solstice of solace

Ladies & gentlemen this is your captain speaking. I invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy your flight!  If you are not able to securely fasten your own seatbelt, please exit the aircraft immediately and crawl back under the rock from whence you came. Our in-flight movie, “The 3 Hooligans”, can be found on channel 5. Thanks again for choosing OscarStew Airways…

Even though we’re still in a holding pattern here in St. George, we’ve settled in to our routine and are making the best of our time with family & friends. The kids are doing well, Amy is deep into the uncomfortable third trimester, and I’ve mastered the two-flight commute to Denver. What we haven’t mastered is keeping this stew warm. Sorry, we’ll try to do better. On with the show!

I’m not the only one doing the high flying these days. Case in point:

Tarzan & Jane swung from those vines until those 30 year-old vines could swing no more.

So, Grandpa J and I hauled the monkeys down to the hardware store and had them choose what color rope they wanted for their new swings. I made the choice easy: Lightning McQueen Red or Cinderella Blue? Works every time.

I didn’t even have the ladder down yet and this test pilot was already pushing the limits.

Once it was certified by Drew, Rowan wanted to take it for a spin with Aunt Kristy. Check out the tongue action! Air Rowan!

Hey Rowan, what’s the best treat at Grandma’s house?

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: Nothing beats an orange fresh from the tree. nothing.

Enough lounging around in the sun Ro-Dog, we got Christmas lights to hang. Layne & Shauna were great judges on proper light placement. Judgment may have been lacking on that sweater however…

Okay, so there’s a lot going on here. The green leaf-eating machine is doing its job while Grandpa does two jobs, the kids are doing their jobs, and the dog…well, who knows what he’s up to, but the shock collar is doing its job!

Alright kids Grandpa and I have made a big effort to put all the leaves in a nice neat pile in the corner of the yard. Now drive Grandpa nuts and make a huge mess…GO!

And we’re off to a great start!

Binnie the Leaf Witch is hiding in there somewhere. Be careful you don’t get too close!

You’ve heard of snownados, but the Leaf Witch can conjure up leafnados!

Or maybe she just didn’t like me calling her Leaf Witch. Ok Binnie you’re the Leaf Fairy! Is that better?!

Ok ok, the leaves are a big mess again. You kids go do something fast and risky. How about high-speed wiggle racing? Most excellent!

There have been a couple of days where the temperature has dipped into the low 40’s (give us a break, we left our parkas in Colorado!), so not all the fun happens outside. Things get crazy pretty quick inside the house, like when Grandpa unknowingly put Ro’s diaper on backwards…

…Or when this one dirties her high chair in more than one way.

Who would Drew and Brinley be if they didn’t exhaust a year’s supply of tape, glue and construction paper in just a few hours? Not my kids that’s for sure.

Alright…back outside. Hey Scoob, Daddy will now give you a rundown on proper leaf-diving technique…

Attempt #1: Plant the foot and launch!

Catastrophic failure! Brace for impact! Doh!

Attempt #2: Critical speed reached, prepare for liftoff!

Apparently Drew was just being nice to me. It seems he has already mastered levitation. Hummm…Hummm…

While raking the leaves back into the pile I found this rare beauty. Nice ‘stache!