This...

... Was my view when I woke up this morning.

Love

There is so much that I love about this picture.

I love that these three are such good friends.
That we live in a neighborhood with such good kids.
That they like to hang out at our house.
That they are old enough and responsible enough to flag down the ice cream truck by themselves, and that they used teamwork to do it.
That I just happened to look out the window to see them sitting on the curb like this.
That we live in a neighborhood where they can sit on a curb like this without needing to worry.

I love these moments that make my heart feel full, that let me think that maybe everything will be OK.

Every now and then...

...I get a glimpse of these kids as teen-agers.

(That's his bud Arianna).

School work

I love the picture and story her created!

Third grade

Here we come! Well, went. Since his first day was Monday. So far so good! He likes his teacher, he's in the same class as some of his friends, he's been doing his homework no problem. We're looking forward to another great year!

Kayaking

We went kayaking with Jess today. Even though it poured as soon as we put in, it was a lovely rain and it didn't last the whole time. What a beautiful lake! It reminded me of the archipelago in Sweden. We had a great afternoon!

Who you gonna call?

Ocean Beach

Zack has some crazy awesome cousins who took him to Ocean Beach today. It sounds like a lot of fun was had by all!!!

Vacation

Rob and Zack left for CT today. I'll follow by train on Tuesday. I received this pic tonight---I'm already behind on vacation ice cream consumption!

Corpse Flower

It's easy to get swept up in all the politics and forget what an amazing part of the country we live in. Zack and I took the metro downtown tonight to go take a look at the corpse flower that's blooming in the US Botanical Gardens right now. It's not in full bloom yet, but we definitely got a whiff of what is to come! We took the time to walk through all the gardens, take pictures, and then admire the Capitol, Washington Monument, ducks in the Capitol Reflecting Pool, and a ton of other monuments. We really had a great time.

First stitches

I suppose it had to happen sometime. His chin connected with another kid's head during flag tag, resulting in four stitches. He was more upset at the prospect of stitches than the actual stitching.

Conveniently, there is a frozen yogurt place right across from there urgent care place.

Monsters

This is what I picked up from Kids Night Out last night.

Snuggling

Sometimes he'll still sit on my lap and snuggle.

Besties

Just in case...

...the dogs forget where their food bowls are.

A good friend

Proud of my boy for passing camp's swim test (it means he can go in the deep end). What I'm more proud of? That he spent time trying to help his friend learn to swim better so that he might pass the test, too.

Thunder

Zack took this pic of Georgia tonight, in her preferred hiding spot during storms. He knows this, so he made it all the cozier for her.

Poetry.

The other night, as Zack and I were about to start reading, he asks me" Mama, do you know what onomatopoeia is?"

After a moment of shock, I started scanning my memory. As I was making my mental way back to my junior high school English class, Zack proceeded to define it for me. 

Onomatopoeia? Seriously? In 2nd grade? There's no chance I'll be able to help him with homework next year! 

My new favorite sight...

...is Zack getting into reading by himself.

Zack...

...being himself.