Problem

I have a problem. It's major. I need help. I have turned into one of these moms, circa 1950, who takes a total of 4 pictures of their kid in the first 6 years of their life. And then they write the incorrect date and incorrect kid's name on the back of the picture and store them in a shoe box in the damp basement.

Let me explain. My dad has been on the staff of Arizona Boys State since the 1970's. Boys State (and Girls State) is an educational program of government instruction for U.S. high-school students. It is a participatory program in which students become part of the operation of local, county and state government. (Totally stole that explanation from their website.) Nick and I started going with our dad and helping in 1994. I went every summer until 2002 and haven't been back since then. In 2003 and 2004 I was in grad school, in 2005 I was working, in 2006 I was having god awful jaw surgery and wanted to kill myself and in 2007, 2008 and 2009 I was pregnant or caring for a needy baby.

I decided it was high time I got myself back to Flagstaff and the campus of Northern Arizona University for the week long program. And it was definitely time for Spencer to meet everyone.

So, we went. On Wednesday morning. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's vacation home until Saturday afternoon. I made and brought an entire bakery full of delicious treats. I saw people I have known since I was 14, but haven't seen in 8 years. Spencer met everyone for the first time. The weather was lovely. Spencer had cute clothes. We spent quality time with my dad and brother. We went out to eat at nice restaurants. I had new lip gloss and a new skirt.

Unfortunately, Michael didn't come with us. He had to work. I was a single mom for the first time EVER. I was overwhelmed. I was tired. I took 2 pictures. 2. Two. Dos. Zwei. Deux. Due. Dwa. How many more languages should I translate my failure into?

Picture #1

Picture #2
I stole these from the Boys State website. Nick and my dad at "career night". My dad making a speech.

Could somebody please hire a full time photographer for me? I obviously cannot be trusted with the memory keeping of this family. Spencer will be an adult thumbing through his baby album and will be dismayed when the pictures jump from age 22 months to his junior year class photo. And I will have no excuse.

(P.S. If you're going to get us a full time photographer, would you spring for a videographer too? Some really wacky stuff happens around here that I'd love to catch live.)

What's that expression?

Oh yes. The dog days of summer. Alive and well at our house.

My Boys

It wasn't even my idea to dress them as twins, it was Michael's.

Amy, Jacob, Spencer and more peaches

Amy needed to get out of the house. She was sick of looking at her own walls after 6 weeks at home with Jacob. I invited them over. They spent a lovely afternoon with us on Sunday.

Jacob took a nice nap on the couch. I was the one that got him to fall asleep. I used a trick I used to do with Spencer. I stood in the dark next to the running dryer. Spencer didn't ever fall asleep when I did that, but it did make him stop crying, if only for a few minutes.

While Jacob was sleeping and Amy was sitting on the couch next to him (and Spencer was sleeping in our bed) I worked on the remaining peaches. Check out this conjoined twin peach.I peeled, sliced and froze 7 bags of peaches (yes, I realize only 5 bags are in the picture. The remaining 2 are on another shelf)And then I made a peach crisp. After the boys woke up we took some pictures of the two of them together. I like how they both look highly concerned. Spencer is concerned about this little thing sitting next to him and Jacob is concerned that he's being forced into a big boy situation. Jacob started fussing and Spencer looked at him like he was a ticking time bomb.Jacob is very advanced. Sitting on his own at 6 weeks.

2 years-9 months

This is the young man at 9 months. June 6, 2008.

This was back before he could voice an opinion on his clothing. I loved that hat. He didn't even yank it off at this age.This little pool lasted us 2 summers. Not bad for a $5.99 pool from the grocery store.1 year- 9 months old. June, 2009. It wasn't the 6th, but it was close (it was actually June 1st).
What a goofy kid.All the pictures have been strategically cropped because he was, indeed, naked.2 years-9 months. June 6, 2010. Spencer's new summer 2010 pool. Complete with a water spouting killer whale.It's good for kissing.

Swim lessons start tomorrow. I want to see lap swimming in this thing by the end of the week.

Summer Preparation

I've been done with work for a week now. Man. That went fast. Now we're settling into summer mode. These are some of the things we accomplished in the past couple of days.

#1) Registering for swim lessons.

Spencer is enrolled for the 1st two sessions. We're going to do a mommy/toddler class for two weeks and then he's moving into the more independent Tadpole class. This is the pool where you can find us 4 days a week for most of the summer.

#2) Introducing walnuts into Spencer's system.

Quite accidentally, since we've been waiting until age 3 for nuts. We were at the grocery store on Tuesday and Spencer was acting like a hungry, grouchy bear. I sent Michael and Spencer to the bakery to get a free cookie. Spencer had eaten half of it by the time they got back to me. I took one glance and said to Michael, "that cookie is full of nuts." The look on his face was priceless. So far no hives. We're still waiting until 3 for peanuts though. So please don't accidentally give my son a Snickers.
#3) Buying new clothes for summer travel.

Specifically it took trips to about 14 stores to find a windbreaker. Finding a toddler size windbreaker in Phoenix in June is no easy task. Thank goodness for Baby Gap.We're going to Vermont for 10 days and this little waterproof number will be used if it rains or is a little chilly. And let's face it, 77 will be chilly to us.I love a good 1 piece outfit on babies and toddlers. Sadly, most companies stop making 1 piece outfits at 24 months. Spencer still fits into his 24 month clothes, but they're getting a little tight. While we were at the mall looking for the windbreaker I found these outfits in size 3T. I call them

cuteness #1
and cuteness #2. I was a little hesitant on cuteness #2 because it cost more than cuteness #1. Then I saw the back. Sold.#4) Using some of the peaches.

Look at how juicy these babies are. We made low fat peach muffins. I was too lazy to take a picture of the baked ones. Sorry. It's summer vacation. A little laziness is to be expected.

Peacharrific

Schnepf Farms was having a special offer on you-pick-them peaches over Memorial Weekend: the first 5 pounds of peaches were free. We printed 3 coupons (one each for me, Michael and Michael's mom) and headed out to the farm.

We had so much fun. And picked so many peaches.

All of the trees were filled with these clusters of fruit. We picked from 3 or 4 trees and filled 5 boxes in a matter of minutes.

Mommy! Mommy! Peaches!

We ended up with something like 30 pounds for my parents, 17 pounds for Michael's parents and 30 pounds for us.

Spencer and Grandma took the train after we were done picking.

Spencer paid the engineer/lady train driver who obviously never took sun safety seriously.

I like a good pig in overalls.

Anyone want to come over for:

peaches and cream?

peach pie?

peach cobbler?

peach cake?

peach gelato?

spiced peaches?

peach cheesecake?

peach preserves?

a bowl of sliced peaches?

peach syrup?

peach chicken?

peach salsa?

peach ice cream?

peach yogurt?

a fresh peach wrapped in a paper towel?

a slice of peach pie with a scoop of peach ice cream layered with peach slices and drizzled with peach syrup?