two peas in a pod

this is daniel.
shua's cousin (#5 in the lineup).

when i watch daniel talk (ok, yell),
jump into any available puddle,
eat blueberries right off the bush with me,
ride a bike,
tell a super cool totally awesome story,
wrestle,
kick my can at Memory,
eat ear after ear of corn on the cob,
or play tag with roscoe,
i know i'm looking into my future.
except, of course, for that southern drawl.

i can't wait.

yet another haircut.

this kid's hair grows a mile a minute.
it was time.

luckily aunt kim was there with her clippers.
as well as a couple of cousins for inspiration.

soooo handsome!

now if only aunt kim could come over every 6 weeks,
clippers in hand.

our latest addition

everyone, meet roscoe, our bernese mountain dog.

mark & i met this little man on an amish farm saturday morning. he was one of nine (i felt an immediate connection!) and so clearly meant to come home with us. we had fun playing with his siblings, but this guy won our hearts. he followed me all over the yard, didn't mouth too much, and treated his mother very nicely.

sold!

roscoe, 10 weeks

i seriously underestimated his size!
i meant for him to curl up nicely in this box...

meatpaw

doggie!
or, as shua puts it, "woz-ko"

napping after meeting all 10 of joshua's cousins...in one place.
(welcome to the family, buddy.)

we love this one

you're right, lady. its like coming home.
thanks for the best afternoon i've had in a looooooong time.

a new place to park

we found a new park today.
a very good thing.
because we needed it.
badly.
a hot, humid day can make these 3 a little nutty.

ok ... these 4 ... i get nutty.
perhaps the nuttiest.
which i think might be bound to happen to she who is supposed to keep it together most.
(at least, that's what i tell myself.)

pretty kitty

you know us.
we're not exactly cat people.
mostly because of mark's allergies,
but i've also been convinced we're too loud, goofy,
and generally in-your-face for a cat.

bella, bless her, has proven me wrong.
though she is welcome
on my parents deck for a snooze anytime
(she and my mom share
a strong anti-chipmunk stance),
this particular nap
came after being chased around the yard
by shua and various cousins.

joshua took full advantage of her patience and exhaustion.

we'll miss you, brown dog.

learning to wii

#10 & #11

family camping