Art Show

Very proud of his belt.

Loved this idea of tracking how his self-portrait has evolved over the year.  Apparently they actually use it to gauge his development, so a big 

WHEW that he no longer has concentric circle heads.  His one head does have an airplane landing on it, but I'm okay with that.

Checking out his other art and hanging out in the hall with his teacher Mrs. Dobbs.

We finished up down in the fellowship hall with cookies and brownies and a jam session on the piano.

And a long night finished off in a noisy, crowded room where Owen is fed too much sugar is only going to end one way.

But it was a wonderful night, and I am beyond grateful to everyone at Oakmont who is helping Owen to grow and learn, allowing him to make mistakes, be his quirky self, know his boundaries and still feel he is loved.  

Scenes from the Beach

In front of the house we rented (that jasmine smelled heavenly) and at The Red Bar.  By the fourth time we ate there ('cause Owen loved it- especially 

the shrimp and crawfish pasta) the hostess recognized us and bumped us to the top of the list for a table.  I think that makes us pseudo Red Bar regulars, yah?

Sunset on the beach from a couple of different nights.  Just off to the left of that last shot was a band setting up in the sand to play the blues.  I'm seriously in love with Grayton Beach and its laid-back style.

Doughnuts at Alys Beach.  

Backyard bocce and swing time.

Artsy flartsy fun.  Another great thing about Grayton is that it's adjacent to a state park, so even at mid-morning I got to be the first one of the day to discover what washed up on the beach overnight. 

Hope you all have a great weekend!  Owen had an art show last night and the trails are now cleared in our backyard, so I should have lots to share next week.  See you then!

Windy

Owen acts a bit like a Labrador at the beach. He runs into the surf barking insults at the waves...




And then there's the digging...




He chased a few birds too, but I'm happy to report we didn't have to scoop up after him at any point. I even commented to Scott that maybe life would be simpler with our little guy if we just accepted that he's more like a yard dog than a house dog.




The weather kept us indoors Saturday and Sunday, but we braved 15-20 mph winds today to get back out on the beach; that's Owen taking refuge from blowing sand above. (I just asked Scott for his estimate of the wind speed, and he said it was a three-club wind. Such a golfer brain.)

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We're Off!

April 2010

Busy season is O-V-E-R, and we're hitting the road.  I've got all my fancy gadgets with me, so I'll try to post a few times from Florida.  But mostly we plan to alternate sleeping and getting sand between our toes.

More Wardrobe Autonomy

Q:  What do you get when you cross Lucas with Caddyshack Carl?

 + 

A:  Owen's interpretation of a soldier

He got dressed all by himself, and he so earnestly believes he's outfitted himself like a proper soldier that it almost makes me feel bad for sharing this on the blog.  In fact, if he hadn't been such a total toot all afternoon, my conscience might have won out.

So, Owen, if you're in your 7th grade English class right now reading a printout of this entry that's been passed around the room, just know that you kinda had it coming.  Love, Mom.

Practicing what he calls his soldier stomp.

Stop Mo and Conversations with O

My pitiful attempt at making a stop motion video.  Why it so small?

A conversation Owen and I had over a dinner of roasted veggie sandwiches the other night:

O:  Mommy.  I'm sorry.  But I just don't eat pickles.

Me:  Well then I guess it's a good thing that's zucchini. 

Have a lovely weekend folks!

Great Outdoors

Item No. 1:  Our landscape guy Patrick came Monday and marked out paths through our woods.  It will still be a few weeks before they start clearing out debris, but exciting times!

 

He made a list for me of all the neat indigenous plants growing out there (including 3 kinds of wild blueberries!), so I hope to mark the different specimens along the path once we get it well-broken in.  The April tornadoes left a big clearing in the woods on the north side of our property, so the plan is to try to encourage a meadow to grow there.  Makes me feel all Anne of Green Gables just thinking about it.

But before all the good stuff can happen, we must eradicate miles of poison ivy vines.

I think even Patrick was impressed by how much of it is out there.  He first said to stay out of the woods entirely until it is more under control (i.e. sprayed DEAD).  But then he added that if we simply had to get out there we should wear old pants and an old long-sleeved shirt and when we come back inside... 

And here's where I'm thinking yeah, yeah, yeah... strip down in the laundry room and wash all the clothes in really hot water right away.

... just throw all our clothes away.

Oh.  So it's THAT bad.

Item No. 2:  I was sitting around one night last week listening to sad music and generally wallowing when I noticed a strange tapping sound on our back window.  And look!

Three luna moths, each almost as big as my hand.  I've only seen one other one in person ever.  I stayed on the porch a while and photographed them and let them bash into my head and land on my shoulders.  It was a perfectly-timed, rare and beautiful moment.  Thanks for that one, God.

Easter: By the hour

Saturday, April 7

4:00 PM*  Leave GG's house in Alex City- but not before (at Owen's request) the whole group of us gather, hold hands and say the Pledge of Allegiance in the middle of the driveway.  Yes, it was very much like this.

5:15 PM  Stop at Target for supplies the Easter bunny needs.

6:00 PM  Go to Whole Foods for the stuff Target failed to supply.

6:20 PM  Realize I've still forgotten to buy white eggs after two grocery store stops.  

7:10 PM  Take our chances trying to dye brown eggs we already have at home instead.

8:00 PM  Get Owen off to bed and help the Easter bunny leave a crepe paper trail to eggs hidden all over the house.

9:00 PM  Lock the cats in the basement for the night after they show waaay too much interest in the crepe paper.  Ahem.

Sunday, April 9

7:15 AM  Give up on Owen waking up by himself and wake him up so we won't be late to church.

7:20 AM  Hunt for 35 plastic eggs filled with grab bag LEGOs.

 8:30 AM  Leave for church late anyway.

11:30 AM  Meet Mimi, Granddad, Uncle Drew and Aunt Sarah at The Summit Club for lunch.

1:00 PM  Have one last egg hunt with the eggs we dyed the night before.  Surprisingly, they turned out!  Well... except for yellow.  If you dye a brown egg yellow, it stays brown.  Shock.

1:30 PM  Count eggs and discover one missing.  Find it up in the branches of the river birch.

2:00 PM  Go in to discover the Masters came on at 2PM Eastern, not Central.  Help Daddy cheer on Bubba for the win.

*All times are approximate.  You didn't think I was that good of a documentarian, did you?