Campbell's Way: Beaver(less) Meadow

The weather has been beautiful this weekend -- sunny, dry, and warm -- so we took the boys to Beaver Meadow, a nature preserve about an hour from our apartment. I had specifically selected this preserve because the website led me to believe we would get to see a real beaver habitat (with real beavers!). It was a beautiful drive through farm country and old-timey small towns.

When we arrived, I asked if we would be able to see the beavers, but the information desk lady told us that they left 3 years ago! Their dam and resulting beaver pond are still there, but the dam is leaking and eventually the pond will drain and will become a running stream again. So, we were a little disappointed about not seeing real beavers, but the preserve was beautiful and we got to walk out on top of the dam, which was neat. There was a visitor's center, and inside there was a discovery center with lots of nature-related stuff for kids to play with. The boys enjoyed that, and Peter was both horrified and highly entertained by the beaver puppets!

So, our outing wasn't exactly what we hoped it would be, but it was enjoyable all the same.

In kid news this past week, Jack tied his shoe by himself for the first time! It's been a struggle to get him willing to learn, but he knows how to do it and now he just needs more practice. It was pretty neat watching him do it all by himself for the first time! His schoolwork is going pretty well, minus some "I don't want to" moments and some craziness from Thomas and Peter. It's been more difficult for me than I expected trying to organize my weekly routine and get everything done that I'd like, but hopefully I'll get in a good rhythm in the weeks to come.

Thomas has been upping the sassiness level a bit, which is expected considering his being 3, but it's a little trying on the patience! He's been coming up with a lot of interesting questions, and he isn't satisfied until he gets and answer and understands it completely (and even then he might ask again just because). He's especially interested in Jesus, heaven, and all things religious -- I like to think of him as a little philosopher :).

Jack and Thomas have been playing pretty well together, but sometimes they resort to calling each other names. Quite a while ago they were calling each other "stupid", which I put an end to, but the other day I overheard what they thought was a sneaky insult -- they were calling each other "steward"! I think I deflated it pretty well when I informed them that being a steward is actually a good thing :).

In Peter news, his ankle seems to be feeling pretty well. He's cruising around on it, but hasn't really tried walking by himself yet. He has developed a very loud streak, and just learned the word "Miiiine!" at top volume. He's also learned "cracker", "waw" (for water), and a very loud, long
Maaaaammmmy!" for "Mommy". He is a funny, feisty little guy, and I'm thoroughly enjoying his baby antics and sense of humor!