art

me: What's your picture of?

him: The mountains of Flagstaff. 

On my needles

It's been awhile since I last cast on a project. Luckily the baby boom that is happening all around us gave me a good reason to pick up my needles.

Projects

We are still painting our house.

I know, I know.

We are truly in the home stretch now with just a few areas that shouldn't take too many hours. It's just that finding a few continuous hours of uninterrupted time is, well, challenging.

To start the next phase of painting (the back of the garage where no one but our back neighbors can see) we had to dig out an old post and the concrete in which it was set. Easy. Fast forward two weekends. 

I swung into Home Depot on the way back from the grocery store, with both kids, to "run in" and get a post and concrete with which to set it. We were surprisingly done in a short time, considering that I entrusted the eldest to push the youngest in the cart while I steered the 8 foot post on the other lumber cart.

It wasn't until I was paying that it even occurred to me that the 8 foot post might not fit in the Subaru with 2 car seats and a hatchback filled with groceries. 

After a comical trip through the parking lot, with a hand on either cart, and both boys loaded up, I was successful in just barely fitting the post in the car. It was placed between the car seats but not quite resting on the gear shift. 

Oh, and the balloons. I had to dodge the helium balloons that a very nice grocery store employee graciously offered the boys. A kind gesture but really, who needs to wrestle with two helium balloons while trying to shop with two kids crammed into a rather full cart. That particular employee was subject to a balloon beating by the eldest Bejos boy, with said balloon, while I had my back turned running my credit card. I didn't feel too bad. But I digress. 

The post and concrete was finally set this weekend in an entire other comedy of errors that included a short marital spat over construction procedures and an extra pair of small helping hands with his own set of tools. 

The point of this story? We can now safely (we hope) climb on top of the small lean-to section of roof off the back of the garage to reach the still unpainted portion of the garage. 

We are that much closer to checking off this year and a half long project. 

cookies

Helping Hands

Sometimes it takes so much longer when that extra pair of hands is "helping out", but I don't think we'd have it any other way. The excitement when he helps outs with a task is too charming. It almost always includes a statement like, "Wait! I will go get my tools", and after rummaging through the outdoor locker or his toy baskets he will return with the necessary tools to be the perfect apprentice. There's that and the random conversations that occur while working side by side. Boys just talk better this way - when they don't make eye contact and just make idle conversation.

Under the stars

Despite a little guy with the sniffles, we used the long weekend, last weekend, to get out into the woods for a long overdue night under the stars. The littlest one has never been camping. Our family trip this June was thwarted by roseola  (did we ever talk about that??) and only Mr. Bejos and the eldest ended up on that planned outing.

It's strange to think that just a few short years ago I logged double digits under the stars each season. It was easier of course to accomplish when my job duties required a handful of those nights, but still....double digits. I imagine our logged nights out will increase over the years, but I am logging in this season with 1.

 

It was fun to have nothing to do except chase these two around, even that unsteady little guy, and snap endless pictures of their adorable faces. The best part may have been the trip home. Although it looks like we are in the middle of nowhere we were actually quite close to home. So close that the oldest Bejos boy biked (as I kept pace beside him) the trails home. It wasn't too long of a trip but the extra Skittles in his pocket did help put a little gas in his engine.

County Fair

A Labor Day tradition, only this year it was a little more expensive than in years past, as the oldest Bejos boy discovered the fun of carnival rides. 

It was a late bedtime for the littles, but they did reward us with a late morning.