where does the time go?

Okay, so maybe me posting every day was a bit unrealistic. Oh, well. Here's what I remember from the blur that was the last week:

We discovered two caterpillars had turned into chrysalises and got to watch one go through the transformation.

Lots of arts and crafts, as always.

Spent time with my nieces. Yesterday I took all three kids to play at the park until they got too hot, then to the nature center, then on a walk through the woods. They had fun looking at flowers and squirrels and cool fungi and stuff like that.

Worked our way through more of our pile from the library. Samuel really likes Tomie dePaola's "Pancakes for Breakfast". I think he likes that there are no words, so he can narrate it however he likes. We've noticed more little details in the pictures than I normally would. We also got every book the library had on both guinea pigs and caterpillars/butterflies.

I am probably forgetting something momentous, but that's the way things go around here.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! Yay! It is also the feast of St. Maximillian Kolbe, a truly amazing man. We didn't know that when we were married, but we are so very glad to celebrate his life along with our marriage.

Samuel is still drawing today. And pretending that he is on a space ship.

We went out to a local Greek restaurant, Papa George's, for an early dinner. It was wonderful, as always. They make the best hummus! We also had gigantes, dolmades, and spanikopitakia, among other things. And of course we had baklava! Yum!

Afterward, we went to a local nursery to browse, and of course had to buy a few things. Just can't resist flowers. :) Samuel had fun observing a young rabbit that was hopping through the plants and was able to get pretty close to it. I spied a killdeer - the first we've seen around here.

Then Shawn and Samuel read about some of the Saints before bed: St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. Louis, and a few others.

Pumpkins, squash, and gourds, oh my!

Also on Saturday, we went to a local pumpkin patch. Calling it a pumpkin patch hardly does it justice, though, as they grow over 200 varieties of pumpkins, squash, and gourds. Amazing! It was so fascinating to see the varieties, learn what they are used for, what countries they come from, and select our own to try. We got a nice jack-o-lantern pumpkin, but also a big pie pumpkin, a Japanese squash that is supposed to taste similar to hash browns when fried, a butternut, some sweet potato squash (Samuel's favorite last year), and some spaghetti squash, which I've been wanting to try for some time now. I'll post how they turn out as we cook them!