Frogs, and Snails, and Super Hero Tales

The other evening as I was fixing dinner, James was playing with his friends from next door. Just as I was about to call him in for dinner, he came running up to the door all excited. On his own (without daddy's help) he had caught a frog! "A big ol' fatty!" in James's words. James was so excited and of course wanted him to stay for dinner (Please please please please please!!!) Well, we were having waffles for dinner (it had been a REALLY bad day at work (another long story) and I didn't feel like making a real dinner) so I told James that I didn't think the frog would enjoy waffles. It took some convincing but James finally let the frog go in our garden out front. He was comforted by the fact that Mr. Frog (see an earlier post) would keep him company and they would have wonderful adventures just like in the story Frog and Toad.

I also stepped out of my "mom" comfort zone and threw a friend party for James on the 19th. It was a super hero theme and we held it in our clubhouse; there was no way I would have been able to fit 10 4 year olds and all their energy in my house. I was very nervous, having it be my first public display of mom talent (I have none), but everyone said it went off very well and the only tears were James's when he couldn't play with ALL of his presents before we had cake. The kids got superhero capes, decorated masks, rescued the civilians of Little Yellow Land from the gravel monster, and then helped Spider Man make a web. It went very well and almost all of the kids stayed after to play while the mom's chatted...a sure sign of a party well planned and executed (LOL!!!!!).

Sorry the pictures are blurry...

And oh yes, I finally got to put up my fall wreath (my favorite wreath). It looks wonderful! Now to get some pumpkins to complete the fall look...

James turns 4!

On Thursday, September 10th, James turned 4 years old. We can't believe he is 4 already! We also can't believe what a wonderful son he has been.

First of all, he's 4 so he is full of the infinite wisdom that only 4 year olds have: "Just look it up on the innernet" was his response when I asked him what we should have for dinner one night. When I asked him where he should put his clothes after he took them off he said, "I don't know, let me check my email."

He is also very candid and loves to participate in church: "That's the magazine I read when I go poop!" is what he said when a member of the Primary Presidency held up The Friend Magazine in Sharing Time one sunday. He's also not shy about sharing what he thinks: "Do you think smoking is cool? I think its gross and it'll make you ugly" to our next door neighbor one night.

James is also very loving and concerned about those around him: "Mom, Molly is crying. I think she's hungry. You should feed her cheetohs and I'll help her eat them."..."Mom, Molly wants to play with that Spiderman toy. But she doesn't know how to play with it so I'll show her how."

James loves to dress up as his favorite superheroes: Batman and Spiderman, and will one day save the world from evil. True story, he told me so himself. He loves to sing in singing time at church and we really enjoy his versions of the songs he's learning in Primary: "Jesus came to Judeah and it took him a long time and then flowed down the river in a Jordan."

But in all seriousness, he has been a very loving and happy person right from the start. He was the happiest baby (and a wonderful sleeper!) and cares a lot about those around him, especially Molly. He has such a curious nature and loves to learn about anything and everything. James is constantly asking questions (His favorite right now is "But why?") and wants to know the "real" answer. He is always on the go; he never stops for anything, except chocolate milk. James loves to read stories and always wants to help Steve with anything he is doing, he is definitely a daddy's boy. Steve and I have been so blessed to have James in our lives. We have definitely enjoyed having him in our family. Love you little dude!

Lacy, the wonder dog!

At my nephew's request, this post is all about, Lacy....the dog.

Lacy is our dog. She's a West Highland Terrier (Westie) and has been with us the last 7 years. She's been in Steve's family her whole life, and is really old...15 years old. But she has the spirit of a puppy whenever you say the word, "Treat".

At first glance, she seems like your typical dog: she sleeps on our couch, sits and rolls over, eats the scraps of food that fall on the floor, licks your face like crazy if you let her, and luckily can't drink out of our toilet bowl because she's too short. But if you really knew her, you'd know she's not your ordinary dog: she rarely barks, she sits and stares at her food before eating it, she'll disappear in our house and we can't find her and then she'll magically reappear out of nowhere, she'll sit for long periods of time staring at you while you are sleeping, and she always seems to know when pizza is being served.

