Memorial Day in WV

Over Memorial Day weekend we hopped in the car for a nice visit to Mom & Dad Blood's house! The kids were only a tiny bit heartbroken that there would be no cousins there, but they survived. And I think Mom & Dad survived us and all our chaos!

We came to help with whatever Mom needed, and she put us to work! Jon spent a lot of time doing all kinds of projects, but my biggest contribution was yardwork. Since Dad hasn't been feeling well, most of the plants have been neglected and were very overgrown. I'm so not a landscaper, but with YouTube and some tips from Dad Blood, I did what I could! I was most proud of this iris bed transformation:

On the left side there used to be a cherry tree until Dad came home one day to find it chopped down by the utility company because they'd moved their easement and the tree was now within its boundaries. He cried when he saw it chopped down, and I am still filled with rage at said company for making Dad cry. Especially since they have never come even close to using the easement...

Thinned irises and daffodils with new mulch!

Now we just pray they actually come up next spring...

We did find some time to do the fun stuff. 

Like play at our favorite local park!

Hacking down the (former) garden weeds was another big job.

Most of that work was done by Jon & Seth, but we all got to enjoy the bonfire!

Jon was not practicing fire safety, and there may have been a giant explosion which shook the entire house and singed every hair on his body. It totally freaked Dad out. He wanted me to go to all the neighbors and explain what happened. I did peek outside but no one was out looking terrified, so I figured we were okay. 

My other project was a stealthy one, which I hope Mom will one day forgive me for. While she was at work I cleaned out EVERYTHING in the boys' room. I literally went through every drawer, box, bin, and backpack. Their local Goodwill received a giant influx of teenage boy clothing that week!

Mom did catch me that last day, but she didn't freak out!

She just made me save some work clothes for the boys to use "in the garden."

Said garden no longer exists, but a drawer of garden work clothes now does. 

Catherine spent the week observing these robins hatch by our bathroom window. 

So cool!

We had a really lovely visit with Mom & Dad. We missed the usual chaos of a house brimming with Bloods, but it was a very peaceful and productive week. Mom was still working, so we only saw her mornings and afternoons. Dad spent most of his time watching old westerns and sleeping on the couch. He would get up for some laps around the main level of the house occasionally, or take a short ride on his exercise bike. It's hard to see him seeming decades older than he actually is. I think the saddest part was when he was sitting at the kitchen table with Elijah right next to him. Jon brought Dad a car so he could drive them next to Elijah on the table. We figured that would be a simple, easy way for Dad to interact. But he just sat there, expressionless. I think that was when we realized that things weren't going to get better. If you can't even find joy in watching your grandchildren, there's not much reason left to live. But he would still chat about his childhood or his gardening knowledge, so he wasn't gone. Just kind of faded. 

We said goodbye and loaded up for the drive home. And yes, it was just as much fun with a toddler as it always is. But at least I can look forward to the future knowing that it will get easier with each trip from now on!

The craziest part of the drive was being able to hear the cicadas screaming in the trees along the freeway as we drove by. We could hear them above the noise of the car, the kids, and the podcast we were listening too. Crazy. 

We made it home just in time to enjoy possibly the heaviest rain in the shortest amount of time we've ever had in this house. It was nuts. We occasionally get a river under the trampoline in our yard during a good storm, but we've never had a lake before.  I had to rake all our mulch back under the trampoline over the next week.

And, in a tragic loss, Mr. Chris's leaning tree finally went down:

A neighborhood icon, gone forever!

We did help him hack it down later that week, and Elise helped (over) water the grass seed they put down. We're so lucky to have Chris and Caroline next door. He's like a surrogate grandpa to all the neighbor kids. I love it!

May Adventures

I love May in Maryland. It starts warming up just enough for us to enjoy the sunshine most days, but we're not in the full soupy warmth of summer yet. 

When Seth heard that they had approved a Covid vaccine for ages 12 and up, he was thrilled. Seriously. He was so tired of only seeing his friends outside and trying to play games while freezing inside a garage (we tried to keep things outside). As soon as we found out about openings, we signed Seth up! He was definitely nervous about it, but as long as I kept talking to him while he was getting the shot, he was good. Also, no side effects. I was so jealous! 

Elijah got some more good practice in on his bike.

He's a little too fast and independent for my sanity now.

We'd been hearing about the horrors of the Brood X Cicadas ever since we moved here and discovered cicadas. "Just wait," they said. We heard stories about stepping in piles of dead cicada bodies, or having cicadas stuck in your hair. So when we visited Marley and her kids, we were thrilled to see our first signs of Brood X in their backyard!

My cicada lover was SO EXCITED.

Turns out Brood X cicadas are actually smaller than the ones we see annually.

Go figure. 

Catherine patiently helped Elijah accept that cicadas are fun and not scary. 

He was slightly terrified the first few weeks, 

but by the end of summer he was always carrying around cicadas. 

Emma LOVES Elijah and managed to lure him into the pool.

Seth at yet another awesome Deacon activity:

This was also the point where Jon threatened to take his computer away every time he rode without a helmet. Apparently giant hair is no substitute for proper headgear. 

Panning for gold seemed like a good idea in May.

Didn't count on getting a freak cold spell that day.

The panners were less than enthusiastic due to chilly fingers. 

Catherine also started her own nature journal, which I love. 

She does not enjoy writing, so I try to let her choose writing projects that she'll enjoy.

Camping with Catherine

Catherine's love language is one-on-one time, which is hard to come by when you have lots of siblings (and especially when those siblings are little and demanding). For her birthday we figured the thing that would make Catherine happiest would be a combination of one-on-one time with her dad, combined with time in nature. And so Jon arranged for the two of them to go camping at Assateague. 

