this week in pictures

i had the realization today that we are only 1 week into summer break. it may be a long summer. they are already 'bored' and snapping at each other. grrr. it was a day. a day of trying to get them to actually DO the chores (it was a tough day... clean your room day is never a favorite for meagan) that were on the list. a day of trying to get them to come to an agreement - any agreement - on something to play. not every day as a parent is a great day. this day is evidence of that.

so i thought rather than dwelling on a day that i would rather not rehash, it might be worth looking back through what has been our first week of summer break. i showed you the lake pictures, where meagan is half buried in the sand, and the football equipment pictures. i thought i'd share a few other random bits and pieces of our week.

what better place to start than monday's karate class??

meagan found this tree stump at the park where karate is held. she said it looks like a fancy city at the edge of a canyon cliff. she's right.


so here's karate way before any drama ensued. seems pretty placid really. put your arms like this. stand like this. easy stuff.


obstacle course. this is the part meagan was flying through like nobody's business. at the moment i snapped this sweet somersault photo, i had no idea what was about to erupt.


this was what was just around the bend. the counting trampoline. where the teacher (and the kid in the previous picture) tried and tried to get her to count to ten. *lol*


and isaac's sword fight. totally in his element.


while the boys played electronics, meagan and i did a puzzle.


and colored together.


yesterday we headed back to the sprayground for a little bit of outdoor time. it cracks me up how they strategically position themselves to get absolutely doused with water and yet they squeal like it was totally unexpected. every time. i love it!



and on the regular playground part of the park, there's this teeter totter balance board type thingy. to them it is a pirate ship. every time we go. they reenact sword fight scenes from pirates of the caribbean.
sometimes one of them stands at each end and makes it go up and down and up and down while someone else balances. other times, they all walk on it at the same time and crack up laughing when weight shifts the balance of it all.


this is sebastian balancing in the middle of two sections.

so there you have it. a glimpse into our week. a look at the good stuff. a post that does not hash out the bad stuff. days like today make me thankful for night time. for sleeping. for starting fresh in the morning. i am thankful that God has made our days to imitate His mercy, new every morning. there is no limit to the quality of what tomorrow can bring. i like that.

i think it will bring better things if i get some rest, though, so i should wrap this up and head to bed. because tomorrow is another day. :)

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kids were here - day 1

yeseterday at TLP, someone posed a challenge to photographically document the evidence of kids in our lives without having any kids in the pictures. that sounds fun. that i can do. i'm thinking a really cute 8x8 bound album at the end of this could be fun too!

Day 1 - June 8


this would all be the effects fo meagan, as i'm sure many of my photos will be. this is her crayon, her coloring book, her shoe, her raisins from snack, and misc food crumbs under her chair at the table. *sigh* the child is like a walking natural disaster!

if you feel inspired to play along, join in! take a picture, post it somewhere, and post a link in my comments. i'd LOVE to see! the challenge was for 30 days. i figure i'll go until i stop. 30 days sounds like a decent round number though. no worries if you miss a day here or there!

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summer systems... we'll see

summer is full go. it's HOT. the air conditioning is running. it's on!

i realized before summer break ever officially began that there were some things we would have to establish early on in our summer break if sanity were to reign in this house. one of the first things to establish was eating habits. a close second...chores and clean-up.

we've addressed both this week, and so far so good.
first, the eating. i made up daily food journals, printed them off, and clipped them together with brads - one for each of us.

the point is not to make a strict harsh law out of what we eat, but rather to give my kids a visual tool to help them be aware of their food choices and help them make their own good eating decisions. they have all really taken to it quite willingly, and i've even seen them alter their eating habits so as not to overdo in areas like sweet drinks and snacks. it's been great! hopefully we can keep this up throughout the summer and really make some progress in forming better habits as a family.

