Summer

 Benjamin is enjoying his summer day...

 We went outside to play this morning.  He was picking up plums off the ground and eating them devouring them.  He got thirsty from all his playing and asked for a drink of water.  His sweet mama got him a glass.  A few minutes later, he said to me,

"See Mimi.  This is a plum.  I'm gonna put it in my water and it'll be a water plum!"  You may notice 3 water plums and one pit in the jar above. 

 He continually added to and took away from his jar of water plums.

 Then he said, "Mimi, I'm the squish guy!"

 

Sure enough, he was.  He was running and jumping on the little plums, squishing them to smithereens.

 He squished plums on the sidewalk, on the grass and in the woodchips.

 He called to tell someone all about it.  I'm not sure who he called.

 Back to the water plums...

 He has been loving playing with this little tractor.  He got it at his friend, Davin's, birthday party.  He was loading and unloading the bucket with dirt, with water plums, with wood chips....

 Here's what he wanted for lunch...a fresh, juicy, tomato!  YUM! 

 He does love his tomatoes!

 Summer weather at Benjamin's house has been absolutely gorgeous since I've been here.  He decided to close the screen door... Wow, screen doors...you don't see  that many people with them anymore.

 He was excited when his mama pointed out that there were fresh figs on the tree...

 His mama had some of those for part of her lunch...

 There is a slight breeze blowing their windchimes...

 Oops..Benjamin played a little too hard with the tractor...it ended up in pieces...

"Fix it, Mimi," he asked.
It wasn't fixable.

Back to his tomato...

Summer is such a relaxing and refreshing time.  I just love this time of year...

The next 3 weeks

In the morning, I take off for Shannon, Ireland.  From there, we go to Wales...then England, France, Belgium, and finally the Netherlands.

The JohnstonChronicles will be on sabbatical while I journey across the Atlantic, but I have another blog I'll be updating as often as possible.  Here's the link:

http://p2ptravelers-europe2012.blogspot.com

Come follow along with us!

Piano Players

 

My boys love to play the piano...

This trip, however, they got into a few spats on where each other was playing...

 They're such good pianists... and they love having their picture made or a video made while they play. 

 This is what I did to solve their problem... I put a tie from some bulk food in the middle of the keyboard. They each had to stay on one side of the tie.  Made me think of when our kids were young and we'd have to make a line, somehow, in the car...so one or the other didn't get on someone else's side. 

After the duel was solved, it was time to abandon the piano...at least for now.

Back to the Park

 The boys asked to go to the park. 

"Mimi, can we go to the park?" they both wanted to know.

 Of course!

When they were infants, I used to dream of taking them to the park...of them being old enough that we could go there and play.  I remember walking to the store one time, and imagining myself saying, "Boys, come on, let's go to the park," 

It's not a dream anymore...well, it's a reality, but it really still is my dream.  I love every second of it.

 You may notice they both have their 'cameras' in their hands..

 After a slide or two, Emerson asked me to hold his camera.... Benjamin kept his...

 They slid, then they ran...and ran...and ran.... up around the stairs...back towards me, back towards the stairs.  I love, love, love to hear them laugh as they run, to hear them talk to each other...

 

They would yell at me and tell me hi!

 Then they'd come back running...and running....

 

and screaming....

 

Then they'd start talking about...who knows what...whatever little 3 year old men talk about...

 I'm sure they weren't cold, but I was, so I talked them into heading back to Mimi and Papa's...

Off they went...with their Mimi close behind...smiling at her little men!

New cameras

It's been noted here on the JohnstonChronicles how Benjamin is a budding photographer, DBJ IV Photography.

This trip, he started playing with these scales.  I think they're for weighing suitcases.  He loved pulling the hook and watching the weight change.  Then he started turning it sideways and telling me it was his camera. 

"Say 'Cheese', Mimi," he would say.

He showed Emerson how to take a picture with the camera...the 'lellow camera.'

Benjamin checked to make sure Emerson was doing it correctly... He was.

Apparently, when you pull the hook, that's the same thing as pressing the shutter button.

In the video below...I LOVE listening to them as they run...how much fun they're having!

They practiced...and practiced...  I had so many pictures taken of me!

Later, Benjamin decided to take some pictures with my phone's camera.  Willliam was telling me he wanted a turn.

 Benjamin wasn't budging...he wouldn't let William have a turn...and William got M-A-D!  "Oh, great," thought Benjamin.

 I think William thought his big brother was going to share... but then realized, no, he wasn't.

Oh well...wait until you're a little older, William.