second season of t-ball for D

Jack and D wrapped up a much improved t-ball season.


via GIPHY

D now can actually play catch and will definitely be ready for coach pitch next year.   Thanks to the friends and family who came out to cheer them on!

Franklin Falls

The kids and I went hiking recently at Franklin Falls with my sister.  All the lists of good hikes for small kids recommend it and now that Dd is okay on car rides, I felt ready to brave the drive.  It was pretty and it was shorter than most hikes, but the two miles felt pretty long.  What with t-ball, baseball and family biking we have not been on the trail as much the last few months and D's hiking mindset has slipped a bit since our trip to the Azores where he happily did four mile hikes that were actually quite steep.   In any case, we made it!

Can you tell from the angle that the photo credit goes to D for this one?

voluntees

I used to volunteer, now I just volunteer my children, making them voluntees, exemplifying a great scrabble word for the argumentative people you know and love.

D is participating in a study on reading and dyslexia this summer, involving brain scans and a reading intervention billed as a "camp."  He has also participated in a few other short studies.

Dd is in a longitudinal study on autism.

The compensation is nice, but not enough to justify the time.  I find them interesting, I like to help out scientists and if either of them is dyslexic or autistic, we'd have the advantage of early diagnosis.

finally, my nose is in heaven!

Our Japanese snowbells are blooming and this year they actually have scent!  It’s just as delicious as I remember and strong enough to smell it in the office or by the front door.  The downhill tree still doesn’t look too happy but the trend is good.

D has also been a good helper in our little yard and we finished pulling out our grass today and planted a meadow mix.  Fingers crossed!

Here's my post about when we had the trees planted in February 2017.