as to chores and clean-up, we have had the button charts in place for a while. those are still there. but i wanted to clarify the daily chores and sort of set a list of what is to be done each day, monday through friday. so i simply wrote the daily lists out on five separate index cards and looped them together with a jump ring i had handy. there are some things that we do every day, like clean the kitchen, feed the cat, make beds, etc. besides that, there are chores specific to each day of the week. today was pay bills (my chore, boo), wipe bathrooms, clean toilets, empty trash, etc. they each picked what they wanted to do - isaac actually LIKES to scrub the toilets, so he jumped at that right away, and meagan and sebastian worked together on wiping the sinks and counters. within an hour, all the beds were made, the bathrooms were clean, and the trash cans were freshly emptied. sa-weet!

the last thing i have to put in place is some kind of reading incentive program for us to follow. anyone have any experience with anything that has worked well for you? i figured for them to earn their 'homework' buttons each day they could do so many minutes of reading. but i thought it would be fun to track it, and maybe reward it beyond just a daily button. i haven't quite figured this one out in my head yet, so i haven't done anything with it. sebastian has said he wants to read through a few books in the bible this summer, so i need to work that in there as well. would love any suggestions you might have.

*****
other than sticking to the chore chart for the day, we also made another trip to the dentist. this time meagan had to have a cavity filled. that was about the highlight of our day. it was hot. meagan was grumpy. we just stayed in and soaked up the a/c. lame, i know. tomorrow morning the church we've been going to is showing the latest narnia movie, so i think we'll try to head over to that for something to do. beyond that, i have no real set plans. wednesday is gymnastics night, so i try not to get meagan overly tired before practice. tired grumpy meagan = not so great practice. no good.

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Karate Chop

Did I mention earlier that today was the first day of karate class for Isaac and Meagan? The community park programs have a beginner karate class that runs for 4 weeks - a quick and inexpensive way for the kids to see if it's something they like. While Sebastian opted out, Isaac and Meagan both wanted to give it a try.

Yep. It started tonight.

All seemed to be going well. For about 35 minutes. And then. There was an obstacle course of sorts that went something like this:
do a kick
forward roll
pencil roll
another forward roll
walk on a balance beam
jump on a trampoline AND count to ten... in Japanese.

Meagan sailed all the way through the whole thing. Doing great. Jumped up on the trampoline. But REFUSED to count in Japanese.

There was a kid standing there to help the new kids who did not yet know their numbers in Japanese. Poor kid.

He said, "Itch."
She glared at him.
He said "itch" again.
She crossed her arms and gave a look.
The teacher came over. The teacher said, "itch"
Now, most kids would give in and just repeat the stupid word.
Not Meagan.
She was NOT having it. At one point after, oh, I don't know, the tenth time the instructor tried to coax her into saying "itch", Meagan looked at her and said, "I am NOT Chinese. I do not COUNT in Chinese."
Nice.

I'd say it was a good five minute debacle, which included Meagan crying and leaving the room to get a drink from the water fountain. So much drama. In the end, she did count - mumble counted, but she counted - to ten in Japanese. She was not too happy about it.

Isaac on the other hand seemed to really enjoy himself. He caught on quickly. He counted, no problem. He is excited to get his white belt next week so that he can begin to work on getting stripes on it. Once he learned that you need eight stripes and then you get to move up to a gold belt, I think he made a few personal goals for himself. Now he's a man with a plan.

It should be interesting to see what next week brings.

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one of life's firsts and some other good stuff

I'm slipping. Sheesh, what kind of aweful blogger am I?
Not aweful. Just busy. Enjoying life sometimes comes before documenting life. Sometimes. :)

We've had a lot going on. The kids are out of school now. Their last day was last Wednesday. I went to the school in the morning because Sebastian's class was having a Survivor field day in the park, and parents were invited to come along. That was fun to watch! Survivor-inspired games with four classes of fourth graders. Good stuff!

Thursday my mom came to visit... her first trip to our new house. She was here until Saturday morning. We hung out a bit, and I drove her around and showed her a bit. We took the kids out for lunch, and then went and played at one of the parks. It was a good visiting day.

Saturday morning we did something that was a first for me. Can you guess what it was?


We went and picked up Isaac's football equipment. Pads, a helmet, a chin strap and a mouth guard are now standing sentinal in our dining room (because I haven't found a better place for them yet).

