Catching Up

I'm supposed to be revising my manuscript for my next book (due out in early 2013 for those of you keeping score), but this neglected little blog decided that TODAY was the best day to get me to finally update what we've been up to. I won't even talk about how pathetic it is that the last time we updated was in September. Just enjoy these shots of life around with the Bradburys for what they are.


Our kids are mostly happy. Never more so than when they are wearing coordinating sleepwear.


Halloween was fun this year. Arun was a fire chief, Evie was a "leopard-cat" and we invited new friends Olivia and Caroline to go with us. We're still working on eating up the candy.


The end of October also brought Arun's third birthday! We celebrated with pizza and lots of noise--two of his very favorite things.


He also scored this very cool fire truck. He's been putting out fires ever since. (Imaginary ones, mom! Relax!)


In observance of Arun's big milestone, Jimmy shot this "interview" with him about a month before his birthday. I love his answer to favorite animal. Go toppers!


Late fall also brought a house project to pass. Jimmy built a roof over our small back porch and replaced the rotten back door. Just in time to fend off the rain.


We also spent some time out on the farms, even picking up this sweet little pumpkin . . .


. . . and taking a ride in a cool tractor train.

November rolled in and brought fun things like . . .


leaf raking . . .



. . . and Thanksgiving, which we hosted for the first time this year. Full bellies were had by all.

And then there was Christmas! Which brought us delights like . . .


. . . Arun's oddly decorated Christmas cookie.


Who me?



What's more festive than going Godzilla style on your own gingerbread house? Ah, the magic of the Christmas.

December brought plenty of welcome surprises, like . . .


. . . more matching pajamas!



. . . Evie was named Student of the Month at her school . . .

And a great trip back east to see our families for the holiday.



West Virginia cousins! Alex is a senior and Sawyer is a freshman! Wow!

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Cousin Sawyer in costume after their Renaissance choir performance. He and Alex were awesome!



Arun may be way too young to learn chess, but he's not to young to learn what a sharpster his Pop Pop is.


We spent Christmas day in WV, digging in for a great time.


Evie sporting her lovely ergo baby carrier.


It was so warm that we enjoyed a great Christmas day hike up the hill behind the house. And MeeMee--new and improved after her summer surgery ordeals--led the charge. Amazing!


After WV, we headed to KY where we caught up with my mom, stepdad, sisters and their awesome families. It was so busy we apparently we forgot to take many pictures. This one was a favorite--Jimmy Uncle and Evie with new cousin Lucas!

And that about covers things for the last chunk of 2011. Check back soon (ish) for more updates. Happy New Year to all!

Jen

School Days!

So school has begun! And the kids are loving it. On Evie's first day, she was very excited, but a little nervous.



But by the time we reached school, she was growing more comfortable with the idea.



And a few minutes before the bell rang, she was happily tucked away doing one of her favorite things.



Not to be left out, Arun started his preschool experience. He loved sliding into his backpack to be like his big sister.



He was so thrilled to finally have his own cubby!



Sadly, he's missed all this week due to a nasty cold that turned into pneumonia, but he's on the mend and looking forward to getting back to school next week.

We've actually all been fighting sickness and the start-of-school tiredness, but despite that Evie and Daddy celebrated a start of the year with an outing to Seattle to use some free Mariners' tickets.



They ended up being a few hours early for the game, so a trip to the market to pick up a cool Pez dispenser (she picked out a Tigger for Arun), and a bus ride to the sculpture garden made it a full day.





Sadly, we don't have the same problem with being so early for school. But at least they're clean when they arrive.

What happened to summer?

So suddenly, it is September 10. Summer was fleeting and silly cold, but we managed to have some semblance of warm weather fun on this side of the country.

One of the first things we did was finally get Arun's room painted. We're all glad he no longer has to sleep in a dark jungle green cave.



July also brought soccer camp. We were lucky enough to host Evie's coach, Alex, for the week of camp. Alex is a university student from Manchester, England. He's also probably made it very tough for any guy who might try to win Evie's heart eventually. And for that we thank him.



Arun was too young for soccer camp this year, but he loved day camp at the local montessori school, and tore it up at the county all comer's track meets.



The unseasonable cold weather drove us to find some indoor adventures, including discovering our new favorite children's museum, the Imagine Museum in Everett.




But there was sunshine here and there. And parks to check out.




And sprinklers to run through.




While the kids were busy playing, Jimmy and I were creating my new writing cottage. Check out my website for the full-story, but here's a peek:

Before:


After:


We did get a few nights of camping in at beautiful Baker Lake. The kids were super helpful setting up the tent and helping wash dishes.




But it wasn't all work. There was plenty of time for "spider-swimming," pillow-pet smuggling, and generally relaxing.





We tried to do a little hiking, but the trailhead was still covered with tons of snow.



Luckily, snow wasn't a problem canoeing on the lake.


But keeping Big Baby in the boat was a bit trickier.



And what would summer be without some bike riding? Evie surprised us all (including herself) by riding without training wheels! We've had her on a modified balance bike without pedals for a while, and she's been doing really well. So Jimmy popped the pedals and crank back on, had her take a seat, and about ten seconds later she said, "Daddy, let go! I got it!"

And she really did!

Untitled from James Bradbury on Vimeo.

And that's our summer. Kindergarten starts Monday for Evie, and preschool for Arun on Tuesday. Stay tuned!

Random Things

Wow. Its been a while again. Here's the skinny:

Evie graduated from preschool. She was very excited about the final program, declaring, "I'm going to sing this time, Mama!" But she got a little nervous on the big night and didn't open her mouth once--except after the program to partake of the yummy cake.




So, she's acing snack time. We're proud.

My mom and stepfather (!) Jack came for a visit. It was a great time, and though we didn't get a single photo, it did yield up my favorite exchange in a while. While reading a book before bedtime, Nana got the sniffles (allergies, she says, but it was a tearjerker), and prompted this:

Nana: Evie, would you get me a Kleenex?
Evie: (Stares blankly at Nana).
Nana: I mean a tissue.
Evie: Yeah. (Hops up and grabs a tissue from the box.) Why do you call it a Kleenex?
Nana: That's just the brand name. (Dabs her nose).
Evie: (Observing the soiled tissue) Now you should call it a dirty-x.

Ha!

And while Nana and Peepaw were here, Jimmy and I headed to Seattle to fulfill a lifelong dream of his: seeing U2 in concert. It was a great show made all the better by the serendipitous timing of a visit with old friends Beth and Robin.



And Arun? He's cool. He falls a lot, laughs like a maniac if he passes gas, and amazes us daily. He flies on his bike, picking up his feet and gliding for great distances. And he likes playing caboose in the bike ride configuration pictured below.




Happy Summer!