Who was I when I first had my children?
The people that I have been in my life are fading fast in the present concerns and daily activities. The mother I was to Bowden and Lucy when they were Jack and Miles' ages was an entirely different creature than the person I am today...not that that is all a bad thing. I am so much more comfortable with parenting, and so much better at seeing the smallest tendrils of good and bad behaviors and attitudes...so much better at tending and pruning than I was with my first and second.
It comes so easily that the stresses and pangs of those early attempts at child-rearing have been so muted that I usually can ignore my failures easily and move on. The sad thing, though, is that the excitement and fun that was as quickly felt has been muted as well, and the joys I found so easily are ignored in the doing.
Did I think about using a spare quarter to give the "big" kids a ride? It wasn't giving in to a demand- I loved things like this as a kid, and I love letting them have this simple joy. I love a treat. I love making them happy.
But to stop? To wait? It's not impatience, it's momentum lost.
So we did it. I let them have two rides on the yellow choo-choo train. And they loved it. And I loved it. And it was like a new thing.

It was Awana Grand Prix time again. Bowden was grounded- grounded from everything- and he missed it, but we designed and painted one together. The first car is Jack's. Bowden came up with the idea for it, and Jack said he liked it, and Bowden had already moved on.

It's a volcano. With dinosaurs. We actually won for speed and design- first for design, second for speed.

This Lucy's hummingbird, which was a tragic figure in the race and didn't make it through even one. She was pretty upset about it, saying as she was crying, "I just wanted it to finish ONE race at least!"
It was all made right when she won first place for design- there were twenty cars entered in her level, so that was quite the coup. It won without the beak, even, since the poor yellow nose made the car over the regulation seven inches.

Bowden, after coming up with the volcano idea, decided on a dragon. An Ice Dragon, from Antarctica. I refit the wings from Jack's last year bluebird.
The spikes and the teeth were my particular favorites.

This is the infamous Teegardens- their cars took home the top honors in speed for the- what- fifth or sixth year running? Very impressive. I just happened to be sitting across from them, too.

I don't know why my kids love snakes so much, but they do. This one was a California Kingsnake, maybe because we found one just last week in our driveway.

Lucy had flowers. It was very celebratory. I raced Bowden's car and won second in speed and third in design- losing out to a totally awesome miniature couch-car, and a really cool stream-lined shark.

Altogether we came home with five trophies for three cars- far more than our fair share. But still, it's a really good time.

All four of them.

They are all so happy with themselves in this picture- they climbed up to the top of a staircase that ends in a wall. You can't tell how high the stairs go, or what a nice view you had from up there. You can see, a bit, how nice the sunshine felt, and how novel, two months ago. Already, though, we are getting used to the warmth and the sun up on our mountain.

Two- or three- months ago, Spring was a promise almost met, and now Summer is making itself felt.

Let's pretend that it hasn't been a million years since I posted. Remember when we got cookies?
Here is Miles.

Two little piggies.

Bowden's choice of cookie had less to do with decoration and more to do with topping. The Ladybug was the only cookie with frosting and chocolate. What a practical boy I have, yes?

Lucy ate her cookie wihout timidity.

The cookie, also, was not afraid. Unwisely, I think, judging from the crumbs in the seat.