{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

playground happiness

I can't help it - there were just too many good pictures from yesterday's two playground excursions to share only one. I can't get over how big my boys are getting, and then again, there are moments when I look at their miniature bodies and awe at their small fragility. This age of discovery is so miraculous (and exhausting)! We went morning and evening to Mashpee Heritage Park yesterday, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly on the Tiger Long Memorial Playground, named for a boy I grew up with and who was killed serving (I believe) in Iraq in the 90s.

max "kwimin' teps"

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vacation land

a dip in wakeby lake, mashpee

Well, since Auntie Laurie just posted a little about our travel to MA, I figure I should follow suit and check in a little bit! Here's her post.

First, the flight... I still have to take photos, but I did quite a bit of handmade prep for the trip: a drawstring backpack for each boy, containing a bunch of new playthings. We also brought the portable DVD player. They seemed to play with everything, but nothing held their attention for long, and by halfway through the flight, we'd gone through everything multiple times, and the only way we survived the rest was by walking the aisles, watching movies, and practicing patience, as neither of the toddlers napped. It was a long flight.

bedraggled by the last hour of flying...

Since we got here, we've been making daily trips to the lake, discovering the trove of toys Memmae brought home from her preschool and found at yard sales, and generally enjoying the admiring presence of the grandparents.

an attempt to beat the scorching, humid heat with a walk in the woods with memmae turned into a spontaneous skinny dip in the lake for the children, and rolled up pant legs for the grown-ups...

There's nothing quite like family and friends who really love your children to get you to tune in extra carefully to just how awesome your offspring are.

grandfather and grandson