what a little carrot won't fix...

So today Samuel has been on the phone the entire day talking with his good friend Jack. They talk quite a bit on the phone anyway, but today was monumental in the length of the talk. He took a short break in the middle of the day to go to the library and they picked right up where they left off when we got back home. The play video games together and talk about their Mario trading cards, the video game they are making together, things like why Samuel won't ever try the tooth fairy (too creepy having a fairy come into the bedroom when you are asleep), why Jack prefers glazed donuts to cupcakes...Just now I heard "Lego figures- all of them are psychic!" Now they are discussing what they will wish for if they find a genie. That genie is going to have his work cut out for him. They have their bases covered. You get the idea.

I was just reflecting too on how much physical exercise he gets while he talks. He walks around and is in almost constant motion while on the phone, walking at a fairly brisk pace, sometimes running, and spending most of his time outside in the garden, walking among the plants on the various paths we have forged. Turns out this is a really wonderful way to spend time- outside, active, mentally stimulating, connecting with a friend, laughing...

Eva has been busy playing different games. Today she spent a good part of the day with the fin part of her mermaid costume only rather than dressing up with it (she did this earlier and went to the store as a mermaid) she pretended the fin was alive- a creature named Fin who could talk in a language only Eva could understand. Eva and Fin were incredibly helpful together. They folded and hung laundry, helped clean Albert's cage, watched Albert, dug up carrots for Albert, held Albert- I see a theme. Fin is resting now and Eva is off checking on some of her other games.

I was just now going through the photos on the camera because I know I took some pictures of a few scenes Eva has set up right now and I see that Fin and Eva took another bazillion pictures of Albert today as well, because you know you can never have too many of those. Such a cutie, we are all smitten.



This is the last bit of land that there is and everyone has gathered to be on this land together- all except the girl in the bucket (who no one likes {sniff}) who is pushed along by the alligators. It is a little like a flood story going on here I think.



And the beavers have built a dam. Can you believe we actually- well, Eva, really- found the-green-plastic-frog-with-his-mouth-wide-open?!! (And I still don't know where he was!!) Here he is partaking of the lovely mud and goo created by the beaver dam. There were others enjoying the abundance and finery as well.



Squirrels make a home...



Agnes giving some old cat love this morning; knit horses I made over the weekend- the manes are tricky (with summer reading...)