8 July CousinTrifecta

Today was large, beginning with a robust morning harvest of plum tomatoes from the corner garden. The kids gave each other a hand (or 2) to reach the out-of-the-way ripe ones. Sara and Wendy drank coffee and read while Peter supervised the heavy lifting.













We followed with a big breakfast, a la Peter, of blueberry pancakes, bacon and the fixins. Yum. Ruby kept giving my sidelong glances like: why're you such a slacker in the breakfast department, Mom?

Next Peter took all the kids (me included) on a walk.

Isaac led the search for circles and rectangles--we think the urban planners of Portsmouth should know what a fine representation of each category we were able to document.

Truth be told, even rectangles and circles pale in comparison to jellyfish and crabs. We got so excited about the sea life, we forgot to take pictures.

Isaac got in touch with the local sounds of birds, boats and other noisemakers of the waterways. After so much learning, we needed a break. Ruby and Isaac practiced space-saving.

In the spirit of the World Cup, the kids had a kickaround. And nothing wakes you up from a nap like fruitsnacks. Liv and Ruby feel liberated from Mom's snacks. Yay! We love CampPeter(&Sara)!!!A moment's reprieve at the YMCA.
Swim lessons invariably leave the grown-ups smiling. So much to watch--Liv swam the entire length of the pool unassisted (she said she felt tricked!) 4 times today. We are so proud of her! Ruby and Isaac each broke barriers: Ruby swam, took a breath, and continued swimming. Isaac jumped by himself into the pool and blew ferocious bubbles. And this is still early July. We figure they'll all grow gills in a few weeks. They keep each other company and celebrate each other's successes. Nice. Plus, then we go out to dinner and pig out. Tonight was at the new House of the Blue Iguana on High St., tacos and burritos to order. Liv and Ruby were overspiced, but Isaac ate so much we expected him to split into two. He just might double in body weight if he keeps eating like that. He sets a wonderful example for his more...particular cousins.

So a great day in all. Came back from dinner, i-Chatted with Chris (Liv and Ruby's dad) and Isaac had at least as much to say as did the girls. Then the kids got into the effects options and, er, the creativity multiplied exponentially. So did the noise level. But everyone was having fun. Chris recorded parts of it, so Ben you might want to e-mail him for the file. It's pretty silly. More of that to come for all the techies reading this! With the weather having broken a bit (only about 90 today) we all had more energy for outdoor activities. Hopefully the weekend will be as favorable. No swim lessons tomorrow, but maybe a trip to the zoo. I'm leaving in the morning so the grown-ups will officially be outnumbered (crazies). They're going to have a blast. Stay tuned!