Our Tuesday

This was what we saw at the dump today. Are they buzzards? I don't know. I've never noticed them out in mass like this before. What could they be after? What might be going on at our dump that we don't know about? It's a transfer station, nothing is buried there any longer. Supposedly.



Little King Ferdinand greeted us at the door of his classroom today. He loved his crown and wanted us to know that he made it all by himself. Once in the van I questioned him about his day and he told us that Columbus went across the ocean and discovered America. Wow. I was pretty surprised to learn that A. he is actually listening to his teachers and B. that he remembered enough to tell me. He still doesn't know the names of any of the kids in the class. He did tell me once that Thomas wasn't sharing. Hmmm, I wonder how well Hugo was "sharing" that day...

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday...

We all slept in this morning because we all had rotten rest last night!

Strike 1 - I locked the cat in Hugo's room when I checked on him before I headed for my own sheets. Not so smart on my part.
Strike 2 - Cesar arrived home at 4 AM.
Strike 3 - Hugo, Evie the cat and I were all awake at 4 AM. And at 5 AM.

Hugo and Evie the cat are on the same mental wave length at the moment.
They also egg each other on. A lot.

Cesar and I ate out breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios at um... noon.
We dressed, rounded up the household trash and drove to the dump.

Hugo passed out in the truck. Cesar and I gobbled down some ice cream cones.

Me: Hugo has been asking for a cone all week.
Cesar: Should we wake him up?
Me: No way man.

We made a stop at Lowe's. Cesar hopped out. I stayed behind with our sleeping boy and worked on finishing up my cone. Smashing the ice cream to the bottom of the cone with my tongue and then slowly eating the cone and cream in rounds & rounds, down, down to the bottom grid of the cone is my very favorite part of an ice cream cone.

I suddenly had a funny feeling. I peeked over my shoulder to the backseat of the truck. There he was, our Hugo. His eyes were big as tea cups, blinking at me over his rosy cheeks. I tried to slowly turn around and hide behind my seat and headrest. Had he seen my cone?

A tortured voice from the backseat: I want some!

I handed it over. My perfected last bites of a delicious chocolate ice cream cone.

Poppa Love

Hugo was very excited to see his Poppa today. This past week was the first week in which Hugo asked for his Poppa. He turns my phone on all the time so that he can see the photo I have as my screen saver of Cesar and himself. He'll point and say, "Poppa, Me!" I'm thinking of making him his very own little photo album with pictures of his Poppa, the dogs, Vovo, Grandma, cousins, friends and the pool. All his favorites. Maybe it could turn into an ABC book somehow or other?? I'll have to play around with the idea I guess.





Hugo loves, loves, loves to eat peanuts freshly cracked out of their shells with his Poppa. I'll only eat peanuts if they're honey roasted. I do like peanut butter. Cesar likes honey roasted peanuts. Cesar hates peanut butter. Can't even stand the smell of it. Hugo and I love to share a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.



Every year these crazy giant mushrooms grow under the pines. Cesar thinks we should slice them thin and fry them up. Mushroom fries. Yum or Yuck? I'm leaning toward ... are these mushrooms even edible??? Silly husband.



We three made a dump run together. Cesar does all the work for us. Hugo and I hang in the truck and watch all the action through the windows. I'm always surprised at how busy the dump is. Always busy.

Not a lot is blooming in the garden but these flowers here. Every year I tell myself that I'm going to do some plant research to find out what blooms in August. Haven't done it tho.

Banana Bread! I love my banana bread. The delicious baked goodness of bananas, vanilla, coconut and pecans filled the house. I had a hard time waiting for the loaves to cool. I like my banana bread piping cool from the fridge!

Big Family Weekend - Saturday

We took pity on Turtle today and set him free. This morning we lazed about in bed awhile deciding on how the morning should play out. Cesar made a dump run. I showered and packed our bags for a weekend trip to VoVo's house. Cesar, Hugo, Bella, Rodrigo, Turtle and I all piled into the car and headed down to our local beach. Cesar had placed the turtle in a purple flower bucket for his second and last ride in a car. No roaming back and forth under the seats this trip. Hugo carried the bucket across the sand and down to the waters edge. Cesar fished Turtle out of the bucket and set him off on his speedy way along the shore line. "Aren't you going to take any pictures for the blog??!", I asked excitedly. "Oh yeah." he answered The above is what we have to share with you of Turtles release back into freedom. Did ya miss him? He's there in the lower right hand corner - look again. The turtle was totally stoked to be back on familiar turf. He dove fast and away like a lead rocket out of our site.

The swans were curious and decided to investigate our happenings in their neighborhood. I thought for a brief moment of opening the passenger door and luring them in with our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Swans would make great playdate pals right?

Okay. So here we are on the road heading toward Rhode Island. I found the sky to be amazing today. We had big billowy clouds all the way across the state of Massachusetts. Normally I watch the trees, bluffs, and farms pass by but today's trip was all about the clouds in the sky for me.

Hugo slept like a champ . . . until we pulled over for gas and burgers.

An active train trestle. No trains spied today.



We arrived safe and sound and thank heavens, with almost no traffic. Kisses and kisses went all around. Then in mere minutes we all dispersed. Hugo headed for the basket of cars and trucks next to the television. Cesar went off on an errand with his father. Rodrigo and Bella rounded the side fence and into the neighbors yard they charged terrifying the timid Chocolate Lab next door. Mad for flowers that I am, I pulled out the camera and headed back to Momsha's garden to check out all things blooming.

Hugo being Hugo, discovered every nook and cranny of the backyard. He chopped down hosta plants with his mini chainsaw. He helped Papa dig a hole in front of the house to plant a Limelight Hydranga tree. Hugo also helped water the new tree and all the pots in front of the house and all the flower pots in back of the house. He then was distracted back to the cars and trucks in the basket by the television. A great start to our Big Family Weekend.

Yard Play and Work

Saturday is Fun With Papa Day. The weather man predicted a cold and rainy day but instead we had beautiful sunshine and warmth. We exited the house all dressed in sweaters and coats to find out just how over dressed we were. Back inside I went to retrieve simple shirts for us all. I couldn't resist dressing Hugo up in his HBA sweater one last time. In the photos his exposed wrists and no longer fitting shoulders are plain to see!

Hugo loves to follow Cesar around the yard. Doesn't matter what he might be doing, all is interesting to our young Hugo. Today they packed up the garbage and recycling into the back of the truck. Off we three rode together to the dump. I'm not sure why, but I love to ride along in the truck on dump run days. Maybe because it brings back memories of dump runs with my Father when I was a little girl in California. He would always stop at a gas station and let us choose a treat for ourselves. My brother Joshua and I would almost always pick out Big League Chew. We loved the stuff. I can still smell the almost overpowering scent of those massive piles of trash. I can hear the sea gulls crying out as they flew so close above our heads. And I can still see the yellow tractors pushing those massive heaps of trash up one garbage pile and down the next. It seemed as if the dump went on forever. Most of all, I remember how loved I felt in the presence of my Father.

This is my wish for Hugo. To continue to have opportunities of play and work with his Papa. And that he may always have a desire to follow Cesar around no matter what he may be doing.