Loch Sloy, a Boy, and the Marines
This weekend attended the 150th annual Highland Games in Pleasanton. Â We’ve been attending Games throughout the valley for several years, but this particular site is one of the largest in the country. Â For the last handful of years, my parents have hosted our Clan MacFarlane tent. Â They do an amazing job setting up a welcoming […]
Routine
I’m just gonna say it…Â summer is hard. In years past, “Summer Vacation” didn’t really feel any different than any other season. Â Sure, we were able to take a few extra day trips here and there, and having mid-day playdates was awesome. Â But we learned the hard way that it was best to keep the boys […]
Soccer
It’s that time again! For the first time in Barr Family history, we have TWO boys playing soccer. Â Evan has been clomping around in his cleats every chance he gets, and tonight he got to wear them for real at his first practice. Â Unfortunately, having two kids in the same sport can lead to some […]
Ryder Took the Plunge {Photo Overload}
Ryder has always been a “details” kid. Â He lives for non-fiction books and TV shows, and knows more about the human body than anyone his age should. Â He has to know exactly what you’re talking about, why you’re talking about it, and what it means for him. Â So when he decided he wanted to acknowledge […]
Un-Shoelaces
Since Ryder got sick last December, we have encountered a whole host of things we used to take for granted that he can no longer do on his own. Â Some of those things have resolved… pulling up his own pants, writing, climbing up to his top bunk, etc. Â He still needs help to put a […]
Highs and Lows
Nothing extreme happened today, but looking back, it was pretty full of enough emotional highs and lows to leave me pretty exhausted. High: Spring cleaning the boys’ drawers, and finding a decent stack of Ryder’s old warm-weather clothes for Ev. Low: Calling Evan into his room to try on Ryder’s old clothes and noticing just […]
Confidence
Ever since Ryder was a tiny boy, he has looooooooved to dress up.  There was no shame in this kid’s game when it came to sporting his super hero cape and mask or construction hat and tool belt to Costco… or In & Out, or Target, the doctor’s office or anywhere else for that matter! So when […]
Speed Racer
Ryder has been receiving lots of attention on the blog lately, and for good reason… but there is another courageous boy in this house, and his name is Evan (in case you’re new here). We first realized something was really wrong with Ryder on the evening of Evan’s fourth birthday.  Luckily we had already celebrated a couple days […]
Homework Station = Creative Inspiration
Technically, I’m still a credentialed teacher in the state of California.  So you’d think that I would have created a dedicated space for my boys to do homework long before Ryder was halfway through first grade.  Buuuuuuut you’d be wrong. After enduring yet another “Mooooooom, Evan’s distracting me!” argument, I’d had it.  It was the straw that […]
Success!
When Ryder started preschool, I had no doubt he would be confident and tear-free. Â But I wasn’t so sure about how Evan would react this morning on his first day. Â We’ve been talking it up, big time… about how much fun it is and how he’ll get to play on the playground, make new friends, […]
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