Water & Bugs

Ah, beautiful summer.  The season of sport, travel, leisure, and relaxation.  And water.  Oh, and bugs.  Lots of bugs.  It may be an innate ancestral discipline to fear bugs, those which may infect, sting, or poison you.  Or perhaps there’s a sense of natural apathy toward faceless creatures that can sneakily creep around us.  Most probable, they learned to hate bugs from their mother.  Water too is a practical fear, where there always exists the possibility of your older sister accidentally trying to drown you in a lake out of unadulterated hysteria, or of your pool Bumbo floating and flipping because your tiny baby body doesn’t weigh enough to hold the seat still.  A real thriller, that summer.  The season of survival, sweat backs, water, and bugs.  All kidding aside, still my favorite season.

 This summer started perhaps as early as April, marked by the arrival & stay of Aunt Courtney and our first grown-sibling adventure of the year, a great roundtrip bike ride to downtown Canton.  Other days we spent playing games inside and out with the kiddos and holding the smiliest baby in the world.

 

                It wasn’t long before the younger 80% took their first trip of the season, leaving Dad at home with a bucket of paint and some musty old carpet (I thoroughly enjoyed it).  The girls experimentated with Aunt Hannah, played around with Oma/Opa and Mom’s old toys and, to be honest, probably ate more Oreos than Mom realized. 

"Let's do science!"

                Our kids are amazing road trippers.  As the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang, “Road trippin’ with my [four] favorite allies//Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies,” it’s of upmost importance to pack the snack bag heavy.  We might have to install a mini-fridge in the trunk when the kids get bigger.  Meanwhile, Erin and I wait for that precious moment when all three kids are sleeping so we can sneak food for ourselves without setting off the hunger sirens in the back row. 

Early bromance

 

                So of course we’re currently between OBX vacations, having gone in June to the Tarkle party.  It was that week, actually, that Sophia learned her first important lesson in bugs: she is the tastiest Joseph and all the flies want to bite her.  We also packed in a visit to Ocean City for an extended family/cousin reunion where the girls admired the shallow ocean & pool and had a blast with slightly older Benjamin and Carter. 

Three miles later, Bay & Cheese begin a community sweat pool

 

                Most recently, July 4^th weekend brought numerous active activities, from a sweltering hike up Pole Steeple (proud to say Nugget’s tiny 4-year-old legs carried her the whole way up and down) and longer-than-planned walk around Wildwood Park & nature center to a Mimi-assisted visit to Idlewild Park.  Idlewild holds a special place in the author’s heart, from having ridden many of the same Raccoon Lagoon rides that our kids now appreciate, and we will attempt many revisits through the future, hopefully with cousin Lily as well.  But we will be sure to purchase platform shoes for Sophia if she still comes in at 35.999999” and can’t ride. #ShortStackofBayCakes.  Oh and a happy birthday cake to Lily for being an old lady and throwing a great party!

  

Hard plastic, unmanageable foot stank,
and every communicable disease known to man

                To me, summer manifests itself in the daily yard fun and weekend community events.  The wealthy rednecks we are, our chillen spoil themselves on the luxuries of a personal bounce house and pool when the weather is right.  But most importantly, they adventure in the backyard (which is becoming more and more child-safe as the thickening weeds construct a protective blanket around everything) and pretend warping benches are Moana boats and a stagnant frog pond is a magnificent fishing hole.

Avast, me hearties!

 

                Some exciting weekends have included (real) boating with friends at Portage Lakes, celebrating Memorial Day by getting pelted with melting candy, spending an afternoon training in mini-golfing and crying in a lake at Clay’s Park/Timken Family Day, and basically doing all the fun things made for kids at First Friend’s Church Summer Fest.  Mark the calendar for next year, that summer fest had it all—crafts, bubbles, bounce houses, popcorn, animals, Kids Bop!?!  Actually we’ll probably remember because it’ll be right around the time next year when the girls’ glitter cupcake tattoos finally wear off completely.

First putt of her life, hole-in-one.

    

                When we can’t be out in the summer heat, the youngins continue to grow and develop.  Erin and I played Senior Superlatives with our kids (fun game for a kid-free date!).  Elia won Most Likely to be President and Most Likely to Do Some Time in the Slammer, great combo.  As she’s been with us the longest, we’ve got much to say as she matures into the child of our making, complete with a love for maps, math, art, theater, and board games.  She can now name nearly half the states on a map and 10-12 countries (all the ones featured in Disney movies), add numbers, choose sensible shades and color neatly within the lines, recite entire stories for a captive audience, and play Uno, Kerplunk (the Beehive version), Candyland, etc.  She eats anything and everything except bananas, which her sister happily eats for her. 

"Hey Mom hey Mom, watch this!"

She eats like a Princess

When Elia goes to "work"

    

Sophia won the title of Most Likely to Care for Her Aging Parents and Most Likely to Be Reading a Book Right Now.  She figured out the trick of pottying on the potty, and now she’s Diaper Free for Life.  Put it in the books, one down, two to go.  She also went crib-less and binky-less, so now we have a loose walking talking Bay in the mornings, but one that obediently waits “until the clock says 7” to get up.  Good job Bay.  She can't blow bubbles to save her life, but her cute factor is still on fleek.  She eats anything and everything as long as it’s bananas, and everything else her dad happily eats for her.

Yes I wear slippers in the summer

"IF I CAN'T BLOW BUBBLES, NO ONE CAN!!!"

  

Ezra won the honorable Most Likely to Crash a Car (not to gender stereotype, this is likely due to his “party hands” that recklessly pump up and down on an imaginary steering wheel) and Most Likely to Be a Movie Star for his stunning smile.  The all-important smolder will come in time.  As do most babies, he’s turned quickly from his infant ways.  Now he smiles huge, sits up, says Dada, and crawls into mischief, consuming everything in his path.  We need to try some walker-training with him to slow him down.  Or at least so he doesn’t mouth-vacuum all the trash and crumbs on the floor.  Ezra eats solid foods now too, including oatmeal, applesauce, anythingsauce, freeze-dried fruit, and as previously noted, digestible bits of paper and trash, rich in fiber.  We used to do frozen home-made baby food jars, and then we blew up our microwave, and now we consciously ignore the remainder of jars taking up freezer space.

"I shoulda been a cowboy"

Lost a paci?  There's a toe for that.  Like it's no big thing!

What has 700W and sounds like a cannon exploding in a glass factory?

   

We still get warm reminders of their budding sibling love regardless of time and place.  Even when there’s 1 potty and 3 that need it because Dad keeps two spares in the living room, there’s love.  Even when we have to walk on staples and plywood because Dad ripped up the carpet 5 weeks ago and can’t bring himself to finish the flooring, there’s love.  Even when our kids wake up and all their toys have magically been moved to another room and they can’t figure out how “go clean up your mess” actually works, there’s love.  Our children have supported each other through these hard times of house disruption, but we think it’s getting easier and more complete each month.  At least now there are 2 potties.

Navigating the canyons of despair

It won’t be long before all the water closes up shop or freezes, and all the bugs die off or dig in for first frost.  We’ve reached the height of summer, and we will continue to make the most of it as long as possible!