My theory: she's an undercover super dog! No really, she is. True story.

Lacy the dog by night, and super hero dog by day (She can only be a super hero during the day because that's when she is needed the most). You may ask, "What are her super powers?" Well, she definitely has super hearing. She hears things so well, that even the tiniest of sounds will keep her from hearing us. I think that's why she will sit for hours staring at a tree and totally be oblivious the fact that we are calling her inside.

Lacy definitely has the ability to read minds and project her thoughts into our minds...that's why she stares at us in our sleep. Unfortunately we don't have the ability to receive her thoughts, so we have no idea what she's trying to tell us.

We know she doesn't have the ability to open doors because one time I locked myself out of the house and had to climb in the basement window (I was 8 months pregnant at the time, yeah that was fun). All the while she just layed on the couch and watched me "squeeze" through the window.

As for staring at her food before she eats it, I can only guess that she has learned by example and is praying over her food, "Please bless this food that it will taste different from the last time I ate it."

"So what exactly does she do?" Hello, isn't it obvious? She saves the world from evil.

The Official End of Summer

School started and that officially ended summer for the Duncans. Before all the craziness, we had one last hoorah and went to Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island. It was awesome! A good friend of mine from school came and helped out with the kids (She was Molly's best friend the whole trip) and we spent lots of time in the sun and the sand. I couldn't pick which picture to post, so check out the slide show. We also went camping (in the rain!) the weekend after but somehow we missed getting pictures of that adventure.

Over the summer James perfected his stunts so he can make lots of money being a stunt man:

Molly worked on perfecting her handstand so she can join Cirque de Soleil and become famous.

We also had lots of other adventures this summer that I haven't mentioned, but I tried to include pictures in the slide show.

Oh James wants me to mention that we have a frog living in our front garden. His name is Mr. Frog. He watches over our house while we are gone and only comes out at night.

James also acquired a lovely rock collection over the summer. I have tried to relocate it several times, but James has disapproved of the location every time. He said something about it not doing justice to their beauty. I finally decided to incorporate it into my decorating and voila! James loves having his collection out for display.

And finally, to start the school year off right, Steve dyed my hair burgundy; new year, new color, new me!

And thus the school year adventures begin...

Musings...

It's coming on fall in Connecticut. I love fall time. It's my second favorite season (next to summer, of course). There is a different feeling in the air, a different crispness. The weather and the smells outside are changing. Why do the smell of concord grapes always remind me of fall? The days are becoming shorter and the air is cooler. And of course the hallmark signature of fall: the buying of school supplies and the starting of school. "If I knew your name and where you lived, I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils".

Steve started school on the 26th. Steve's determined to work hard this year and put together a great portfolio. It's his last year at this school, and then its on to our next adventure, wherever that may be: New York, Boston, or Philadelphia. Really we just want to go biking in Moab.

I went back to school on the 28th. I always have mixed feelings when school starts. On the one hand, I love the school environment and I love teaching. This is my 7th year teaching and overall its been very rewarding for me; yes, even at New London. On the other hand, when I'm at school my heart aches for my children. Even though they stay with a very loving lady in Waterford, get lots of attention, and are very happy there, I long to be with them. I keep telling myself that this too shall pass.

Climb on!

For the past couple of weeks, James has been begging Steve to take him rock climbing. Steve has been several times this summer and James has been dying to go. Mostly I think he wanted to use all the cool gear Steve pulls out when he goes. So finally, we organized a "kid friendly" rock climbing trip with several families in our ward. What a success it was! We finally got to use the kid's harness, thanks Jill and Joel! And I got to climb for the first time in over 2 years. Yes, I admit I was a bit skeptical about how it would all play out: making sure the kids were happy and all and not crying or whining. For the most it went very well...except when we first got there and Molly was grumpy, mostly because dad left to go set up an anchor; but she cheered up once we pulled out the snacks.

