Great Falls and Catoctin Creek

There are a lot of nice things about homeschooling, and one of them is that it's easy to take a day off. To celebrate Brian's birthday in October, we took a Wednesday hike on the Virginia side of Great Falls National Park, and then went to a distillery in Purcellville. Great Falls is always a delight, and so close to us. I'm so happy that the boys still love being outside and making adventures wherever they can. They love bounding around the rocks (a little nerve-wracking for us) and climbing up anything they can. We discovered that the Catoctin Creek Distillery makes the best gin we've ever had, and we got an education on the distillery process. 

 

Great Falls Park on the Virginia side -- I give it 4 shouts! It could be better if it had tables to eat at, but overall a super fun trail along the river.

This is 40, Installment 1

I turn 40 in March 2020. I'm beginning the countdown today. I've decided I will deal with this shocking news by recording things that happen to me, things I do, and things I overhear that make me feel 40. Or at least that make me speculate on my age and mortality and the human plight in general. Perhaps viewing this impending milestone with humor will make it more palatable. It's not as if using humor as a defense mechanism is foreign to me.

First up: Yesterday one of my 11th graders announced to the class that I seemed like the type of person who would cook casseroles.

This is 40.

He was trying to explain what a casserole was to one of his classmates, and apparently I am casserole age.

Bring it on.

I looked up from my book to see this last night. #beingted

                                 

Seven Years My Boys

I just want to document today real quickly before I forget it.

Today Calvin and Clark turned seven years old. Celebration started last night with a Hungarian cake that Brian made for them. It was his favorite cake growing up and this year he made one for the first time, with his mom's expert, Hungarian help. We had cake with Gammy and Poppy and the boys opened their gift from us-- roller blades! They are naturals, though it's a good thing we bought the extra pads for their hands. They're used to ice hockey and having a bit more protection when they fall. They roller bladed until dark.

Dobos!

Eight little cakes

Teddy helps open

Tearing up the cul de sac

This morning Calvin woke up without his other front tooth! It fell out in the night and we still haven't found it.

For breakfast we had crepes on their request, with Nutella. Gammy brought over their favorite Izze-- blackberry-- and they had sausage. I stuck candles in their crepes and we sang happy birthday to them. They opened a little gift from Gammy-- a set of Minecraft handbooks. They are quite obsessed over the game, even though they're barely actually played it. They love to talk about it.

Crepes, sausage, Izze, and Minecraft books

Teddy and I went to school with them and I lead the community art project that we have once a month. This month we did little projects with patterned paper and learned about Eric Carle. Ted and I stayed for lunch and the first part of recess.

Art!

Cafeteria lunch

All the girls love Teddy

After school we met them with a frizzbee and candy from Grandma and Papa. We played with the frizzbee at the playground. When we got home I gave the boys my birthday poems, which I've been writing for them almost every year since they were born. They were unimpressed and pretended not to like them. I think one day they will. They opened another gift and card, I made them a smoothie, and they headed to hockey practice.

When they got home we grilled up the steak Brian had marinated for them, had some sweet potato fries and veggies. Calvin loves to talk about how much he loves steak. He ate a very large amount of steak tonight.

We had to chase them to bed. They all three wanted to sleep in the same bed, but we were able to convince Cal to sleep on the top bunk, but Teddy and Clark cuddled on the trundle, leaving the bottom bunk open.

I can't believe it's been seven years of these wonderful boys. I feel blessed to spend my days with them.

Toothless!

Impossible to take a normal picture of them

Cal reading his poem that was "Ok, but weird"

Teddy, Teddy Two Two

Teddy turned two a couple weeks ago. I was dreaming up a little birthday party with lots of trains, cars, trucks, and tractors... but I didn't pull that off, despite putting together a killer Pinterest board. Next year?

