7/3/08 The full crew

My sister and brother both arrived in Pennsylvania this afternoon. I finally got to meet my brother's girlfriend! And perhaps almost as importantly, his "new" F150 pickup. The kids took an instant liking to jumping up and down on its bed.


I went running again today, this is a scene along the way in lovely rural Pennsylvania.




The boys played outside with these tiny baby scooter toys until rain forced them inside.


Gabriel and Aidan played checkers for HOURS today, advancing the play to chess by nighttime.


After the rain, Julian and Anney (bro's girlfriend) played ball.


We also set up a ping-pong table in the garage, on which I narrowly beat my brother. Then we showed the boys how to play (my niece had a fever and was resting inside). I can see this won't come easy -- just hitting the ball at all was a challenge for all three, but the one who made contact the most -- and got it across the net and hit the table to top it off -- was Julian.

Katrina took a break from our now thrice-daily power struggle about meals and actually ate some broccoli. She was still glued to the little scooters, and loves this little antique one because it's so easy to push around.


Tomorrow, Papa Paul's son and his girlfriend and two dogs arrive too, so we'll have a very full house for July 4!

7/3/08

7/2/08 Hanging' in Penn.

Great day, doing what we do best but don't do enough: hang out!

First to our longtime family friend's house on the river. Kids played in the pool and with a solar-powered fountain, Mom & I chatted and tried to catch up and keep a toddler from drowning. Plans to go letterboxing nearby foiled by said toddler's desperate need for a nap.

Boys went hiking with grandparents while I stayed back with toddler who had taken a mere 7-minute snooze in the car and never took a real nap. Sigh.


Not so bad, we hung together. I caught up on the phone with another old friend from high school. When they got back, Gabriel was all about blueberries, having come across a big patch of not-quite-ripe blueberries. We had some store-bought ones and he devoured them.

Katrina's having a fabulous time with this old little scooter, not at all intimidated as it starts to careen down the sloped driveway.


Baby to bed early (see previous about NO NAP), driving me crazy with being very picky about when/where/how to eat anything. Dinner was strawberries, 4 bites of rice, and Corn Chex. Boys to bed in time for grownups to watch Juno, decent movie.

me, up late again, will pay tomorrow!

7/2/08

7/1/08 Made it!

Flight went well! Exhausting under the best of circumstances, which we basically had. Katrina had a hard time falling asleep in the carseat, but did eventually and stayed zonked throughout the landing. Boys were great. Saturday night/Sunday morning is the time to fly East, as there's the least traffic and lines. My brother meeting us was essential -- even with him, we still needed Gabriel to push the stroller.

We spent a night at the Engel family's "artloft," then left Monday afternoon for Pennsylvania, from where I type. Katrina especially is having a fabulous time playing outside. Julian has a temperature today. Gabriel enjoying Bonne Maman's piano. Days are filled with little more than looking over the garden and playing Go Fish, and that's great.

We're hoping to be joined by more family this weekend; we know my brother and his girlfriend (who I've never met!) are coming; my sister and her family and hopefully Papa Paul's son and his girlfriend too.

I'm having fun cooking with my highly skilled and creative mother, the master!

photos later, maybe.

7/1/08