Poor little guy

David wanted to be like his daddy, so he broke his arm last night. Actually, it's nothing like Dave's horrible injury years ago, thank you God! Just a hairline fracture; he fell off a big-kid bike. He's a happy guy considering, especially now that he's being coddled and gets to watch lots of cartoons. His squeamish mommy was much more of a mess than he was, to which the whole family will attest :)

Teresa's big day...

 ...is finally here. She's watched Frankie from the sidelines for years. Today she gets to don the leotard, slippers, and bun herself. Will it be everything she's dreamed it will be? We'll find out...

Crafting on this rainy day...

...and having some girl time:

Also praying for those killed and wounded in D.C. today, and that police get the gunmen. Lord have mercy.

School days

Bird watching

Neighbor watching? 

Meet the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt. She's not amused by her subjects, nor by her crown.

Moses got nothin' on Rose(s), the sweetest baby ever to grace a wicker basket.

Labor Day lollygagging

Life seems to center around Rose. She truly is the doted-on baby. 

We're celebrating Labor Day with some serious simple pleasures: reading, painting, taking a walk around the neighborhood, cooking some split-pea soup and macaroni and cheese (with enough to freeze for the week), and looking forward to the next episode of Foyle's War (instant Netflix is a wonderful thing!). Hope you're enjoying your Labor Day, too.

One of those days

Pretty much sums up the past couple days. Rainy, sleepy, overcast. 

Just makes you want to climb in your shopping cart and take a nap.

Visiting the Lolos and some sad news

Breakfast in the lovely courtyard.

Examining the pumpkins at St. Bede's garden. This is quite possibly the first self-sustaining Catholic parish! There's enough fruits and vegetables in these gardens to feed an army.

If you think this is disturbing, see below. I didn't include the one of David driving Rose, thinking it might inspire someone to call child services. But look at how happy she is! This was well-supervised, we promise :)

Pretty intricate face paint from St. Bede's parish picnic.

Our quick trip to Cleveland was lovely, except for the shadow cast by some sad news. Christopher, our beloved betta fish, is no more. He was a well-travelled fish, accompanying us on trips to Delaware and Ohio. This past trip was no different; we brought him along and put him in his smaller "travel bowl" once we got to the house in Cleveland. On Sunday, to our astonishment, he had *disappeared*. There were no other fish, no filter, no hiding places in this little bowl. He was just gone. We were dumbstruck. Then, later on that night, I found him. He was outside the house. No cats in this house. The only possible explanation is that he flopped out of his bowl, and somehow got out the nearby door that leads to a courtyard. Unbelievable. We were all disturbed by Christopher's untimely end. Dave and the girls buried him. He will rest forever in Cleveland. So sad to come home to his empty tank!