Friday Flotsam: 9.14.2012

Oops. Fell off the wagon again. Last week my parents were here and there wasn't a single moment to blog! We filled every minute we could with family and had a blast! Every day, the first thing Little Man would say when he awoke was "Grandma sleeping? Papa?" and he'd rush out the door to track them down.

We did a couple huge things while they were here. The first weekend, The Man tried his hand on the race track. He's not a big racing fan, but he's always said he thought it would be a blast to drive one of those cars. So he did! We got him a day racing experience at the track where he took a short driving class and then drove a race car for 12 laps! Awesome!

Big grin! © Cheese Curds & Kimchi

The next weekend we ran the Tough Mudder. So much fun! It seems like another lifetime when The Man and I went off and did these sort of silly things. Grandma and Papa came with us and Little Man hung out with his favorite babysitter. We came back covered in mud and really tired, but wearing huge smiles. Sometimes it's really great to get out and do things alone.

Tough Mudders. © Cheese Curds & Kimchi

The rest of our days were filled with Little Man goading them to chase him around the house, or snuggling up with Grandma, or hanging out on Grandpa's shoulders. We found all sorts of little things during the day...a picnic in the park, hanging on the beach, hiking in the woods, touring the Miller Brewery, hunting for butterflies at the nature preserve, going to the kite festival and listening to music at Jazz in the Park.

Looking for frogs. © Cheese Curds & Kimchi

Captivated by the kites. © Cheese Curds & Kimchi

Picnic. © Cheese Curds & Kimchi

But then, before we knew it, the week was over. Definitely the worst part of the week! We watched them load up into their motor home, Grandma and I shedding more than a few tears. I wasn't sure what reaction Little Man would have, but he did great. He waved and blew kisses. You aren't ever really sure what kids this age are processing, but he told us later (over and over) about how Grandma and Papa got in their "big truck" and went bye-bye. He gets this little sad face when he tells us the story. And now he just pretends they are here, and leaves them cookies at the places where they sat at the table.

Thanks Grandma and Papa for coming out! We had an awesome time.

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Here are my favorite posts this week:

We just got this book, "I Love You Rituals". Can't wait to dig in and will let you know what we think!
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I loved this post about a family visiting their daughter's birth town in China. With their two oldest sons, the family traveled to China to bring home their daughter, and stopped off to visit her birth city and orphanage. The simplicity and directness of this post was very touching.
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Watch this beautfiul performance of the the gayageum, a traditional Korean musical instrument, posted at This Corner Of The Earth.
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Kids are back at school, and here's a short article about lessons learned in the classroom with internationally adopted children.
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Love this idea for turning children's art into tea towels.
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OMG. Seriously? Is Christmas really right around the corner? Better print this adorable Christmas Santa Beard countdown. 
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This looks like the perfect treat for fall. Autumn brittle with dried fruit and nuts! Yummmmm.