crabs, turtles and airplanes: vacation in Virginia

The week of July 4th we spent in Virginia with my parents at their cottage at the Chesapeake Bay. Susie, Todd and Laurel also came out for the week. It took all week, but the day before we left Richard convinced Owen to go into the water with us on a float. Owen loved looking for crabs at the beach- Richard even caught a few in a bucket. Dad found a box turtle in the yard, and Owen was very interested in it. We watched fireworks on the 4th from across the river. We had a special treat when Dad rented a small plane and the adults got to go up (with a pilot)and see the river from the sky.

The cottage will be renovated this year- it will be exciting to see the "new" house next summer. Now that we've returned home, Owen keeps asking about going down to the beach and pointing to our backyard. In that direction, the beach is about 3000 miles away.

cows, dogs, frogs and family: Vacation in Vermont

We spent the last week of June in Vermont with Richard's mom and family. We had a wonderful week- usually we are there over Christmas when it is very cold, so it was a treat to play outside. Owen loved spending time with his grandma- visiting local parks and feeding fish at a stocked trout pond. Owen's cousin, Kobe, is 4 months older than him. They enjoyed spending time together- this was the first time they were both old enough to actually acknowledge each other's existence. Roger and Ivonne have a pool, but Owen was nervous to go swimming in it. He did enjoy a canoe trip down the Battenkill. Thomas and Kathy just bought a converted barn-house and lots of acres including a stream. Owen and Kobe spent a lot of time throwing rocks in there. We also got to see Nancy and Steve. The week flew by!