My boys #justbecause

My boys #justbecause

James has a good friend who lives just across the street.

James has a good friend who lives just across the street. Who I'll call, "Caleb" for the sake of this post. They are both four and they both have an independent streak.

A while back Sara was at home alone with our boys when she heard talking downstairs. Walking into the basement she was surprised to find Caleb happily playing Lego with James. When she was unable to determine if his parents knew his whereabouts or how long he'd been there, she marched him back across the street to discover they hadn't even realized he had left the house.

Just the other day I was at home relaxing in my favourite arm chair enjoying the cool breeze from the open window next to me when I heard the soft clack of wood hitting brick, which I have from experience learned to immediately recognize as the sound of our wood pile behind the house being dismantled for creative endeavours. I jumped out of my chair to look out the front door and discovered that Caleb had joined Nate and James in the backyard, and that they were all quite busy and a fair ways into the process of barricading our front gate shut from the inside with wood from our wood pile.

"Hi, boys, what are you doing?" (I'm unclear why I even bothered asking.)
Caleb, "We're blocking the gate so my Mom can't get in!"
"Ah, I see."
And then in a perfectly timed moment, I turned to discover Caleb's mom approaching from the opposite direction with a touch of speed and determination to her stride.
"Is Caleb in your backyard?", she asked.
"Well, as a matter of fact..."

Random summer photos

Random summer photos

The boys having fun on the playground.

The boys having fun on the playground.

First bike trip with James. Biked up Wellington to Seven Eleven for a Slurpee.

First bike trip with James. Biked up Wellington to Seven Eleven for a Slurpee.

Getting ready to watch some Women’s World Cup!

Getting ready to watch some Women’s World Cup!

Liam started walking last weekend and went from one to two steps to doing laps around our house in a day.

Liam started walking last weekend and went from one to two steps to doing laps around our house in a day. Similarly, James tried riding his bike the other day and figured it out on his first try, and now he's been using pretty much all his free time driving up and down the block. Nate, much as I predicted, gave up his two plus years of excuses for why he couldn't / didn't want to ride a bike the moment he realized his brother had mastered it while he was still on training wheels, and figured it out the same day...

So the neighbours' daughter decided to run a lemonade stand yesterday, and it drew a steady stream of kids (whenever...

So the neighbours' daughter decided to run a lemonade stand yesterday, and it drew a steady stream of kids (whenever I looked out the window I never saw fewer than 4 or 5 kids milling about). She ran it from noon all the way until 6 o'clock, at which point she had to leave for supper and handed the reigns over to the girls from across the street. The girls from across the street successfully ran it for the next 15-20 minutes until they were called back inside, at which point they hand over the reigns the neighbourhood boys. One minute later the boys had chugged down the remaining stock (one almost full pitcher) and were running around the front lawn giggling and sugar buzzed.

James dresses himself for church!

James dresses himself for church!

Table for 1201 Event.

Table for 1201 Event.

Worked hard over the weekend to get our front yard clean.

Worked hard over the weekend to get our front yard clean. Nate was a legitimate help and raked with me the whole time pulling my smaller piles out of the way into a big one. Was quite proud that our yard no longer looked like it had just housed a hillbilly convention. Got home today to discover our boys had been there industrious selves and started staking sticks into the middle of our front yard to make a makeshift fence...

Waffle Iron Hacks:

Waffle Iron Hacks:

It's been a family tradition for quite a while to do home-made waffles every Sunday. However, the last two Sundays we've started extending the tradition by making lunch with the waffle iron as well. Last Sunday we used it to press grill cheese sandwiches to go with our tomato soup (worked pretty well). This Sunday we used for "make your own" "quesadillas". It worked fantastic and was great for getting rid of leftovers.

It's starting to feel like spring.

It's starting to feel like spring.

We brought a ringer.

We brought a ringer.

"Throw Pillows": file under poorly named items for households with boys.

"Throw Pillows": file under poorly named items for households with boys.

See also "Chicken Drumsticks"

James this morning, "This bacon tastes like candy canes!"

James this morning, "This bacon tastes like candy canes!"
(James often makes taste comparisons based on how much he likes something, not on how similar they taste.)

Liam's first swing and enjoying the nice weather.

Liam's first swing and enjoying the nice weather.

Liam following the cheerio path his brothers created for him.

Liam following the cheerio path his brothers created for him.

Yesterday we had veggie burgers.

Yesterday we had veggie burgers.

I ate one and a half and felt full (I only ate the extra half because it tasted so good, they were really filling).
Sara ate one and a quarter.
Nate ate a quarter of one.
James ate a quarter of one.
Liam ate one and a half and we cut him off...

You know you're getting old / don't go out for movies much when you instinctively reach for the remote to turn the...

You know you're getting old / don't go out for movies much when you instinctively reach for the remote to turn the volume down when the trailers start...