Also while we were there, he had to get a physical. He was NOT thrilled with peeing in a cup. He flat told the doctor, "I don't WANT to pee in a cup." Too bad. Eventually I guess he must have given in because they signed off on the physical.

After the equipment pick-up and a McDonald's lunch at the park nearby, we headed home, got our bathing suits on, and headed to the beach at the lake. It was near 100 degrees on Saturday, and the kids were begging for some water in which to submerge themselves. The lake was the closest and cheapest option. It worked. They had a blast.




Imagine. Those sandy stones ended up ALL OVER our floors. There were sandy stone piles in the bathroom, all three kids' bedrooms, and even in the middle of the stairs going upstairs. Nice. Our vacuum cleaner didn't know what to think! Lesson learned... next time we'll take our clothes there and change out of bathing suits before we come home. Leave the bulk of the stones there that way I think.

Yesterday Lucas left for a work trip. A short work trip. So we're on our own for a few days. Which means that today I get to take all three kids to the grocery. Oh joy of joys. But it will be a good day. I am determined!

Oh, one more note before I go...

While we were at the football equipment pick up, they were also signing girls up for cheerleading for the football season. One of the coaches asked Meagan if she would like to cheer. She gave him a look like he was from another planet, wrinkled up her nose, squinted her eyes at him and said in her very best are-you-kidding-me voice, "Um, nooooo. I'm not really a cheering kind of girl." He laughed and asked her if she would rather play football. "I'll play football," she said, "but I am NOT going to cheer." Love it. The girl definitely has her opinions.

Okay, I'm off to prepare for the grocery! Have a lovely day!

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The {wish} List Goes On

It's my week to host the digi dares, and this week's dare is all about wish lists! Fun and easy - and some GREAT prizes up for grabs! The Tattered Pear is the sponsor this week! You could win a gift certificate just for participating, and everyone who participates gets a coupon for their store!! Check it out!

Here's my layout...


"The girl KNOWS what she wants, and she has quite the list... *Polly Pockets *Zoobles *My Little Pony toys *Butterfly Garden *Volcano *Rock Digging Kit *Tea Set(s) *Anything 'Tangled' *Barbie *LPS *The Barbie Horse *Duck Pillow Pet *American Girl Craft Supplies *Pirates of the Caribbean Lego sets *Lego Creators - Houses, Trucks, Cars and Helicopters"

(Click here to view full credits)

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Candy Shop

The other day, Meagan and I were sittinig at the table eating lunch when she looked up at me and said, "Momma, tell me what it was like when you were a kid." I asked her what she wanted to know about. "Anything. Like what did you like to do? or What was your favorite color? Oh, I know! Did you have a wii?"

I had laughed at the thought of having a wii as I thought back to or now seemingly archaic Nintendo entertainment system. But I realized that something much more important was being asked here.

I can remember sitting at my great-grandmother's side as she was well along in her years. She had been affected by strokes, so her speech was very difficult to understand, and her memory was failing her. I would ask her about the people in her photographs or what it was like when she was younger, and either she couldn't articulate, or she couldn't remember. I knew her only as I had experienced her through my childhood - the older lady who couldn't talk well but who loved to go to church and read her Bible. I didn't know anything else about her. And ultimately, when she passed away at the age of 102, her story died with her.

So when my daughter, at the age of six, asks me to begin to tell her my story, I can't ignore that. I don't want the same fate for my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren... I don't want them to only know me as the role I play in their life. I am me outside of Mommy, and I would love to share those stories with my children.

So we started talking about some of the things I could remember off-hand. But I decided in that moment to try to make a conscious effort to also document some of those stories that I can remember - big or little.

I started with the first childhood memory that came to mind - the MANY trips to the candy stores that I took with my Grandpa.


