I loved so many of the songs that Kimya sang at LIG, but I think this one was my favorite:

My friend Zoe had a tie dying party to get ready for Life is Good. I am really pleased with how everything turned out!

Sibling Shifting

Last night I thought I heard something shift in the way Orion and Akasha were playing together. It was subtle, but I noticed Orion *wanting* to keep Akasha with him, so if she started crying about something, he would try to fix it so she would stay with him.

And now, my kids have played together without my intervention for most of the day. Just a few days ago, it seemed like fighting, screaming and crying ALL DAY LONG. I would like to say I came through this with trust and grace. But I didn't. I screamed, and yelled, and cried, and threw things and complained to my friends in what I am sure was an annoying manner. And there were more than a few "bad words" uttered.

There are lots of other things going on in our home creating stress. Ron just ended his contract and is struggling with his identity as a provider. We found out we weren't going to keep the medical insurance we thought we had for another month, and since I need a surgery, that is really shitty timing. It is so easy to find excuses for challenging behavior. And of course stress DOES play a part no doubt. But in the midst of all this stress, my children *still* found their way to a beautiful balance with each other.

And then I have to start wondering why.... Did Akasha reach some magical age to seem like a better playmate to Orion? Did Orion hit some milestone with self control? Maybe they are trying to escape their parents. :/ So why not just enjoy it? There is no doubt they will cycle through more ups and downs with each other than I will be able to keep track of. Maybe this peace is only for today. But there it is. Sweet and pure and beautiful sibling love. That lasted more than 5 minutes. That lasted most of the day with the exception of a few bonks and really minor squabbles. If this is possible, I feel like anything is! A lesson in surrender and trust.

And here are a couple pictures to remind me of this day!

I think this was the first time Orion really wanted Akasha in his room.

He called me to bring the camera over during this "huggy", as he calls them.

Some Random Orion Stuff

Orion has officially learned to blow bubbles with gum, and he is pretty darn proud of himself!

And in other news, he brought up some pretty funny questions with Ron the other day, as in, "What happened to mommy and sister's penis? LOL, he has mentioned before that girls and boys are different in that way, so it surprised me. He also asked why we have hair in certain places and he doesn't. When Ron told him he would get that some day, he was totally flabbergasted!

Room for one more, honey?

I have probably passed these signs 100s of times, but for some reason the other day the combination struck me as hilarious!

Just Some More Caching

Akasha and I went out to do a bit of geocaching . Orion wanted to stay home with Ron. Wish he liked to go with us more, but I don't want to push it or he might end up not liking it at all!

Here is a neat little cache in "natural camouflage" as they call it.
"Ooooh, what's inside?"
The cache was just off a powerline park, and the field was full of those little white flowers Akasha loves to pick. She also called the power towers "castles"!


Flowers in both hands, doin' a little dance.
On to the next cache. It was another good sized one.
She took a couple tumbles today and officially has her first skinned knees!
The next cache was at a local park. The pool is still covered and a duck couple was hanging out in the little big of water it caught. Struck me as totally amusing.
And then we went over to a local church that has a labyrinth! Totally floored me because we used to live right around the corner from here, and I didn't even know it was here!
Playing in the fountain in the courtyard.

Balsa Planes

Orion has continued to be really interested in plane designs, so Ron but a couple different balsa wood styles. Here is trying to throw them both at the same time. :)

Another Great Great Wolf Trip!

Of course I had to do some caching on the way there! I had read about this one right off the 5 with a 60s theme so really wanted to stop! It is a 5 gallon bucket in a seldom used spot, which is cool as you don't see many of those!

Not much left on the 60s theme, but I left a tie dyed onesie I hope goes to a good family lol.
Another awesome travel but hotel! Some of these people just amaze me with their creativity!

Then I pretty much failed at taking pictures. We have a new little camera I haven't really gotten used to. Need to get on the ball with that. Here is Akasha at breakfast on Ron's bday. She really went crazy for the sausages!
A rare sibling picture where they are both looking at the cam!
Akasha had so much more fun this time!
She really hated the water hitting her last time, and this time she just shrugged and went right through it!
And a couple quick vids!

And now for the video catch up!

Just some Orion silliness we haven't seen in awhile!

Doing some "gymnastics" with Daddy:

Fun with paper airplanes!

This is kinda long, but it is cute!

A few from the Tulip Festival. This one was a trip, because it looks like the ladybug flies right off Akasha's arm and into the camera!

And then she really struggled with walking over the bumpy grass lol!

Orion got to do some duck racing. He loves them!

And last but not least, The Batik Monster!

Picture Catch Up v.?

So my blog is woooefully behind and I wanted to do some quick catch ups.

I finally bought a monkey platter type thing. Now I just need to get more creative about what to put in it! The kids were both quite tickled with it!
We put some wet paper towels and a seed in the kitchen window to see what would happen. It doesn't really get any direct sunlight, so I wasn't sure if it would work, but it sprouted!
And here it is several days later!
We went to play at my friend Tiff's and ended up scoring some of her old diapers!!! This was the cutest one by far though!
And here we have the latest in dog fashion, modeled by Kona, dressed by Akasha. :)
Just a random picture of Orion, but what was going on in the mirror was pretty funny...
... which was this:
This is Akasha being a monster. She gets under there and makes a rawring sound and says, "Moooonster." Then pops out and says, "It's not a monster, it's Akasha!"