Mother's Day 2013

 

Despite a day that started off rainy and grey, we ended up having a gorgeous day full of sunshine and friends and food. Marcus rode his bike to and from the subway to church, and then after Sunday School we took the Orange Line to Forest Hills and walked into the Arnold Arboretum.

Waiting for the train to church.

Marcus's Sunday School class, and Sam eating a cookie at the coffee hour.

Sam eating pretzels and Marcus eating a leftover church cookie on the train to the Arb.

Sarah and Sean and Davis had gotten there just a few minutes earlier, just as the rain had stopped, and put down tarps on the ground. We had an area about twelve by twenty feet, with blankets on top of the tarps, just off the main road under a tree, at the top of a small grassy slope leading down to a pond.

Miriam and her kids soon arrived, and we found Marissa and Alex, and Suzi and Ken, in town for the weekend from DC, completed our group.

Marcus and Garrison played soccer, pretended to fish in the pond, and poked around at the water's edge looking at turtles and frogs and sticks and leaves. All the kids liked petting assorted dogs that wandered by with their owners.

Alex carried around a paper cup with a dead spider in it, calling it her spider friend (I think the spider was alive when she started this process), and decorating its "home" with flowers and grass.

Samantha desperately wanted to go in the water, so someone usually sat with her on the hillside and made sure she didn't achieve her desire. Clarinda played around on the blanket. Much food was eaten, including picnic spreads Sarah and I had packed and Clover french fries with rosemary from their truck, and much fun was had.

Sam at 11:30 (pointing to a dog) and at 4:30.

Marissa and I showed Miriam how to do a back carry in the wrap that she has, and she did great on her very first try. Clarinda seemed confused but good-natured about it, which is not a bad way to start.

At the end of the day, Marcus rode his bike out to the subway--he's getting much better at the bike, though going down hills is still stressful for him because he hasn't quite figured out how to "ride the brake"; he either pedals normally and picks up speed or else brakes, perfectly, if suddenly, skidding to a stop. We got home, almost six hours after we got to the Arb to begin with, and sponged off the kids and Marcus was asleep in bed half an hour later.

Sarah and Sean and Suzi and Ken came over then for dinner and we did a taste-test of pulled pork from Soulfire, Sweet Cheeks, and the Red-Eyed Pig. Brisket and biscuits from Sweet Cheeks, fried mac and cheese from Soulfire (this was Samantha's favorite, along with a big slice of brisket), and smoked fried chicken from the Red-Eyed Pig completed our feast.

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Created: 5/13/13. Last Modified: 5/13/13.