Who stole our kids ...

and replaced them with kids who (gasp!) enjoy playing with one another? In another room? Complete with laughter? For large chunks of time? Who knows? But, we're holding our breath and not changing anything.

We just returned from vacation where we had a great time.

Both boys did remarkably well with the 8 hour drive there and back. We filled a backpack with toys that we thought would entertain Alex along the way. And, of course, he ignored most of those but found buckling his lifevest over and over and over again endlessly fascinating. That may well be the best $13 we've ever spent.



During the week, we spent lots of time hiking, in the pool, and at the beach. Both boys seem to be getting so big ....

Six Months!

Six months ago we became a family of four.

These were the very first pictures we received of Alex ... in an email from our agency telling us that they "look(ed) forward to knowing if this is the little one who is meant to be yours".





Indeed. We are so very, very happy he is ours.

Summer Fun Continues ...

... with Civil War Reenactments ...





... antique tractor shows ...



.. fountain diving ...



... firetruck exploring ....



... and pizza-pie construction ...

Mountain Men

Ellen took the boys to an art festival today and came across a booth offering free photos of the boys in wilderness dress-up. As you can see from the picture below, Owen was in heaven, especially because he got to hold a big gun. I don't think that smile could get any wider.

Alex's photo strikes me as something you might see in a PBS documentary on the early American settlers: "...still, some pioneers had trouble adapting to their new environment..."

To Grandmother's House We Go ....

This week, we took the boys to visit their grandparents ... with stops at the children's museum and the zoo thrown in for good measure. Except for the 5am daily wake-ups (the boys wake up very early; even earlier with a time zone change added to the mix), a good time was had by all.