Just playing around

Robert playing with his doctor kit.

Robert hauled all the stuff from his crib and some of his books onto his boat (the rug) and then went on a journey

Not really sure - some kind of superhero - Captain Underpants on the Head?

Watching the digger over lunch

Diggers are fun for the whole family

My favorite part is the seat that spins to face the digging/carrying arm or the big bulldozing bucket

A side angle

Home library

I have 2 very active boys, but they are also lovers of books.  In the past couple of months Harry's ability to read has caught up with what he would like to read. So now we sometimes need to go up and make sure that the lights out order was followed.  There have been a few nights when he has been found deep into a book and although he had meant to turn the light out, finishing that chapter turned into another and another.

Robert also loves to read books and at the moment he is especially interested in bugs.  We have read some very dry books about bugs hundreds of times (I may not be exaggerating).  A great treat in the house is to go to the library.  Some weeks we are there two or three times.  I love that the boys love books.  When Harry was younger he used to always want to get a video too, but those days are gone for now.  His preferred television is a program about science or history and we tend to tape programs he's asked about or that look like they would interest him.  Robert has recently discovered videos at the library, but again we often take them out and then don't watch them. 

A few weeks ago the boys set up their own library in the living room.  Kevin and I were the patrons and so we took out the books that would interest us.  We were also expected to read and return them.  In Robert's case it was a quick turn around.  It is also an activity that the boys just naturally started and played together.  They had their own space, but they were definitely building upon each others' ideas.  I love when they play together without any interference from us.  It is a fun thing to observe and in this case be a part of.

Robert and Willa take a break from running around and watch a program together

Robert's library

Harry's library

Spring shots with our lovely rhododendron

Size comparison

getting ready for the shot

All ready and smiling

Dad and the boys

Mom and the boys

Nice shot of the rectory

One of R's bugs - his constant newest fascination :-)

Changes

Our House May 2006

Our house May 2011

Our house is getting something of a makeover this spring/summer.  It is well deserved, I think and not the first work that has been done on the house, but some projects that have been waiting in the wings.  These 2 pictures show the house the first spring we lived here and this spring.  We've had such grey damp weather over the past week, that I really haven't been able to get a good picture of the rhododendron which are beautiful this time of year. 

Can you note the differences that have occurred in the past 5 years?  The first thing that happened you can see in the roof line.  It is a dormer which is the room that was finished the winter before Robert appeared.  It is a very cool room with lots of sloping windows.  The dormer window is pretty big and we put a chair there and it is like you are sitting among the trees.  I am looking forward to the days when I actually have time to sit there and read, in the meantime, I enjoy my moments in our office/guest room which are usually when I am there to do some work or to clean up.  Harry moved to the 3rd floor when the room was finished and he has the biggest room in the house - we sometimes call it the penthouse suite.

The other difference is of course the color.  When we first saw the rectory in the broschure about the church, it looked like it was blue.  It turned out to really be grey.  However, the idea was set in my mind and so when the house needed painting, we asked if we could have it painted blue with white rather than cream trim.  It is so lovely this way, I think it was the right decision. 

So the changes to come?  Well our pebble driveway has suffered much over the many years it has been here and it had become more like a wave, with rocks being lost each year as we shoveled and/or they were redistributed as the land settled.  So we asked that the driveway be graded and if possible, and not too expensive, paved.  That is going to happen in just a few short days!  I am so excited - I have visions of easier shoveling in the winter and a place for the boys to draw with chalk and ride vehicles on.

There have also been some garden changes - trees/branches down.  I am going to plant a raised bed with some vegetables this year.  We are also hoping to add a fort to the backyard for the boys.  We've also finally gotten some of the vines and bushes down that were just next to the driveway.  Spring time this year is bringing exciting changes.  Hopefully the house will be even more beautiful as we move into summer.

Sleeping boy

It has been a crazy few weeks here and I can't really say why.  I just came on to put one thing on the blog, but noticed that I had never posted this.  Poor Robert was sick for about a week, on and off, about 2 weeks ago!  One of the things that clinched that he was sick and not just entering a phase of pickiness or the like, was that he kept falling asleep in the afternoons.  Naps have been a think of the past for quite some time now.  I finally decided it was easier to just chill together in the afternoons than put him in his room and hope he wouldn't get into trouble and might even fall asleep.  The week he was sick he fell asleep on the couch.  On "his" chair (probably our only piece of very nice furniture), on the floor and in our new big comfy chair.  He also fell asleep in my arms and in Kevin's arms.  You would think we would have put him to a nap, but whenever we suggested the idea he would really object, it just seemed easier to let him sleep when and where he was ready

Easter Week Pictures

Chilling on the deck - Easter afternoon

Grampy and Louise at the beach

Throwing rocks

Family picture 4 -24- 2011

Family picture - Newport bridge, Rose lighthouse & a container ship in background

Nana's visit

royal celebrations

Here are some pictures of Harry celebrating his 8th birthday.  That was now a week ago today.  We have yet to have a "kid" party, but it is looking like we will take a few friends out to a movie and burgers and that will be the final celebration.  This year the boys' birthdays fell in busy weeks and on days that didn't lend themselves well to kid parties.  Still I think both have had nice birthdays.

Right after we moved to Hickory in 2002 we found out that we were expecting Harry.  Some parishioners used to call him Prince HAL.  It is interesting being part of a clergy family and adding a new person.  The parish took much ownership of his birth and really enjoyed welcoming this beautiful little person into the life of the church.  Both boys were celebrated and in both parishes it had been a while since a young clergy family had served there and so a baby was a fun change of pace.  It probably wasn't as fun to have an exhausted new father as you leader, but most probably never noticed.

It was fun on Friday to watch bits of the royal wedding.  Unlike many people, we were looking to see if we knew any of the clergy persons.  Seeing the nuns up on the ABC's side made me remember the lovely nuns who served at Lambeth when we were there.  I remember fondly all the pomp and circumstance we experienced and various ways we got to be part of the church community there.  So many things happened while we were there - September 11th - the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother - the Queen's Jubilee.  I remember sitting in St. Paul's Cathedral for a celebration of Remembrance shortly after 9/11 and being just a row behind the royal family after struggling through a throng of people in the square in front of the cathedral.

We lived in Lambeth Palace which is not as glamorous as it looks on paper, but we had probably the best view you can get of Parliament, the London Eye and the Thames River.  It was a magical year and I am often amazed that was part of my now very mundane life.  And my Harry who just turned 8 started his life in a palace and a country where he has never actually put his feet down.  We didn't even realize he was on board until we came back here.  Oh how life changes and surprises you!

launching a piece of potato

Making slime in the classroom

Prince HAL in all his glory