Some Stuff That Happened

Scully Space has been dormant, and I guess some stuff has happened. First and foremost, Elliott started school again. As is now his tradition, he posed for a first-day, tear-jerker shot. (Brace yourself for the Mini Pete here.)


Really, the kid is THRILLED to be back in school. (It's the same classroom and teacher as last year, so it's been a fairly easy transition.) After the first day, Elliott announced he was the biggest kid in his class (may be true) and that he had to go back "to teach the kids the stuff they didn't know." Please pray for me.

In the non-school hours, we've been living in the animated world of Cars!!! Elliott can recite a healthy (unhealthy? maybe unhealthy) chunk of the script. We read Cars books (and I do awesome voices, thankyouverymuch). We play with Lightning McQueen toy cars and convert our backyard running races into pretend scenes from the movie. By some stroke of magical luck, my dad and step mom got the boys matching cars jackets for their birthdays. They try to keep their cool, but, well, you know ... When you look THIS cool, it's hard to contain.




The girls have been trying to keep things exciting, too. Tragus (the black-and-white one) ate an entire corn cob off the counter, and lived to tell the tale. Actually, neither of them spoke up, so I got to monitor their behavior and stare at them while they pooped to figure out the culprit. (It didn't take long.) It doesn't help that both dogs look guilty as sin all the time.



UPDATE: I couldn't tell you this until I know she wouldn't die, but Tragus also consumed a peach pit yesterday. Is it just me, or are those things really poisonous?!?! Anyway, this dog has 174 lives or something. She threw it up whole this morning.

I think the girls got excited when I was actually trying to take their pictures! Look at them workin' the camera like those 1970s (or were they '80s??) portraits with two head shots in one. Remember those??

The Great Outdoors

When the weather gives us warm afternoons and cool evenings, it's easy to just plain rot in the backyard. Whenever possible, we've been playing outside. I guess the boys like it okay.



Here's a game where I'm on ground with the camera, and Elliott runs in big circles and jumps over me, trying to be quicker than the camera. It really wasn't easy to capture him, but here's my best shot:




Meanwhile, Patrick wants to play tag. Forever. Always. And then again. The funniest part is that he cannot run without laughing.



Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted... A couple (or more) weeks ago, we set up the sprinkler with our neighbors. Elliott and neighbor Payton LOVED it. (The younger kids weren't as sure.) It cracked me up that Elliott would always put his arms out to, I suppose, keep himself dry as he ran through.

Patrick was good with the sprinkler as long as it kept its distance.

Ever try to get photos of sprinkler action from different angles? It is tricky!

The water party didn't end there. Our neighbors also have a hot tub. And flowery, purple floatation devices. Still, Elliott was pretty darn sure he looked like a stud.

At two, Patrick's at that age where I think they talk about "parallel play." He's often totally content in his own world.

But, oh, the mowing! Patrick is still enamoured with the task of cutting the grass. Moments earlier, this shot had both boys following Pete (yes, we have two toy mowers for just this reason), but Elliott quit, and I missed the whole opp. Still, pretty cute:

Now when can we actually give them the real lawn mower??? Is it next year?

Funny Face

Elliott LOVES making goofy faces, and Patrick really thinks he knows what's going on and that he can do whatever his big brother does.



See? Patrick's all over this goofy face-making thing.




Totally nuts. This is his best stuff.



Then he just cracks himself up, declares victory and breaks into a smile.

Now, this series--they're hiding in their new favorite backyard spot, under the deck stairs. What??--is maybe my favorite face series. Get ready! Elliott had just shown his brother the agreed upon (a.k.a. Elliott-decided) goofy face. Then, they turn to the camera and make the same face...

...I start laughing, so Elliott turns to check his brother. Pat-trick! What are you doing??

Patrick, suddenly delighted that he must've made the funniest goofy face, starts giggling with all of his fingers in his mouth.

I'm pretty sure they're supergeniuses.

Momarazzo

It goes without saying, but I'll go ahead: I like taking photos of my kids. They, on the other hand, don't always like being the subjects of my photos. If Patrick's not in the mood, he'll whine and cry and push the camera away. These photos are not very funny. They really make it look like I torture Patrick. Quite a bit.

Then there's Elliott. When he wants to play or eat his popsicle in peace or whatever else he's firmly decided has nothing to do with cameras, he makes thee best faces. Behold a few examples:

No! No cameras! I want to play tag!!!



Mom! I am trying to concentrate here!



Seriously. Get it out of my face.