"When I think back on stand-out memories from my childhood, one thing instantly comes to mind. On our visits to West Virginia to visit my mom's parents, My grandpa whould take me on trips to the candy stores. Yes, stores, plural. They lived just over the bridge from "downtown" in the tiny little town they lived in (Matoaka). We would walk over the bridge and pass up and down the street, stopping in any little shop that looked promising for candy of any sort. As many stores as I wanted. As much candy as I wanted. Until I said enough. Every single visit. My favorites, at least that I can remember, were circus peanuts, cotton candy, bubble gum, and ring pops. I also loved bits of chocolate, and Sixlettes - these little candy-coated chocolate balls. I don't think I ever actually ate all the candy we bought. But then I guess I always knew it was never really about the candy anyway."

(Click here to view full credits).

I've decided to continue scrapping about me from time to time. I may never be able to document All About Me, but I can do Something. Something About Me. That's the plan.

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Today

I took no pictures today. I ALMOST did. We were at the splash park and I came prepared with my camera, only to find that I had left my memory stick in my computer. Oh well.

We had a good day, albeit an understated day. Nothing fancy. Lucas changed the oil, and Sebastian helped (sort of). I finished sanding the wood for the bench, and washed all of the wood down with bleach water to kill the rest of the mildew. Besides that, between Lucas and I, we mowed, finished the laundry, cooked lunch and dinner, and generally cleaned up the house. And like I said, we took the kids to the park to play for a bit. Plus, they ran through the sprinkler in the front yard.

We finally broke late this evening and turned out AC on. It was 90 degrees in our house. We had crabby kids who couldn't sleep. Why torture ourselves if we don't have to? I just always feel like I've failed somehow when we turn the AC on for the first time. I have no explanation for it... just one of those weird quirks of mine.

So it was a good weekend. A good day. A HOT day. And I'm tired. Hopefully our bedroom has cooled down by now. With all the hot laundry piled up in there, it was oven-like earlier. Either way, I'm sure I'll survive the night. And hopefully be a bit more interesting tomorrow. :)

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Catch Me If You Can

Amidst other activities today, we made some time this afternoon to take the kids fishing.


We loaded up equipment, packed a cooler of drinks and snacks (an absolute necessity when on an outing with children) and headed to the lake (seemed an obvious choice). It was pretty crowded, but we found some empty space along the bank near the spillway. Maybe not prime real estate, but the kids could not have cared less. They just wanted to get their poles in the water.

Isaac was the first to get the green light. He chose to use a rod & reel, which meant we had to re-teach him the art of casting. At first it was downright scary, but he eventually got the hang of it, and actually got quite good at it by the end of the day.



Meagan was next. This was her, feeling sorry for the worm. Nice.


She needed a few pointers... the main pointer being, "Leave the hook in the water."

She was the first one to catch a fish. She caught three in all.


Sebastian tried and tried - tried his cane pole, tried the rod and reel - but never ended up catching anything today. He was a good sport about it, and he kept trying. He even encouraged his brother and congratulated his sister. He's a sweet kid.



Little legs get tired.


Occasionally, somewhere between baiting hooks and unhooking fish Lucas got a LITTLE bit of fishing in himself. I didn't fish today... I didn't by a license today, so I just helped Meagan mostly (and gave the boys some casting lessons).



Isaac caught 2 fish today. He wouldn't try to take the fish off the hook, but he wanted to throw the fish back into the water. So Lucas would take the fish off, and then Isaac would toss the guy back.


In case you were wondering.... this...

...results in this... (muddy butt)


By the end of it all, we were getting lots of "I'm hungry" and "I'm thirsty," and we figured it was time to pack it in. Next time I will most definitely have my license with me, so that I can fish too.

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week 9: 2011

Well, I have NOT forgotten about my photo-a-day project. And I am still keeping up with the pictures. I just fell completely off the radar with the layouts. But the pictures are all that really matters for ultimately being able to pull this whole thing off.

Even though I haven't been scrapping them, I did get my first 8 weeks printed. And can I say, I didn't like them nearly as much as I wanted to. I think it's because the photos were all touching in a block with no real definition between them. Made it hard to really look at and differentiate the photos to be able to fully take in what was being represented for that day. No worries, though... just revamp. So I might have 8 weeks looking one way and 44 weeks looking another, but DONE is better than PERFECT I say. I'm good with that. IF I get time, I may go back and revamp the 1st 8 weeks (again). But for now, they're in the album, and they're staying that way. I have some catching up to do!


