Buy Me Some....Cotton Candy?

The clouds parted and the skies cleared long enough for us to enjoy a Wild Things game. A band of local troubadours wandered to their stadium seats and snacked through many innings of minor league baseball.





Luckily the stadium had a wide variety of eats to keep our group occupied including nachos, pretzels, hot dogs, gyros, cotton candy, funnel cake, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, milk, chicken fingers, and tacos. I suppose it does make the game a little more exciting for those of us who "care" but don't really "care" who wins.

Kevin who organized the 27 attendees had a lovely time and proudly displayed his game face or what I like to describe as a look of sheer bliss because he is attending a baseball game. They even announced our name during the game because our group was so large. Hopefully next year the "Cockroft group" will actually include the Cockrofts, who were unable to attend due to being on the other side of the country.

Practice catching fly balls for next year folks because several zoomed by our heads....a little too close for comfort.

Handymen in Training

If you ask him, my husband may show you his membership card in the Handyman's Association of America. I'm not sure what the perks are except for several identifying stickers with his name to place on tools or toolboxes. He received the packet in the mail once and has been bragging about his membership ever since.


He and Ethan were working on the roof cleaning out the gutters. At least Kevin was working as Ethan was relishing in the fact that he was actually allowed to be up on the roof. Ben wanted to be a part of the action too and spent 30 minutes running downstairs to retrieve tools for Ethan and then passed them out our bedroom window to him.


The result: any tool that Kevin could possibly need on the roof and ready to go. If you are in need of some handymen, I have a few I could spare for a couple of hours.

First Ever

Note the sheer bliss on his face after eating his first ever fudgesicle.

When Boredom Sets In...the Kids Get Creative

A college friend of mine from Portland, Oregen was visiting and gave us some parenting advice that he had learned as a child. "The best gift you can give your child is boredom."

I have been trying to remember this advice this summer because I am a recovering planner. My planning has led to frustration lately when the children seem unable to entertain themselves.

When I was little I was the queen of finding activities at home. I had a rock collection, a leaf collection, dug for clay in the creek to make pots, painted my face with rocks in the creek, played school, etc. Granted we had no neighbors with small children and we lived in the country so a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do for survival.

My children are used to having structured time and activities. This is due in part to the fact that otherwise the day turns into 24 hour wrestling match/cry fest.

Last Friday night I decided to dole out some of what Tim suggested to be the most important thing you can do for them....the big goose egg, zip, nada, etc.

Ethan asks, "What do you have planned for the day?" "Uh....I dunno...," I lie as I fight the Activities Director that lives inside me, "Nothing." I mutter.

The following pictures are the events that unfurled.
Big Wheel vs. Garbage Cans. At least he was smart enough to wear his helmet.

For your creativity which was tapped and the minor concussion which you suffered..........................You are welcome son.

Pickers on the Ridge

Here's a picture of the berry pickers resting on
their laurels after picking berries in the heat.
Friend T's husband caught us sitting down on the job.

It's the Berries!

For some reason that is the quote I always remember from the movie "A River Runs Through It." Maybe because it sounded goofy when his girlfriend exclaimed her delight with his recent job offer. But I can attest to the fact that berries are in and of themselves delightful.

My mom, sister, Ethan and I went black raspberry picking over the 4th of July weekend. We are frustrated berry pickers at my mom's house. We have lovely memories of picking to our hearts content when we were children because my grandpa and father kept the farmland mowed. Also the cows devoured most of the weeds which forged a walking path near plentiful berry bushes. Nowadays the land is so overgrown it is very difficult to find many berries without hiking all over God's half-acre and even then you only to come up with a paultry number.

Picking berries has always been one of my favorite things to do. Alone in the country singing a song or two and then eating a bowlful with milk and sugar upon my return home. Once I had picked a bucketful and was heading home when I slipped in a cow pie and held onto my bucket for dear life. I sacrificed my backside to the cow pie so that the berries would be saved.

A lovely friend of mine who lives on a ridge and whose husband and father enjoy riding the tractor so much that there are numerous mowed paths that travel along the edges of black raspberry bushes. Her arms, hands and fingers were looking bit over scratched from picking as she invited us to come and share in the wealth of a bountiful berry growing season. We wore typical berry picking attire, hats, pants and carried long sleeve shirts along just in case we had to go in deep to get that one beautiful berry just out of reach.

End result.....It's the berries! I froze some and made a cobbler. I had intentions of taking a picture of it because it looked so pretty but this was all that was left by the time I reached the camera.

This One Goes Out To....

Uncle Martin.

Look what we did!

We knew you would be impressed....stunned...in awe, etc. etc. While you are enjoying exploring Seattle, we are putting together 25 cent yard sale purchases. This was quite the challenging puzzle though with many, many plain white pieces.

Looking forward to making use of your very focused puzzle-solving brain on the next one.

Art Day

Thursday it was declared, "Today and every Thursday from this day forward we shall commence with and participate in Art Day." I had high hopes for flowing creative juices and amazing end results. Quite an ambitious outlook for 3 energetic boys who have a tendency NOT to stay still, or at least seem to be wrestling every other second.

I gathered the rocks, paints, paper and paintbrushes and summoned the masses.

They were very excited, especially Will to be "painting". Two year olds and paint are, not surprisingly, a messy combination. Every time I left the scene to gather supplies or paper towels I returned to a new spot that Will had painted. "I paint house." "I paint hat." I paint Ben."

Ethan's Lady Bug Ben's Rainbow Rock
Will's hat

The End results may not be museum worthy, but they will look colorful in the garden.
Overall statistical analysis of Art Day.

20 % creative process

80 % damage control