Summa Tiltonica

Summer Silliness: update #7

Here's a bunch of silliness I'm posting for posterity's sake / future blackmail material

Mom I found a square foot of bare dirt!

Life changes so abruptly when you're two...

Or four...

typical James on the same car trip :)

Imitating monkey sticker faces Grandma sent. Thanks, Grandma!

My little buddies have been so much fun this summer!

They've also had fun with their own little buddies. I was thinking the other day that I remember my friends from when I was 4 and 5. I have a few very vivid memories from those years. Which of these memories will Scotty still have 30 years later?? A pizza picnic?

Splashing in the stream?

Or just hanging out?

Daphne Adele: update #6

I have to dedicate an entire post to our newest niece. I know I'm partial, but isn't she gorgeous?

I went for a long weekend (thanks Jeremy! thanks Lisa!) to stay with Katie and Van. I say "stay with" because I thought I would be helping, and I barely lifted a finger the whole time! Any of you who know the long details of Daphne's gestation and birth know what a tender mercy it was for her be in the NICU for less than a week after her omphalocele surgery. By the time I got there, she'd been home for almost 2 weeks and was fat and happy. And Katie was getting more sleep than your average new mom. Daphne has found her lungs since then, but as a wee one, the most I heard out of her was a tiny little "hey!" when she was truly distressed. She was the perfect newborn. (And now she's the perfect 3 month old!) I LOVED holding her! I confess I'm baby hungry at the moment and I totally got my baby fix that weekend. She was a perfect little snuggler. This is my *favorite* pic of the weekend. Pucker up!

And this is a close second. I love the newborn furrowed brow + cross eyes + gang sign + double chin

And because of this cute little thing, I've developed a new obsession. I have two boys and I spend my free time now making -little girl's hair dealies-! So silly, but so entertaining. This isn't the best picture, but if you like them, I'm taking requests. Daphne can only wear so many, and most of my other nieces are a little too old for them.

Summer trips: update #5

We had a gorgeous cool June this year and stayed outside as long as possible every day. One of the highlights of June was James' first camping trip

What is it about camping? A day's work to pack, a few days to unpack and de-grime, all for one poor night's sleep, but it's totally worth it! Love it.

Over the 4th of July weekend we took a short trip up to Niagara and Palmyra. We stopped first in Scranton and went to the Lackawanna County Coal Mine. Ah, small-town Pennsylvania. I'm not really sure why we did it. A tribute to The Office? Absolute *rave* reviews from Tripadvisor? I'll leave it by saying it was memorable, and I guess it was fun for the boys...

Next we stopped in Heaven on Earth aka Skaneateles, NY. I want to live there! I have never seen water this clear outside of the Uintas. The town was as quaint as it gets, to boot.

Next stop Palmyra and the sacred grove. This is what a 4 year old thinks of the sacred grove.

Poor kid! He was so tired, and this is seriously what he looked like whole time, minus the tantrum. ... "What are you *doing* to me, mom and dad?!" Jeremy and I enjoyed it though. Sunday morning, a truly lovely one.