Finn had what was probably his fifth haircut last week. His hair, much like his personality, has been pretty impossible to contain since birth. And in either case, 
to eat corn on the cob! At least that's what Finn was discovering as he tried out a few different ways. He tried pinning it to the plate and eating it with no hands. He tried opening his mouth as wide as possible to get many kernels at once. He even tried eating it like a hotdog.
As I was gardening the other day (or more like pulling weeds from the flower bed), Finn thought I looked like I could use some help. He picked up the weeding tool and got right to business. He stuck to task for quite a while too. He's going to be a great gardener!
Elizabeth brought her friend Hailey to Fourth of July Park with us last week. They were initially hesitant to wade into the creek with it's slippery rocks and icy water. After their initial hesitation, they had the best time tromping around in the creek, splashing, slipping and stomping. Some of my favorite childhood summer memories are from the time I spent wading in the creeks around the houses that my grandparents grew up in. It must be a childhood rite of passage to spend at least a little time in nature this way.
e footbridge. The second picture of just their feet, splashing around, making mischief. They had a great time, and Hailey declared it the best park she's ever been to!
Elizabeth and Philip were both home with me while I worked one day last week. They spent almost the entire day outside playing with their webkinz, picking gourd-like things to store up for winter, and hiding in their fort. They hardly wanted to break for a lunch on the deck consisting of cheese, crackers, and fruit kabobs. What a summery treat!
t for dinner at Bear Rock Cafe. (Gotta love Kid's Eat Free night when you've got 4!) We planned to head to the park for a walk after dinner, but of course, the weather did not cooperate.
Nestled in a cove (surrounded by other toys, of course) was a wooden train and track, completely set up, and Finn was sucked in immediately. He spent probably 20-30 minutes never even checking to see if Paul or I were still nearby; he was so captivated by his new discovery. Predictably, when it was time head home for baths and bed, Finn wailed the entire way out of the store. How devastating to be 
ripped from his new-found train love! Can anyone guess what's on Finn's Christmas list this year? (which is rather convenient considering the neglected train table currently sitting in our garage)
The finished product -- the scarf is on the left and the playsilk on the right.
Elizabeth, playing with all the family's playsilks and silk scarves. She needed to try out the new ones, and when we told her she looked like a gypsy, she sat down like this and wanted her picture taken. I'm not sure where she got the association between gypsies and meditation; she might be a bit confused. :)
Finn didn't want to be left out!
You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again. ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762
Here they are rubbing their balls 'round and 'round to felt them into a secure ball that won't come undone with play.
Here are the colorful felt balls all completed and dry.
Paul and Elizabeth, being taken with the Ugly Dolls they bought in NYC two months ago, have been drawing ugly dolls, talking about ugly dolls, sleeping with ugly dolls and studying the ugly doll brochure that came with their NYC purchases.
Blackberry brambles wildly envelope the fence bordering our backyard and the pasture behind us. Most summers we get a small bowl full once or twice because the neighboring cow feasts on them before we get a chance to pick them. This year, we've been fortunate that the neighbors have kept less cows and a few horses in the pasture instead, and apparently, 
horses aren't particularly blackberry lovers.
I don't really have alot to say about this but Elizabeth was so thrilled to see such a huge, bright rainbow the other evening after a summer thunderstorm that she wanted a picture with it. So...here's Elizabeth, freshly scrubbed, in her nightgown with her bedtime reading (another Magic Tree House book) standing under the rainbow.
Finn's newest developmental milestone, aside from the new words he's adding to his vocabulary, is the ability to drag a pull-toy behind him. This duck was a Christmas (or birthday, who can remember with a Christmas baby) present that has seen very little action until lately. He's even managed to watch the duck "walking" behind him without tripping himself up!
