Labor Day Weekend

We rested, and Big Papi grocery shopped...

***

We went to Harper's Ferry. It was hot and humid - but gorgeous! We are making plans to go back asap and do some walking to see where the Shenandoah meets the Potomac. Benjamin was completely enthralled by a group of Asian tourists - and they thought that he was so cute pointing to them and listening to their language, they just kept encouraging the little rascal ;)

{{{{Wishful thinking, Momma}}}}

bwyl *SherryQ* xo

Gyffy co-co-POP! and tomatoes

My former supervisor in my former work-a-day girl life (wherein I posed as a furniture liberating, group advocating, renegade librarian!), is such a lovely lady (and a magical sheep farmer), and I am so lucky that she has stayed a friend in my post-work life :)

We had lunch with Mary the other day, and she presented little Mister Benjamin with the most awesome Gyffy! We call him, Gyffy, Gyffy, co-co-POP...

He is awesome and bouncy and super duper fun!
He = Gyffy ;)
THANK YOU, MARY!!!! xo

Tana brought 2 tomato plants over in June, and we planted them in the third pot outside - the tomatoes are there!

bwyl *SherryQ* xo

What to do when everyone leaves...

#1. Be a binky stealer!

#2. Make your modified sign for pony ride and look helpless so that Momma will assist you
#3. Eat a new puzzle piece out of frustration
#4. Just look sad and cry :'(

bwyl *SherryQ* xo

Visitors from Cincinnati, and a return to the Creamery

Prima Tana's school/ summer camp had a three week hiatus before their fall term began, so she came and spent one week of that with us!!!! YAY :)

My parents (Granny and GDad), came over and brought Prima Zoe with them to play with Tana for the week!!! YAY :)

***

There was lots of fun to be had - sprinklers, toddler pool, API playdate, and a visit to the South Mountain Creamery!

My Dad doesn't join us on a lot of outings because of his bad back (aka World of Warcraft)

Benjamin thought that there were sheep too - he is saying, "baa," and looking towards the cows ;)

Kerry and Jim arrived on Thursday and stayed through the weekend.
Prima Tana and Prima Zoe LOVE being together, and they both adore my sister!

**
Cousins LOVE Cows!!!

By now, Benjamin's mad walking skills have really developed, and he had a grand ol' time showing them off to everyone ;)

bwyl *SherryQ* xo

More Demonstrations and the Kuritars :)

While the Kuritar family returned for a fun day in D.C. (they left the house @ 6:45 a.m.), Benjamin and I stayed home to review his mad skills!

and

call me crazy - here :)

And a still of Sydney Kuritar - Spencer did not want to be photographed :)


bwyl *SherryQ* xo

Benjamin's first trip to a Smithsonian!

(photos are Big Papi, Benjamin, Uncle Corey, Aunt Sydney and Prima Tana)



My friend from down the street while I was growing up, Joan, brought her two children, Spencer, 10, and Sydney, 8, to visit D.C., and stayed with us for a few days.

Since we missed going with the Neziri's, Abuela, Abuelo, Big Papi, and Tio Tony, we used their visit as an excuse to get off of our behinds and take little Mister Benjamin to a Smithsonian, and ended up at the Natural History Smithsonian for the day.

It was H O FREAKIN' T - seriously the hottest day of the summer, but the museum was fun and Benjamin enjoyed himself very much (as long as we were holding him).
:)

New moves!

Check, check, check, check it!

and
Stay Tuned!
'cause

oh yeah
and

then, you'll not be surprised by

or this...

Hee hee :) here are a few still shots:

Benjamin at 13 months...

He is very interested in doing what I do - sweeping, being close to Big Papi, and watching tomatoes grow :)

bwyl *SherryQ* xo

I had a birthday

Yup - I am like, old, and stuff - not TOO OLD (Rachel G.), just old enough for me :)
Before our feast of

MONSTER SPAGHETTI - mwahhahahahahahahahaha!

Prima Tana joined us for dinner, and dessert, of course! She even spent the night :)

***

Ahhh - the flowers - SO, so lovely and very appreciated!

***

It's tough being a baby... ;)

Seeing Calves

We are trying to gently nudge Benjamin into making his afternoon nap THE nap for the day... this photo is on day 1 of the experiment of keeping him awake and active in the morning. Good job, Momma (NOT)... 2 minutes in the car on the way out to the Creamery, he is fast asleep - in his new carseat!


Benjamin woke up as soon as we stopped - it was only about a ten minute drive, so maybe we'll be back on track... Anywho, we walked up to the calf barn and saw some sweet babies. Benjamin LOVED the calves and hens and roosters ...

I wonder why Mommy and baby Benjamin already have such different points of view!

Big Papi and Benjamin are exhausted after the creamery visit and a trip to the Common Market!

An early evening playdate at Mrs. Clark's house :) Benjamin and little Maggie are one month apart (Maggie is older - but teeny tiny!). I love the way Dave (Cadia Rose's Daddy) is looking up with so much love at his wife, Natalie... She was in the photo, pre-crop, but the angle was unfortunate, so I opted for the crop :)


At the Catoctin Mountain Orchard with Uncle Corey, Aunt Sydney and Prima Tana...

Uncle Corey plays "let's scare Big Papi"
with Benjamin, on top of a rotten pile of hay
- seriously, it is stinky slimey sinky gooey rotten!

Benjamin has a proud Prima showing him how to play on the train

SUPER WONDER GIRL of the UNIVERSE!

Tana brought her fancy Nancy purse and sunglasses,
along with her sparkly Boston Red Sox logo hat!
Perfect accessories for teaching Benjamin how to play on the tractor - dontcha think? :)

Unpleasant News..

Nothing about the sweet puffins (thank goodness!)...

However, this is a very strange coincidence:
In the past two months, both sets of our parents have had their homes burglarized.

One set live in Puerto Rico, and lost many precious items and all electronics.

One set live in Cincinnati, and lost only their giant television, but probably "only" because the neighbor saw the selfish nasties (who then saw her seeing them and sped away) and called 911.

Makes me want to build a little safety nest for them close by so that we can help keep watch - with Forest's assistance, of course... and maybe a few of his friends too.

Dear Burglars,
Stop bothering people with your lack of self confidence or respect for yourself and others. You only have one life to live - make it worthy and full of positive energy for yourself and others.

Thank you,

bwyl *SherryQ* xo