2-26 - The offer on our house required that we leave our washer & dryer behind. So we went on a shopping trip to find a new set.
2-27 - The kids have been playing Wizard 101 on the computer lately.
2-28 - The first real signs of any hope for a meltdown. We saw the sun, the grass, and blue skies. The kids took full advantage of it and headed out for fresh air. They got out every ball and bat and piece of sporting equipment we own. Meagan even broke out the knee pads and elbow guards to play "sports camp."


3-1 - DS party at our house
3-2 - Lucas drove by the new house to check the progres...he texted me a picture. Can't wait!
3-3 - Meagan and I spent the day together doing laundry and playing board games
3-4 - Family fun night at the school. It was the first time I've ever let the kids go off with friends on their own. Katie & Sebastian shared a balloon hat.

(Click here to view full credits of PAGE 1 and PAGE 2)

Right Now

What's going on in our lives right now?
Lots. And nothing much. How does that even work?

We’re coming up on the end of the school year. Today Meagan had her Kindy 500 – Big Wheel races! Loved that I got to go. She placed third in her heat, but still had a great time cheering for her friends, making a race car snack, and getting her face painted like a pink and purple tiger.

Besides that, the boys are wrapping up their school stuff as well. Sebastian has been invited to an end-of-school party at a GIRL’s house – swimming in the lake, and all kinds of fun for 3 hours on the last day of school. It’s getting to be that time when he starts to grow up and test the waters of gaining independence. Isaac has been pretty grumpy the past few days – maybe the prospect of change (summer break), maybe lack of sleep (tornado sirens and nights in the basement), or who-knows-what. But the suggestion of a trip to Ohio and a day at the zoo with Carrie (if we can work out the arrangements) put a guarded smile on his face.

Bike riding has worked its way nicely into our weekly activities. The bike paths around here are fantastic! I love that the kids are having fun on these rides - they're not wimpy little 'ride around the neighborhood' sort of rides. But they've been champs and have done a great job on them (although Isaac and Meagan sometimes wreck because they're so focused on racing and beating each other *lol*).


We've also discovered a way cool park in the nearby area - with a playground and a splash park. Yesterday we took a picnic lunch to the park and ate before playing for a bit. Our play time (well, her play time and my reading time mostly, although I did play with her a bit) was cut short by the super gusts of wind and the graying skies. But it was fun.


Today we're stuck inside due to more rain rain rain. We put Meagan's fake nails on her (she got them for her birthday). They lasted for about ten minutes before one popped off and got lost. Oh well. Nine fake nails will work too.


Now we're watching Tangled. It's going to be a chillin' out kind of day I think... with a few chores mixed in.

Besides all this, I've got a project going right now. I’m working on refinishing the bench that sits on the back deck. I’ve disassembled it, painted the metal blue, and I’m almost finished sanding the wood slats. Hopefully I can finish sanding, get them stained, and reassemble this weekend.

The bench before (flipped upside down so I could photograph the way it's assembled... for help reassembling)...


And here's the color I've repainted the metal...


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Five

Five layouts to share, that is. I know, it's not the birthday pictures you've been waiting for. But it's what I have time for at the moment. See, Meagan and I discovered a great park yesterday, so today we packed a picnic lunch and headed over there again for a little while. And now I've got to start dinner so that it's ready early enough for the kids to eat a little bit before gymnastics tonight. So I just don't have time for photo editing and all that mumbo jumbo. The birthday pictures are gonna have to wait.

In the mean time...

Concentrate

"When it comes to Legos this kid is all about it. When he gets started on a new kit, he goes and goes until it's done. I love to watch him work. His face is so full of concentration."
(Click here to view full credits)

Tale of Two Toads

"Between the kids & Shane, they caught 2 toads - a big one & a little one. They put them in the bug barn and took them to the park. After playing with them for a bit, they took them to the creek and set them free.
They named the toads Dow Dow & Bee Bee. It was a tough choice to let them go."
(Click here to view full credits)

I. Am. AWESOME!

"I. Am. AWESOME! This bike riding stuff is so easy! I don't see what the big deal is!!"
(Click here to view full credits)

Dandelion Picking

(Click here to view full credits)

Room to Fly

"At Haleigh's birthday party, you caught a butterfly in your hand. You were so enchanted with it - how delicate and beautiful it was. You finally decided to put it on a flower to set it free. i was proud of you for making the decision. It's hard to let go of what we love."
(Click here to view full credits)

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Monday, Crabby Monday

Monday.

