Word on the Streets

quiet, creative play. . .

just the other week we had a number of days where my two boys were not feeling great. it has been a fever, a driveling nose that just will not S.T.O.P! or a deep and scratchy cough. so there was a day or two where one or both stayed home to rest. during those days i was able to witness one of my most favorite things ever: quiet and creative play. 

jack took to doing pages in some 1st grade workbooks i had. i think he found great joy in the fact that he could do most of the pages without troubles. it must have made him feel like he was super smart for all of the pages he was determined to finish and did! morgan pulled out some of the toys we had when they were younger. he took to organizing all the animals in noah's ark (two by two). morgan loves to sort and organize things! he was on the floor playing quietly and i had nothing to do with instructing him how to go about playing or keeping himself occupied. he was self-directed in finding an activity in the cupboard that he would like to spend time doing. he was engaged in that play for a good hour. then his attention moved to the sleeping dog. morgan loves to pet the dog. he is tender and kind to her. he seems to have a special connection to her. when morgan stretched out next to chloe she went fully vertical and her body was as long as his! what a sight!

i love a little quiet time when each boy can find something to busy himself with that is not a t.v. or a video game or a computer. it lets me see how their creative mind works. there is a peace in our home when times like this happen. that is what made me go and get my camera. it is not always this serene. but when it is, i feel a sliver of what heaven must be like. 

dna proof. . .

recently i took jack and morgan to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned. the dentist's assistant did full x-rays on them and we were all stunned at the sameness of their teeth. every tooth looked the exact same including the lost spaces, the new teeth growing in and the ones that should be loose any day with new ones underneath. even the back molars are looking the same. it was a good thing the assistant quickly wrote down who was the first to be x-rayed and who was second. these two share dna. no wonder the teeth are following a marked path. the tooth next to the one they lost within a week of each other is now loose in both mouths! they like to wiggle them and see whose will go first.

little boy playtime. . .

i love it when the boys are so engaged in play that they are happy and constructive, working together to create a masterpiece. this was one such day. 

speaking of love. . .

i used to have trains all over my house. i had them in my bed. i had them in my couch. i had them on my table. i even had them in the wash! and now we are all about hot wheels. the other day at lunch morgan had all his very favorites lined up on his spoon. this kid loves his "cheesy noodles" and is great with the fact that i sneak carrots and peas in there. and he loves his hot wheel cars. and then with the whole placemat saying "love"--well it was just screaming [GO GET YOUR CAMERA, LADY!}

 

adventure seekers wanted. . .

after three days of girl's weekend and some ridiculous food consumption, i wanted to spend some quality time with the boys today & move my body! so i took them out in search of an adventure. above lake mead there is an old railroad trail that has been well maintained and is open for walkers/bikers and horses. rod and i tried this trail once with the boys about two years ago and it was just too long for little legs. today i planned ahead with some hiking snacks, water and the all crucial sunglasses & light jackets. it made the trek fun. we were a grand party: two boys, a mother and the dog.

the trail has 5 tunnels on it and from one end to the other it is 3.7 miles. it is flat and wide and overlooks the lake the entire time. steep cliffs are on one side and the other drops off with a perfect view of the lake. 

the boys were happy and handled the very long walk to the 5th tunnel. round trip we walked about 5 miles total. when legs got tired on the way back we would just stop and take a break, eat a snack and tell stories to each other. jack and morgan are excellent story tellers! i heard every possible plot that had hot wheels as the main characters. distraction was the key. these two boys are great at going on adventures with mom and they made up things to do along the way. we now have a very large rock collection that has returned home with us. 

while we were walking jack was the first one to spot three bighorn sheep up on the cliffs above us. it was a great treat to see them again. on one of our previous adventures, i took the boys to the park out in boulder city where the sheep come down to graze on the grass. so jack knew what to look for and with his eagle eye spotted three beauties not too far above us. they followed us along the trail high up on the rocks for a time then disappeared.

i love days like today. no schedule. no school. no commitments. we can just go and spend 4 hours hiking a new trail, rock climbing, hunting for lizards, walking the dog and laughing with each other. it will all change next year with them going to school so i am milking it for all i can now. 

p.s. yes, we came home, took baths, ate pizza and had no trouble getting to bed! that is a good day had.

