5 Years, 7 Months

Sometimes I fear we're raising a supervillain. Henry is constantly coming up with ideas that are either blatantly in opposition to our rules or very much testing the limits. Jack tends to be the accomplice who is later remorseful, but in the moment enthusiastically goes along with the schemes. Henry only regrets being caught.

One afternoon, I emerged from the house to find the boys sawing and driving nails into an old cardboard box in our backyard. 

They claimed it's a flying machine...

... but with all the nails and screws sticking out on the inside...

... it looks more like an iron maiden. 

Someone really should supervise these children. 

Our first kite flying outing went well enough (Henry in the yellow coat with the butterfly kite, Jack in blue with the fighter jet kite)...

... until Jack's kite fully unspooled and we found out that it wasn't actually tied to the reel. "NOOOOO!" Jack shrieked as his beloved kite soared away, and I took off running (not something that comes easily to me these days) to try to spot where the kite would end up. We got lucky, and it came in for a relatively gentle landing on a nearby school's soccer field. Only a minimum of trespassing was required to retrieve it. Detangling and rewinding Jack's kite string (after firmly tying it to the reel) only took me and Steve... four hours. I wish I was kidding. 

At the park with Dad:

Back to one of our favorite activities at home, watching the floor cleaning robot:

When it's tax season and the boys are sick, Dad is on duty. Diving into The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary:

The boys were excited to design their own pizza:

Jack considers the final result:

The boys help Steve complete his greatest Lego masterpiece to date...

... the whole darn world!

Jack is thrilled with the result:

Henry takes it for a spin:

What did you guys do to this truck? 

Henry finishes setting up a game of Robot Turtles: 

Jack still loves the balloon he got me for my birthday, even though it's very flat at this point:

Long line of cars, coming round the bend...

And, now, a Henry intermission. 

"Remember," said a very serious Henry, "I want my hair to be decorative."

Totally normal way to eat dessert: 

So he claims...

Terrifying...

Even more terrifying...

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

This month the boys attended their first ever swim lesson. The combination of being overwhelmed twin parents and the pandemic kept us from getting them enrolled until now. 

Ready to go, if a little nervous:

Woe is Henry:

Playing the "fish in the middle" game, with Henry in the middle:

In this game, the child in the middle names what kind of fish they are before they "swim" (blow bubbles and walk) out. My boys went with puffer and angler. Excellent choices.

Henry tries to relax into his first back float:

Henry was nervous about the whole thing, but ultimately said he liked swim class okay.

Jack, on the other hand, said he "LOVED IT!"

Swim class was definitely a success, as both boys have looked forward to attending their lessons and there's been no complaining so far.

Jack, loving his outing to get meatball sliders (especially due to the cool tiny sticks holding them together):

Jack and Henry approve of being out on the town:

We were happy to be able to host friends Eric and Gail last month. Upon mentioning that Steve and I had friends coming to visit, Jack was stunned and exclaimed, "Wait, grown-ups have their own friends!?" 

Playing catch in our backyard with said friends:

I included way too many pictures of this because it really showcases what we've been able to do with our still modest but much expanded backyard (since acquiring the house next door last year). 

Eric and Gail accompanied Steve and the boys on a hike in the redwood forest above UC Santa Cruz.

Look, a banana slug!

Henry tries out the branch-and-rope swing someone left in the woods:

Jack seems to be studying its stability.

The boys confer among the conifers:

Our brave guests also accompanied Steve and the boys to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. 

Jack loving the flying dragons:

Henry, soaring: 

Henry, trucker extraordinaire: 

Jack, delighted to be behind the wheel of anything: 

Jack left, Henry right, sailing the high seas:

Now we're talking. Jack takes the controls of his helicopter with intent:

Henry, delighted helicopter pilot:

After two years of pandemic living, it feels very strange to go out and do normal kid things, like classes and amusement parks. Hopefully, if we're lucky, there will be more such fun to be had this summer.