Mom and Dad and Amy Pass Through; Camp; Sneezebreeze

Mom and Dad and Amy Pass Through

On their way south from camp they stayed overnight with us. AND were generous with their time and efforts helping me as I hobbled around the house. Great to see you all!

 Camp!

The last week of August was spent at camp. This meant time splashing in the water, which was always low at the start of the day

And playing on the beach at the state park. (Including burying mommy's legs.)

And a few kayaking trips. I took Josh on his first kayaking ride, which lasted well over an hour and which he loved. Later I took Sam out, and then both of them to Deer Island. On D.I. we ran across a recently-occupied lean-to, complete with animal skull on a stick. 

Spent time in Potsdam, which is always fun. Here we are driving by the Lot Of Toilet Planters. (There are two such lots now.)

...and we went mini golfing outside Masena, as is our tradition.

Feeding the goats while at the mini golfing place

In what ought to be a tradition I took the boys into the dollar store and let them each pick one thing out. Josh chose a little plastic dolphin, which he still plays with in the tub.

This year Josh slept in the middle bedroom (lower bunk) and Sam in the end bedroom, upper bunk. But that didn't stop them from both playing together in the end bedroom. This is what camp is all about!

It's hard to underestimate the central place that band-aids occupy in the life of a young boy! (And his stuffed animal, as it turns out.)

For the first time, we explored a really nice park on an island in the Grass river in Canton. Nice trails and the ruins of an old sawmill, all of which was just magical for the boys.

Family movie night, watching Rio 2

Did I mention splashing in the water?

Here's Maxfield's in Potsdam--one place we didn't go. Maybe in a few years...

Back Home Again

No longer on crutches or wearing a brace, I am here being aided in my physical therapy exercises by Josh.

Found a toad in the front yard while Susan was inside working on test-item contracting work on Saturday. The toad survived, I am happy to say, despite Josh's loving attention

Jobh sacked out in the deserted fifth floor of Eastman while Susan and Sam are off at Sam's lesson

And Josh at his dentist appt. They loaned him sunglasses so he wouldn't be blinded by the bright lights.

Seabreeze

Earlier in the summer we had a trip to Seabreeze, but the end of the trip got rained out. They were kind enough to give us rain checks which we used last weekend. They allow you to enter at 5 pm for free. The park closes at 8 pm. We were joined by Sam's friend Ian. Here they are on the Tilt-A-Whirl. So happy I insisted that I am Never Riding That Again. Makes me feel sick for hours afterward.

The Teacup ride is a much milder version. This picture shows how serious Josh is when doing these rides.

I agreed to ride with Sam on something which goes up in the air and spins wildly. Just as bad as the Tilt-A-Whirl. Never Again.

As usual we played a few of the carnival games. Josh got a second little stuffed snake, which he refers to as a "Seacrate", which I think is a corruption of "sea snake."

And Sam, in collaboration with his friend Ian and his mom, won a giant bearded banana. Very strange, but a source of much joy.

School's started. Sam's in a class with few of his old classmates, and is working on making new friends. Josh is heart broken most mornings going to Montessori, at least at dropoff. The teachers tell me the tears often end soon. Three days ago they lasted 20 minutes. Today just a minute. Maybe he's adjusting.

That's all the news for now!