Aleks Becomes an Apiarist

Jim had to feed his bees, so he got Aleks all suited up in the beekeeping garb he bought for him three years ago. Aleks still isn't big enough to quite fit, but it was close enough. They tape their ankles shut to make sure no bees get in.
Bastian was terribly upset about not having his own suit.


Jim fed the bees while Aleks kept the smoker going.
Jim let him show off the frame for me. I kept a safe distance and used a zoom.

Geology Experiments

Aleks spent shloads of time at the grandparents' collecting and organizing rocks, checking for varying degrees of luminescence and translucence, as he is particularly interested in the crystalline nature of certain geological structures. He would break larger rocks apart searching for the crystal bits.
And had a bagload of smaller bits to carry home in his backpack.


*This post also predated and post written and likely annoying therefor.

So the Treehouse Didn't Go as Planned

We maintained plans to build the treehouse with Grandpa Jim while we were visiting, but he's been having some achy problems and the weather didn't always cooperate, so we did the other things we usually do on "the farm" (as Jon calls it) and played our new Shut the Box game quite a bit. Everyone loved it and it's so simple that everyone could pretty much play (Bastian played on an adult team). We also just played outside, wandering around, looking at things, digging in dirt, harassing the chickens.
Acting crazy.

Sitting and being still.
Marveling at butterflies.
Catching and ruining them.
Waiting for the rain to stop (though knowing that such a dry summer required it).



Drawing with rocks, discovering chalk.
And making Bastian look like he's got devil eyes.
It was a reprieve for Mama, if exactly the kind of play the kids normally do, though with different things in a different place.

*This post, as with others, pre-dated and post-written out of utter failure.

Dave's Truck

So Dave pulls up to collect baseball tickets on the brink of going unused and the kids run out to check out his truck. Makes sense. We've all seen it before, but can never quell the amazement and curiosity it inspires (plus now and then it changes), so touch and marvel we must.









*This post, as those before it, was delayed and predated and whatever.

And Back Again

After several days alone at the grandparents' I joined the children for the remainder of the week under the pretext of building a tree house together. We took a day trip into Yellow Springs in order to visit a new baby and his mama, a friend of mine from the wayback. We met up for ice cream... Then took a walk to Mr. Fub's Toy Store. We bought silly bands for Aleks (he traded several with teenage girls at the ice cream parlor, as he is want to do), Shut the Box for everyone...

and Bastian picked out a nerf-esq bow & arrow set. It was quite difficult to use.

After an afternoon spent ogling babies and playing with the Papa in the garden with the bow and arrow, we headed home for a snack and an introduction to a phrase from my childhood, "What's up, doc?"

*Again, this post is written later than it's dated as we were busy and I was lazy.

Apparently the Children Ate A Lot of Sugar

It appears that the children did many fun things and ate lots of sugary foods while spending the weekend with my parents. Playing in the fountain downtown and eating incredibly messy ice cream = fun. It's the proper sort of "spoiling" grandparents ought to do, I suppose. I'm not sure what exactly there is to spoil with ice cream, however.

* This post, as part of my effort to report the summer (having failed to do so while it was ongoing), was written September 10th. I understand that makes me weird. And lame.

Back to the Minor League

After the big MLB game, I drove the boys to Dayton to spend some time with their grandparents while Jon and I had the house all to ourselves. My mom and step-dad had them two nights, then my dad and step-mom had them two nights. First, they went to a Dayton Dragons game, which I think they weren't really into. They liked cotton candy and the bouncy house though.





* This post, as part of my effort to report the summer (having failed to do so while it was ongoing), was written September 10th. I understand that makes me weird. And lame.

First Major League Baseball Game

After his return from Texas, Jon wanted to take the boys to an Indians' game. There was a special Friday night game with a million special half-time guests and special fireworks, all with a Christmas theme. They went early for batting practice. The game got rained out in the 4th inning. I picked the boys up and drove them to Dayton for some time with the grandparents at about 10:30. Jon's decided that next time there's a big firework show, that we'll just go sit on the Superior viaduct once the game is over with. Sounds good to me.













*This post written on September 1st, as I try desperately (or rather, slowly and pathetically) to catch up.