It almost killed her to wait until May for the actual trip, but no one wants to camp in Maryland in February. But finally the long-awaited day arrived! We loaded up the van and snapped a picture of the soon-to-be happy campers:

Of course, someone was sure that he was going along for the trip.

He climbed right into her lap and waved goodbye to me:

And this is what happened when I pulled him out of the van

and he watched his Catherine drive away without him:

I imagine Jon was making a similar face when he realized it was actually a 

2.5 hour drive, not the one hour drive he'd anticipated. Oops. 

But they survived the drive and the putting up of the tent in the dark!

Jon sent me this picture of Catherine enjoying breakfast the next morning:

Then it was off adventuring!

Riding bikes and seeing wild ponies?

Best camping trip ever!

Catherine even braved the not-super-warm beach for a bit:

Catching sand creatures.

Aunt Ashley would be so proud:

In the end we think she would have enjoyed the trip a bit more with at least one sibling along to play with, but she came back so full of stories and excitement that Elise is now demanding her own camping trip next year. 

Mr. Charlie

Bente, being a generally awesome and interesting person, is naturally friends with other awesome and interesting people. One of those people is Mr. Charlie, who is both a homeschooling dad and one of those people who just know everything about nature. She arranged to have us meet up with Charlie at a local stream so he could teach the kids everything they wanted to know.  (This also ended up being the first time we were okay to all meet together outside without masks, which was a big step for our group!). 

First stop: vernal pond brimming with tadpoles

Or as some toddlers called them, "buggies!"

Elijah literally thought he'd died and gone to heaven. The water, the mud, the tadpole "buggies"...what more could a two-year-old ask for? He stayed at the pond LOOOOOOOOOONG after the others had moved on with Mr. Charlie. And guess who got to stay with him?

Elijah, should you ever doubt my love for you, please refer to this picture.

Yes, my Chacos were suctioned to the bottom of the muddy pond.

Yes, it was worth it to hear your screams of joy.

When I was finally able to drag him away from the tadpoles to the actual stream, I found the others in full discovery mode. Mr. Charlie had them catching things in clear cups and identifying them using some of his pictures. It was really, really fascinating. Apparently this stream is ranked one of the highest in the entire country for its biodiversity! So cool!

Elise, Bente, Luke & Melissa try to ID some pond life

And of course there was time for pond play:

Catherine, Seth & Brie in Deer Creek

Catherine's prize feather

Mr. Charlie also brought fishing stuff.

Did I mention he's literally the best?

Bente actually planned this whole thing with Catherine in mind. Catherine is my naturalist and loves to explore plants and insects. She didn't ask nearly as many questions as I hoped, but it was her first interaction with Mr. Charlie and she was in a large group. She would have done better in a very small group. But she did later tell me after attending some local nature center classes that "Mr. Charlie was WAY better" than the classes/teachers there. So it was a win after all!

The Bloxen take on Philadelphia

I have loved having the Knoxes homeschooling with us during Covid! It probably won't happen again next year, but we can always dream...

Since we both covered the American Revolution in history this year, we decided it would be fun to do some of the historical things in Philadelphia together. My kids weren't super thrilled since we've done Philly several times, but they're always up for anything involving the Knoxes, so off we went!

Kids at the Liberty Bell

Featuring: not me and Elijah because I hate taking the stroller through their security.

Melissa kindly took everyone else while we played in the grass outside.

Apparently this was on the way to the bathroom.

I don't know where or why, but they thought it was super cool.

Gabe, Catherine and Paul in Independence Hall

Thrilled to be on a historical tour.

On the steps, waiting for me, Aaron, Elise and Elijah to finish our tour.

(We were too big to be in one group).

Our selfie in Independence Hall.

Legit photo taken by a very kind lady who of course ended up being a member of the Church.

I don't think the kids got much out of this, but it felt almost like sacred space to me. 

Outside Ben Franklin's grave.

The kids threw all my change on top of it.

We listened to an audiobook about him on the drive up so they were very excited.

We really wanted to go to the Mint, but it was closed to the public.

Thanks, Covid.

We ended our day at the carousel.

Apparently 13 is not too old for carousel rides. 

And apparently 2 is not quite old enough.

Slightly recovered, but never fully comfortable.

I still think it's so cool that we live so close to all this amazing history. I think that's what happens when you grow up out West and only get to visit this kind of stuff if you spend a lot of time and money to make it happen. Maybe one day my kids will appreciate it!

The Littlest One

Just my two littlest boys, snuggling in their bed together.

Elijah is SO much happier when they share, 

although there tends to be less sleeping and more giggling...

Ah, warmth, sunshine, and kiddie pools.

This is why my toddlers spend the entire summer naked.

I refuse to change outfits six times a day. 

The Roomba Mower

This has been the highlight of Elijah's walks for awhile now. Occasionally he'll even take off on his own and ride his little bike up the path to watch it. We don't know these neighbors at all, but anyone who would not only own a Roomba mower but also put googly eyes on it must be a truly awesome human. 

Jon was also intrigued by this mower. Consider this foreshadowing of things to come...

On his favorite bike.

Possibly heading to see the Roomba mower.

Sometimes being Elijah's favorite sibling can be a bit of a burden.

We've had one of these toys since Seth was a baby.

Somehow we now have a clone that mysteriously appeared one day.

Which means this can now happen.

I'm sure it's only doing good things for his hearing.

Lady Elise

Just a little Elise taking a break in Catherine's hammock swing chair. 

It was a rare honor to be invited into Catherine's room.

Still very much in the "take a picture of me" phase.

Also still in the ballerina phase.

"Take a picture of me in the tree!"

One night the moon was big and bright, so we pulled out the telescope:

I snapped this through the eyepiece:

It's not easy keeping an Elise entertained full time, but seeing her enthusiasm is worth it!