Our cello player

Mr. 6 has been taking cello lessons for about a year and a half now and this was the first cello recital I had made it too.  He did a great job and seems to love playing (although starting his practice time is one of the most procrastinated items ever - once he starts it's great).

https://goo.gl/photos/b8D4xyP3aMe13Uc57

The post-ER downhill

On Monday I got a call from Mr. 4's preschool that he had fallen on the playground and likely needed some stitches.  A colleague at work covered for me and I ran and picked him up.  After a brief stop at our pediatrician to confirm that it wasn't fixable in the office, we picked up Dad and went to the ER for a few staples.

All went well and he was a trooper and I even made it back to work in time for my afternoon session (only a few minutes late).

If that was the end of the story, all would be well but it unfortunately seemed to kick off a new level of trouble and defiance in our youngest son.  He has gotten poop on both the couch and our bed, he has peed in his pants more times this week than in the last few months, he refuses to pick up just about anything, he emptied his entire dresser into a laundry basket, he ran out of CVS into the parking lot because I wouldn't let him have a lollipop.  Last winter we saw this whenever he would get sick and start wheezing.  When he feels miserable, he's a bit miserable to be around.  The funny thing is that he seems to feel fine other than the craziness.  He's fine at preschool, happily plays Sequence Junior with anyone who will play with him, had a grand time at our friends house last night.  We're trying to give him extra patience and attention but tonight when there was both poop and the emptying of a bookcase with a definite no to any helping I was out of extra patience.  Bedtime could not come soon enough.

Last winter we also saw that when he recovered from his illness he really seemed to jump in development so fingers crossed that we see the same here!

Mommy's taking us to the zoo

David had to work Columbus Day so it was just me and the boys for the day.  Somehow we found ourselves without any plans.  It was a beautiful day and we couldn't spend it indoors.  I threw out the idea of hiking but Mr. 10 and Mr. 6 had hiked 6 miles with their Cub Scout troop the day before and weren't keen on going back to the Fells.  I mentioned the zoo and Mr. 4 immediately wanted to do nothing else.  We threw some snacks in a bag and jumped in the car - amazing that we really don't need much else these days!  We listened to the end of The Hero's Guide to Saving the Kingdom on the way there and even started the sequel on the drive there.

The weather was perfect and everyone was in good spirits.  Mr. 6 amazed me with his facts - he knew that a bustard is one of the heaviest birds that can fly and that a giraffe can lick its own ears with its long tongue.  The kids loved the big cats - tigers, lions, and especially the ocelots.  They spent almost an hour on the playground (although Mr. 12 got a little bored, he gamely helped Mr. 4 when needed and chatted with me while waiting for the younger crowd).  Before we left we rode the carousel and this was a huge hit, particularly with Mr. 4.  He rode a dog and he has told everyone for the past 24 hours how much he loved it.  There were many tears when we had to get off.

Franklin Park is a small zoo but it was a great place to spend a beautiful day!

Maker afternoon

We found ourselves with an entire afternoon free and everyone suddenly found themselves engrossed in a project.  Mr. 4 made a box for his bears using glue and all the felt pieces he could find.  Mr. 6 and his friend J got busy finishing a few projects from a Kiwi Crate that had somehow never been finishing.  And Mr. 10 built a robot (what else would he do)!  Meanwhile Mr. 12 and J's sister S wrote up a website for S's snack shop Sweedish.  Soon we found ourselves ordering a few snacks online while Mr. 10 tried to figure out how to deliver flyers with his quadcopter.  A rather productive afternoon for all!

First day of school

Last year we had 4 start dates for our 4 kids.  This year everyone started on the same day but just to add to the craziness we returned from California 38 hours before school started with no nanny yet.  Happily, we found a wonderful nanny yesterday who started today and managed to get the kids back to this time zone (at least closer).  It sounds like everyone had a great first day!

We were especially proud of Mr. 4 who said very little last year and cried when in sight of the school.  It was a hard year.  Over the summer he seemed to have a great time at preschool camp and today was ready to start school.  When we got there this morning he was happy to go and "check it out".  He was sad when I left and did try to cling like a monkey but sounds like he recovered quickly and had a great day.  He was doing puzzles with his friends Jack and Charlie when I came to pick him up and told me all about his day on the way home!

California Trip

We returned from Family Camp Sunday night and by Wednesday we were packing back up to leave for California.  David was trying to get one last work day in before we left so I packed everything, ran errands, and managed boys with the plan to meet him at Google at 4pm to take the train to the airport.  It was a little rocky getting out of the house but we made it in time.  It was late by the time we were in the air and even later when we arrived.  Mr. 4 had been grumpy on the flight but then fell asleep.  After picking up our car at 1:30am Boston time, everyone complained about how hungry they were.  We decided a quick stop at In and Out Burger was in order and filled everyone up with hamburgers and fries before trying to get some sleep.

We were up bright and early despite our late night due to the time difference and after a quick breakfast and a stop to say hello to Great Nana, Super Papa, and family, we headed to the beach.  It was fun to be there with my sister and her family and then to have the California family join us.  The older 3 took turns body surfing and then on the boogie boards.  Even David and I gave it a try.











We headed back to the hotel and cleaned up (there was lots of sand to wash off).  The girls went to have their nails done for the wedding and then we all met up at Aunt Joy's for Rubio's fish tacos.  They have quite the backyard and the kids had a blast.  I don't think we could manage a backyard foosball table in Boston!

 
On Friday we were again up early (but a little less early) and headed out to Bates Nut Farm.  I've been going to Bates Nut Farm since I was a little girl and it is always fun to take the boys there to feed the goats, sheep, and llamas and to buy snack.  Mr. 4 had a long monologue about how the big guys get everything and little guys need food to (inspired by A Big Guy Took My Ball!).  He loved feeding the little goats.  Finally it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for the wedding.







The wedding was only for adults but happily they arranged great babysitters for the kids.  The boys were really disappointed as they had a fantastic time dancing at the wedding in Colorado and it meant a bit of back and forth getting everyone settled before the wedding but it was a lovely evening celebrating my beautiful cousin and her new husband.  We're so glad to be a part of such a big loving family!









On Saturday morning we were up well before our California relatives so we took a little adventure to Frye's electronics