 

in his genes. . .

we all inherit wonderful things from our ancestors. some of us have characteristics that came from dad, mom, great aunt soandso, and great grandpa whatshisname. 

morgan at the park today.

working the digger toy. working hard at it too (yet another trait of his ancestors--put some muscle into it and stick to it till you figure it out.)

and then i saw it...the grandma harris sign of concentration...

his paternal great-grandmother would always do this with her tongue when she was concentrating on something. i know i do this too. it makes me wonder: does he see me do it so he does it too or is it just in his genetic make-up? 

 

monster in my tunnel. . .

family walk today to stretch the legs. been watching church conference all day. when we got to the tunnel we found a very scary, very spooky, very creepy monster ghost! it made screeching noises and scared all of us to the bones!

we made it out of here alive!

funny thing is that that tunnel monster sounded just like this other one who had been following us on our walk but who said he was a pirate, r2d2, spiderman, ghost-monster all in one!

now that is a scary combination if you ask me!

beauty. . .

went to the park last night. don't think i will ever tire of this little face. ever.

morgan loves this alligator shirt. loves it. i love it because he loves it. 

5th birthday weekend in california part 2. . .

saturday we spent time with our cousins. party & gifts first. stellie will be in kindergarten the same year jack and morgan are. what fun to have a cousin in the same grade to grow up with & have at college.

after the party we all went to cousin berkeley's soccer game. go team "crushers"!

jack, rod, morgan and stellie played a soccer game of their own on the sidelines.

sunday was church in the morning, naps in the afternoon and a 2 mile walk on the newly constructed san clemente beach trail. it was a time to run the wiggles out and enjoy the weather. elizabeth and i had fun with our cameras. i have soo much to learn but it really is fun to be with her!

rod and morgan (pulling the red wagon for tired little ones). this was the beginning of the trail. you can tell no one was up for sitting in the wagon. they ran! morgan and berkeley ran the entire 2 miles. jack, stella and charlotte took turns in the wagon.

the trail ends at the pier so we took a water break. jack and morgan love to tempt the lapping water.

i got to take a few photos of the three harris girls. they just make me smile. what would it be like to have a girl?

on monday we spent a relaxing morning at the cousin's home while they went and did their normal weekly school routine. isn't it nice to be 5 and not in school yet with a serious schedule! love it!

we took more photos with the boys and decided to go get lunch and have a picnic at the park on our way out of town. (besides stopping at hoven--see previous post)

this california weekend was one of the many great ones we always have. our cousins could not be more fun and the area--well--it is one of our favorite places ever! thank goodness we only live a short 4 hour drive away. when i am old and losing my mind i hope my thoughts revert back to these sun-kissed, sea-breeze air days of time spent with my family in california.

the happiest place on earth & two birthdays. . .

they had been asking for a month, "how many more days till our birthday?"

this last weekend we took jack and morgan to disneyland for time with friends and family.

the searle family partied with us in disneyland. everywhere jack & morgan went people in line or the crew members would see their birthday buttons and say, "hey, happy birthday buddy!" 

seriously. i mean everyone wished them happy birthday. it was such a fun place to turn 5.

in the evening uncle darren came to join us and aunt elizabeth with cousins berkeley & stella. it was just enough time to catch a few more rides and enjoy the fireworks show.

saturday was the actual cake and presents at the cousins home. so we put on our party hats and had a blast. thanks aunt buff & stellie for the perfectly individualized cakes!

so much more to tell about our fun weekend and pictures, pictures, pictures! suffice it to say, it was a birthday weekend that could not have been better! 

and now we are 5.