Some scintillating science on a summer Sunday.

Aah, the sweet sounds of alliteration.

Most of the day today was taken up with chores. We finished everything up in time for dinner and had my mom and Elijah come over for a cookout. Mark grilled veggie burgers and we had corn-on-the-cob from our friends' gardens. We ended up eating inside, as it looked pretty dark and ominous outside by the time the food was ready. My mom brought strawberries, so we enjoyed fresh berries for dessert.

The kids played inside for a while and then went outside to play after dinner, each with a pair of binoculars. I'm not totally sure what they were looking for. They then decided to make 'plant people' in our driveway. They pulled leaves and other organic materials--some from the garden, but much of it from the weeds growing in the cracks in our driveway. Mark and I disagree about the weeds growing in the cracks of the driveway. He says they're bad for the concrete and the structural integrity of the driveway. That makes sense. BUT when I try to pull them out, I find that many don't pull and many of those that I am able to pull out with the root intact wreak havoc on ant houses. When I see the hundreds or thousands of panicked little ants come running out of the hole where their destroyed home used to be, I feel HORRIBLE. I just can't do it. Then there's Round-Up, which is really easy, but destructive to all the living beings that share this area. Anyway, it was nice to see my driveway weeds serving a practical purpose tonight. Elijah then wanted to show me his various different smiles, as seen below.

L then decided to climb up on top of my car, so she could decorate it by wrapping a morning glory flower around the antennae.

You may notice in these pictures that my child is all tarted up. Her sister, in a rare and somewhat frightening good mood, felt quite generous today and offered to do L's hair and makeup this afternoon. L was so proud of herself and took such great pleasure in pointing out that her sister did it, I couldn't ask her to wash it off. So glad we didn't have to go anywhere today!

This story has made it to mainstream media by now, but in case you missed it, I have to share: beautiful science. It is breathtaking, and shows the love of a mother and her children that transcends time. This image made me cry, touched me, and intrigued me with many questions that will never be answered. What a heartbreakingly beautiful and curious world we live in!