let me never forget

the joy and wonder on their faces when they're discovering something new. So often I'm thinking of the next thing I've got to do, when Marlo is searching for caterpillars and the boys are marvelling at leaves and sticks outside.

These pictures are from Mark's parents' yard. The kids love it. They love my parents' too, with Atticus the cat. He actually lets Marlo pet him...maybe because he was my first child and he feels a kinship.

The memories I have of my grandparents' backyards...I could go on forever. My Granny and Pa had beautiful rosebushes and raspberries and plums and apricots. We played ping pong against the house and looked for frogs. My Gramma's has a creek and wild strawberries, so beautiful. I was always trying to convince her to keep a horse for me there. I really couldn't understand why I couldn't have one, because she gave me everything else I ever asked for.

Oh, and guess who wants a baby horse for Christmas?

Happy birthday, Amy Rose

Marlo made this bouquet for you last week when it was still warm enough to go outside in pjs. This was after I asked her to draw you a picture and she made a panda mask that she just couldn't let go of.

You can't blame her. She's only four and she doesn't know what it's like to have the best sister ever. But I do. And if I ever make a panda mask, it's totally yours.

Old Town Sacramento

The old buildings and details in the architecture are amazing. Someday I'll go just to practice photography. We went out to lunch and to the railroad museum...and maybe a few candy stores.

A day in the life...

All the kids woke up an hour early. Thank you, Daylight Savings Time.

I forgot to set the "delay start" on the dishwasher last night, which is not big deal, except the boys hear it running and want to push the buttons over and over. Stop...start...stop...start...

Marlo was quite saucy and tested me all day.

I changed 5 poo diapers by 10 am. No one's ill, just metabolizing.

I did the usual two loads of laundry. Wait...there's still one in the dryer.

The boys ate veggie breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, a bagel, strawberries, a peanut butter sandwich, graham crackers, a banana, a ham quesadilla, apples slices, string cheese, goldfish crackers, a breakfast cereal bar and yogurt with applesauce.

Marlo ate 1/4 quesadilla, 3 slices of ham, 1/2 bagel and 2 strawberries. And her usual request of "chocolate milk, warm and full."

Graham bit me.

Graham bit Cash.

Cash bit himself.

Working together (always nice to see them cooperating) the boys pulled the baby gate off of the fireplace and took some paint with it.

Mark dutifully picked up a the cutest dresser from Craigslist for me after I talked to the seller who assured me it was in great condition from a smoke-free home. That woman is a liar with a two-pack-a-day habit.

Graham had to have a second bath due to excessive metabolization as mentioned above. Not a big deal, except that bathing and dressing these boys is like roping a rodeo calf.

I found matchbox cars shoved into the diaper wipe dispenser.


It's 8 o'clock and they're all sound asleep. They went to bed without hardly a peep. And now I'm looking at their photos on the computer and missing them.