Dog Days of Summer

I had to Google the reason summer time is oft dubbed the “dog days.”  Turns out the star Sirius is part of Canis Major, the “Great Dog” constellation, and Sirius comes up with the sun in summer.  But for the Josephs, it’s because people give us their dogs to watch when they go on vacation.  Thanks Bo.

Basically a throw pillow.

May, June and July have been filled with adventure, and August and September are bound for more.  In fact every month has its trip: Kauffmans in Kitty Hawk (May), family New England trip (June), Erin & I celebrating our 5-year anniversary next weekend in Western Michigan (July), Josephs in Southern Shores (Aug), and Erin & I to Colorado Springs for a wedding (Sep).  Thank you parents for watching the girls for long weekends this summer!  Oh, and for wearing down the girls at the Outer Banks.  You know we’d have no fun without you. 

Showdown stances, before the dueling commences

OBX 1: May…We picked up Elia from a week at Camp Mimi’s in May and finished a long day and long night’s drive on Tarkle Rd.  Elia is a proven road warrior if she gets snacks and books…Sophia is a bit lacking when it comes to patient sitting.  Like her dad.  But we had excellent weather, no rain that I can recall, and many great mornings (obligatory naps in the afternoon) on the beach with sand crawling and castle building.  Both girls ran from the ocean in terror—sand is way better. 

Trust me, Bay's in there somewhere.

Elia asked to go in the boat 2-3 times a day, so we did take many kayak outings, Elia paddling with a twig at the bow.  So even took her first ride! 

Ref. Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds

And one morning we explored the Sandy Run park (who knew it was only a mile from the house? (I knew, I just couldn’t get anyone to buy into it for the first 3 years)) which is basically a marshy boardwalk situation with a turtle infestation.  They seemed to be multiplying rapidly and climbing up each other’s backs to reach and eat us.  Awesome trip, and a Happy Mother’s Day!

Thank God for railings.

New England: June…With a work trip scheduled, I convinced Erin to make it a family vacation to the mountains, and so we embarked in a fancy 2017 Sienna rental for Norwich, VT and the Upper Valley.  A pleasant picnic at Niagara Falls (such a beautiful tourist trap), and then through Albany, the Green Mountains, and at last, our scenic cabin by the woods! 

Note the BandAid on Elia's left knee.
There's one on both actually.  Everyday, always.

       

I worked Tuesday-Friday while Erin took the girls to libraries, parks, and an amazing pet shop.  That plus naps and a good bit of hanging around the house.  Turns out there was no A/C, and no bath, but was otherwise an amazing accommodation...and what views!

Erin's mini-her

Again with the rails God.  Saving lives.

                                                    

But in the evenings, we conquered mountains, tackled gorges, explored Dartmouth campus, and dined at some terrific restaurants.  So proud of Elia for climbing impressive grades with her skinny legs…all the way atop Mt. Ascutney!

Based on a children's book "Make Way for
Ducklings"...that we've never read.

"But I want one!"

Saturday we trekked to Boston, where we explored the Commons and public garden downtown and let Brandon and Vicky direct us through the city sights.  Chinatown, the harbor, Northside, the subway and their church in Cambridge…we got to do it all while chained to a double stroller, a handicap that made city life seem a bit out of our league!

This was right before Elia swung the smoldering fire stick
inches from Mom and Bay.  Parenting is trial by fire.

Snacks, water, and a windshield.  Basically just a cozy low-rider.

Dinner with the Thomases, 5 1/2 kids and counting

Building a mulch castle

   

Meanwhile at home, the heat (not so much the current deluge), have brought on fun new activities like picnics, outdoor water activities with friends, campfires, parades, and ample use of the bike trailer—worth its weight in gold.  I’ve towed those girls to playgrounds most weeks this year since we got it at Christmas. 

Anything can fit in a minivan.

We’ve really enjoyed simple improvements as the girls grow, and they truly are at a sweet spot…Elia is starting to help sweep the floor and clear the table after dinner, and apparently she can go to the bathroom all by herself (sometimes)!  She loves the outdoors (her sprinkler especially), loves coloring (that Aldi’s art desk is a big success), and loves reading (Frog and Toad, Henry and Mudge…she’s working on sounding out words).  We manage to keep the TV and sweets to a minimum.  At least when dad’s home :-/.  What more could we ask for?

That's not even my dad joke.

First day of (Vacation Bible) school!

I decided to see how many different kinds of
hats I could wear on my head, then Elia did the same.

   

She attended VBS at First Friends Church (at the end of our road) for weekday mornings recently.  Didn’t remember a lick of what-did-you-learn-today, but I have to believe much of it stuck and she just can’t reiterate.  After all she rarely remembers by evening if she even left the house that morning!  Days blend together when you sleep/nap/don’t sleep/don’t nap.

A week with big sis at VBS = fun with Mom!

Sophia has officially mastered walking.  Elia taught her how to jump, and now So can do it too!  Though her jump is much more of a squat than a jump.  I mean, technically her feet don’t leave the ground at all.  We’re probably bailing on the speech therapy and just accepting her slow progress, as she can now say all sorts of words!  She’s got “daw” (dog), “dah” (dad), “daw” (Dora), “bky” (book), “bah” (ball), “bah” (bottle)…probably only 5 distinct sounds total, but throw in some context, you’ve got yourself a regular Shakespeare. 

Too much air-conditioning

Bay So, you eat great, you walk and play great, you sleep great, you only cry when you want to sleep.  Oh yeah, and anytime your parents hand you over for child care.  And anytime you drink from a sippy cup because you can't figure out that you have to tilt up it to get milk out.  You love reading, climbing, coloring, and doing everything your sister does unless there’s too many people.

Cheese's first wardrobe.  If he's anything like me, he'll never need any more clothes.

The Cheese has been identified as a male recently, and so we are naming him Ezra Clay Joseph.  His mother already “knew” he was a boy, so she took the liberty of stockpiling boy clothes on her yard sailing.  And boy does she sail those yards…we probably made more transactions this summer in cash than credit!  And we’re not even drug dealers! 

Ezra will be around before we know it, so we received a nice crib recently and Erin, in her nesting ways, has taken it upon her paint-hating self to paint the entire dark brown piece to a light, happy vanilla shade.  Naturally, as she moves into the exhausting fourth coat, she remembers the warnings of her husband and is driven only by pregnancy hormones and the madness of a mother’s love.  You are celebrated, Ezra!

Here at the height of summer, we look forward to more trips, time outside, and pre-three memories, as this winter will bring a new flavor to our family.