Fishing

On the deck?


In the lake, that's better.

Hey, nice shorts!

Floating

Ezra & I have been enjoying swimming in Pleasant Lake nearly everyday.


Floating and tickling is a favorite.


Floating and hugging too.


He can't be sweet all the time.

P.S. Photos taken with Grandpa Rick's camera, still on the hunt for one of our own.

We Are Here!

So sorry for the hiatus! We are indeed alive and well, albeit busy busy bees. There have been a few reasons for the absence of blog postings in the past few weeks, including:

1.) On my birthday my camera was stolen. I took Ezra & his buddy Eli (remember the sleepover buddy?) to the lake and left my camera in my bag along with other things on our blanket while we splashed, swam, shot one another with water guns, and collected rocks. I was keeping one eye on the stuff but it was a little hard with two little ones. When we got back it was gone. Happy birthday indeed! It's a bummer for sure. I keep thinking "I would sure like to take a picture of this..." alas. I guess I have roughly a year average possession of cameras, which is not a very good track record. There were some really adorable ones of Ezra & Eli in Spiderman costumes! So until I remedy that situation posts will likely be sparse as these wordy ones aren't quite as fun as the dazzling photographic journeys I prefer.

2.) We moved! At the end of July we moved out of our cute little house in Bemidji. We are currently vagabonds. I wish I could say we are living out of the Miata but that would be quite impossible. We've been going between parents' houses as well as sleeping at friends' homes. It's been fun! Slightly confusing as to where certain things are, but adventuresome indeed. Why, you ask?

3.) We're headed down to Guatemala. What the heck are we doing that for again? Well, I have been feeling pulled since we left so suddenly last fall to redeem our experience. So, I have assessed the pros and the cons of our previous experience and tweaked our plans in such a way that I feel optimistic that we will have a successful experience this time around. The plan is to live and work at a non-profit Canadian run school called Casa Guatemala located near the east coast of Guatemala. I will be working with children ages 3-5 and have been assured that Ezra & I will be able to be together. The school is quite extensive with an organic garden, library, play structure, and includes housing for teachers and volunteers. It is located on a river, Rio Dulce (sweet river), and is accessible only by boat. I am looking forward to improving my Spanish as well as watching Ezra learn the language. I think it will be a good experience for both of us and want to take advantage of these years before Ezra starts school. Yes I must get a camera before we depart so as to share the experience here! Working on it... Oh and also we will be approximately 4 hours from Chiquimula where Cristian (Ezra's papa) lives so we will hopefully see him once a month. I really do want Ezra to know him, but don't feel like living with him was successful so once a month is better than once a year, which is the best we can do living in the states. We'll be there until May of next year. That's the plan!

4.) I've been working my tuckus off! In June I was working in a friend's garden, in July I worked at the school, in the garden, and doing child care, tallying approximately 50 hours a week, not including mothering duties. Oh and then of course there was packing up our house, cleaning and all the other details involved with moving. I was a bit of a zombie, but am so happy that it's over and done with. Of course I'm happy to have made some money too! This month I've been doing random work as well, back in the garden as well as cleaning cabins, watching children and house sitting. If you need some random job done let me know! I've got some hours to spare around the end of the month.

So that's that. Phew. Hopefully I will post some gorgeous photos soon! Although I've been thinking of going back to film... we'll see! If you have any camera you don't want anymore pass it over!

Veronica

On the fourth of July in the pear dress she stood (with the aid of grandma) on the front porch. She was so cute! Ezra LOVES his cousin. He has been talking about wanting a sister ever since.


Playing together was parallel yet not colliding.


Discussing boat etiquette on the high seas of Pleasant Lake. Ezra is quite captivating. He may be a storyteller.

We do love to be with family and it was lovely to get to know such a dashing young lady during the fourth of July & WFF. Keep clapping!

Winnipeg, Folk, Festival !

We had the luck and sheer joy (most of the time) to attend the Winnipeg Folk Festival this year. Grandma, Raia, Jeff, Veronica, Ben, Hee-Jung, Brian, Betty & Jayme were also in attendance. We had a fantastic time and as usual were just getting in the swing of things when it was time to return to Minnesota. Camping was great, the weather cooperative, and the music exceptional. Can't wait for next year!


Everybody wanted to love up this little cutie. She liked to face out so that she could watch all the people and when the music started she would flex her legs and move her arms about, baby dancer! She's a festival lovin' kindred spirit for sure.


Ezra had met the lovely and tough as nails Kita previously and the two really hit it off at the festival. She allowed him to chase her and then clobber her repeatedly, thus claiming his heart. They had lots else in common: hammocks, drawing in the sand, arranging rocks and french fries. Side note: Kita's grandma was present at Ezra's birth as my doula. Small world!


One of my favorite performances of the weekend was this show by M. Ward. I had seen him play a decade ago in Portland and have always been stirred some magic way by his music. He delighted all this night. I liked that he and his guitar player re-tuned their own guitars between each song, whereas most other performers have some swanky cowboy exchanging multiple pre-tuned guitars seamlessly. M. steals your heart all on his own.


Veronica & I got some good quality time together, staring into one another's dreamy baby blues.


Grandma's chair worked much better as a turtle shell, clearly.


I don't know why he's not happy with his scrumptious camp breakfast.


Givin' Kita a nice squeeze. Whatta hunk and whatta dollface.


Picking cookie out of his belly button in the door of our tent. Precious moments.


Veronica the dolphin tamer!


This show I was super stoked to see but it turned out to be slightly disappointing. Toots and the Maytals are classic Jamaica reggae, so classic that the set was cut short and Toots seemed a little low on energy. Good to see him none the less, and it was probably fine to hit the hay a little early since them some looong days up there in Canada.

Spiderman!

We went to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Ezra got his face painted. Although it didn't last long, it sure was an amazing transformation.

Summer Funtime

Ezra, Amira, Esme, Finn & baby Graham enjoyed an informative tour of the fire station this week. Actually, after we left Ezra said, "I never want to go there again" so I guess enjoyed isn't quite the word. But he did get to sit in the hovercraft and pose on the front of this fire engine. (He is hugging Esme, he's really gotten aggressive with his embraces.)


Ezra with Finn, who is a little freaked out at Ezra's aggressive hugs. Finn is so cute- when the fireman asked the kids if they'd like to be firefighters Finn said, "I just want to be a farmer."


Who is that handsome devil?


The fireman even let the kids spray the fire hose! I thought for sure this would win Ezra over. Guess not.


We had a picnic in the park and Ezra made this guy out of grapes in the grass. A sculptor perhaps?


We went to the carnival! We did it even though everyone that we know has boycotted. I don't really know why. I feel bad for the carnies. They're just trying to make a living like everyone else. We went on the merry-go-round, Ezra rode a bunny!


We also went on the spinning monkey ride and we went in the Fun House. I am 99% sure that the Fun House is the same exact one that I went in when I was little, it was in such bad shape. Tons of stuff was broken, it was amazing that they're still carting it around. Ezra loved it.


After the carnival we went to DQ for a treat (and then went home and brushed our teeth REALLY thoroughly). It was hot and humid and the ice cream melted faster than we could eat it.


We made a little mess.


Of course since I have not been working this month we have been spending a lot of time at home as well. Ezra is getting slightly better at hide-and-seek.

Hope you're having a great summer too!