Oscar Stew

A little thunderstorm rolled in on Wednesday, so the kids and I headed out to the front yard so we could enjoy some time outside without sweating our brains out…All you St. George folks can laugh at me, but here in Colorado, 95 degrees is wicked H-O-T!

Brinley has never showed an interest in drawing people until today. It was fun to watch her draw stick figures and little details like hands and eyebrows.

She was all over the place with the chalk. She told me she was drawing our family.

Shhhh, the artist is creating…

After she finished each masterpeice, she proudly told me who was who. She gave me a pretty sweet hairdo, but it looks like I am in serious need of a dentist. She was really proud of Drew’s spikey hair (although, he wasn’t fortunate enough to get legs), and her pigtails. She made sure to include her dolls Jade-Lola and Lucy in the family driveway mural.

The artist drawing her self-portrait.

So where was Drew during all the fun? He was the lucky recipient of this new (used) toy:

Our kind next door neighbor was about to haul it out to the curb for trash pickup, but thought that Drew might enjoy it. I was thrilled that Drew got a new masculine toy. His days have been occupied with dolls and dollhouses lately, which I guess that comes with having two sisters. So, out of all those manly toys, which one do you think he grabbed first?

The phone, of course. Hmmm.

Rowan sat on her throne and slept through all the action. Drew presented her with a twig of flowers from the shrubs. He thinks that giving someone flowers means “I love you.” He’s already thinking like a man. I don’t think I need to be worried about him playing with dollies.

And I leave you with one last picture. Filthy, dirty, grimy, stinky monkeys. This is what they look like at the end of every day.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way. (although, the mountains of summer laundry are the pits!)

Drew and Brinley have been unusually rotten lately. In an effort to try and remedy the problem, we sat down and tried to figure out what we were doing so differently. We realized that since Rowan came along, we haven’t done as many fun things as a family… So yesterday we packed up and headed to the Boulder Creek for a bike ride.

Here is Drew truckin’ along a windy road. If you look closely, you can see his homemade helmet-hawk.

After we worked up a good sweat, we stopped to play in the water. It was a little chilly, but the kids went out a few feet so they could spot the occasional tuber float by.

Brinley loves nothing more than to get good and dirty. She’s looking a little pink and puffy after getting sunscreen in her eyes.

Ryan didn’t think the soothing sounds of the creek were enough, so he tried to add his own flair with a custom-made grassaphone.

Rowan was all cozy in her carseat and slept through most of the excitement.

She did wake up for an oil change or three.

We had to lure the kids away from the creek with food. I wish I was as excited about pb&j as they were.

So, have the kids been any less rotten you ask? Hmmm, well…the jury is still out on that one!

Looking through all the pictures I’ve taken in the last week made me I wish I could be young and carefree again. Kids can find fun in just about anything.

Don’t you wish you could still get away with a hairdo like this?

Remember when seeing a tractor outside the car window was the coolest thing ever?

Just getting out of the car and waving would totally make your day. Especially when the tractor driver waves back and does a few fancy tractor tricks to show off.

Just seeing all those rows of wheat was enough to get you excited.

And spotting a parked combine on the side of the road was worthy of jumping up and down. repeatedly.

Do you remember what running through the sprinklers feels like?

She doesn’t care how well her swimsuit fits, or if her mascara is running. Just good ole fashioned fun. nothin’ beats that.

Remember when your brother was your whole world?

And your sister was your best friend?

And something as simple as a frozen gogurt tube was worth begging for.

How would it be to have your biggest stressor be mastering the almighty “e.”

Keep trying…

Almost got it!

How about trying to imitate everything he did, your hero, your older brother…

Remember when changing a diaper was something to get excited about?

I feel so lucky that I get to spend my days watching these two find joy in the simplest things. I am glad we are given a second chance to see things through the eyes of a child, and this time appreciate things from a different perspective.