shadow puppets

not a whole lot going on in Radiator Springs

except a dirt bike competition!!!!

we couldn't get enough...until it was bedtime (looking a little sleepy)

Theater

woof, woof

We acquired some very useful coping skills while on the road for 13 months.  How to do with less (sleep, clothing, shampoo, beds), how to live more simply and with less...furniture.  But that's not the real reason we still don't own a table.  The truth is, we kind of like treating the kids like dogs.  We like to see them beg.  



This is just their subtle way of saying, "feed me, please"

So you're hungry again, eh? Well siddown and I'll throw you a dish.

Saturday hike and Sunday ride

the post in which I brainwash everyone to come and visit us.

rainy Saturday:

sunny Sunday:

BR no longer needs training wheels, so we celebrated by going on our first family mountain bike ride.



they don't actually let me dress them anymore. orange was just on everyone's mind, I guess

 

grocery shopping

august hailstorm dance

first day of school!

A. is a Kindergartner!  And L. is now in 2nd grade.

 They are on the same recess and lunch schedule, so maybe that's why A. was not the least bit nervous this morning.  Not. At. All.  Just casually waved goodbye like it was any other day of her life.  Who else wants to be like A. when they grow up?

dwell

When you think "Southwest," the first things that come to mind are probably sunshine, tumbleweeds and an adobe building or two.  We've got them all in our little town, and when it comes to housing, there are plenty of modest or elaborate variations on stucco design and lots of Spanish tile roofs.

But then, after you've walked around a little bit, you start to notice just how nostalgic some architects must have been for the good old days in...

...Skokie, IL?

or Jersey/Queens:

and then, there's the Seattle House...  

....with a Subaru parked outside!  I rest my case.

nothing ever happens on Mars

there isn't a whole lot to do in an empty house with no furniture.  so what did we do for two whole weeks? 

just the usual:

until finally...woohoo!

(btw: our stuff was in this gigantic truck along with a few households worth of belongings.)

Now we have dishes AND beds AND dressers AND toys.  It's like Christmas for the kids, rediscovering all the books and puzzles and dinosaur toys and trucks and etc. all over again. Welcome home to us!