September 8th, 2018

September 8, 2018 shreffler

The boys scheming after a reasonably restful sleepover

Puzzle time- Calvin was awfully proud of completing the barn puzzle himself

Eleanor, puzzle master

Clearly ignoring brother’s antics

Picking up campaign signs for some excellent women candidates, Eleanor fearlessly tries the scooter

Morning trip to the library, to color (of course)

Des signs his coloring before posting to the wall

No stairs too big for her ambitions

New library card holder

Dad spends the afternoon practicing indoor flash photography before the restaurant’s soft opening. The result? A new series, Indoor Llamas:

Amidst all the new faces, Eleanor beelines for grandma

Grandpa reads to Des and Julian in the kids corner

Yummy indeed

Uncle Mike brings out the inaugural dinner order

The kids point to what they want first (hummus)

A brief moment before the food is inhaled

Sitting in the “east wing”

Congratulations Aunt Kellie and Uncle Mike on a successful soft opening of Oasis Falafel of Omaha

September 7th, 2018

September 7, 2018 shreffler

Aunt Kellie brings Calvin for a sleepover during final preparations before the restaurant opening. Ella uses some sort of child intuition to demonstrate how the bat mobile works-

Mmmm, (Thai) noodles!

Two young jedi fans gather for bedtime stories of the force and rebellion

Breathing exercises before bed, as if that would help

Their heads hit the bed shortly after closing the door, clearly

September 6th, 2018

September 6, 2018 shreffler

A spontaneous trip to Memorial Park for a post-school/work kite excursion

Eleanor spent more time descending/ascending stairs than the kite could be kept in the air. Apparently dad significantly misread the wind opportunity on school’s flags, perhaps there was not a sustained wind present

Ok, one last gust as we walk back to the car

Actually it turned out an enjoyable little outing

Eleanor demonstrating how food gets in the tummy by shoving a beet under her dress

Redness is not an injury, but rather the beet injection point

September 5th, 2018

September 5, 2018 shreffler

Eleanor walking straight down the middle, as you do

September 4th, 2018

September 4, 2018 shreffler

Dad was later informed this was possibly poor precedent

Eleanor made it an entire day with that headwrap on-

Des says he’s “reading Snoopy” (a boy after dad’s heart)

So apparently dying your bathtub experience like an easter egg is a new thing called “bath drops:”

Labor Day 2018

September 3, 2018 shreffler

Running off some excess energy on a rainy Labor Day morning

Let’s all sit on the couch!

Cal: “Yeah, I know- I got this.”

Duck: “Is our pumpkin on top of the stump, Goose?”
Goose: “No!”

Eleanor’s first “head of the table” honors

September 2nd, 2018

September 2, 2018 shreffler

Farmers market, for veggies and puppies

Much like koi fish clobbering each other for popcorn, these two llamas are always keyed up for cheese samples

Instead of getting lemonade at the farmers market, dad thought (foolishly?) it’d make for a good post-nap activity. Turns out a lot of lemons are required, so Ella joins dad for a trip to the grocery store with an inadvertently perfect outfit- muumuu, head wrap and pet squirrel

Stoked about her lemon

Two steps into the Black Votes Matter Concert for Change in dad’s old neighborhood, chalk is found and put to use

Ella rocking the turquoise with dad

Not as prepared as usual, mom and dad were getting creative for ear protection. Ella wore dad’s ear plugs for way, way longer than one would have imagined