His birthday is July 5th and we were at the lake over his birthday. We were lucky to have his best friend and cousin, little Clara there to celebrate. The two had a wonderful time together all weekend in the water and out of the water. I made the easiest birthday cake I've ever made and we sang to him several times. He loves the happy birthday song and kept wanting it over and over. The cake was chocolate, with chocolate frosting and crushed up Oreos. (Cal and Clark loved crushing the Oreos.) I stuck some toy construction equipment on it and BAM! Construction Site cake. He loved it, but not as much as Clara loved it. For some reason he's not keen on getting his hands dirty, but Clara loves to.

Here is a list of  some of our favorite Teddy-words.

Our Favorite Teddy -isms: 

Happ-ER-dee (Happy Birthday)

BAH-gidge (garbage truck)

GAH-gee (doggie)

CUH-k (Clark)

Daddy

Mommy

Biggy (Gammy)

Bugga (Grandma)

Poppy

Papa

AH-duh, AH-duh (all done)

bases (while running in circles)

Bah-bah-BAH (bottle)

WAH-chis (watch this)

BUG uh zur (bulldozer)

Toss (Thomas the train) 

Em ee LEE (Emily the engine)

WOO WOO (ambulance and/or fire truck) 

UH cuh cur (excavator) 

AH-guh NEW-ooz (all gone noodles) 

HEP-eeze (help please)

HUD (hug)

DEN tuhl (gentle)

Why why wess (Wild, Wild West) 

E-I-E-I-O (anytime there's a barn or farm animals or hay bales, etc)

Ta-da! The birthday boy

Dirt pile cake

Model lips

Eating with construction equipment

Sure Mom, I'll just sit here and look at the water...

I'll get a LITTLE closer...

Yeah, this is better.

Kayak get-away

5th of July boy

Beach bums

What a blessing little Theodore John is! I can't imagine life without him.

Teddy's First Birthday- A Teddy Bear Party

I figured the first birthday...maybe the second... is really the only chance I'll have to do a teddy bear-themed birthday party for Teddy. I doubt as he gets much older he'll want to have a lot to do with teddy bear parties. So I went for it.

The party hats might have been my favorite part because I designed them myself. I used a regular party hat pattern, modified it a little and poked holes for ears, used foam instead of paper, made ears with notches, and stuck them in the holes.

Bear party hats

Stapled elastic to the sides

Inside the hat

Teddy the Party Bear

Cousin Clara Bear

Best Friend Bears

Cal and Clark wanted to help with the party,
so they colored a bunch of these teddy bears for a few weeks
before the party. I hid them at the party and the kids ran around
finding them. They were a big hit.

Bear paw cookies! brownie mix, upside-down Hershey dark chocolate
kisses, peanut halves

Yum, but more importantly, cute

I made a banner. I love banners.

I borrowed the chalkboard from a friend.

Bear face cake and Teddy Graham trail mix: The mix is
honey, chocolate, and cinnamon Teddy Grahams with mini marshmallows and raisins.
I separated the mix out into cupcake liners on a cupcake stand and used
the rest in the glass container for decoration.

Teddy's little cake. My mother-in-law
just happened to have a beehive cake
mold, so I used it and made a banana cake
with yellow "honey" cream cheese frosting.
I was hoping to make little bees for it,
but ran out of time.

The weather was nice so all the kids got to play
outside a lot and I even got to play with the
birthday bear a little.

Bear-friends

Teddy Bear eating berries

Teddy was not sure about sitting on a table
without a shirt in front of a room of people.

He did enjoy the frosting, though.

Brother bears surround little birthday bear, who has had
enough of this party.

It was a fun party, and not too much work. I stayed simple with food. We had round sandwich thins with chicken salad for the grown-ups, peanut butter and jelly for the kids, as well as cheese and ham sandwiches and crackers with cheese and salami. We also had a berries plate, apples, watermelon, (bears would eat those things, right?) and veggies. I made strawberry lemonade.

I can't believe our little Peapod who became Theodore John, who became Teddy, is one whole year old. We adore him and can't even imagine what it would be like without him now. We are blessed.