We climbed at a site about 5 miles from our house called Latern Hill. We have hiked there several times and really enjoy the scenery. It reminds us a bit of Millcreek Canyon. The site has several climbs ranging from a 5.5 (easiest) to a 5.11 (a bit more challenging). Unlike Utah, it's not bolted and there are no anchors so the dads got pretty creative with the webbing and extra rope setting up our own anchors. The kids climbed the 5.5 route and the adults climbed a 5.8 route. We had two ropes going and would have had a third if we had more webbing (I think a field trip to REI is in order). I definitely hope we can go again! I would like a trip with the adults minus the kids...what do you think? Anyone game?

Even Molly got to "climb".

For the past couple of months, Molly has been working on improving her vocabulary. The rest of us have been improving on figuring out what she really means. Here are a few examples:

Dink: "I would like a drink. No, not water or milk, but whatever you are having is fine...oh, and yes, I insist on drinking out of your cup."

Nummy: "What you have looks really good and I need some of that...NOW!"

Doggie: this word applies to any furry four-legged creature....including stuffed animals.

Pease: Molly has learned to use this word to get whatever she wants. She looks up at you with those big brown eyes, gives you her biggest smile that lights up her whole face, and says this word. I have yet to meet anyone who can resist her charm. I certainly can't.

Ames: James of course, her favorite playmate

Natnan: Batman, James's favorite superhero. "Dress me up in a cape too so I can be just like James"

Wacie: Lacy, the dog. As Molly is calling for her, Lacy is usually hiding in the futhermost corner of the house.

Wash: "I see you are doing something with water. That must mean its time for me to play in the water and get it all over everything within a 5 foot radius."

Up: "Hold me...for about 5 seconds then I'll change my mind and squirm around and around until you put me down."

Nuggle: "Hold me some more so I don't have to take a nap/go to sleep." or it could mean, "I'm really tired and ready for my nap, but I would never admit it".

No: "No, nope, nada, not happening, no way, in your wildest dreams, that's not what I want...duh!"

Of course she has a lot more words she uses, but these are some of her favorites. And like every other 17 month old she has a variety of noises that just can't be described in words. But when she uses them, you know EXACTLY what she means. My favorite are her squeals of laughter as James chases her around the house...or as she is running away from you as you are trying to change her diaper/dress her/take something away from her she really shouldn't have.

The Green Lady with the Torch

For my birthday, we took a day trip to New York City. I finally got to see the Statue of Liberty. Woo woo! For anyone planning a trip soon, I HIGHLY recommend buying your tickets online the night before. It seriously saved us 2 to 3 hours of waiting in line (and just in case you're wondering, tickets to go up into the crown are sold out until the middle of November). Because we bought our tickets before hand, we didn't have to wait in line to buy them and we didn't have to wait in line to get on the Ferry either. Steve did it the hard way last time he was in New York and it took him 3 hours to buy tickets and wait in line for the Ferry. It took us 20 minutes and we were on the ferry. NICE!

After Liberty Island we took the subway to uptown Manhatten to see the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History. James got to see real dinosaur bones. Then afterwards we took the kids to play in Central Park. Such a peaceful place amidst a crazy city. After dinner, we walked down Broadway to Times Square. That is something everyone has to experience at least once. Somehow we missed the Naked Cowboy... darn it. But as we were walking, we stumbled across the Manhatten Temple. We weren't looking for it, didn't even know where it was, and we would have missed it if I didn't see "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" on the side. At first glance I thought it was a church house. Then I realized what it was and said, "OH! There's the Manhatten Temple". Yeah, I'm a dork. I couldn't decide which pictures to post, so check out the slide show.

As some of you know, New York City is a place Steve is considering for his masters. Now that I've been there....twice...I think I could live there for 2 years and survive. So yes Uncle Bob and Uncle Scott, your votes are now in the running. But as fun as it was, it was nice to come home to the quiet and solicitude of Lakeside Drive in Ledyard.

I still miss the mountains.