Wednesday, August 31, 2011

all over again

another start to another year. 



it is going to be great!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

fall is here, hear the yell

she is so ready for school

friends, and new pencils, new people and learning.


we are excited.
well some of us are.
ok, really it is just nadia--nails and all. third grade is going to treat this little sweetness just fine. 

but the rest of us are trying to talk ourselves into it.
and if i tell myself that i am super duper excited maybe i will be?

it's just that we found our groove this summer.  being home together. now that was super duper.  but i am sure fourth grade will bring bunches of new fun things for aidan to love.  and i am sure that this year will find me in the middle of my favorite group of kids just like usual.  and tony might just like having his friday's back.  that daddy day is a pretty sweet gig after all. 

i am just sure of it...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

because

because they are my fingers on this here keyboard.  (i almost typed 'typewriter'.  how weird is that?)

because it makes me think of my sister. she's not prickly at all.  she doesn't have a stinger either. but she does love thistle.

because it also makes me think of my childhood home in the very early days when the fields around us had withered apple trees and tall-tall thistle. and that time i got stung by three bees in two days.  but i think of this with warmth funny enough.

because i think the sunlight is glorious.  when i snapped this on friday harbor it was the bee that drew me in, but it was the light that won me over.

because up real-real close like this i kinda want to pet this little honey bee's furry back. 

because some people will see this and automatically think of sex and that is funny. 

because i am melanie kim maxwell and i can talk talk talk talk talk talk talk...wait...that is a different argument for a different time.  usually for a time when my brother told me to shut up.


Sunday, August 21, 2011

while we were busy...

while we were busy doing this...
 and this...
 they were across the yard doing this...
 that hardly seems fair.  especially when the temperatures are finely well into the 90's. 
but they did clean the playroom first.  and straighten up their rooms.  and sorta wash tony's car. 
 i am super excited that tony was working on the other two gates.  they look fantastic!
 not to mention how excited i am that i was able to take these tiles from their boring square to a rectangle just perfect for a brick-patterned back splash in the laundry room. 
and really i am relieved that they were able to kick back and cheer us on.  they had a rough little week, these little foopers did. 

maybe you aren't familiar with the term foop?  that is the kid version of the shart.  we spent the better part of the week dealing with foop, a little puke and a great deal of coughing.  both kids decided to explode out of their...well you know where it comes from.  interestingly enough, a foop smells far worse than either a poop or a fart.  especially at 12:30 am.  even worse at 3:30 the next morning.  oh, and worse yet when you are showering the other fooper and the foop just lets loose.  steamy foop might be the worse yet. 

too much?

these little belly bugs travel in families you know.  uggh. 

thankfully we are all on the mend now!

Friday, August 19, 2011

it's just how we do things around here

it may seem a little extravagant...








spa treatment courtesy of aidan, brother extraordinaire.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

sticking my head in the sand

figuratively of course.  because if i meant that literally i would get sand up my nose and i can only imagine that is far worse than water sprinkled on my face...which i hate. 

but i digress.  but not really.  this is the way it has been around here.  flexible, free, wandering, spontaneous.  but now schedules are looming so it is time to pull my figurative head out of the figurative sand.

but before i do, let me tell you about our last lil' bit of summer fun.

it all started on a ferry ride from anacortes to friday harbor.


it kinda blows your hair back, this fun we are having.
i take shots from the sitting position because if you tilt me even a little bit this way or a little bit that way i try to reintroduce you to my lunch...
a short drive to lakeside resorts. our campsite was perfection.
goofy, lakeside, tree-filled, internet and cell reception free perfection.
look at that tent! so cute! and it only takes 38 minutes to set up.  guess whose idea it was to time it?
tony made mouthwatering fish tacos, biscuits and bacon, loaded baked potatoes, oatmeal and fried potatoes all right here over the hickory.  he is so outdoorsy and survivalistish.

mmm bacon.  and roasted marshmallows of course.
we woke up to less than graceful geese landing on this scene.  actually, we woke up several times throughout the night to the booming right-winged voice of the guy who will forever be known as jeff's dad. 
after some kayaking (pictures to come) and a few road-side and overboard barfing stops we visited a lighthouse.
we saw some wildlife.  exactly what i can't tell you.  you know, there was the heaving and then there was the fact that whatever was swimming was way the heck out there.


that nut didn't fall far from the tree.
more wildlife that i couldn't see.
i love this man.  he had me laughing so hard that i pe---nevermind.  he make me laugh.  enough said.
and he is hot too.

i wish we could live like this forever.  stupid schedules and money and education and responsibility. 

Monday, August 15, 2011

have i mentioned that my husband is amazing?

i think i have a time or two, but it is seriously worth mentioning again. 
he has expanded his handyman skills beyond woodworking and is now working with metal. 

before we had a lame-o panel propped up with a couple of 1x4's angled under a couple of strategically placed screws (leave it to tony to get to strategerizing).
 and in just a couple of afternoons, a big 'ol pile of steel, a few youtube videos and phone advice from my dad we had...
  
 this!



nice job honey.  after you finish the two gates on the other side, i think i have a little project by the entry for you...