the way to a boy's heart.......
oatmeal raisin cookies seem to work for this post scout meeting snack.
josh,tal,ryan,tom, mike and ben (behind the umbrella) enjoying themselves on a sunday afternoon.
after a stint lecturing and drinking beer in heidelburg, john is back home. welcome back!
rachel,allie and madeline, working late on a saturday night, put the finishing touches on their To Kill A Mockingbird project. what a fabulous book!
mike and tom were in awe of this caterpillar that they found yesterday. it was 4" long and 1" in diameter. we later looked it up and found that it is a luna moth caterpillar. this caterpillar made their day!
madeline is adjusting well to the role of oldest sibling at home - she is busy reading harry potter to the boys, excited that they are finally old enough to understand the story.
sarah came home for a few hours to get her meningitis vaccine and was very happy to have real food! but she is back to college park, as tomorrow is a football game.
as you can see, the tooth fairy had to make another visit last night. now, both boys have lost 6 teeth each.
john,mike,tom,sarah,susan ( a friend of sarah's from college who is spending labor day weekend with us) and will all pitch in to put together ikea furniture. mike and tom sort the hardware while the others try to figure out the instructions. in the end, the apartment looks great!
after a long day of moving in, we all enjoy a nice asian stir fry dinner. will's new neighborhood is full of great restaurants, shops and theaters. it is bittersweet to see him moving on. we'll miss his indefatigueable dry humor at our house, but are so excited to watch him mature and embrace the next stage of growing up.
john took mike, tom and sarah camping in shenendoah for 3 days. madeline had babysitting obligations and i had puppy obligations, so the four of them took off for a short break. here they are, making the requisite s'mores by the campfire. excuse the grainy photo, but they couldn't find the digital camera before they left (probably in the drawer with the ever-missing nail clippers and scissors), so they bought a throw away camera in the park.
the last day, they climbed old rag- an 8 mile round trip hike with an elevation change of 3.000 ft each way. needless to say, all were quite tired when they got home, but they had a fabulous time together!
the car is finally packed and we are ready to take sarah to college. seems like only a few years ago she learned to take her first steps- and now , here we are....
madeline helps make the bed,trying to figure out a way to brighten up the room. sarah vetoes the idea of walls painted hot pink with white polka dots. tara, sarah's roommate, will be pleased.
sarah tries to set up her room and is very patient with the shenanigans of her 3 brothers.
sarah's room is set up, the computer is functioning and she is chomping at the bit for us to leave. we are more reluctant, but know we must capitulate. we will really miss her!
arin takes winston home to live with her family- mom, dad and brother, adam. we are left with a quiet puppyless house. duffy and i are depressed together. john has taken mike, tom and sarah camping for a few days- they will feel the loss upon their return. we have had quite an adventure raising these puppies and have enjoyed each step of the way. we are so pleased to have found such wonderful homes for each of them!
well, i am happy to say that john has totally fallen in love with the 4 guys- even sad to see them go. here are john and rufus out for a midnight romp.
mike and tom say good bye to cozmo. fortunately, cozmo will be only 10 minutes away, so we can see him often.
