Peeks at the week.

It's been a blast - what can I say! Ben has been playing and loving soccer (he works so hard on the field and is a pure joy to watch having so much fun!), Amelia visited her new preschool and is thrilled, we all planted two new perennial beds and all of our veggies and herbs, David had a birthday and coached the boys track team at the regional meet, and I took my first Zumba class!

Last Friday Ben, Amelia and I headed up to Pond Hill Farm to pick up our first of the year CSA. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to use up an entire share but I'm pleased to say that we ate through the entire thing and I've had to restock at the Grain Train to get us through the week! Go green veggies! It's a beautiful drive around the Bay, through Harbor Springs and then over the bluff looking out at Lake Michigan. When we arrived we were so pleased to find a new batch of ducklings hanging out in the yard! We admired the yellow feathered friends, chatted with the pigs to wonder why they didn't have any babies (Amelia was hoping!), played on the play ground, wished for quarters to launch squashes from the rockets (my guess is that Ben will remember precious quarters from his piggy bank this week!) and marveled at the contrast between the sky and the trees.

"Mama piggy, why don't you have any babies? I'm here to love them..."

Practicing his form on the squash rocket.

We definitely have our moments but overall... he's an amazing big brother and she loves him!

As we left the farm we decided to detour and headed to Thornswift Nature Preserve. The kids ran through the trails finding morels, naming Marsh Marigolds and remembering times when they fell off the board walk into the muck. We followed the path down to the beach and threw rocks in the the lake until the cold fog required Mom to retreat with reluctant kiddies in tow. I promised that next time we could take the longer trail!

I'm always having to run to keep up!

My favorite little Poison Ivy.

I feel so lucky to live where my kids daily activities are this....

I know... we're not supposed to take anything out of the woods but she found her very own morel! and... obviously, she wasn't looking at the camera the way Ben wanted her to.

Forget-me-nots, always a good reminder...

I love that they stop to admire and that I can be here to watch them.

On our way through Harbor Springs we had to check on our favorite deer park and take a few pictures of boats in the harbor. It was amazingly beautiful (as always!).

Oh, and we wrapped up the day with rhubarb-strawberry crisp - yum!!

David and I are heading out to Traverse City tonight with our friends to stay at a B&B, ride bikes to dinner and then the girls have a yoga class tomorrow morning. I'm loving our new resolve to HAVE MORE FUN! In fact, I've never felt better in years!

Dates with my little man.

Today was a fantastic day. I spent this morning with Ben in his class. He is so sweet to me, a thoughtful listener and a good friend. When I arrived he ran up and gave me a huge hug, and promptly shared his muffin with me so that I could partake in snack time.

I am so proud of the work that he does at school and who he is becoming. One of my greatest pleasures is to work in Ben's classroom. I love to be with him and watch him interact and thrive.

We went to lunch after school - just the two of us. He sat taking in all of the scenery at the Pub and we had a delightful time. One of the best things about being on a date with Ben is getting to hold his hand. It is still so small but feels so firm and strong. I love that he still likes to hold my hand, I love to be with him.

Ben has been intrigued with knitting so on our way home we stopped at the craft store and he now has his own pair of needles and is working on a dishcloth to give to his teacher as an end of the year gift. He sat with me for a few moments but then wanted to concentrate on his own - he's so determined. He spent 45 minutes or so this afternoon working on his gift.


We then ran some errands and the kids were awesome. We had a great time and returned home in time to dig in the dirt. Both Ben and Amelia put on their gardening gloves and we planted lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli and the last of the flowers. They loved digging in the dirt.

When David got home I was going to go for a quick run before we had a family date night out for dinner. Ben asked if he could come and quickly dropped his shovel and came running. I hesitated and told him that I would be back in just a bit (why?!), he persisted and jumped on his bike and we had the best time! When I told him how much fun I was having he said "see mom, you always say no but I know better!". He was right! I need to continue to be vigulent and spend my time doing the things that matter most.

Ben is my secretively sensitive one. I'm afraid that all of this has been harder on both of my kids than they let on. Throughout our run Ben continued to compliment me on how well I was doing, getting stronger, running as fast as I used to. At the end he mentioned something about dying. I'm hoping it was a matter of speach... I told him that I had absolutely no intention of going anywhere. I love you way to much to go anywhere. I will be here to see you and your sister grow up. Damn it.

Amelia mentioned to my mom today that her Mommy and Daddy weren't going to leave again so she didn't think I would let her stay at She She's. I have to have surgery again in June so we'll be gone again....


When Ben and I got home from our run the four of us headed downtown for dinner. Ben rode his scooter and Amelia rode on Daddy's sholders. We went to Pallette for dinner and we had a ball! The kids were delightful, the food was amazing! We shared our "oranges". Ben's was our run, Amelia's was going out for dinner as a family. Amelia snuggled on my lap for part fo the time. I love my snuggle bugs. At the end we shared an amazing chocolate dessert and headed up the hill for home and bed. I got to kiss everyone to sleep. I'm so lucky. I wish I could bottle them and keep them safe forever.