Top of the Order: Laaaachhhhen Reeeeeid!

Lachen's on the home stretch of his baseball season. Enjoy these summertime shots!

Summer Bliss

So it's only the first day of summer vacation, and already I have started two new projects, found a new book to read (Free Range Kids), and I've baked my family's favorite chocolate chip banana bread, harvested lettuce and basil for a dinner salad, and caught tadpoles and crayfish with my boys. Here's the pattern. Mine will have some gathering and piping, so it's a bit fancier than the one shown here. It'll be a diaper bag for Mary.
Mary, her bun in the oven, and I went to Crafty Planet in Northeast Minneapolis over the weekend. I'm currently sporting their t-shirt. Seriously, how can there not be funky textile stores in my nearby vicinity? It's craziness. I am on the verge of opening my own store because there's such a blight of fabric stores and yarn shops in Massachusetts. I am going on a pilgrimage to the Stitch House in Dorchester later this week. It's my only hope. If not, it's time to replenish my stash at the Tangled Skein.

An exciting morning with the local wildlife

For those of you who have visited us, you know that we live near two ponds and we're surrounded by some serious wooded areas. It's great for exploring, finding wildflowers, crayfish, and tadpoles. We have mallards and Canadian geese. My neighbor was really worried about the fisher cat prowling in her trees. (They have inwardly turned teeth, like a shark. They're know to be vicious.) Basically, there 's just a lot of wildlife. So, it should not have surprised us when we can upon a HUGE turtle in the garden this morning on the way to the bus stop. (The photo with Aksel's profile in deceptive. This is a big turtle.) It had traveled through my garden crushing corn, upturning Swiss chard, burying lettuce, wreaking havoc on my burgeoning beets. Admittedly, I was concerned about my vegetables. When a huge turtle travels through, he does not tread lightly. And, from our many trips to the Minnesota Zoo, we all know that they feed the turtles salad. Loose leaf lettuce to be precise.
So, I indignantly grabbed Shawn's big work gloves, and I did pause for a moment looking at the gigantic crocodile-like tail, the huge head, and claws. During that pause, one of the trusty St. Mark's maintentance guys came by. "Oh yeah! She lays her eggs right there every year!"

WHAT? She's laying eggs?!? Suddenly, I'm feeling maternal solidarity with this heaving beast who traveled up a long and steep hill to lay her eggs. And look at the great lettuce just waiting for the babies when they hatch! What a good turtle mom. The shuddering, eye-rolling repulsion left. I left her there. She destroyed my garden. But, this is what mothers do.

This next part I only tell you because it is in the past and danger was indeed averted. This is a snapping turtle, and they are known to be very fast. They can snap at anything touching any part of their bodies except the tail. Aksel needed to pet the turtle on the shell and tail before school... I'M SORRY! He survived, but seriously. We narrowly avoid a turtle bite?!?

Signing off from Animal Kingdom,
Anna

Mother's Day

Mother's Day in our house is a day when the whole family does what I want to do--with no complaints. So, after going to church where Lachen and Aksel sang with the children's choir, we drove 90 miles northwest to Northampton, a small city that is nestled among 5 colleges: Smith, U-Mass Amherst, Williams, Mount Holyoke, and Hampshire. We ate lunch at a great noodle shop where I had curry, Shawn had sweet-and-sour something, and the boys reveled in dumplings and edamame. We wandered on college campuses, bookstores, and finished the day with a walk through the Dr. Suess Sculpture Garden in nearby Springfield, MA. We cut the day a bit short because Shawn eardrum ruptured. We were in the Berkshire Mountains, after all, and the higher elevation (along with a hefty sneeze) were more than his ear infection could withstand. He's better now, but the pain was, well, painful.

Aksel is so proud!

Grandma and Grandpa Reid Bring Hot Weather to Southborough!

Sid and Carol brought with some great weather from Minnesota. We went to the Minute Man State Park (our 5th visit!), to the Boston Aquarium, and had a great time just hanging around our house. After the boys went to bed, we looked at our wedding album--can you believe that this summer will be our 10th anniversary?!? Crazy.

Aksel was a great counter and physical trainer for Carol and her shoulder. And the boys showed off their baseball skills at a practice. Since the team was short on coaches, Sid got to play catcher for a while.

Sid also figured out that Reilly is quite a chick magnet. EVERYONE stops to talk about Reilly, and whoever is holding the leash gets a lot of attention.

The visit was too short, but it was enough to get us through for a couple months until we're back in the Midwest. Thanks for coming, Grandma and Grandpa!

Easter

A Beautiful Easter Morning

Here are some photos from Easter at our house. We joined an Easter Egg Hunt with the other faculty kids at St. Mark's. Despite my coaching to "hold back," Lachen and Aksel came away with dozens and dozens of eggs. They were some of the older kids there, and their competitive spirit just got the best of them!