Mountain Climbing

This past weekend the guys climbed Mt. Baker. Gabe's account of the climb is here with many beautiful pictures, so I'll just link to his site.

Conan was pretty interested in what they were doing, having watched all the preparations for the climb - gear sorted and tested, backpacks packed and weighed - so we went online and looked at some mountaineering pictures. That gave him an idea - he should climb a mountain! It didn't take him long to decide which one: Mt. Couch was the obvious goal. He geared up with a piece of rope and quickly reached the summit.

The Ascent.

Ready for the final pitch.

Summit shot!

I STILL PLAYING!

Let me start by saying that I realize it was a bad decision to stop at the consignment store on the way home. I knew Conan hadn't had a nap during the day, and while I was chatting with Christy after I got to her house he threw his snack on the floor and REFUSED to pick it up. I told him if he didn't pick it up, we had to leave, no more playing - and when he didn't, we did. Not an auspicious beginning to the evening, certainly.

But once we were in the car he seemed his usual happy and cooperative self again, and the consignment store is right on the way home, and I had the drop-off bag in the front seat... I decided to stop. "It'll be really fast. No problem." I told myself.

And in fact, it WAS fine. Conan found some toys he liked in the play nook, and I dropped off the bag and picked up a couple pairs of jammies and some sandals for him. I told him I was going up to pay, and then when I was done I'd come get him and it would be time to go. He cheerfully agreed.

I paid for my items and returned as promised to collect him. "Time to go!" I said lightly.

"Nooooooo" he whined. "But I still playing, Mama."

"Yes," I said, more firmly. "Time to go, like I told you it would be. C'mon now."

"FUCKING FUCK NO!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "I STILL PLAYING!"

[stunned silence]

"YOU BAD MAMA!" he continued. "I SEND YOU TO JAIL!"

I should mention that Conan has lately taken to "hiding" (usually just covering his eyes with his hands) when he knows he's done something he shouldn't have. It must have been pretty clear from the expression on my face that he'd gone too far. So in a way it makes sense that his next move was to dart past me and dive under the nearest rack of clothes, still screaming "I still plaayyyyiiinn!" It didn't make it any more pleasant to dig him out from under it, crying and struggling, however.

Thankfully, everyone else in the store was suddenly REALLY engrossed in whatever items they were holding, allowing me to haul my sobbing, struggling little boy through the store and out the door while maintaining the fantasy that no-one had noticed anything amiss. That was nice of them.

Predictably, he fell sound asleep in the car on the way home and is now tucked in bed for the night. 45 minutes of quiet weeding in the garden helped me to settle my nerves. I tried to think up some kind of wise, pithy parenting lesson to say I've learned, but mostly I'm just left thinking "I sure hope that never happens again."

How Fun this Weekend Was:

Happy Father's Day!

2 1/2

Today was Conan's half-birthday, so I measured his height. He's 36 and 5/8 inches tall. According to the old wive's tale, at 2 1/2 he's half his adult height, which would make him just a little over 6'1" when he grows up.

Afterwards, I let him play with the tape measure. He had a lot of fun measuring things, most of which were reported to be "Seven, eight pounds."

Can't Blog, Busy Gardening

A few weeks ago, despite the unrelenting rain, we finally got the garden tilled up and since them I've been working hard to get it all planted.

Since then we've had a few warm, sunny days and it's so gratifying to see things beginning to grow. The spinach, radishes, kale, beans and lettuces have come up strong. The peas all got eaten by slugs, leaving behind sad little nubs. I have replanted; hopefully the second set will not suffer the same fate.

I laid out the beds with aisles going in both directions in order to make it easier for Conan to stay on the paths while walking through the garden. It's working - now if I could just teach the cats to stay out of the beds! The far left corner bed (with the truck) I left unplanted - it's Conan's worm digging place.

This picture is a bit underwhelming, it really doesn't capture the liveliness of the garden this time of year. With that in mind, I took a quick video of the bees working the raspberry blossoms. After the cold, wet spring we've had they are working double-time to catch up on their pollen collection. It's amazing to stand by the berry row and listen to them buzzing.