A Day At The Park: Two Ways

My boys agree on most things when it comes to play at home, but the park is a whole different ballgame (which is why it's impossible to take them to the park when flying solo). 

I took my point-and-shoot camera along on a recent trip with Gamma Rita and the only two pictures I managed to get of the boys together were pre-park over an incredibly nutritious lunch:

– Turns out we is still lovin' it™, everyone!

And pretty much right before we left where they were miraculously smitten with the same aspect of the park at the same time. Lovely shot of the back of their heads, but you get the idea.

Welcome to a typical day at the park OP style! 

• • • • • • •

This is how the "Nate Way" typically unfolds – and by the way, this is not the same slide featured in the previous picture. This is the "Really Big Slide!" (just so you know): 

– "Really Big Slide" is what I imagine Heaven look like everyone!

I need to caveat this post right now by saying that although I spent an equal share of time with both of my boys at the park there are far less photos of Nate mainly due to the fact that we spent 90% of our time together in the exact same location.

And there's only so many photos you can take of a boy doing exactly this: 

– I could do 'dis all day. And usually I does!

Over and over and over again. What can I say? Nate really likes that slide!

Despite the park resembling an uninhabited wasteland* in all my photos for some reason, things were fairly hopping (busy park on a busy weekend) – and even though both of my boys are quite good at waiting their turn, I won't insult you by pretending they necessarily enjoy it. 

– I is waiting turn which I doesn't really mind that much, but I throws in 'dis
tragic look for effect anyway in case it endear someone to let me through
to front of line.

The other 5% of the time with Nate was spent dashing around trying out anything that could be climbed on: 

– Please note everything around me in focus. Is just me that is blur
for some reason.

Or anything worth riding: 

– Big or small, I rides them all!

And even though the general consensus has been that swings are stinkeroo since Seth lost interest (and anything your brother doesn't want to do is typically not worth doing of course), Gamma Rita managed to coax Nate back onto a swing:

After which it was game-on!** 

– OK. I admits it. Swing is fun.

• • • • • • •

The second half of our day at the park was spent doing things the "Seth Way" and it's probably best if I just let Seth narrate this: 

– Oh hi everyone. Is me, Seth. We is at park today and Nate doing it all wrong
so I shows you how it done right instead. There is a lot to see and do here and
I see and do all kinds of stuff, but everyone know first priority at park is to
impress the cuties. Right now I is gathering ingredients to make one of my
signature dishes. Everyone know the cuties dig a guy who know own way
around a kitchen.

– I has a few recipes I likes to make at park. Macaroni and cheese, grilled
cheese sandwiches and caesar salad are my go-to favorites. Today
we is making macaroni and cheese.

– I start by combining ingredients in handy bowl-type thing hidden under
play equipment. Is especially handy because 'dis secret recipe!

– So secret in fact that it important to take look around from time to time
to make sure no one peeking...

– ... before I add super-secret final touch. Turns out, rocks and twigs are what really
make 'dis recipe.

– And BAM! Is all done.

– I take moment to bask in own success but is fleeting. It take more than a
winning recipe and good looks to impress the cuties after all.

Mommy note: it doesn't take more than that smile and those baby blues to impress me. I could get lost in those eyes (and sometimes do). And yes, they really are that blue.

– Good thing I also has skills at vehicle maintenance. Oh sure, it obvious that
missing wheel is real problem, but taking time to look under hood anyway
make it seem like you really know what you is doing.

– Next I head over to "Really Big Slide" to see what all the fuss about.
I start to climb up to slide 'dis way but discover pretty quick there
no cuties over here so I cuts it short.

– I end up finding more cutie-friendly way to top of slide but when I arrive
it turn out I only find Nate and some big kids and exactly zero cuties.
"Really Big Slide" turn out to be stinkeroo!

– Thank goodness regular slide has plenty of cuties and even though you
not see any evidence of that here, me and my bucket was big hit!

You probably wondering about my bucket right now and why it such big hit
so I give you hint.

– Is not big hit because I using it to make more recipes.

– And it not big hit because I pose here and there to casually show off
a little leg (although 'dis big crowd pleaser also).

– Is big hit because it turn out caring about environment also popular
with the cuties!****

– To be perfectly honest though, I do 'dis part even if no cuties is looking.
Is just fun!

- L. 

*I have no idea how I managed to take pictures of my boys at an extremely popular park on a weekend afternoon and make it look like we were the sole inhabitants. It wasn't especially deliberate, but really... wow!

**I had Seth in hand when I took the swing pics of Nate. It was pretty close to leaving time and I had approximately 500 pics of Seth and a half dozen of Nate. Also, enjoying a swing is a rare beast ever since Seth declared swings stinkeroo*** and Nate took his word for it.

***In all fairness, Seth unexpectedly got sick on a swing last summer and hasn't been on one since.

****Actually, it's not. The part about the recipes/kitchen play, car maintenance and the "regular" slide all being popular with the cuties is quite true, but Seth is definitely on his own with park maintenance. Hunting for "little treasures" is an intrinsic part of going to the park with him however, and the highlight is definitely the trip to the respective bins where we sort things into "garbage" and "recycling".

