Calf Cramp

A sign your husband ices his knees too much. Your four year old pulls out the ice pack after a long day to ice up.

Foraging

Meet our Chicken of the Woods. The lovely mushroom that grows at the base of our oak tree, most likely forecasting root rot. But, we'll show it. I harvested it and cooked it up into some good and not so good dishes. Maddie finally asked that we stop eating mushroom soup. It was a rough go.

Letterboxing

I'd been wanting to try letterboxing for a long time. It's basically a nature treasure hunt for a box that contains a stamp. You carry a notebook and stamp and once you find the letterbox (using clues provided) you exchange an image of your stamp and leave one in the site notebook. The first park we had, the letterbox was gone. I got smart and realized I needed to make sure that a site had been updated recently. Bingo. We found a local farm with five different treasures hidden throughout the site. The kids  really enjoyed it when they stopped fighting over who got to the box first. 

Next up geocaching. I've heard it's more challenging!

He's a Bunk Bed Boy

Gabriel was tickled to open his door and find his new big boy bed! 

The first night was a bit of a disaster as I listened to the crowd and allowed Gabriel to sleep on the top bunk. Needless to say he moved to the bottom in the middle of the night. He loves his cozy nest and sleeps fine without a railing. Now what to do with the crib?

Full Circle

Fourth grade music and Maddie chose the clarinet. We refurbished my old one and she's as happy as can be!

Hello Sunday Night Feast

Sunday night family feast has already become a beloved tradition at our house. The best part is that Nathan gets the kids in the kitchen helping and they love it!

Maddie's favorite carrot soup

Lentil cakes, one of my favorites

And we also do family clean up - hooray! I'm then spoiled with leftovers throughout the week. Yum!

Biking Boys

We were excited to learn that the Mayor's Cup bike race included a kids' race. The boys were ready! 

First up, face painting.

Two little doggies off to race

Gabriel was the one of two cyclists in his category without training wheels!

All Boston mascots were present (except Wally from the Red Sox). The boys would not take a picture with them! They led the race.

Someone was a little nervous.

Game face 

Racing buddies already! (They also chose their own clothing for the race...)

The race was actually much shorter than we thought to their disappointment. Theo will be eligible for a full lap next year. He's already counting on it. Maddie chose not to race this year and regretted that choice as she will age out at 10 next year. Darn! We had a great time watching the professionals race and then walked over to the North End for dinner.