So, it happened after all -- we got to see Scott and Shauna. Many thanks to the miracles of last minute travel deals. We are very thankful that they were able to take the time to come, and that Shauna's school could find the two people it takes to fill her shoes, and that ILM could shelve whatever little thing it has going (Pirates of who? Never heard of it).

The first challenge, of course, was to match time zones.



Who needs seratonin supplementation when you could have a three year old jumping on your head?

The second challenge was to find a time to get outside and actually enjoy that "fall feeling". Finally, there was a break in the rain which allowed us to go for a walk on the bikepath. In spite of assurances from our visitors that one could still find the "fall feeling" in the rain, we all benefited from the fresh air.



You might notice that we were suffering from cabin fever and that our behavior had gotten a little loopy.



This thing for vehicles seems to run in the family!

There was also more predictable behavior.



Here is one of my modest efforts. As soon as I can get one from Scott, I'll replace this one.



There are a few classic autumn activities that take place inside. For instance, Charlie Brown's Halloween Special:




So fabulous to get to see them! Now we go back to our isight visits and emails :-)

The Fairies arrive

So last night the fairies arrived, in their house.

Jonas' commentary includes the following: There are many creatures living in the house, including: "fairies and animals. Foxes and a hedghoge and a bunny and a squirrel. That's all." Where did the fairy house come from? "Bobby and Zan". Which is taller, you or the fairy house? "Me". Where is the fairy house now? "in the play room".

Sam set it up the night before, seeming very impressed and excited herself. Must admit, it is excellent to have toys in the house! Jonas was overjoyed to see it upon waking the next morning. He is perhaps more excited about the animals, at the moment, than the fairies. I expect that will change. I could tell he is very invested in this particular toy, because he was very upset when I moved something.



I believe that at some point we will need a visit from Zan and Bobby to show us all of its various intricacies. Until then, perhaps its residents will continue to reveal its secrets.



His imaginary play has taken a giant leap forward, as it has done several times before. I can see concepts and phrases and scripts appearing that I assume come from kids at school; high drama in particular. For the first time recently I asked him what was wrong only to find out that his imaginary play had sounded to me like distress. As I used to say in my role as TL camp nurse, the crux of the task is to differentiate between "trauma and drama". He has gained an ability to enjoy this drama as long as he is playing it out -- if we play at such things, or if he sees them on a screen or a book, he still finds them rather distressing. Although I must qualify that statement, because there are times now that he delights in spooky or thrilling play for a few moments, but then says "stop" even as he keeps giggling. Just in time for Halloween.

His new best friend is a rubber bouncy horse named Rody. They travel all over the house together, and he has scolded me several times for bumping Rody, or knocking him over. Rody's staring at me at this very minute, with his big blue eyes and green skin, with a heart shaped forlock between his ears. He is an excellent source of indoor exercise during such a rainy stretch of weather!

Many thanks to Tom, Sara, Zan, and Bobby!!

Of frogs and wheels

We got worried about the tippiness of Jonas' beloved red tricycle. So, we fell back on a classic in American Polymer Playthings...



Yesterday, we went to the bike path so that he could actually ride the thing. The rumble of the hollow plastic wheels nearly sent shivers up my spine. I had all these kinesthetic memories come flooding back, about the feeling of the weight on my arms, and the way the front wheel gradually finds traction as you start out (and the rear wheels rapidly lose traction as you spin out). Sam, on the other hand, didn't need to rely on memory:



Of course, there were other attractions on the way. Most of the bullfrogs we saw had reached a significant size. Jonas delighted in reaching in and spooking them so that they would jump away.





Sam and Jonas together found a pod of milkweed. They scattered the downy seeds to the wind, dedicating the flight "to Mannah!!"



I found great delight in shooting my amateurish nature shots. Digital is perfect for me; money and chemicals should be reserved for Jodie and others with more talent!



It was one of those perfect outings that people are remembering when they say to us "Enjoy this part, it goes by so fast". Of course, they don't remember that the little rider loses interest and one of you carries the boy while the other carries the bigwheel much of the way back :-) There is a Calvin and Hobbes about "How come these 'walks' so often turn out to be 'rides'". Once again, life mimic art.

Wow, an Owl!

So Jonas and Sam went to the Festival of the Hills this weekend, while I was working in the hospital. One of the exhibits was a person who does rehabilitation of birds of prey. While touching the Great Horned Owl was clearly exciting, the high point was when Jonas got to HOLD a Saw Whet owl. They are about 7 inches tall, and have a wingspan of approximately 17 inches (according to the websites I looked at). They are named "saw whet" because their sound is similar to that of someone sharpening a saw. For full details, see link at right. Sam said that Jonas was so excited he was shaking!

The Steamin' Tender

So we went to the Steamin' Tender in Palmer last night to help Jonas' buddy Joe celebrate his third birthday. Much excitement and hilarity, in spite of a lack of freight trains this time. Last time we had better luck (three trains, mostly carrying autos). The theme carried through to the present, which was a train for Joe's beloved toy train set.



They took turns keeping each other safe from the tracks, and certainly enjoyed the French Fries, as well. I sincerely hope these two stay this tight as they grow up, as they do seem to complement each other so well (and they're so damn cute together!)




Quote of the day (today, while playing with toy earth movers): "They're hauling dirt. What does 'hauling' mean?" :-)