Green Lakes

Auntie Tara and I took the boys to Green Lakes for a walk (the goal of which was to shake that baby out of Tara, who is now 41 weeks pregnant) and some time at the playground and beach. It was a little too chilly for us to swim and the boys didn't have much interest, but we enjoyed digging in the sand and eating hot dogs from the concession stand.

Visit to Cayuga Nature Center

Sunday we went to the Cayuga Nature Center for a rainy-day excursion from the cottage. Mama hadn't been back since she broke her arm on the ropes course in approximately 1990. This trip was way more fun. Daddy especially enjoyed the realistic animal puppets.

Turtle! Turtle!

Nina the Hedgehog.

 

Grandma Joanie impersonating a moose.

Bearded Dragon!

Theo found the front loader here, too!

Theo and Daddy enjoying the butterfly garden.

Looking down at the falls from the six-story-high tree house!

Theo enjoying the business end of a skunk.

Piggery Tour

First thing Saturday we headed to the Trumansburg playground for a meet-up with Mama's high school tennis partner and good friend Louise and her fam, including daughter Charlotte. Theo and Beck practically fell asleep in their swings because they had slept so badly the night before but they still had some good fun at the playground.

Later Saturday we joined up with a Cornell Alumni tour of the Piggery, local pork producer in Ithaca. The boys liked seeing the pigs but, as always, the front loader won out for Theo. These pictures are thanks to good old Linda Lavine, who happened to be on the tour with us.

I also got some pig kisses, which turned into pig bites.

Auntie Tara visit and present

Look at the awesome present Auntie Tara brought the boys! Needless to say, the miter saw and drill press have been big big hits. Beckett also enjoyed touching the baby in Tara's belly (40 weeks yesterday!) but Theo wanted nothing to do with it.

Trip to Jersey

Somehow Mama's cousins Alex and Kelly are old enough to have graduated from high school and to have been admitted to college. Wow! How did that happen? We spent a short but fun weekend visiting the new grads and their families.

Cousin Alex is a real ham.

 Tabi was very patient with the boys all weekend, regaling them with stories, reading books, and showing off her trampoline.

Even Dada got in on the trampoline action.

The boys also enjoyed the neighborhood playground, especially this big red car on springs.

We also got to swim in their very warm lake. Theo enjoyed peeing in the water.

Feeding the ducks

Friday we took a field trip to Webster Pond in the Valley (the neighborhood just south of us) to feed the ducks with friend Kristina and her sons Oliver, Luke and Jake. There were signs demanding that the birds not be fed bread. I felt so proud that I had brought frozen veggies and dry rice as recommended by the Lab of O. The darn birds wanted nothing to do with our (still-frozen) veggies and rice but we used some of the cracked corn they provide at the pond.

Visit with Beth and kids

Last Wednesday we had a great visit with Beth and her kids Isaiah and Naomi. We had a great walk at Sapsucker Woods and then a swim at the Ithaca Swim Club, where Beth used to lifeguard!

Visit with Joanne and Alex

These folks really know how to please two year old boys. They had a lawnmower in the garage next to a boat the boys could climb into. I wasn't sure we would ever make it to Myers Park--but thankfully we were able to tear them away eventually.

Blueberry picking

Anyone who knows Mama knows that one of my favorite activities is picking blueberries. It's actually a corollary to the favorite activity known as eating blueberries. Last summer seemed too early to introduce Theo and Beckett to picking, though they were already champs at eating blueberries. But this morning seemed as good a time as any, since Daddy Lovebo was playing golf and the day was only going to get hotter and more humid.

The boys were more successful at picking than I thought they would be. I assumed I would try to pick a few berries and put them away while they whined and ran into traffic. Instead, the boys were fairly interested in finding ripe berries ("good one!" Beck would yell), though less interested in putting them in the pail. Theo was an especially industrious picker and eater, but Beck was pretty darn good, too. I think both ate a good half-pint at least. When I told them we would be going blueberry picking, the boys seemed unhappy at the prospect. I got them in the mood this morning by quoting some segments of old favorite Blueberries for Sal. I wasn't sure if their initial trepidation about going picking was related to Sal's losing her mother while they are picking berries. I assured them that they would not get lost. Theo was most interested in the school bus and tractor located off to the side of the farm stand. While I was inside paying for the berries and a couple of other items of produce, Theo stood mesmerized by the bus and tractor, and Beck was thrilled to have the chance to "drive" the car.