I'm not usually the 'it's Monday' gloomy kind of person. But today. Oh today. For some reason I am in a funk. Just a bit crabby. And tired. Very tired. At one point after school I actually said to Isaac, "I'm tired and crabby so stay away from me so I'm not mean to you." Yeah, like THAT wasn't mean! Sheesh.

*****
This past Friday Meagan turned 6. I took pictures. I'll post them. Eventually. Too crabby right now *lol*

*****

Today I spent the ENTIRE 2 1/2 hours that I have to myself in the morning cutting and organizing coupons. Blech.

When I picked Meagan up from school, we had lunch and then headed to the store to get flowers to plant.

We got flowers. And 2 chairs for the back porch. And a cushion for the bench. Which naturally led to disassembling the bench and spray painting it. Blue. Very blue. We'll see how it looks when it's done. If it's too ugly, I'll just go get more spray paint and paint over it. Brown shoudl cover blue nicely, if needed.

I didn't actually get the flowers planted. I couldn't find the shovel.

Then tonight after dinner I went to the grocery. So at least my coupon work got turned out to be useful. That's a small measure of satisfaction. Small. I love the two hours of quiet time at the grocery. I don't have to talk. To anyone. It's nice. I can make decisions, uninterrupted. It's the little things, ya know. These two hour grocery trips are little treasures disguised as chores.

But I forgot to buy contact solution, and I really need it. So I'll be going back tomorrow. It shouldn't take me 2 hours though. If it does, there's an issue.

*****
I've reached the end of my random rambling. I'm done. Later.

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Love Little Lego People

I confess. I have a crush on little Lego people. Especially the specific characters... you know, Captain Jack, Harry Potter, Yoda, Dobby. Adorable!

And Isaac has an infatuation with collecting Harry Potter Legos. We don't yet have them all, but we're working on it. He has all of the less expensive ones. We still need the Burrow, the Hogwarts Express, and Hogwarts Castle. But for Easter he got a few of the kits from us, and Grandma & Grandpa H. got him the Hogwarts board game... FUN! It's a great strategy game, and the little people are SO cute!


Journaling: "I think it started with the Harry Potter basket that his 2nd grade class put together, but Isaac has gotten hooked on Harry Potter... and Harry Potter Legos in particular. He wants to collect all of them. For Easter, Grandma & Grandpa H. got him the board game. The little people are so cute, and the game is fun!"

(Click here to view full credits).

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She's a Rock Star

Yet another LAST milestone has been breeched. Our LAST set of training wheels have come and gone. Gone. Like the wind. Gone. Totally unneeded anymore.

She's a rock star. Rides her bike like a pro. Sebastian even said, "Meagan, you ride your bike like you've been doing it for a decade." That's funny. But pretty true. Not a single fall. Not one. Just cruising. Everywhere. She's awesome.

What is not awesome is that this is just another in-my-face reminder that my babies growing up WAY too fast! In fact, today Lucas and I went birthday present shopping for Meagan, who will be six in a few days. And he looked at me and said, "You're baby will be sixteen in a few days." I know he was kidding, but I couldn't help but recognize the truth behind his words. *sigh*

Enough of that. On to the good stuff. Pictures of her awesomeness (sorry that my child always looks like a shaggy dog. She really needs a hair cut, but I'm waiting on her bangs to grow out just a bit more... therefore, it is always in her face *shrug*).

Step 1: Some pointers from Daddy.


Step 2: Get your peddals and feet all situated.


Step 3: Look for cars and GO.

And Go.

And go until you have to come back because you've gone as far as you can.


She's a rock star. A happy rock star!


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