Camping

We recently camped at Portola Redwoods State Park.

Of course, we have no idea what we're doing.

So we camped with Cooper (at left), Noah, Summer, and Cathy, who kept us alive in the woods.

After giving S'mores a skeptical shot, Rosemary decided that plain marshmallows are a better deal.

More pictures from our trip are here.

18 Months

Tess is eighteen months old today.

She knows 70 or 80 words, and has begun picking up new words daily, making it difficult to keep count.

When Tess finishes a meal she says: "I'm done too!"  Recent words include "cahdo" and "mayto" (avocado and tomato).  And also "Rosie," which put one member of our family over the moon.

At this age, Silas liked books just fine; Rosemary could take 'em or leave 'em.  Tess loves books.

Tess will bring you a book and plop down in your lap to have it read.  When it's over, she will get up and grab another book and plop back down in your lap.

She will do this twenty times in a row.  And if you try to stop reading at, say, the fifteenth title, Tess will cry.

Tess loves "doggies."  Many of her favorite books involve doggies.  Rosemary is into the Martha books by Susan Meddaugh, and now Tess has seized on these books as her absolute favorites.  She points to Martha on every page.  "Doggie!  Martha!"

We visited Grandpa Ray and Grandma Charlotte yesterday (this picture was taken there), and Tess spent much of the time chasing Annie the Dog around.  Annie was sweetly tolerant.

Words, books, and dogs -- it's a fine start.

Last Day / First Day

This past Thursday was the last day of class for Silas and Rosemary.

They have both grown quite a bit, as you can see in the comparison between these last day of school and first day of school photos.

This picture was taken on Silas's last day (note that his head is fully above the Meadow Heights sign).

First day (and a few inches shorter).

Rosemary's elongation over the course of the year is pretty clear in these pictures, I think.

Last day.

First day.

Silas and Rosemary absolutely loved their schools, which sure helped ease the transition to California.

We are just a couple of days into summer and they are already missing their classrooms.

Meredith Is ____ Years Old

Meredith is not wearing a Hawk Girl outfit for her birthday, unfortunately.