A Few Things I'll Remember Most...

Summer officially came to a close this past weekend, which has left me a bit melancholy. Fortunately, we managed to fill our Labor Day Weekend with all the things we love about summer...and even better, with some of the people we've grown to enjoy the most.
Days at the pool have been some of the best times we've had as a family. Watching the boys grow more comfortable--and even daring--in the water, playing basketball at the kid-sized b-ball court (making mental note of Jonny's crazy skills already...seriously? a basket from free-throw-range?), watching them dig canals and rivers in the giant sandbox and play on the jungle gym in their sandy swimtrunks, and of course...laughing hysterically as their daddy comes shooting out of the water slide. The pool has been invaluable this summer. We've loved the camaraderie of several friends on many days/nights, but the best times were the ones where we were there just as a family...driving home with worn out, chlorine-soaked and butt-happy toddlers in the back of our mini-van.
And yes, we love our mini. So give us a break.

Neighborhood gatherings were at no shortage this summer, either. Some planned in advance, but most of them impromptu. And always with the icees. If I cut one plastic end of off an icee pop this summer, I did it a thousand times. Anyone else?
We do love our neighbors, though, and are so grateful for them. Sometime around late May we decided on a tradition with our friends Brian and Megan that if there was ever a Friday night that we were both free (which, unfortunately, only ended up happening about 3 or 4 times), we would gather at one of our houses for a BBQ. This past Friday night was one of the best. Annabel and Benjamin are, as Megan and I noted, unbelievably compatible as buds. They play so well together and have lengthy conversations...hysterical. Olivia and Jonathan haven't exactly bonded yet, but we see some serious plans being made in the way they look at eachother.:) But the best of all is the friendship that's developed with the adults. This past Friday night we sat in their back screened-in porch drinking margaritas while Jonathan slept in a pack-n-play upstairs, and Benjamin watched Arthur with Annabel on the couch. We laughed, talked (about politics mostly...one of our favorite things to discuss) and even managed to gossip like schoolgirls about the neighborhood. I think it was the first time I realized just how comfortable we've become with them.
It would've been a completely respectable evening (even with the gossip...you know you all do it) had we ended it there, but somewhere around 9pm Ted and Maureen (they need their own blog entry) showed up with drinks in their hands and invited us down to sit in their driveway around the chiminay (nooo idea how you spell that thing). So we went, bringing a monitor to listen for the little ones and letting Benjamin run around the backyard and play in the neighbor's tree fort.
At 9pm.
And we stayed until 11pm.
Benjamin was a mess. And so were the adults.:)
But it was, by far, one of the best Friday nights we had this summer. Even got to hear Ted talk about his job...which he hardly does (he's a medical examiner for Kent County).

The rest of the weekend was mostly time spent with other neighbors, including some of our faves, Sarah and Ryan. I adore these kids. I've been watching them, for the past year and a half, get older and more mature...but still have an unusual amount of patience with our boys. They show real interest in them and are always introducing them to the things I know I wouldn't...like how to make water balloons (ok, I'd probably do that), hold frogs and toads (um, no...I'd never do that), how to play dodgeball, four square, do somersaults (no one wants to see me do that), and so many other creative and rambunctious ways to pass the time.
Ryan will even be skateboarding down Santa Cruz with other boys his age...and when Benjamin runs to the edge of the sidewalk and calls his name (PLG), he'll stop, walk over, and kneel down by Benjamin and show him how the board works. One of these days I'm going to have to slip the kid a 5-spot for all the times he's kept B busy while I make dinner, too.
Anyway, we love having Ryan and Sarah nextdoor. After all, Sarah taught Benjamin how to sit with his hands in chin-mudra and chant "Om".
The second to last picture was taken by Brian Miller on a night out we had a few weekends ago...I think it was at Hopcat Brewery. At any rate, we all got a bit shnockered on pints (starting at Graydon's) that night. It was, gratefully, much like many other fun nights with friends we've been able to enjoy this summer...even a few out just the two of us, too. And of course I count my own family in the mix here, because holy cow...those were some of the rowdiest nights of all.:)

The last pic is of something I will always remember and hold dear...the way Jonny lays his head on my shoulder, especially with a stuffed animal or blankie to cuddle against. Both my boys are highly affectionate and loving, but Jonathan is--by far--a lot more cuddly. The boy loves to snuggle. And even though I know he'll always be this way, I know that the days of him cuddling so comfortably on my shoulder that he falls asleep are numbered.
Plus, he's getting damn heavy.

Important to note here, I think, are the less happy--but equally memorable--moments:

*saying goodbye to Allie and wishing her well at U of M
*Benjamin starring in an ad for Global Relief (impetigo, anyone?)
*Jonny slipping off of a deck chair at Orchard Hills and conking his head on the cement (the number of times this kid fell over this summer is too high to count, but this one was scary)
*Brian traveling...a lot (most memorable? Brian: "Hi honey, I'm eating sushi at a sweet sushi bar in Manhattan" Me: "Really? That is so awesome. Jonathan just pooped in the bathtub. Gotta jettison the toys asap.")
*Potty frustrations
*Tim Russert (I think that was springtime...but we think about it still to this day)
*the lady who verbally attacked me in the parking lot of Home Fabrics (did I not post about this?)
*the near-anxiety attack I had in Seattle when it got to be just one day too many away from my boys
*missing the pulled-pork cook-off (thanks for the leftovers, though, Shawn!)

At any rate, it's been one for the books.
And today...today Benjamin started preschool. Well, he had his "meet and greet", anyway. And it was beyond successful. To illustrate this, I will end this post with the following quotes taken from our morning at Mayflower.

Brian, as we pull into parking lot: "This is your preschool, Bud...isn't it great?"
Benjamin: "Aww, yeah...I think it is gonna be great." (if you're at all familiar with B's "drawl", then you hear this being said just perfectly)

Benjamin, to Lily McIntosh, upon seeing her in the hallway: "Hey Lily! This is preschool!"

Me, as we wait in the hallway outside his classroom to meet his teachers: "Well, we need to wait, Bud...because it's not our turn yet."
Benjamin: "But I want to go in, Mommy...I'm so excited to go in!"
(add here that when we finally did go in, he walked right up to the teachers, said his hellos...and disappeared to the toy area, without so much as a glance our way the entire time)

Me, as I fastened his carseat: "So next time we come, you're gonna stay...and Mommy will come back after a bit...just like I do at East Hills and The MAC...that sound pretty ok, Buddy?"

Benjamin: "Huh...yeaah...I think it surely does, Mommy."
Brian and me: bug-eyed and speechless in the front seat. Trying so hard not to laugh...and me...not to cry.

Need I say more.
Fall is officially here, and it seems we're all ready for it.