Releasing the wee little kraken.

My daughter's class had the joy of tending to live crayfish in the classroom. Then my daughter had the joy of me saying "yes" when she asked if she could bring one home for us to keep or release.



I told her she could keep it for a few days, but that we would need to release it.



This week we took her crayfish, affectionately named Lobster, on a walk to release him. We went down to the stream, formerly known as the lake.



Lobster must have been thrilled; he was becoming very tired of the constant show and tell with the neighborhood kids. Too much stress for one little crayfish.



It was a gentle, beautiful evening when we walked to the stream.



The kind of evening where each phase of the setting sun, orange through deep purple, lingers in the sky for a really long time.





The days are getting so long. It's good that this is the last week of school, I'm having trouble getting the kids to go to bed since it's still light outside.



"I hear a plane! A plane!" "Where?"



Kind of hard to believe that the days will start getting shorter again in a month. I actually look forward to the days getting shorter. I know, I'm weird.











Bye, Lobster!



Enjoy your fresh flowing water and lack of poking fingers!





The sunlight was in the peach phase when we left the house, and was still in shades of orange when we returned home. I guess I can allow there to be one good aspect to the extra long hot days.



And if any of my children ask, Lobster lived happily ever after in the stream.

In which we build a stairway to the garden.

The new house came with some old stairs leading down to the garden. I just went through all of my pictures, trying to find a photo of the dilapidated steps. This is the closest I've got:



Apparently the top section of steps were so unimpressive that I managed to never take a picture of them, not even when we removed them last week.

The steps were formed by two planks of wood that at one time were attached to the runners. But over time, they just became loose boards — portals to the black decaying bug condo beneath them. Blech! If you didn't step very carefully, the board at the front of your step would wobble off. Not only were the planks shifty, but there was no railing to hold onto should your ankle give way. No one was allowed down the steps without supervision.



My husband and his dad (and the occasional helper) spent the week building the new staircase and fitting it into the old slot.





My job was to stain them. I tried to choose a color that worked with the existing steps and pavers further down.



These are actually interim steps, until we can do what we really want to do with the slope — create a gradual path down to the garden that cuts in front of the little patio with the chairs. A path that is less stair-y, and more wheelbarrow-y.



I like the new stairs. Every time I go down to the garden, I think "Oh, hey, new stairs!" It's a good thing.



Speaking of the garden, it's really exploding.



Here's the before shot, two months ago:



And here it is now:



I can't believe that this is what the package of seeds that arrived in the mail turned into. Science is amazing!

The tomatoes are going crazy. This is a shot of them two weeks ago.



And now, 14 days later, they've grown over the top of their cages!



Now when I do my daily stare-down of the garden to gawk at how much it has grown, I can stumble on the way there and it will be okay because there's a rail to grab.



Hi, new stairs and rail! I like you.

A handmade present from my 6 year old to my 1 year old.

When it came time for the baby's first birthday, my daughter went into her typical 8 year old wanna-be mother mode and decided that she needed to make a present for her baby brother. Not only that, but her other little brothers should make presents, too.

They were excited to go along with her grand schemes this time.



One night, they went into the boys' room with paper and markers. I'm not sure what went on in there, but when they came out, my 6 year old had produced this for his baby brother (with help from his big sister):



It's a coloring book! Awww!!



"Dinosaurs are cool and scary." It's a guide to dragons and dinosaurs. Everything a little brother should know about such beasts.



They're mean, and they're nice.



(The meat-eater looks much happier. Just sayin'.)



And, a few important notes about dragons.





This is the last page of the not exactly finished product.



The picture on this one has not been drawn yet.



It should be — um — informative!