From Among the Dandelions

Recently my husband took both boys to a benefit dinner which included a silent auction. David explained the workings of a silent auction to Jabberwock, and the two of them wandered around looking at the items. Jabber fell in love with a tool set, full of shiny sockets and fancy screwdrivers with snap-in magnetic bits, all neatly held together by a nifty snap-together plastic suitcase. To Jabberwock, this tool set represented the epitome of manhood. Plus, he really loves anything that goes together "just so" in any kind of case, bag, or other fun container.

If you should ever go to a silent auction and get your heart set on that perfect Mexican vacation or weekend spa retreat, let me know, and maybe we can work out a deal to rent out the Jabberwock. See, once he and David placed their bid, Jabber would not move more than three feet away from the tool set. He staked out the area and nervously informed anyone who came close that "My Daddy is getting this one!" If they persisted in their interest, he shouted to David, "Dad! DAD! They're going to write something! Come QUICK!" No one was willing to get down and dirty with a cute four-year-old with a tool obsession, and so the tools came home with the boys that night. (I am leaving out the screaming meltdown and heroic actions of Daddy in the face of said meltdown and fast-forwarding through about forty-five minutes of extending the bidding, skipping even the point where David had to beg the auction organizers to take the tool set before the live auction was completed. These details, while sure to influence my decision on whether or not to take Jabberwock to another silent auction, really are a little bit beside the point of this post. Which is...uh...okay. Parenthetical aside is now over.)

This morning was the day we finally decided we would try to start up the old lawn mower and reassure our neighbors that they do not, in fact, own real estate in some kind of dandelion rain forest. Here are the boys using the new tool set to get the lawn mower running:

And here's a picture of why I never actually try to start the lawn mower:

And Jabberwock lovingly gathering dandelions into a vase, which we set on the back steps of our neighbor J's house "in case she misses them."

And lastly, Jabber learning about dandelion reproduction by blowing those wonderful seeds all around the yard.