A new month, a new banner, and a slightly better attitude than the one that led to the morose sentiment that I must have implied in the previous post. (Egad! I normally do a much better job of responding to comments, so lachrymose was I.)
I took Tavish to the local outdoor pool after we went grocery shopping yesterday, and with the temperature threatening the 30 degree mark, it was a great end to the day. (Well, I may have forgotten to feed him any supper before we went shopping. Or again before we went to the pool. But you should have seen him stuff that cheese sandwich into his mouth at bedtime while his mother gave me a tolerant glare. Hoo boy!)
Amy and Declan were at his weekly gymnastics class. Or, as Dex likes to say, "Fun-nastics!"
It's awesome that we live two blocks from that pool. All a dad and his kid needs are two pairs of swim trunks, a towel, and four bucks to get in. (Or, in my case, $3.25 and a winning smile, with a promise that I'd be good for the difference.) I didn't even bother to wear my sandals. The opportunity to stroll around barefoot was way too tempting. All in all, I was in a really good mood last night. I'm pretty sure I still am.
Here, then, are some happy fun pictures from the past month.
Early in May, the boys were outside enjoying one of Dex's birthday presents. Because they don't have enough to play with already, you see.
The erstwhile dog house is now a functional wood shed. I was very proud of myself for thinking of that. It took three of the strong neighbour lads to heft it into place in the back corner of the yard by the fire pit. That is one helluva sturdy wood shed.
I took the boys out for a stroll last weekend. You can see that the banks of the Mighty Sturgeon River were unable to contain the spring runoff and the water had temporarily crested its confines. Those trees don't normally go there. Or, the water doesn't normally go where those trees are.
Same walk. Same spot. Same river. Different angle.
This was during the height of the long weekend garage sale. Few things make Tavish happier than a mouthful / fistful of strawberries.
Aaaaaaand, we're spent.
(That's a very dirty smiley-face tattoo on Dex's arm.)
Sometimes I hate to stop and feed Ben when we're having a good time. But, we all know what comes later if the kid hasn't eaten.
In the doghouse/woodshed picture, Dex looks like one of the toughs you see slink out from the shadows and say, "You got business heeya? 'Cuz I didn't send no engraved invitation."
Can Jango pull that stroller with child in it? Looks like Dex is having a bit of trouble reining him in.
Tav looks like a hog with an apple in its mouth. Good thing he's too cute to cook.
Posted by: Mark | Friday, 01 June 2007 at 07:23 AM
You didn't sound morose yesterday...just worn out. A totally understandable reaction to a hard day working.
I love the new banner and the pictures are awesome. Got a kick that you called the Strawberry pic "Stuffed_Pig." Also...with the plaid and the tat...Dex looks alot like his uncle in that bottom picture.
I'll admit, I had a few seconds in which I forgot that the 30 degrees was Celcius. I was about to go on another tirade fueled by my warm-climate mentality about your crazy cold weather. But...never mind.
Posted by: Moksha Gren | Friday, 01 June 2007 at 07:25 AM
Those were great pictures -- especially the last one. What a fantastic thing to have an outdoor pool so close to your house. We had a river, but you know, much higher stress taking your kid somewhere with rapidly flowing current and waterfalls...
Kind of funny that you forgot to feed Tavish. Not an unfamiliar scenario.
Posted by: marian | Friday, 01 June 2007 at 09:15 AM
Way to go with the swimming Simon! Take advantage of the proximity and get them wet frequently.
Fabulous pictures!
Posted by: Tal | Saturday, 02 June 2007 at 12:33 AM
Great pictures! I always love all of your masthead photos.
I had a great idea a couple of weeks ago regarding my giant, unused dog house. I put a fresh bowl of water inside it. Now Shadow goes in there regularly...drinks...and comes back out again.
::sigh::
Posted by: Paul | Saturday, 02 June 2007 at 06:13 AM
Mark, Dex doesn't normally have much trouble with Jango. More often we have to admonish the boy to go a little gently on the dog. The kid can hold his own, for sure.
Moksha, I never put my brother and the boy together based on that particular choice of clothes, but now that you mention it...
I don't think I'd ever really go on about how awesome the weather was if it was only about 30 Farenheit. Except maybe in mid-January - because that would be a scorcher of a day then!
Marian, I think that was the first time I've neglected one of the boy's appetites for the better part of an entire afternoon and evening. Hooray for another milestone!
Tal, that pool was under renovations nearly all of last summer, so while it was tantalizingly close, we couldn't get in until late August when it finally re-opened. And then it closed for the season. We'll definitely be getting in there LOTS this summer.
Paul, I'm particularly pleased with this month's photo, thanks. And I had no idea Shadow was as ambivalent towards his dog house as our pup(s) is (were) towards his (theirs). Why can't they just do what we want them to do?!
Posted by: Simon | Monday, 04 June 2007 at 02:44 PM