Block City

A friend gave us an enormous box of wooden blocks to add to our little collection. It came in a huge plastic bin. It's so many blocks we became a bit overwhelmed. There has been much building of intricate structures (not shown). I also love the leaves through the windows. There's a few days each year where our street is blazing yellow. Our new neighbors just cut down one of their sidewalk trees which affected me so intensely I still can't look out the window without moaning. I even care for trees that I didn't know. Like the huge oak that used to be in our front side yard saddling our neighbors yard. It was gone long before me and yet I still mourn it. (I don't even know what it looked like - that's called crazy.)

Hair Raising

We went a long time between boys' haircuts this time. Theo loves it when his hair touches his eyebrows and wanted a picture to remember it by (really it does touch just when he raises his brows). We go see John at Salvi's Barber. After many terrible haircuts and a husband who hasn't a clue of where to go, I finally decided, eureka!, take them to an actual barber. So I headed to the Italian section of Newton and found John. Gabriel screamed for the first year of his cuts and had to sit on my lap. Now he pops up without a peep. Gabriel also loudly said that the man reflected in the mirror sitting in the barber seat  resembled a monster. I think he resembles a mafia boss of some sort. I quickly quieted Gabriel down. (And no, there are no rumblings of mafia in Newton, and no, I wouldn't take my sons to a barber where the mafia might frequent, no matter how good.)

How to Work a Party

The Brownies earned their Manners try it badge. It was a fun exercise on learning how to act in different situations. They really cracked up at the "how to greet people from different countries" portion of the badge. One of the tasks we did was to host a party for the library volunteers. The girls planned the party including invitations, menu, guests, decor and appropriate party talk. I was so impressed with questions they came up with for mingling: "When you aren't at the library, what do you like to do?" "What are some of your favorite books?" "What did you like to do as a child?" I told them if they continue to think up thoughtful interesting questions, they will be quite the desired hostesses or guests.

Nature Lesson

Gabriel watching the hawk on the left side of the roof. 

Coming home from Bowen, we start to turn left into our driveway when all of a sudden a large red tail hawk swoops down in front of our car with a morning snack in his claws. Startled, he drops his snack in our front yard and flies up to our neighbor's roof. Picking our jaws up, we hurry inside to watch the hawk. The hawk patiently waits for about an hour and half before determining that the snack is in too dangerous a position to fetch. She flies away leaving a large headless rabbit to be disposed of - gross.

Kicking Back

Gabriel has taken to resting wherever and whenever he pleases. The baseball diamond during Maddie's soccer game, fine. While we are walking to school in the middle of the sidewalk, not fine.