Amazing week... Recovering today

We had an AMAZING week of family reunion time here in Sylva with our Hawkins family - 12 adults and 14 children! Today most of the family packed up and headed home, Jim went back to work, and the three boys and I sat around the house feeling wiped out and talking together about all the things we had enjoyed, like tubing and picnicking at the river, racing up and down the driveway with cousins, Timo learning the "Guess Who?" boardgame, family talent show... I look forward to loading all the photos and sharing them!

Timo spent three hours this afternoon listening to an audiobook and reading books on our bed. I couldn't even get him to budge at suppertime. "I'm going to keep having my quiet time," he explained.

Mother's day and some summer planting

I'm taking a break from all of these rainy days to load pictures from the camera, including these from Mother's Day. Mattias helped with the scones, Timo made the fruit salad (all by himself), and Hawk gave his charming smile.

Later we worked on potting tomatoes, squash, and some herbs, and trimming some bushes. I have since filled up our raised planters. This week we've seen the bush pickles (small cucumbers) take OFF and they are dominating the planters, along with the onion (which were easy and fun for the boys to plant but now they are taking up a lot of room!) so I need to move the other herbs and flowers out of there. I've really enjoyed tending this small area, and in the midst of crazy days with the boys, it's always a nice break to go outside, walk with the boys doing inspections and pinching tomato suckers and munching on mint leaves. It's pretty great to live in this house with such a huge sunny yard.

Nonna (part 2)

While Mom G was here, the weather warmed up a lot and we finally have had warm spring days leading into the start of summer. One day we took our lunch and the boys' swimsuits to the creek and picnic area next to campus. Such a fun spot.

Nonna took the two oldest boys to the library one morning, and Timo checked out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - and then was completely enthralled with it the rest of the week.

On Saturday morning (before Nonna's afternoon flight home) she, Jim, Timo and Mattias went downtown to the Farmer's Market and discovered a mini-festival going on. The boys got their faces painted (for the first time).

One last hug and photo before Nonna leaves. Timo hasn't stopped asking me since she left, "When are we going to visit Wheaton?" Thank you for coming and for your joyful, patient care!

yep, that's about how it goes

Nonna's visit (part 1)

We loved having Nonna visit for a week (the same week as Hawk's birthday)! So many books to read, so many songs to be sung, so many daily life activities to share with her in our busy, loud house.

Sunday evening supper at our picnic table

Morning at Poteet Park, where we ran into friends -

how Hawk sits in his umbrella stroller (this was in his first cast)

Thankfully Nonna took quite a few photos with her camera, and shared them with us - and she captured some of our daily life activities (though she wasn't in the photos!).

Timo outside his pre-K classroom

Another day, another lunch at the picnic table ("please sit down and eat!" ha!)

One night after supper Mattias decided to do some drumming (on the stools), and Timo put on his mask to do some singing & used the shape-sorter as a clanging instrument. It was loud and extremely entertaining for Hawk.

Timo has started regularly helping with evening dishes (at his own request)

hot afternoon: time for a truck wash

 

helping Nonna make cupcakes for Hawk

Catching up on the last month... first visitors!

Amidst the craziness of our first month in the 'new' house, we joyfully welcomed some visitors! (Sidenote: we did NOT joyfully welcome the mouse visiting the kitchen and flying squirrels in the attic. However, they have now departed for other "places".) One Saturday it was Joanna who drove up from a couple hours south in SC. Timo was elated to show her all the bushes and forts in our yard, and all three boys piled on her to read books. It was wonderful to reconnect since we had seen each other 1 1/2 years ago. So easy to pick up where we had left off in conversation and compare experiences of working in higher education.

Such a cheerful guy!

Another weekend we had a day and one night with Uncle Chuck and Auntie Jo! (during their week-long visits to friends in several towns of western NC and SC) Timo put Uncle Chuck to work right away building a cardboard shield, and we had a relaxing spring afternoon together, talking and eating copious chocolates from Baxley's on Main St.

We love you two! Thank you for coming to see us!

Thanks, Mom

Thank you, Jaja, for coming to be with us for 4 days while Jim was away! Especially since we got a bit of snow & ice, and were mostly housebound for the first 3 days, we were very glad you were here. It helped keep us all in a better mood - and well-fed (and I even got to sleep in a bit), most notably!

Watching the bubbles and getting ready to punch down the bread dough

Unfortunately Hawk got another cold this week but he does love his Jaja (and for some reason looks huge in this picture! I can verify that he is still small and lightweight. I checked my notes and he is almost exactly the same weight - at 8 months - that both Gemma and Timo were at 4 months.). He particularly enjoyed the "touch and feel" truck book that Jaja brought. Very cute to see him pointing his fingers and feeling the textures.

The weather warmed up on the last 2 afternoons, so we were able to go out for walks. The first afternoon the boys had a great time showing Jaja a few spots along Main St (including the gallery where Gayle has some prints, and the antique store with a kids' play area), and the next day we all walked a bit further around the neighborhood.

Good-bye, and see you again soon!

With time for one more stop

Since we flew in/out of Durham for our flight to Chicago, we had a two night stopover with the Durham Hawkins. It was wonderful to see how much Caitlin is growing and learning!! She's even doing "army crawl" now, so watch out - if she sees something nearby, she can make her way to it pretty quickly. Isn't she cute in her little floral bandana bib?

Don't get any ideas, Uncle Pete. We're Carolina Blue in this house!!

Since we were still in the 12 days of Christmas, we even had an afternoon to open stockings and exchange a few presents. It's very important to get Nutella in one's stocking. And in general to litter the living room with ribbons and papers and happy sounds.

And then the cousins came

We were SO glad that the Brink cousins came up from St Louis (after they spent Christmas with their family in Memphis) for the last two nights of our visit. We parents enjoyed seeing how much the cousins loved playing together, usually involving chasing, squealing, Legos and stuffed animals. And it was good for us adults to talk about life over the last year and what may be coming for 2018... with uncertainty for both of our families. Somehow we try to hold to hope and not worry about what is two or three steps ahead - but just take the challenges and process one thing at a time. (Sadly we didn't get a good family photo of everyone this time!! Argh!)

Nonna with Millie, Hawk and Elsie

Jim and Granddad took the oldest three over the the campus gym for a 'game' of soccer and run around the track. Boy it's cold out there!!! So glad we have a gym we can go to!

a fun morning at the Lego play-place

On our last afternoon some new snow began falling and everyone rushed out to play before it got dark. Perfect end to our trip!

Mattias did pretty well shoveling, too!