Stop and Smell the (Tiny) Flowers

Yesterday Quynh and I went for a bike ride around the neighborhood.  (Well, she was on her trike and I walked beside her.)  It was her idea.  When we arrived home from work/camp/school she immediately asked if we could, "go for a bike ride around the circle and then pick flowers."  It sounded lovely to me, so we did.  The boys stayed home.

She had a very clear idea of where she wanted to go and we set off in that direction.  As we were biking around the edge of the grassy circle that looks like it belongs on a cul-de-sac but is actually just a rotary of sorts, I asked her what flowers she wanted to pick.  I began eyeing everyone's beautiful yards full of Tiger Lilys and Black-Eyed Susans and wondering how I was going to explain to her that we could not pick flowers out of people's gardens.   But to my surprise she announced, "the flowers in the circle."

I was surprised because there weren't any flowers in the circle.  The circle is a large patch of grass with three big trees.  Not a flower in sight.  And it looked freshly mown so any dandelions or other flowering weeds would surely have been recently beheaded.  Nevertheless, we parked the trike, removed her helmet, and began walking across the grass.  In my typical fashion of rushing through life, always thinking about what's next, and not enjoying the details of the moment, I said, "There are no flowers here."  


But I was wrong.  


She whispered, "Mama if you look real gentle [sic] you will find tiny flowers."  So I got down to her level and let her show me.  We found several little white clover flowers and an abundance of tiny purple blooms.  We picked them together for a while and then played hide-n-seek / peekaboo around one of the big trees.

Later we discovered a sidewalk littered with acorns and learned that they are tricky to walk on.  She chose two to keep as treasures for herself and brought two back to her brother.  It was a magical outing.

Summer Camp

Tai is half-way through his month of Summer Camp and really enjoying it. Honestly, I didn't expect it to be very different from preschool during the summer. I just thought it would be nice to try getting used to new routines, teachers, and kids, as practice for kindergarten.

But it turns out that, even when you are just 5-and-a-half, summer "camp" is very different from summer preschool.   And it rocks.  Every day he comes home having learned new songs, heard new stories, and made new friends.  And it is so adorable how they are doing All The Camp Things.

Tai seems shockingly grown-up when explaining to me how to play tether ball,  Capture the Flag or what a slip-n-slide is.  And just look at the tie-dye shirt he made!

And this is the gimp bracelet he made for his sister.  I had completely forgotten that gimp existed until he came home with this treasure, but then it all came flooding back.  I used to love making this type of thing.  I am half-expecting a macrame potholder this week.

Perhaps Tai's favorite thing about this "big kid" adventure is that at the end of the day he is already lined up waiting for me, lunch bag in hand.  I simply drive up and a teacher escorts him to the car and he jumps in.  The first few days I was arriving a little early and going in to the classroom to help him gather up his stuff. But eventually he asked, "Mama, don't park the car and walk over-- just drive up and I'll get in."  We only made 5 1/2 years before I embarrassed my son in front of his peers.