Saturday Morning Blueblerry Picking

Blueblerries {as Hugh calls them} are a little late this year...but we found plenty and ate plenty too. We were really fortunate to have Hugh along with us to scare any bears that may have come our way. Reading 'Blueberries For Sal' has taught Hugh one thing: Bears like their blueberries. So Hugh has put together a special technique to ward off the hungry beasts. It's something of a growl with a little bit of finesse mixed in...notice his hand. Is it me or does it look like he's belting out a Sinatra tune? I did it myyyyyyy way.
xo

Cool Tricks

Arlo has successfully learned to put his soother in his mouth all by himself. It took a lot of shots...because as we know Arlo is rather camera shy {or camera stunned}...so I had to be quite sneaky. But seconds before I was about to give up altogether, his little chubby hands shoved the soother right into those smacking lips. Thanks Arlo for the Cool Trick!Hugh will never pass when it comes to performing a Cool Trick. Never. He thought of this one all on his own. And so behold the Pedaling-Trike-With-Hands trick. Thanks Hugh for the Cool Trick!xo
PostScript: Did you notice Arlo's hair looks rather orange in these pictures? Did you think to yourself "By golly, is he a redhead"? Allow me to answer: Arlo is a baldhead and it's the cradlecap giving the few strands of hair left on his head an orangey dreamy redhead glow.

Cool Tricks

He now fits in the Bumbo Chair...He still fits in the Bumbo Chair...
xo

Cool Tricks

The Roll Over.

xo

Guest Starring Miles

"This is the kind of summer day I remember as a kid." David said.
Beautiful sun...fluffy clouds...cool breezes...a day that can only mean one thing....Picnic.Miles {along with his mama and baby brother}, Hugh, Arlo, David and I went to Wildwood to splash in the lake, chomp on delicious food while playing on the playground... and investigate dirty seagull feathers. And on the way home...just to top off our day, we visited our favourite ice cream hangout, Erie Dog. August is starting out just right!
xo

A Thunderstorm

Here's what was supposed to happen tonight: lawn bowling.
Instead we had something much more interesting take place all because of a thunderstorm. But before I begin I shall give a brief history on the story of Neil and Tony.
When Hugh was around 18 months {and saying quite a few words} he became entranced with the weekly mowing of our park. The riding lawn mowers roared around the teeter-totters and swings with such precision and grace, anyone could have easily shared Hugh's fascination. On one particular day while the grass was being cut, Hugh was perched on his chair staring out the window and exclaimed "Neil and Tony!!!". He didn't have any friends, books, movies, relatives or any affiliation for that matter with the names: Neil and Tony...but for some reason this is what he decided to call them. David and I chuckled because one of the mowers was a woman. Was she Neil or Tony? The names have stuck and we still get pretty excited when they arrive in our park.
This evening with the lights flickering from the thunderstorms we heard a gentle knock at our door. Hugh and I ran to answer and who do we see standing before us? Neil and Tony. Our jaws dropped...and I slowly turned to Hugh and said {using my best ventriloquist voice}, "It's Neil and Tony".
"Can we please stand on your front porch? We were mowing in the park and we're stuck in the rain." they explained.
With smiles on our faces we said, "Of course!"
Taking a couple of minutes to re-group, Hugh and I grabbed the camera...
and joined Neil and Tony. We told them our story...snapped a picture...and thanked them for their job well done.
Oh yeah, we also confirmed Laura is Neil and Vern is Tony.
xo

Back Home Again

After the traditional send off from Nana and Grandaddy, we began our journey home.
I felt a flutter of panic when the backseat requested snacks and car games before we made it to the gates...
but all was well and we helped break up the trip with a visit to the city.Most people like to go to the city for shopping, eating or touring. This family...well, we like to hunt for escalators...and ride them a hundred times. Daddy is certainly a trooper for indulging his son on this expedition...And now we are home...feeling rather reflective on our amazing time spent at the cottage.
Thank you Nana and Grandaddy!
xo