Catching Up

It's been awhile! Things have been, er, crazy. First it was the hand, foot, and mouth. Then it was bronchitis (me). Then JVL and I were able to escape for a few days--alone!--together!--on the annual Weekly Standard cruise, while Mom and Dad bravely--and fantastically--took care of the kids. Everyone was not only alive and well when I flew home, they were happy and healthy and had been incredibly well-behaved. Dad, too. : ) Then we had a quick visit from Aunt Hannah (the joy in Cody's eyes was priceless)!

Then, a super crazy, babysitter-less work week began. It's nearly done, and here we are in August! One more crazy, sitter-less week and then we go TO THE BEACH!

Cody continues to return to his sweet, wonderful self. Apparently that whole Year 3 was a blip. (Though someone told me yesterday that, as I suspected, 3 is the worst year...until they become teenagers, at which point they act exactly as they did when they were...3. So I'm really looking forward to that.) Cordelia continues to be her precocious, argumentative self. They're very much in the "That's mine!" "No it's not!" "Yes it is!" "No I'm not!" "Yes you are!" phase, which is just about as enjoyable as it sounds. But kind of funny, too.

Anyway, here are some highlights from the past few weeks.

Playing under the tree...

 High-fiving in their rocket ships (the outdoor rocketships, I'm told, are quite different than the indoor ones)...

 Honestly, I'm not sure what's happening here at all. Makeshift vacuums? Rocket building? Couldn't say.

 Blowing bubbles (before dumping them all out)...

 Eating their favorite--summer raspberries--on the deck...

 Looking for turtles during our wildlife walk...

 Watering the sidewalk...

And picnicking on the deck while waiting for a thunderstorm!