Camp Parma

 Our last stop on our month-long vacation was my Aunt and Uncle's house, which we call "Camp Parma".

(No further explanation necessary)

My cousins Andrea and Niko were there, along with their kids.  This was a treat for my own brood, because they love getting together with their second cousins.

This made for a lot of diapers to burn.  I think I saw Uncle Paul donning a Hazmat suit . . .

Don't let that fool you though.  My Uncle Paul is the biggest kid of the lot.

 

Auntie Erna was so kind to keep an eye on the kids for me so I could sneak away to do some sketching.  I've never tried to draw before, but when I was at the Smithsonian I saw a beautiful book about how to draw botanical pictures, and I purchased it.  I'm not necessarily that good, but I did find it oddly absorbing.  Uncle Gary even joined me in Aunt Sue's beautiful garden to do some sketching!

 What a lovely way to finish up our trip!

 

The Race

Handyman doesn't do any exercise, because his job already requires so much physical labor.  However, when he heard that several of his brothers and nephews (and one fabulous sister-in-law) were going to be running a 3K in a nearby town, he decided to sign up.

He convinced Peter that he could do it as well.  I was a little worried that Peter might have trouble, but Handyman blithely assured me that my eldest son would be just fine.

When did this kid get so big?!  When did he stop crawling and begin running?! (Insert "Mommy Moment" *sob*) 

The process for getting ready for the race was very exciting.  Men love gadgets of all sorts.

 And food.  Food is very important to Peter, who will go through quite a lot of hardship to have food.

Then of course, there is the noble art of . . ..

 

 

(You have to play the video.  It's hilarious.  If you're reading this via email you'll have to go here to the blog to play the video.)

 

It was *$$^#)_ cold that morning so I bundled up as best I could in the van with my knitting and waited for the race to start.

I'm not sure why Peter is making that face.  Perhaps he was having second thoughts.

"Goodbye, Peter!  Daddy loves you very much but he's going to run ahead and leave you in the dust so you can run with your kind(er) Aunt".

 

Ella stayed nice and warm in her stroller and made flirty eyes with everyone.

 Aaaaannnnd they're off!!!!

Tom came in first with a blazin' speed of 9 something ish(?).  Next came Bob (who is the eldest of The Brothers) followed by his two boys.

Handyman came flying by next, followed by Mike, and then finally Aunt Amanda and a triumphant and exhausted Peter.

A few of The Brothers (and Sons) medaled for their age group, including Handyman.  I think his extra speed was due to his cunningly hand-knitted aerodynamic cap.

(With the Father of The Brothers).

From there we all went to a nearby restaurant and enjoyed a delicious Midwest breakfast.

As I said before, Peter will do a lot for food.

To Grandmother's House We Go

Peter celebrated his 9th birthday last week, and as a special treat we met Handyman for lunch (Peter loves anything that involves food and eating.)

After that we followed Handyman to where he was working and explored the surrounding area.

 (Yes, I know more "walking" pictures.)

I had Ella strapped to me in her baby sling, which made me feel like I was pregnant again.  Going over the massive river creek was a lot harder than it should have been.  Thankfully I had my two little engineers to build a bridge for me.

It was like the Battle of San Juan Hill, and I was determined to take it, no matter how many stupid barbed wire fences and dribbling creeks got in my way.

Unfortunately the kids had other ideas in mind, which centered on candy, toys, getting warm, and walking to Grandma's House.

Traitors.

A Winter Walk

The neighborhood where I live isn't really conducive to walking, so I'm happy whenever I get the chance to take the kids somewhere for a little outdoor excursion.

We buy our milk from an organic farm in the area, and so the other day the weather was fine and we decided to take a little walk down a nearby country lane.

We found lots of treasures.

 

I have a Mai Tai Sling that I made when Gabe was a baby, and it's an easy way to transport Ella.  She can stay nice and warm and I don't have to fuss with a stroller.

The sky was so blue!  Winter in the Frigid North is usually characterized by coma-inducing grayness which saps the soul and leads to deeply imbedded depression which is only alleviated by large doses of chocolate.

 Gabe was sad that I made him walk the whole way home.  His "legs were all done walking".

(He said this right before sprinting toward his sister so he could see what she was holding).

Miss Boo collected a few corn husks that she planned to make into corn husk dolls.

It's days like these that make me so thankful to be a mom!

Pumpkin Carving

Before Halloween we went to a friend's house for the annual pumpkin carving party.

I'd like to say the party is just for the kids, but the adults manage to have a pretty good time, too.

(Seeing this photo reminded me that I'm missing one of those shoes she's wearing.  Drat.)

 Jenn is my tutor in the art of Ethnic Midwest Cuisine, and just when I think I'm getting the hang of Midwesternism (such as "salads" that have nothing green in them except pistachio pudding), she plops something new in front of me.

  (I think this was a pickle concoction wrapped in cream cheese and ham.)

Apparently, cutting a pumpkin requires great concentration, which is aided by sticking out one's tongue . . . .

Gabe is dangerous enough without handing him any pointy objects, so he just hopped around from table to table and "helped" everyone else.

Some of the adults took their pumpkin carving very seriously . . . 

For dinner we all chipped in for pizza from Memos, or MeeMoh's, or Mimo's, or something like that.  Whatever it's called, it was fabulous pizza. 

(Whoops!  I just remembered that I never did pay Jenn for our portion of the pizza.  Must remember to do that . . .)