I think we all know by now how awful my camera is, so let's just ignore the poor quality, shall we?
Big news this week: we upgraded our eldest son to the newest, sleekest model:
Truly, I'd nearly forgotten how beautiful and striking his eyes are underneath all that hair.
My foot is in this photo just for reference. Who knew a seven-year-old could possess SO much hair? We could build ourselves a cat out of that.
For the record, his distaste for nicknames carries over to those poking fun at his new haircut. I was immediately chastised for trying to call him Baldy. He's very happy with his new look, though, reporting on how much quicker it is to take a shower and how differently his bike helmet fits now.
Next up: Evan's been asking for the same haircut, so we might have two little baldies on our hands soon. Just remind me not to call them that to their faces.
29 May 2009
friday photos: who's that kid? edition
26 May 2009
midweek recipes
The bad news: I'm discontinuing my Weekend Recipe feature. (Remember that? How I used to sporadically post recipes once in a while?)
The good news: I'm compiling all of my recipes online, in a separate blog, found here: Heidi's Collected Recipes.
Mostly this is for myself. My previous system for recipes was to write everything down in one of four notebooks used for recipes, or on random post-its and scraps of paper. By putting everything online I'll be eliminating the hassle of carrying notebooks with me when I travel, as well as the time it takes me to flip through any (or all) of those notebooks to find a particular recipe.
I figured that putting all my recipes online would be an easy way to share recipes with those of you who are interested, as well as keep things organized for myself. It's not really a food blog -- I'm not going to describe how to make anything or write any reviews or take any photos. I post the recipes and write a few notes about what works and what doesn't. I'm also using it to post recipes that I haven't tried but would like to when I get the chance, so if you're going to make something I've posted, be sure to check the notes and see if I've ever made it.
I've been in the process of transferring my collection to the new blog for a few months now, so head over and check it out if you're interested!
22 May 2009
friday photos: lilac festival edition
I've been posting a lot of photos on Facebook lately, which made me forget that I haven't been posting any here on the blog. Some of these photos will be familiar to any of you who I'm friends with on Facebook, but shockingly, not everyone I know is on Facebook, so I'm posting them here too, along with a few new photos.
Now that the weather has finally gotten nice, we're spending a lot of time outdoors. Last week Rochester held its annual Lilac Festival. Unfortunately we were only able to go twice, but we managed to see a lot of flowers, take a lot of photos, go on some rides, see a band, and eat too much unhealthy food. Lots of fun, as always.
My boys are not very cooperative when it comes to making them pose nicely in front of flowers and trees -- you'll see it's nearly impossible for them to close their mouths or just plain smile -- but I still managed to get some nice shots of them. As always these days, there are a few in purple-tinted Technicolor.
Happy weekend, everyone!
08 May 2009
a conversation
Scene: Evan and Greg are looking around the farm. They see a group of small wooden crates nearby.
Greg: Look at all those boxes.
Evan: Oh, they're just the right size for me when I die.
Greg: What are you talking about?? You're not going to die!
Evan: You can bury me in them when I die.
Greg: No, I'll just throw you on that compost pile over there.
Evan: No, you have to bury me in a box!
Greg: Why do you want to be buried in a coffin?
Evan: Yeah, a coffin! Because then I can turn into a vampire and eat you!
05 May 2009
tractor evan**
Evan was thrilled to get the chance to sit on a real! live! tractor! on Saturday. Most of the other kids, including James, sat on the tractor for less than a minute before hopping down, but Evan was antsy to get up on that seat, and once he was there, he stayed put for a while, turning the wheel, asking, "Can I touch this?" and "What's this do?" He pushed and pulled every moving part he could find, exploring everywhere.
After a minute or two of playing with the various levers, he stopped and looked up at the girl who was helping show the tractor to the kids. He gave her an exasperated look and exclaimed, "Why isn't it starting?!"
He has the same trait I did as a child: an inability to believe that one's size or age should prevent them from doing anything they want to do.
**Post title suggested by Evan.
04 May 2009
weekend photos
On Saturday we took a trip out to visit the farm that will be growing most of our vegetables for the next 6 months. A couple of months ago we signed up for a CSA -- Community Supported Agriculture, which means that we buy a share of a farm and then get a portion of everything that's grown there during the year. We're excited about knowing exactly where so much of our food will be coming from (bonus: the farm is organic), and it was nice to meet the people who will be growing it. On our visit on Saturday we toured the farm, did some hiking, and shared a potluck meal with other CSA members. It was a gorgeous day, and lots of fun, and tired our children right out.
We started right out with a hike through the fields and woods around the edges of the farm's property. James brought his binoculars for a little bird-watching:
Evan, whose peaceful car-nap was interrupted by our arrival at the farm, was grumpy about having to hike as soon as he woke up:
James did some careful investigating of the ground, looking at bugs and flowers and gopher holes:
Evan perked up eventually. How could anyone be grumpy in the midst of sunny springtime woods, surrounded by hundreds of blooming trilliums?
After our hike we checked out the greenhouses where some of the lettuce we'll be eating later this month is already growing:
Evan enjoyed running through the greenhouse aisles:
We'll have the opportunity to go back to the farm a few times this summer. Part of our membership actually requires working there a couple of times, so I'm sure there will be more farm photos to come throughout the year.
