ceiba leaf

We were all charmed by the funny hat our tour guide made out of a giant ceiba leaf.  I think it was the boy's favorite memory from the rainforest.

el yunque

We took the 100 some steps up the Yokahu Tower to see the full view of the top of the rainforest canopy.  The Sahara dust was really showing off...  That purple flower was an example our guide showed were he created those blue dots with heat.  There was also a plant were the leaves folded up when you tapped them. The boys thought it was magic!

el morro

After lunch we headed to the fort on the other end of the city wall, El Morro.  The lighthouse at this fort was really awesome.  We went down every level all the way to sea level.  The boys really enjoyed using their schnazzy and actually very good binoculars to peek at everything - thanks G&P!

cristobal 1

The old forts in San Juan were so fun to explore. We started with a trek through the breezy underground tunnels or what the boys called the dungeon.  The matchy shirt guy (thanks to Gran!) were peeking and climbing all morning long at St. Cristobal.

cristobal 2

The views from the fort! The most iconic part (even on the PR license plates!) of these forts are the sentry boxes or “garitas” that give you a great view from the corners.

cristobal 3

You can tell I liked these forts based on how many photo/videos I took - and these are all from just the first fort!

Check out that classic PopPop photobomb up there on the far right ;)

old town

We walked through Old San Juan and I was really charmed by the very brightly colored, nearly freshly painted buildings.  The hotel had recommended a local, off the tourist path place called El Jibarito.  Turns out an old school rapper who now has a food show, N.O.R.E. was there filming his show On the Run Eating. He and his entourage had some serious lighting and crew.  The waitress initially fibbed to us and told us it was something for trip advisor?!  Nope, we're eating a really good lunch with rappers.

puerto rico

We hatched a plan to meet my parents in Puerto Rico this summer and I'm so glad everything worked out to make it happen.  The boys are pool rats to the max, and we landed and went straight to the pool, then the beach, then back to the pool... My folks rolled in right around dinner and we enjoyed it right on the beach at the Intercontinental.  It was a very kid friendly place and Aiden claims the best pizza he's ever had...  

beachy swim

The water was so nice and the waves spoiled us.  Then check out those waterfalls and jumping rocks at the pool.

waves

I got a new tiny waterproof GoPro Session with a handle that floats.  Best part is how it downloads directly to my phone and has a great feature where you can save any frame into a high resolution photo.  

swim

So, so much of this!
Swim Swim Swim from LB on Vimeo.

tidbits

Starting the day with an early round of putt putt before the heat sets in for the day ;)

Finished summer reading and have our coupon books ready for some fun!

My friend started a kid's book club which is such a great idea!  The kids all read the same non fiction book - Who Would Win: Lions versus Tigers.  They picked from nonfiction info cards and shared info about the book.  Then it was craft time for make tiger bookmarks and eat lion snacks ;)  Aiden's name was picked out of a hat to be the next book club host and he picked a Sir Cumference Knight book for later this month.

fürst try

Rocking out at the pool club! A few fun neighbors joined the band for some favorites:

Fürst Try neighbor mix from LB on Vimeo.

Fürst Try plays the pool club from LB on Vimeo.

tidbits

A few random play date shots with these minecraft lego and pokemon players.

This funny shot from Quaker Steak and Lube makes me laugh!

Raft night at the pool getting geared up the other night - I'd say it filled up about double that crowd after a while - thumbs up! 

holden

The Holden Arboretum is such a treat!  We went to the top of the tower (many steps, and so worth it!) and walked out over the suspended canopy bridges (they sway and shake just enough).   

rock n water

We visited Lake Erie a bunch this visit!  Keaton ate his weight in watermelon too ;)

oh tidbits

My mom found this cookie costume just in time for this little cookie to pose like he was ready for high school portraits - check out that elbow on his knee ;)  My folks took care of all the boys while we snuck out for an early dinner at a swanky new spot in downtown Willo which was such a nice treat - thanks!

