Fourth of July

We kept it pretty simple this fourth of July (honestly, we usually do). Our celebrating can be summed up in two words: sparklers and ice cream. When it comes to a two year old, you can't go wrong with ice cream, but sparklers, on the other hand...

Cousin "Auntie" Susie Got Married!

And we were invited to their backyard reception/pig roast. That, and the chance to visit with Aunt Jane and the rest of the family, got us into the car a week ago for a short but sweet visit to Connecticut.

Mapquest suggested the drive would take between four and five hours. But, it was the Friday before a holiday weekend, so it took eight. Thankfully, we brought the portable DVD player -- for "emergencies" only, of course. By the sixth hour, our situation qualified, so Oscar watched a bit of "Bob the Builder" in the backseat while we crawled through the last bit of traffic. What a wonderful sight it was to finally see Aunt Jane's beautiful home out in the middle of the woods (more or less, from the perspective of us city-folk).

The next day we had some time before the wedding reception, so Aunt Jane took us to Ray of Light Farm, a local farm that rescues animals.

 We saw all kinds of animals -- from turtles to

 turkeys (with horses, goats, burros, rabbits, pigs, chickens, ponies, and more in between).

 And then, we stopped by this:

 A giant castle built by William Gillette (apparently he played Sherlock Holmes during the early 1900's). It was pretty amazing, but flash photography wasn't allowed, so most of my pics from the inside aren't worth sharing.

Well, except for this. (To see better pics, check the castle out here.)

Outside, overlooking the Connecticut River.

Above us flew this glider and even a one-person helicopter (not pictured, because it happened so fast).

And then, it was time to party! There was music, swimming, tons of food (including a whole pig that I couldn't quite bring myself to look at), and plenty of folks who love these two people:

Susie and Terell!

 John and O.K. went for a swim.

After all that food and cake and celebrating, it was eventually time to go. Aunt Jane took this photo just before we left, and if Oscar (and I) hadn't been so ready for bed I would've tried for another. Just as it was being taken my earring got caught in Susie's hair. Photos-schmotos, it was just wonderful to be able to celebrate these two gettin' hitched!

Before we left the next day, Aunt Jane filled our cooler full of sandwiches, fruit, water, and other snacks for the car ride home. She also dug up a couple of plants for us to replant in our own little yard.

 Meanwhile, O.K. enjoyed playing with Sarah and David, and 

this guy (otherwise known as Keith)!

Thanks again, Aunt Jane, for having us and for making us feel so comfortable in your home. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Talkie

I finally uploaded several videos from our now-outdated Flip camera (why can't technology progress at the same rate as my annual raise?). If you're in Oregon, you'll see this kid soon enough, but still, here's a short one I'm calling "Watermelon Song".

Summer is HERE!

O.K. has been enjoying the increasingly warm days of summer -- he is a busy kid with some great friends (who also happen to have great parents). Here are a few pics of some recent summer fun:

Painting! (Practice for his Father's Day poster.)

 Getting dirty with Daniel -- they ran in it, dug through it, and at one point, Oscar literally rubbed it all over himself.

See?

Enjoying watermelon with Julian at Cedar Park.

Cooking up meals in a new-to-us play kitchen.

On the first day in his new kitchen he made me coffee and fish for breakfast, and later, butter water--oh, yum!

 Playing at the sprinkler park with...

 Sunny!

 Visiting the zoo with his friend, Rose, and her mama, Jemma (not in this picture, obviously).

 Rose and Oscar cooling off in a fountain.

 Giraffes,

 snacks,

and a peacock--so fun!

As far as O.K. is concerned, summer is off to a great start.

Crash

Two days before John's 38th birthday, he was hit by a car while riding home from work at night. It was pouring down rain, and he was hit from behind, causing him to bump up onto the hood of the car, then roll off into the gutter. His bike landed on the sidewalk. The car kept going. It was a long night, and early the next morning, I put Oscar in the car and went to the ER to pick John up. He was pretty banged up, sore, and with some serious road rash. Sore turned into more sore and then stiff, and road rash has been overshadowed by a continuous rainbow of bruises. Here's a pic of his bike that I took before leaving it at the bike shop:

After realizing that John was relatively okay--he didn't bang his head or break any bones--I felt mostly relieved. After a few days of rest, he's managing to bounce back pretty well. Still pretty sore on his side, with some roving stiffness, but he's getting back to himself. And he got his bike back today and rode it to work tonight. I hope something like this never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever happens again, but now that it's mostly behind us I can say: it could have been worse, and I'm so glad it wasn't.

The Law

When John and I first moved to Philadelphia, we used to laugh at the signs posted above traffic lights saying "WAIT FOR GREEN". We thought, "How silly! Shouldn't the red light be enough to tell us not to go?". We also learned that stop signs were "stop-tional" as most people practice more of a pause then a stop. As we ventured out in those first months, I used to obsess about knowing what the speed limit was in different areas so as to avoid getting a ticket, but soon realized that no one drives the posted speed limit pretty much anywhere in the city.

It didn't take long to adapt (when in Rome, right?), though I do maintain a certain level of safety (we don't run red lights while blaring our horn to warn others, for example). Of course, I don't carry these driving habits back to Oregon with us when we go for a visit--or at least I thought I didn't. When Oscar and I were in Oregon this spring, we turned right at a red light without stopping--anyway, that's what the ticket that came in the mail a few weeks later said. I couldn't imagine it--surely I had stopped! Or at least made a healthy pause. And no one was coming anyway, and there was no sign that said you couldn't turn right on red. Unthinkable! I planned to contest it, though this could've been challenging from across the country.

In the meantime, I noticed on the ticket a website through which I could watch a video of the "infraction" for myself. I expected to see the car stopping at the light, maybe too far into the crosswalk, but stopping anyway.  Instead, after watching this evidence, I had no choice but to get out the checkbook. Then I said to Johnny, "You know, they really should have a sign that says you MUST stop at a red light--ridiculous!"

Clearly, we've been living in Philadelphia for too long.

(If you have nothing better to do, you can see me breaking the law here. Just enter citation # 0605711R, license plate 262CSG, and city code SRWDOR.)

Gum and Gus!

Gum and Gus came for a visit a week or so ago.  It was WONDERFUL to have them here.  We saw some sights, ate some food, and in between that we simply hung out together.

(That kid is a little bit ticklish.)

 

Gus and O.K. build a kitchen together.

Gum makes for a perfect book-reading perch.

Not sure this qualifies as quality time, but at least its something we all have in common.

 Gus used some of our "down time" to work on a book she is making for Oscar.

We made it out to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where we saw farms, garage sales, horses, Amish buggies and bikes.  I didn't take enough pictures of all of that.  To see more, check this out.  Here are a few pics I managed to take.

 Outside the Central Market in Lancaster.

 Getting to know the goats behind the restaurant, Good N' Plenty.

O.K. driving the play wagon.

Other days, we ventured to the bio-pond (see more pics here), to Macy's to see the giant organ (again, more pics), and to EAT.

 At Jim's, eating cheese steaks, of course.

At Local 44, celebrating John's birthday a bit early.

And to Capogiro (though no gelato is in this pic, I can't get enough of those post-gelato grins).

They've been safely back in Oregon for a few days now, but we're still talking about their time here.  Today I asked Oscar if he would like to have a friend over to play with him in the sandbox, to which he answered "yes".  When I asked him who, he replied "Gum and Gus!".  So, Gum and Gus, you wanna' stop by for a bit?