• • • • • • • 

PS. In case you thought this was fresh material and wondered why the weather was so nice and everyone was looking so spry, these pics are actually from a couple or more weeks ago when the weather was still good and we were between summer colds.

"I Steal Them!"

While I don't endorse stealing in general, I have to admit I've enthusiastically encouraged the "stealing" of my shoes at least. Lately, we've branched out into "Mommy's boots" and I get a laugh out of the boys clomping around the house in my winter boots while I'm fixing a meal shouting, "I steal them!".

Today my boys discovered the much coveted "Mommy's blue jean jacket!" was within arms reach, as was "Mommy's big jacket!". They needed a little help putting them on, but it was worth stepping away from the kitchen counter to assist. They even stood pretty still while I grabbed the camera, although Seth was looking a tad over it by the time I snapped the shutter. 

– Are you there God? Is me, Seth. 

Still, if you've seen anything cuter than this (at least today), I don't want to know. I'm not sure my eyeballs could take it.

- L.

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned, But This Is What A Nickel Can Do

Or rather this is what a nickel can do if you're an incredibly industrious type of person whose apple didn't fall too far from the tree where it grew – and you happen to live in a part of the country that charges a deposit on pop-cans and refunds you 5 cents if you collect said pop-cans and return them to the depot.

Gamma Rita isn't a soda consumer, but she does an excellent job locating discarded pop-cans. Along the way she's recruited some excellent helpers also. By now, everyone in my mom's building knows she collects cans and other bottles that are refundable and will either drop them by or give her a call for pick-up. In turn, my mom has taken those cans and bottles in for collection (sometimes bags and bags of them, sometimes more than one run in a day), and every single one of those nickels goes into something she calls the "Pop Bottle Fund".

One and five and twenty-five cans at a time – this is the house that Gamma Rita built.

Just look at what a nickel (or 5000 of them) can do: 

– 'Dis our nickel fortress, everyone!

– Thank you Gamma Rita and everyone who help!
We give you nickel tour now, so to speak.

– First, 'dis thing has groovy climbing wall so we show you how that work.

– Also platform to levitate jump on.

– And handy spy scope to look out for cuties.

– Or to look at self.

– Is also great place to show off miraculous bebo.

– Or tease the cuties with promises of bebo.

– Did we mention it has secret bunker?

– We also get some fun new outdoor toys from Grandma Leslie
and 'dis is good place to hide them.

– Is also more spacious than it look. There's room for two...

– ... and some cuties too! I be on lookout in case any happen by.
If 'dis fortress had a sign I think it say "girls allowed".

– Fort and climbing is all kinds of fun, but 'dis thing also has slide.
Also I like to point at logo and say "Little Tikes!" sometimes before I slide.

– Slide also fun thing to climb up as it turn out.

– And top of slide is great meet-up place for some impromptu "FORE-STAINS!".

– At least until it isn't.

– Also we get ideas that manufacturer probably not intend.
Like sliding down climbing wall for example.

– As it turn out, 'dis not such a great idea but we both do it anyway a half dozen times
before we stop trying to make it work. At least for today.

• • • • • • • 

Unrelated to the nickel fortress, but this post wouldn't be complete without the following: 

This is Seth discovering a dandelion gone to seed. I was attempting to show him how to blow on it and trying to take pictures at the same time. It didn't go so well and he ended up with a mouthful of dandelion fluff. No pics of that unfortunately since I put the camera down to assist him. 

I did get this picture a few minutes later though:

– Something not right here, everyone.

... and even though I didn't know it at the time, that look on his face is because I missed one of those dandelion fluff-bits.

- L.

PS. Gamma Rita – you have no idea how much fun the boys have had playing in their nickel fortress, and I can't wait for you to come and see for yourself. Thank you for working so hard to give your grandsons something so wonderful, but mostly just thank you for being my Mommy. 10 more sleeps. Hope you enjoy the pics in the meantime.

And Just Like That, We Did Write Back!

After a bit of an unexpected absence at the OP due to technical difficulties, I thought it would be good to get things back on track with a nice messy post and a poll to boot.

My boys making some art for their Daddy on Father's Day...

– Oh, hi everyone. Is me, Seth. I is making art on paper and have
mastered technique of using both hands in paint pots.

– Oh, hi everyone also. Is me, Nate. I also master double-paint-pot technique,
but I make art on face as well as paper.
'Dis how having two hands really work to one's advantage sometimes. 

– I still lookin' pretty clean everyone!
Paint be (mostly) on paper and all is well!

– Er... no one explain 'dis paint-on-paper-ONLY policy to me,
and I is OK with that lack of information because...

– 'Dis! 

• • • • • • • 

So, here we are once again. For some reason, I have a feeling this isn't going to end well, but I leave the voting up to you on how art is best served. Poll is open for the next week in the left-hand column.

- L.

PS. The "art" mostly wiped off after things were all said and done, but since we used blues and greens Nate had an unfortunate sickly pallor for the rest of the day, which made me thankful that most of our activities took place around the house.