First Day of School Year 2015-2016

Believe it or not, this is their very first time to take the bus. I think they were excited, and Mom and Dad are happy to have their Great Uncle as their bus driver!

Off they go!

Waiting.

I am pretty sure it has yet to sink in that my boys are a Senior, Junior, and 8th grader this year. 

Drew Came Bearing Gifts - Part 2

 Can't forget this!

AND 

Cow shirts for everyone!

Pirates of the Cowibbean and Ninjamoo

And whomever picked this one for Patrick... perfection...

"Cud the Spud from the bright red mud"

A rhyme for my rhyme-loving guy!

 And some of the best coffee around!

But the best gift of all, is having our son back home with us safe and sound!!!

Drew Came Bearing Gifts - Part 1

I still can't believe he hauled this all the way here.

What a sweetheart!

Who weighs more?

That's a lot of lobster!

 Asher was not particularly impressed.

Are you?

It takes a pro to get these in the pot.

Almost ready.

Bon appetit!

It was at this point that we realized we had no tools. I found one cracker, and we made do with scissors and skewers.

We all love lobster except Aidan.

Patrick loves the tomalley and the meat inside the top half of the lobster, Luke loves the roe, and Sean loves it all. 

As always, Patrick is the last one standing as he works his way through as many bodies as he can.

A mostly empty pile of shells.

♥ THANK YOU, M&M ♥

Killing Two Birds With One Stone

#PGH

Luke and Patrick

Rachel and Asher

What a spectacular fountain down by the river. 

The mist carried by a breeze was refreshing on a very hot day.

The boys enjoyed running around here while Patrick rested his knee and I hunted warblers.

 Asher LOVES climbing rocks.

"Take a picture of my leaf."

My darling

Chalk used in a very creative way!

 They had to be hanging off the fence for their picture!

As Asher excitedly announced to Drew after picking him up at the airport, 

"We went IN A MOUNTAIN!!!!!"

By Luke

Luke loves borrowing my phone to take a photo of something or another that he wants to show me.

Where in the world is Simba?

There she is.

She sure is growing.

Our very first cat rescue... the boys were very alarmed to spot Simba up on the roof. I'm assuming she would have eventually figured out a way to get down... if given a chance.

Luke is quite creative!

Away From Home

Drew was gone for 2 1/2 weeks this summer. Boy did it feel like much longer. We were all really missing him.

He really enjoyed meeting and entertaining his cousins. 

I think they were pretty smitten with him too.

He also met this sweet girl named "Anne with an E".

Obedient Plant - Not So Much

Physostegia virginiana

False Dragonhead

I am not sold on this plant. It is tall and falls over in all directions. But for now, I will enjoy it's lavender blooms.

Dentist Appointments

Asher was last in line, and this was his first full cleaning. Sadly, he had 1 small cavity :(

Glasses to protect his eyes from the bright light. 

Peekaboo.

He is counting down the days until he is 4... only 12 days left.

Happy 17th Birthday, Drew!

Since Drew would be in Canada for his birthday, we celebrated about a week early. We offered him a gift or an experience. He chose this:

Not a bad choice if you ask me!!!

Luke hanging on to his daddy for dear life. Even then, he still looks quite apprehensive.

♥ The birthday boy - almost 17 ♥

You had to be 16 years or older to man a machine, so Sean took Aidan with him.

Asher did not meet the height requirement...

so he and I went for a stroll.

Windblown and happy...

Patrick and I switched off 1/2 way, and Luke declined a ride with me.