fireworks

Watched the fireworks from the front lawn of the church which was made even more fun by treats, food, games, and music!  I got in a little #placeswhereyoucanknit action with my knitting while we waited for the really awesome fireworks - Willo never disappoints!  Keaton was in awe since he'd never been that close to fireworks before.

falls

Snuck in a visit to Brandywine Falls with a big bunch of family...

headlands

Headlands Beach was full of seagulls to chase, sand to jump in, and nature bits to collect.  The boys worked on making some fun silhouettes and art with the collection of stuff.

party people

We had so much fun at Austin's first!  The cookie monster theme meant plenty of cookies and blue ;)  

Here's a shot of just about everyone at the party/family reunion ;)

slip n slide

The big bunch of party kids enjoyed playing (safely!) on the slip and slide.

nephews

I am swimming in so, so many photos from our trip to Ohio to watch this buddy turn one!  Here are some smiles while I sort...

would you rather july

This new first grader keeps up with his brother and loves summer for all the time spent with him especially!  I still see a tiny bit of that baby face peek at me every once in a while, but it's nearly all big kid all the time now...

Would you rather live in a tennis court or a movie theater?

A movie theater because then I could watch movies all the day, but if you were in a tennis court would you have to play all day?

Would you rather only use paint or crayons the rest of your life?

Only crayons because you don't have to wait when you use them.

Would you rather sleep on a pile of legos or a pile of cupcake crumbs?

Cupcake crumbs because they are super duper little and don't even feel like anything, but a pile of legos that would hurt!

Would you rather have corn chip fingernails or spaghetti noodle hair?
Spaghetti noodle hair because then I could eat up my hair - yes, I would like that, I could eat the edges!

Would you rather spend the day on the top of a tree or at school?
Top of the tree because then you wouldn't have to just do school over and over and over even in the summer.

Would you rather never be able to eat food or never see anything the rest of your life?
Never be able to eat food as long as I could still live without having any

Would you rather get in a snowball fight with a professional ball player or go in the snow in your underpants?
Snowball fight with professional ball player because even if it's a ball player, I still wouldn't want to be in my underpants in the snow that would be so coooold!
Would you rather have a pet panda or a pet otter?
Pet otter because they are so cute!

Would you rather write a new Who Was book or a new music book?

Who Was book because it's better than having to do the chords and notes of the music because I know letters.

first

Happiest of happy first birthdays to this smiley sweet guy!

aid

I love the chance to be with Aiden and his classroom friends, and I had a bunch of chances over the last few weeks helping out at the school. It's clear that Aiden can be a pretty muted version of himself when he's concentrating in the classroom.  However, when they are doing fun things or playing on the playground (I love watching him when he doesn't know I'm watching), his personality really shines.  He can make up funny songs about anything on the spot and crack up all his friends. On the last week of school his teacher has everyone put down a blank paper on their desks and their friends come by and put one word they would use to describe that person down. Then she compiles them and the repeated words are shown as bigger on their word bookmark.  I'd say that his is pretty accurate... my smart, funny, fun, creative, hard working, artistic, kind, nice, fantastic, cool Aid.

tidbits

Our friend was selling her tickets to what we affectionately called the Half of Fleetwood Mac concert with Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie.  The opener was Wallflowers who I didn't realize I liked so much.  The concert was a good mix of new and old stuff, although a very low key crowd...

The boys enjoying the ice cream social at the pool after the last day of school. Woot!

X Y Z T

A new art space in DC called Artechouse (Art+Tech+House) is hosting an exhibit by Adrien M and Claire B from France called XYTZ. All of the interactive installations were very well done.  There were many reflections and movement reactive exhibits and even some that reacted to you blowing air or making noise. Our imaginations were filled with all sorts of interesting tidbits!

Super dramatic music for the kitschy trailer - da, da, daaaa!

X Y Z T from LB on Vimeo.