Iveyrock

The kids recently finished up their first round of swimming lessons for the summer. Chava has never taken lessons of any kind before, and it was a big deal for her. She and Ian were in the same class, and Ian made sure to take good care of her.

Ian learned to float on his stomach and his back, and the beginnings of the front crawl. He was excited, but kept asking when they were going to teach him to ‘really’ swim. Chava worked on getting comfortable with the water, and with the class setting. She really liked jumping in to the teachers, and when they spun her around the pool.

Should be a good one.

Ian has discovered baseball. After weeks of watching him practice with a plastic tube and any ball he could find, it was time to get him some real equipment. Which, in addition to a ‘real’ bat and some balls, means baseball gloves for everybody.

And last night, we surprised the kids with a trip to a minor league baseball game.

Bugs and snakes I can do with the best of ‘em, but I have never been any good at sports. This is completely new territory for me…

Our new Wednesday routine involves picking up vegetables from our local CSA. We get a big box of local, organic veggies… and then I get to figure out how to eat them.

This week’s box had carrots, red onions, broccoli, fennel, beets, cabbage, summer squash, swiss and rainbow chard, garlic, and a big bunch of basil. (The box also had some kohlrabi in it, but I traded it for more swiss chard. Because I know how to cook greens, and I have no idea what to do with kohlrabi. But if anyone knows, I have one in my fridge from last week…. ) We also get eggs, and every other week a pound of coffee.

I really enjoy using vegetables that I wouldn’t usually think about, and it’s always fun to open the box and see what’s inside. The system would be almost perfect, if I just had some chickens to eat the scraps…

My boys worked hard to build me the clothes line that I’ve been wanting. Ian helped Daddy work, while Micah took a more supervisory roll. Chava took care of the measuring tape.

My contribution was singing “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More” (as my long-suffering husband tried to beat the rain and get the thing built…), and doing tricks with the left over nails.

Today I had my first manicure since my wedding. (Can you tell which kid did which hand?)

And the boys got haircuts. I can never decide if Ian looks older or younger with short hair. I like it better long, but I think it’s cute short, too. And he’ll be a lot happier this summer.

I hate getting Micah’s hair cut, and I haven’t recovered enough to post a picture yet.

We spent the day at Eeyore’s Birthday Party, a local fundraiser that combines all of my favorite things about living in this area. Live music, good food, interesting people, and beautiful weather.