Vogel State Park

Last Memorial Day weekend, we went camping at Vogel State Park with some other UUCA families. There was a delightful gaggle of kids.

There was a bit of a hike to get to the campsite, but once there it was beautiful and private -- a great spot for the kids to run and play without any danger of cars or bothering other campers.

Our friend Todd introduced Hazel to the joy of soaking tired feet in a cool creek after a long hike. She approved.

Lucky kids to grow up in this community and this environment!

Climbing kids

Happy Birthday, Jason

Early November is a busy birthday season for our family, with Jason on the 2nd, Dan on the 5th, and Hazel on the 6th.

If you look closely, you can see where Hazel served herself some pie ahead of schedule. The poor kid didn't realize she was doing something wrong and was somewhat traumatized when four separate adults simultaneously yelled out for her to stop as soon as we saw her digging into the pie.

 Even dragons like pumpkin pie.

Happy Birthday, Violet

She turned six a couple of months ago, and she just lost her first tooth. What a big girl!

Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend we went to a pumpkin patch with several UUCA families. Of course, there were scads of pumpkins...

 ...and wagons (for pumpkins or kids)

 ...and a fire pit. Moving stones and logs from point A to point B kept the kids mostly occupied...

 ...while we waited...

 ...for a hayride!



We got to feed goats, cows, geese, a pony...

...and catfish!

Juniper was inspired by the prices written on the pumpkins. When we got home she covered our pumpkins with equations and proclaimed, "They're math pumpkins!" The nerd is strong with this one.

From the archives: Stone Mountain

From Cheryl, Jason, and Violet's visit last winter. Hazel was just a little bundle, and Henry was still in utero.

Before and after

C'mon out, Huckleberry. It's pretty good out here. I think you'll like it; I do.



I've checked out your mom, and she's very good at snuggling. I'm quite sure you'll approve. See you soon.

Birthday party pt. 1 (presents & cake)

Here are some photos from Juniper's 2nd birthday party - thanks to all who came and celebrated with us!




Juniper hasn't yet learned to anticipate the next gift. She sloooowly and carefully opened each gift, trying to rip the paper as little as possible. As Mike (AKA Dzadzi) joked, "she's really living in the present."




This card from Cheryl & Jason was obviously decorated by people who know her well: a turtle, a strawberry, a balloon... Cheryl and Jason also get props for giving Juniper a really amazing and thoughtful gift: a version of Barbara Kingsolver's poem Baby Blues adapted just for Juniper. Juniper is lucky to have such fun, smart, creative, and loving people in her life!




Knowing how much Juniper loves to make in the little kitchen, several people got her kitchen-themed gifts, including this apron and chef's hat.




Katie made Juniper this very cool turtle cake (another person who knows her well).




Hmm...hard to tell whether or not Juniper liked the cake.




Baby Elena was a big hit - who can resist a cute baby in a cone hat?

I love my Cheryl.

Juniper seems to think that "Cheryl" and "Jason" are titles, like Dad or Gramma. Heading over to their house in the morning, she'll tell us, "I'm gonna see my Cheryl. I'm gonna see my Jason." If we're doing something she doesn't like, she'll often wail, "I want my Jason! I want my Cheryl!" Violet, though, is just "Violet," not "my Violet."