Surfer girls

So I promised more from this summer. One of the highlights of the summer for me was watching Julia and Melanie learn how to surf.

Julia's got it. She's got the stance and everything. Now if she could just drop the dorky parents, she might be able to have some kind of a life.....
(Excuse the bad photography, but you gotta remember the photographer is out in the gnarly surf, getting thrashed all around by the epic swell....)

Here's Melanie standing up on that stick like it's nothing. She yells out "COWABUNGA" every time she catches a wave."Little surfer, little one, Made my heart come all undone...." My teeny wahines!!

Bloggin' again

Hey, I'm finally taking a few minutes and posting a few of my favorite pix from the summer. Apologies to the boys, but we didn't seem to run in similar circles this summer. Nik and Chris spent a good deal of time at camps this summer, learning things like search and rescue skills, earning merit badges, and just generally being hapless with a good mixture of mischief and charm. The girls and I spent more time together, which I hadn't thought about before just now, but might be the reason I lamented the start of school for the first time this year. Our house is quiet these days, and Allison and I haven't quite adjusted yet. She roams through the house during the day calling out for her siblings, and I marvel that the food I put in the 'frig now STAYS in the 'frig (not so in the summer). Anyways, a few pix:

Allison at the zoo yesterday. She is so grateful for a dad who works hard to provide her with so many blessings. Mom is, too. Mom is truly blessed to have such marvelous times with the kids.

First day of school. Julia wanted this year's theme to center on Pink Hi-tops. The boys wouldn't go for it, but look how cute all these pink shoes are. Julia started 7th grade this year, and has again signed up for an enormous amount of activities. She handles it well, and only asks that we read her mind to know her schedule. Melanie started 1st grade and loves it. I've never met a first grader with more confidence. She handles being at school all day much better than her mom, who is sad about missing so much of her DoodleBug's life. Allison would LOVE to start school, any grade will do, but is stuck at home with Mom going to SongTime at the library, Gym class and swimming at the Y. She has spent so much time with me running errands that she knows just when to hand the cashier the credit card.




Look at these gorgeous girls! Such good friends!! We are so lucky everyone gets along well in our family. Many different combinations of siblings this summer made for lots of interesting and fun times. Many times over my prayers for more love in our family were answered abundantly!













I just love this picture and can't leave it out.
It captures so much of what we strived for this summer: tranquil, abundant, exuberant, transcendent fun.











Okay, that takes us from Sept back thru the beginning of Aug. Hopefully more time will surface soon and I'll post more from the rest of the summer. When I look back over the summer, I realize how truly blessed and rich my life is.

Miracle cure

You know you're in Philly when the pediatrician recommends WATER ICE as part of your kid's treatment. Allison has coxsackie (aka foot, hand, mouth disease) (which by the way is nasty; she is covered in sores - mouth, hands and feet (go figure) AND diaper area - I can't imagine how the poor thing functions.). Anyways, the doctor said heat will exacerbate her misery and don't expect her to eat much - give her ice pops, ice cream, and water ice!! Hilarious, but so of course the first place we stopped on the way home from the doctor's office was Rita's (not the Howden's dog, but the Water Ice place, THE water ice place) and Allison downed at least half of a watermelon water ice. We were sitting in the car on a 90 degree with the air conditioning on and she smiled a lot for the first time in a while and got goose bumps so I considered the treatment a success.

Beach Party Aug 07

Hey - we were able to round up some people willing to call us friends for the day - at least long enough to glean some ocean goin' knowledge from our vast years of experience seeking solace at water's edge. We had a grand ol' time although the day ended too early, as all good ones do, and friends departed long before we were willing to bid farewell to the peace and exuberance we find oceanside. Just as well for them - you might notice from some of the photos the extreme degree of whiteness of some of our friends, and we all know that things that start out white at the beginning of a sunny day at the beach, usually don't go home the same color. Despite warning and advice from more experienced sun-seekers, and despite our own knowledge, none were spared the effects of sun overdose, none that is excepting Nik, whose dramatic change in color this summer leads me to believe he's an entirely different race than the rest of us. In light of the wisdom of the adage "Learn something new every day," here's a brief list of lessons learned at Corson's Inlet State Park: sunscreen does *not* migrate - you must cover all exposed skin for protection from the sun (e.g. Christina's thighs), 13 Cheetos equals one serving, surfboards are hard (check the goose egg on Chris Hamatake's noggin).