you just can't fight the magnetic attraction between boys and walls. got to climb each and every one.
mike, tom and i took the day to explore the franklin instititute in philadelphia. one of my favorite museums for kids.
mike is enjoying building a LONG domino chain. this museum is fantastic for learning about science in a hands on fashion.
ben franklin would be proud.
by this rube goldberg contraption. 30 minutes of uninterrupted joy as he examined each and every part of this machine. the engineer in him was overwhelmed with excitement. sort of like on the ride up to philadelphia, when we passed under the maze of soaring, tangled highway overpasses in downtown baltimore, tom says" oh man, this is my favorite part of the ride- those overpasses are just beautiful'.
it is all in the eyes of the beholder.
the heat has broken and, once again, we can dine al fresco.
the best!
it is a quiet evening tonight with both madeline and sarah out at the movies.dinner with only two kids seems so empty.
you can see by the darkened sky that we are on our usual european dinner schedule- 9 pm is actually a bit earlier than usual.
the start of school willl be harsh.
evening is my favorite time on the deck. the mandevilla are beautiful- they must have enjoyed the recent searing heat. one of the nicest attributes of these flowers is that they attract hummingbirds.
the garden is flourishing even if we do have to share it with our resident woodchucks.
the casey clan begins to assemble for tom and rebecca's wedding at their horse farm in new jersey. sarah has yet to arrive after driving up to new jersey herself, in the morning, because she could NOT miss the kenny chesney concert the night before in dc. bob is in the farm house helping out, leslie and matthew are on their way in from nyc and vincent and christina will arrive one minute before vincent has to walk down the aisle, making an entrance in their beautiful blue mercedes convertible. mary and ben will be pleased to have all their sons and families together.
john takes a moment, before the ceremony begins, to compose a toast for tom and rebecca.
john helps the boys to assemble their various layers. it is ninety seven degrees in the shade and the rental tuxes have polyester shirts. enough said
steffi, amy, audrey and madeline spent every waking hour in the water. even the jellyfish did not deter them.
it may be hard to believe, but these 4 teenage girls were a pleasure to have on vacation with us- and any one with teenage daughters will appreciate what a monumental statement that is.
mike seems to have conquered his fear of sharks. he rode the waves with the best of them, even venturing out into the deep water with the dolphins.
tom must have ridden 1500 waves to shore in our 4 days at the beach. he has always said that he wants to live in hawaii- i am beginning to think he knows what he is talking about.
looking for clams.
this was the first year that mike and tom spent more time in the water than in the sand.
revived our spirits and kept our thoughts away from the usual stressors.
The first trip of the week was to Bethany Beach to spend four utterly relaxing days on the beach, courtesy of our generous neighbor, Sylvia, who, witnessing the insanity of our lives on a daily basis, felt compelled to offer us her beach house for the week! THANK YOU SYLVIA! Eight of us piled into the minivan (Madeline had to bring 3 friends, since teenage girls only travel in packs) and had a fabulous week of fun in the sun.
