food....so often that I created a tag. I don't set out to do so; it just kinda happens. Any guesses what it is?
175/365
6:51pm
The boys can't possibly yet truly understand how lucky they are to have such a devoted, even, forgiving, present, and utterly selfless father, who will be endlessly supportive for the remainder of his life. John gives without reservations, without expectations, without conditions.
He is a rock, the cornerstone of our family. And although Jack & Charlie would doubtfully be able to articulate all the reasons that make John so inconceivably fabulous, there isn't a pause in their day where they don't feel it. Happy Father's Day, John.
174/365
5:23pm
Our neighborhood association sponsors the annual Jazz in the Park festival just down the block on the lake. Neighbors come together towing iconic red wagons convexly filled with picnic essentials, including Madison's go-to summer wine, and make a collective patchwork quilt of blankets in the protective shade of mother oak trees. Some folks rest back, take in the music with the Dixie cups of wine; the kids head out to play baseball, run wild, stick toes in the lake, dance. Summer is officially here.
All while the band plays on, loudly.
173/365
10:10am
It's been a while since I have used my Fantastic Plastic lens, and today was a perfect day for it: dark and stormy, a nearly lightless day. The magic lies within its 1.8 f/stop.
172/365
8:35am
When we got home from California a month ago, Jack declared a 139-year moratorium on haircuts. His 144th birthday will be surely be cause for celebration....and interesting to document along the way.
I actually chose this photo because of its light softness, warm temperature and downward angle, and deliberately because it is out of focus, not to highlight (har!) his downy pile.
170/365
6:36pm
As a special treat a few weeks ago we let Jack try root beer for the first time, which was received with rave reviews....until the bubbles hit. Who knew to warn him about the carbonation? His response? "SPICY!!!!" But like spicy things for his parents, he had to joyously, courageously go back for more....and in doing so with such gusto, Charlie wanted in on the action. Or so he thought. Cautiously optimistic, he kept his eye on those bubbles.
169/365
12:37pm
Whi-hoo!! Summer is officially here!
Both boys started swimming lessons today, and while Jack has been in steady lessons for a couple years, this was Charlie's first guided aquatic dip. The Pisces in him did not disappoint; this child belongs in the water. And Jack was thrilled to learn a special new Superman move. I, on the otherhand, had to stradle the center line between the north and south side of the pool, while devoting my right eye to the bobbing Blue Swim Cap Boy and my left to the grinning Hawaiian Trunks Boy.
168/365
4:35pm
Editor's Note: Guest Blogger John
Soccer is a funny game. And 3 vs. 3 tots soccer is even funnier, especially when it's 82 degrees, you're squaring off against the best team in the league and only three boys actually show up for the match. Did I mention that Coach Nate had to leave for vacation, leaving me to make my long-awaited managerial debut versus the Dragons in the most pressure-packed game of the season?
It was a tough task, made more complicated by Jack, Connor and Jeffrey rejecting my 1-1-1 tactical scheme in favor of a less organized 0-3-0. We started out poorly, with the Dragons rattling off several (read: 6?) quick goals and breaking down our belief. Connor (at right) needed to take a water break for much of the second quarter, leading to us play a man down early.
I gave an inspiring halftime speech, and I could noticiably feel their sprits rise coming out of the tunnel. And that's where Jack kicked into gear-- scoring three goals in a row, and playing stellar defence. Fatigue makes cowards of us all, and the Wolverines are no exception-- at one point, Jack told me that he hated the Dragons. But despite being totally gassed, he gave a superb two-way effort, netting four goals, saving several others and running hard for the entire game. I was pretty proud of the effort.
Ultimately, the Wolverines were defeated (13-6?), but not conquered. All in all, it was a great debut season for Jack (and for me as well. Yesterday, I was appointed manager of Newcastle United!) Later this summer, Jack will move up a class level onto a team with 5 & 6 year-old-boys, and will test his breakaway skills on a whole new level.
I took this picture from the middle of the pitch while yelling at the boys to get back on defence, while also attempting to get out of the way of the oncoming ball.
167/365
12:54pm
Last fall I enthusiastically purchased a tiny berry colander at an extremely generous discount. I had visions at that moment of it brimming with freshly-picked, sun-warmed, and tender strawberries that would tumble out of green market quart containers. I imagined us all surrounding the tiny white colander on the dining room table and eagerly devouring the berry bursts to our June heart's content, tossing the intact green hat on bright yellow plates as if discarded from a Strawberry Mardi Gras parade.
The only thing I didn't foresee was telling the family they had to wait, patiently drumming their fingers, while I photographed our scarlet treasure before the rest of the image was brought to fruition.
166/365
8:12pm
The boys had a wonderful time when Grandpa and Grandma Nancy came to visit for few days. We had perfect Madison weather--light breezes, fabulous bright cumulus clouds against deep blue skies, temps hovering around in the mid-70s, and, as Charlie belts out from the Sound of Music, "RAY! A drop of golden suuuuuun!!" We had park time, play time, bike time, Farmers' Market time, and time to chat with my Texan brother on our brand-new deck. No matter how tempted you may be to correct me, it's a deck, not a glorified stoop. If you would have seen what was there before, you would heartily agree that we now have a deck.
165/365
6:47pm
It's gotta eventually happen to everyone. Bike, boy, hill....and there he went in seemingly slow motion. Given the choice of getting cleaned up with some TLC or getting back on the dog that bit him, he chose the dog. That's right, after some necessary tears screams, he dusted off, through his leg over the seat, and pedaled away proudly displaying his first road rash. While we certainly hi-five the sustained enthusiasm, I'm pretty sure we're all grateful for this respiratory thing called exhaling and the body's remarkable ability to pull your heart out of your feet and return it to its primary location.
164/365
10:54pm
Oh, the sweetness!
In the morning, there's a fifty percent chance he'll tell me he was dreaming about pineapples. The other fifty percent chance is slated for a hairy, red monster with five eyes, three horns, and a ferocious ROAR, and who makes it impossible for Charlie to talk about without falling down laughing.
Ah, for now, stillness. How wonderful.
163/365
10:36am
We spent a chunk of the morning exploring frogs, tadpoles, and other pond inhabitants all while navigating an insurmountable amount of goose poop at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Despite Charlie spending his evenly distributed time between digging in the mud and running in the weeds, we'll joyfully return and mind the frog's call often this summer.
In June as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them. --Aldo Leopold
162/365
2:40pm
I say "PAH!!" to anyone who says your palate doesn't mature throughout your life. Growing up, I didn't appreciate tomatoes, good cheese, avocados, spinach, or even chocolate. Surely, my preferences were not from a lack of opportunity or culinary adventure; we were the first people on the block regularly eating artichokes. Who would have guessed that twenty thirty years later I would try add as many of these items as I could to our weekly menu? That said, I can easily pass on winter tomatoes, skip a regular grocery store cheddar, walk on by a slightly bruised avocado, and have no trouble waving off a waxy milk chocolate. Not picky, discerning.
But all these luxuries in their Perfection are flawless .
161/365
3:09pm
Don't believe it. There is no truth that ants help peonies go from bud to bloom. Notta. Apparently they just like the sweet nectar. Fair enough. We'll still keep playing How Many Ants Can You Count on the Peony game though because that's just good Garden Fun!
160/365
5:38pm
Jack and I have had a low-grade cold all week, and mine turned into a doozy overnight. Sore throat, fever, achy, and thoroughly exhausted. As John pointed out, at least I wasn't missing a gorgeous summer weekend since we were exactly two rainy degrees from plunging into the forties. A day best viewed through glass.
