Middle of the week.

We're full-speed summer this week. Monday, we all napped (me and Alla, snuggled on the couch, unplanned), then the last soccer game. Tuesday, beach all morning (there is nothing like spending the morning swimming in fresh water). Wednesday, run/bike, and don't turn on the A/C because it's so so amazing outside.

We're also preparing for our neighborhood garage sale to begin on Friday, culminating in our block party on Saturday evening. Alla told her friend Carter that it will be the awesomest day in his life. Probably.

We are consuming mass quantities of fruit: cherries, watermelon, nectarines, blueberries.

We have the makings of a great salad in our fridge, all ready to go: beans, marinating chicken, jicama spears, carrots, spinach, romaine, red pepper, cukes from the garden, a few eensy tomatoes from back there, too. Homemade dressing. I think I'll saute some red onion and garden zucchini, too. Ah, summer.

One of these days I'll get around to uploading new pictures from all the fun stuff we're doing. One of these days.

Swinger.

Almost five years ago, she was placed on a swing like this. And pushed. Now, her biggest delight is to push herself from a stationary position and just go higher, as high as she can.

It seems a few of those simple, lifelong pleasures come together at the same time: riding a bike, swimming, swinging.

Soccer, part two.

Here's what the little one does while watching his sister run amok on the soccer field. A little sitting and watching.Then he'll scramble over to where our bikes are parked against the fence, and ring Alla's bell for awhile before he starts to climb.

And then he'll get upset that he isn't allowed to climb over the fence entirely.

Thankfully the soccer field is adjacent to our park, and of course earlier in the day Fisher has already asked to play there.

And then we ride home. Ah, summer.

Soccer: Summer 2010.

This Monday marks the last day of soccer for the summer. Alla seems to be enjoying herself more this summer, getting it slightly, and, with some Daddy encouragement, even kicking the ball. She seems fired up enough to play fall soccer!

But, we still get some of this, where we actually have to remind her, sometimes mid-game, to get up. The ball's coming. Ha!What she truly lives for, though, is to play goalie. She rocks at being goalie. When asked what she's most looking forward to for soccer night, it'll most likely be a toss-up between after-game snack and playing goalie.

It's so hard to know as a parent, how much to do, how much to let them choose, how long to stick with it. It's so fun to think about what parts she'll take away, decide she loves, what she'll really be in five, ten, fifteen years. Which is why I have to document all the early years, all the little moments that will invariably add up.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Fisher: When we all done at the soccer field, can we pway at duh pahk?

2. Alla: You know, 5 is a big number, Mommy. It's very close to 10.

3. Fisher can be in the span of five minutes both the biggest monster and the biggest sweetheart. Read: bite your arm and then (when he's good and recovered) give you the sweetest kiss and tell you he loves the marigolds. Ah, two.

4. He woke me at 6:21 this morning. Why? Because it's Trash Truck Day, that's why. (Mental note: go to bed early on Monday nights.) I told that one to either go back to bed or sleep with Mama. He chose the latter and really tried his best for a good 40 minutes before he started playing with my eyes: Keep you eyes opened, Mommy! At some point he realized I was doing no such thing, so he, Lovey, and Glo-Worm crept downstairs and put a chair by the window to watch for the trash trucks himself. I was then asked to go move the trash can from behind my car where Daddy put it 'cause he could not see it and that would not do. Ah, two.

5. Alla's swim class is over for the summer. She could swim everyday, that girl just loves the water.

6. Before Alla was born, one of my nesting projects (completely unrelated to having a baby, of course) was to get my cookbook in order. Since then it's become a complete disaster. Add to that all of the substitutions to account for Fisher's allergies, plus a carb-count for nearly every ingredient, and the pages are just a mess. I'm slowly chugging away at a cookbook re-do, typing up a few here and there. It's quite the project.

7. Tonight is scrapbook night!

8. We are having our annual block party next weekend, and in conjunction, a block-wide garage sale! I've been a pricing machine and hopefully can unload some of our old stuff for a little profit.

9. With *her* portion of the profit, Alla has decided to purchase a pink guitar.

10. I've been greatly enjoying the food ideas on this blog lately!

Happy Tuesday!

Pink car season opener.

Yep, it was today. The day we charged the battery and pulled it out of storage (ok, by storage I mean the side of the house all wrapped up in a tarp) so the kids could ride it. You can always count on a 'new' thing to save you on a Monday.

There was some careful and some careless driving. Note the eyes not being fully on the road. And the passenger constantly getting out (at top speed!) to pick up sticks. The driver finally instituted a two-stick maximum rule.But mostly it was fun and games. I'm happy to report no major incidents. Not even a spat. We even put new batteries in the radio and Alla about flipped her lid when she started around the block and her beloved Adam Lambert came on. Her very favorite singer! In her very own car!

Later in the day, Fisher hopped in ("I'll just hop in," said he.) and drove down the street to pick her up at a friend's house so she could come home for dinner. She thought that was just fantastic!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. We had a little visit from my brother Josh and my sister-in-law Kyra for the Fourth. We had a most splendid time taking them to Snail Lake one day and Central Park the next. Kyra made us play Scrabble and kicked our butts, too. Well, mine at least. 2. Fisher woke at midnight on Saturday with the sniffles, then it seemed every 20 minutes thereafter. Sunday was rough as we were all tired and he'd developed a full-blown barking cough.


3. Sometimes I think they are either at each other's throats or in love with each other. When I catch them in love with each other, I make a big deal.

4. Haagen-Dazs Five? We love it. Lemon, Vanilla Bean, Mint, even Ginger!

5. Alla is busy catching things in her bug house as usual. This grasshopper, thankfully, was released. She tends to catch things, fall in love with them and want to keep them forever. Only she forgets, and then, oops, they die.

6. Speaking of green things, we've been enjoying home-grown peapods so incredibly early this year because of our early spring. We got to plant everything in early May, and now are enjoying it all. In fact, I ripped out the peapods yesterday cause they were all done! Sadly, Fisher went out back to pick some more today and was upset to find they were gone. We planted a second crop of seeds; we'll see how they do.7. Took Alla to see Willy Wonka, a musical, on Saturday with my friend and her lovely daughter. The girls seemed to just love it. The mamas loved the antique shopping afterward, and the girls got on board with that, finding their own little treasures. Alla chose a red vintage pair of toy binoculars.

8. I am loving The Hunger Games!

9. My sweet nephew turns one tomorrow!

10. Alla has learned to swing! Like start from a still position and pump her way into the air. She's giddy and wants to go to the park every moment.

The Duckface.

For those of you who do not spend oodles of time with my son, you are likely not aquainted with his Duckface. Awhile ago, I realized I did not have a picture of it, and so I set out to get one. We see The Duckface on a daily basis, so I figured the opportunity was there. I was a little worried about damage to my camera while on assignment, however, no harm was done and now I have captured this face for posterity.

P.S. He does own his own helmet, however, he doesn't really seem to care, grabs whichever is right in front of him. Safety before fashion, I always say.