Piano Man

"Sean, play us a song!"

"Mom, please don't bother me. I'm playing here!"

Could Sean be the next Mozart? Look at how he holds his hands on the keys!!

Horsey!

Sean has great fun riding on Josh's back. He really likes it when the ride is so wobbly that he falls off!

At it already!

I told you they were scheming something!

Friends

I have a feeling these two are going to be good pals as they grow up. They look so cute, but I think they are scheming something not so cute!

Some Favorite People

Sean enjoys visiting Dan and Ellen. They are some of his favorite people. Can you guess why?

He likes the meals Ellen makes. And he likes to play with their cats. And they play with him. Dan plays rowdy with him and he likes to play rowdy.

Thanks for a great evening, Dan & Ellen!

Cats

We visited Dan and Ellen. We visited Homer and Gershwin. Gershwin peered at Sean from the top of the staircase. He was not hoodwinked by curiosity at this little person who invaded his home.

Homer didn't care so much. He was laid back about it and let Sean pet him and poke him and pull his tail.

SV: Beach Pictures

One day at the ocean the boys got their buckets together and built...

...a sand castle. It was more like a fort, really.

They dug a trench out to the ocean to let the waves make a mote around the fort.

Sean never helped building the fort. He was more interested in shoveling sand to fling up... up... up anywhere. The first day at the beach he had a small pile of sand on his head and in his hair. He would happen to touch his face, get sand in his eye, then rub his eyes with his sand-covered hands. Josh would lather Sean in sunscreen before we got to the beach, so the sand was especially prone to stick to his skin. I tried to stay relatively free of sand so I could help clean the sand off other people, but that plan didn't work too well most of the time. I had to play in the sand, too!

Sand. It can be messy, but it sure is fun! :)

Welcome Home

When I arrived home from work that first dreaded day back from our lovely vacation, I found these on the table waiting for me. Dinner was ready just a few minutes later.

You should try this

It is delicious. I was skeptical the first time my grandma made it for me. I don't eat a lot of tomato. I usually eat tomatoes after they are cooked and canned and made into spaghetti sauce, chili soup, or salsa. I usually don't eat fresh tomatoes on a salad. They can be very messy to eat and I tend to avoid foods that are messy to eat. It's the same reason I seldom eat fried chicken. What can I say? I'm a girl and I don't want to get dirty.

But this sandwich is delicious. Even if you get a little messy, it is worth it. So give it try this summer.

Here is what you need:
~a nice plump tomato from your garden (red or yellow, whatever you prefer)
~two slices of homemade bread (a sturdy loaf of you buy it from the store, but you should really try making your own bread sometime - it is infinitely better)
~a slice of cheese (muenster is my favorite for this sandwich, but use what you have handy)
~butter
~mayonnaise

Here is what you do:

Heat a skillet to a medium heat. Generously butter the outside of the bread. Place bread butter side down in the skillet, placing cheese on one piece to melt. Slice your tomato and set aside. When the bread is nice and grilled, transfer both slices to a plate. Put mayo on the piece of bread that does not have cheese. Lay your juicy tomato on the bread and put both sides of the sandwich together.

You will have enjoyed a delightful experience of summer. Your hands will get greasy and juice from the tomato will drip. It is okay. Eat over your plate and wash your hands when you are finished. You will enjoy it - your husband and toddler will, too!

---

P.S. The tomato was from our garden. The bread was homemade, just not by me - thank you, Mom!

SV - Cool Dude!

Sean rockin' it red, white, and blue for Independence Day.

He was trying to do thumb's up but doesn't quite get it. It looks more like finger pistols. But hey, he tries!

Just for a laugh

These pictures are not what I intended to capture, but I got a laugh out of them!

Hope you do, too!

SV - Pirates

Don't ask me what day it was... but we found some pirates on vacation! The boys played on the playground until it got dark. Sean did great climbing up the steps and going down the slide by himself. It seemed a little big for him, but he loved it! Then we watched fireworks!

SV - Day Five

Well, not much happening on day five. RAIN! Oh well. We had a good time anyway. We played some games, played some Wii and in general, just kind of enjoyed ourselves. Once the rain cleared up, it was time for naps.

Thursday night was our night out. Laura and Carl took Sean for the evening so Mary and I could have a night to ourselves. We drove down to near the end of the island by the lighthouse. We had dinner at the Topside restaurant, which carries fresh caught fish and seafood. It was delicious! Afterwards, we just tootled around down there, checking out the shops and enjoying the company of one another without having to worry about what Sean was doing or where he was. Thank you again Laura and Carl for the trip and the night out. :D

SV - Day Four

Man oh man, was yesterday a busy day, but like all of the others, it was fun. We decided to go to the beach again - but this time we brought a lot less stuff and planned to stay only 2 or so hours. even with planning the shorter trip, and getting out to the beach before 11, we didn't eat lunch until 2:30 in the afternoon - it is weird how time doesn't seem normal down here, I guess it is because of how much fun we are all having. Sean really loved the waves yesterday. He would go out with me and just go up and down with them. Sometimes there would be a particularly largish one and it would splash up into his face and he would just laugh and think it the coolest thing in the world. Got Mary into the water too this time. The resort we are at has these beach wheelchairs that have huge rubber wheels to make it easy to push on the sand. Well, we went ahead and pushed her right into the water. We couldn't go too far, because those wheels also floated pretty well, and as far as we did go, I had to hang on to the chair because the waves rocked it pretty good. It was a great time.

After lunch (and naps) we went back over to Laura and Carl's for dinner. They were watching Tim and Janelle's boys, so we all went down to the pool for an evening swim. Sean was loving it all over again. He really is turning into a water bug. The rest of the evening was quiet and relaxing. Lots of fun, and more tomorrow.