drawings and more drawings

Sam's been drawing up a storm lately. His drawings have become a lot more involved. If you are interested, read the caption and the click on the image to see it full-sized.

Above is a device for generating automobile fuel, and extracting waste.

This is a video game. That is, he imagined a video game when drawing this. He does that a lot. The squares with skulls and crossbones are deadly, and you are trying to get to the stars.

This is a beginning of a drawing of a town, I think. Note the wine store with its martini glass, next to the Wegmans.

He described this as an undiscovered land where all is decay and destruction--note the fallen buildings, broken lamp, flat tire, etc.

Aunt Ruth's Visit!

Between our camp trip and the trip to Columbus, Aunt Ruth came out for a week. We had a great time and Ruth was characteristically generous, cleaning out our garage (!!!), painting the sun porch (!!!!), putting up a wall-mounted clock in the family room, making and re-making an amazing frozen dessert, taking care of the boys, picking out a new lamp for Sam's room and shopping with Susan for living-room drapes. It feels like a new house now. 

Oh, and watched about nine episodes of Firefly with us. :-)

Sam delivered his Lion presentation from last spring to Aunt Ruth, culminating in a lion quiz.

We recently scored a train table from friends Barb and David whose son Ian has outgrown it. Josh has enjoyed it tremendously. Here Aunt Ruth helps him with the finer points.

It did get a little hot, at least for Rochester. Nothing like the 100-degree weather SD and OH have been seeing. But that didn't stop Aunt Ruth and Josh from cooling off with some fine children's literature.

Found this on the camera. You get to decide whose socks are whose.

Sam and his friend Zachy cooling off with the hose.

Every summer Sam attends the Hochstein art and music camp for a week, culminating in a group presentation. This year it had a native American theme. Happily, Aunt Ruth was able to join us. 

While Aunt Ruth visited, Josh did his best to undo the cleaning she was accomplishing. Here he's been left alone in the living room with a box of Cheerios, and has done the natural thing, coating the carpet with them. He was pleased: food everywhere!

Up at Camp, Part Two

At long last, here are more photos from our trip to camp the first week of July. We spent two nights in Lake Placid and then another at camp with Mom and Dad.

Placid included a wealth of miniature golf games. The two courses there are truly impressive.

Josh liked to contribute to the game by  fetching Mommy's golf ball and putting it manually in the hole for her.

Sam got to do a little bungee trampolining again. 

Mom feeding Josh on the screened-in porch.

Sam and I took our first hike together involving any  real climbing.  The Adirondack High Peaks region is right next to Placid, and right at the base camp is Mt. Jo. It's nothing to the big climbers, but just perfect for a 6-year-old. It's a one-mile hike each way, with a 700-ft vertical climb. You start on the shores of Heart Lake and from the top you are able to look out at the nearby high peaks, as well as down at Heart Lake. 

Sam on the summit.

Sam recharging his batteries with a few Pringles.

The view from the top. Heart Lake is on the left.

We ate at a pizza place in Placid which we discovered last year. It has a balcony overlooking Mirror Lake, which is next to "downtown". 

Josh, selecting his entree. (Well, maybe not.)

We were in Placid for the 4th, so we watched the parade, which included the Governeur marching band. 

And the Scottish club.

Back at camp Grandad got Sam's help screwing down a plank on the deck. (This is, I think, the last known photograph of the old deck. It's being replaced as we speak.)

Westerville Reading Trip

Here, in travelogue format, are photos from our trip this past week to Columbus. We were there so Susan could do a reading/q&a session at the Westerville Public Library. We took full advantage of the trip to see Aunt Amy, Stu and Sue, and Kevin and Emily, hosted in absentia by Mom and Dad. We enjoyed our visit to Xenos Sunday morning, Kevin's pizza and pool party for his 22nd birthday (Happy Birthday, Kevin!), as well as a second trip to the Westerville Rec. Center pool, and a visit to the house where Emily lives on campus, followed by the Central Teaching she attends, and then a game of Settlers of Catan with two of her friends. Enjoyed the pleasant weather as well, and got to be there for the first good rain Columbus has had in a while. Stu and Sue fed us like visiting royalty and we all (Amy included!) had a great time hanging out with them. 

If you had to guess from this blog you'd think we spend 90% of our time at zoos. This is from a trip to the Columbus Zoo. They have an Australia & Indonesia area we'd never seen before, which includes a little boat ride through an area with exotic birds, baboons (baboons?) and a komodo dragon! (see below). This is a kangaroo area, where you got to see sleeping kangaroos up close, including one two-year-old who the docent says is their "problem child" because she likes to hug people. There was also a building providing a low-light tour of nocturnal animals including a cloud leopard, tiger quoll, tree kangaroo, some gliding mice and a fluffy black and white squirrel. This was followed by a sighting of a fuzzy koala rump. Being in permanent siesta they are well suited to the hot temperatures in Columbus.

There's that komodo dragon. Komodo dragons are extremely poisonous due to the nasty bacteria which live in their mouths. This is also in the Australia/Indonesia area.

Here's the old reptile house, which goes back to when I was a kid, though it's considerably snazzier now. Josh found the button you could press to hear an alligator growl loudly. He pressed the button then in surprise stepped back and sat on his rear end staring in amazement... and then pressed it again and again. :-)

Josh with some sort of swimming turtles

The reptile house again.

Stu coming to the reptiles, hat in hand.

The aquarium, which is just amazing. Sam's on the right.

Sam on a manatee statue.

A shark swims by Sam.

Stu admiring the fish.

Josh, admiring the fish at the Zoo.

When we first arrived at M&D's we found the stuff animals engaged in a game of poker.

First night in Worthington we went on a jammy walk. What fun!

Hug

Yesterday Joshie was read the book "Hug", and started trying to say the word. Last night he was doing quite well--and here he's no slouch, though he's really more interested in breakfast. We think he might even know what "hug" means, though it's a little hard to tell.

For next post: Photos of Aunt Ruth! She was happily asleep when this was taken, but you can see signs of her presence by a happy Susan and a shorn Josh.

Dad's 80th birthday

This has nothing to do with the boys, except that they weren't present for it. 

Yesterday my dad turned 80. Stu, Amy and I decided, in addition to a flown-in lobster dinner, to drive up to camp to spend the day celebrating with him. A big drive for Amy and Stu, less so for me. Stu and Amy arrived Saturday night in time to hand someone a remote control. I arrived Sunday morning (I had less distance to travel, so it took me longer) in time to bring up the tail of the line for communion at Zion Episcopal. We are convinced we managed to surprise dad, which was great fun, and we all enjoyed our first time gathering there as a family since Stu was in college (not to divulge years elapsed, but it's been a while).

A very good time was had by all:

The celebratory dinner. Note the festive balloon!

In front of Zion

Dad with his actually delicious glutenless cake

The traditional dinner of pizza at Sergi's

Stu and Dad went out kayaking and were caught in a downpour which lasted  a little while. Fortunately it was warm enough that no one (yet) caught a cold and died. Phew!

Mom, viewing their return from the camp, with the new deck under construction

Happy birthday, Dad!

Up at Camp, Part One

Went to the state park beach this afternoon. Here's Josh playing with the shovel and bucket Nana and Grandad gave him.

Josh dove right in with the sand play, and had a whale of a time

N&G keeping cool on shore

Whether hiding his friend "Booboo" (a pokemon) or playing Marco Polo, Sam had a great time

Susan, supervising

Josh, as it turns out, doesn't like wearing a sun hat.