Future Ranger?

Jack runs to greet his daddy at the door every day when he arrives home from work.  They spend quite a bit of time passing Joe’s ranger hat back and forth, then the hat tends to go onto Jack’s talking bear (you can see it on the shelf in the background – what you can’t see is that Jack broke the poor bear’s neck). 

A few days ago Joe and Jack took a walk and Joe caught their conversation on video.  They spoke of foliose lichen and crustose lichen on the trees.  I can’t tell you how bizarre it is for me to watch the little boy who came from my body identify different types of lichen.  It gets even weirder when Jack makes me draw lichen on the magnadoodle because the highest grade I ever got in Science was a C, and that was with “help.”

Grandma and Grandpa

My mom and her partner came for a visit this weekend.  This is the first time that Jack really seemed to bond with them.  He insisted that Grandpa read to him.  Halfway through Bob the Builder (“Scoop Saves the Day”) we noticed Grandpa Jim had changed the story line, “And all of the ducks ended up in a stew and quack quack quacked because it was so hot.”  Sheesh!

We drove to Alvarado Park in Richmond, a place my mom remembered visiting as a kid.  It was warm and sunny and I don’t think I have ever enjoyed being outside quite so much.  It was nice to walk in the sunshine with my little boy.

Jack and Grandma Darla played on the slide and showed public displays of affection.

On one of their many hikes Joe taught Jack that bay leaves smell good.  Of course now he inspects all the leaves he sees outdoors.  Joe doesn’t mind.

Jack loved the rocks in the park.  He kicked them and scratched them and then we played peek-a-boo with this one.

Why can’t we have weather like this every day?