Having finally downloaded the pictures from my new camera, I have to take this opportunity to brag about my wonderful, caring, talented, romantic, husband...

For my birthday (which was in September) Craig fixed a beautiful breakfast of coffee cake, hard boiled eggs, strawberries, canadian bacon, sausage, tea, and orange juice, while I got to just relax. He also gave my very first dozen roses a few days before (so I wouldn't be expecting them) and another small bouquet on the actual day. The night before my birthday he hid coupons around the house for things like a foot rub and doing the dishes.  I just used the first one of them last night, and got a great back rub.

But in case you think he's getting too soft and romantic, here are a couple of pictures of him teaching Roy manners. I guess you never can truly civilize a guy!  (I'm still working on trying to get his socks to end up in the laundry hamper and not on the floor, but some things take a long time to learn).  

Since I pretty much haven't posted all summer, I will try to give a brief summary of our recent happenings. In June we took a trip to Michigan for a friend's wedding. We economized by camping with Craig's family (who came up and joined us). It was a short time, but we really enjoyed being together. 

In August Roy and I spent a week with Craig's parents at their house in Illinois. All the cousins were there too, and we had a blast! Roy especially loved playing with his cousin Tsuriel, who is only one month apart in age. The week was organized like a Vacation Bible School, with classes (we learned about space), crafts, and activities. Roy and Tsuriel didn't listen to the lessons very well, but they really enjoyed going to the zoo, Wild West Town, and the swimming pool. I loved watching the children play together and catching up with family.

We were only home about a week before we left again, this time for a two-day camping trip at a state park on Virginia Beach. It was the first time we had tried camping and beaching at the same time... the first thing I learned was that we would have to eat, sleep, and breathe sand! The weather was a little windy and cool, so we had the beach almost entirely to ourselves. The water was quite swimmable and the wind made the waves a ton of fun. Roy LOVED the sand! He would take off crawling as fast and as far as he could, swishing his limbs around to move the sand and stopping now and then to let it run through his fingers. Pretty soon we gave up trying to keep him clean and even trying to take the sand and sticks out of his mouth (it was a hopeless cause anyway). He handled his freedom responsibly though-- he eventually figured out that sand really isn't very tasty and stopped trying to eat it. :-p  When we took Roy down to the water he eagerly crawled right into the ocean. He loved to feel the surf coming and going, and when Craig took him out further in his arms he would laugh when he saw the big waves coming.

In mid-September we traveled once again, this time to Texas to be with my family. The purpose of the trip was my sister Eleanor's baptism, although we arrived in time for a family reunion to celebrate my grandmother's 75th birthday. Roy and I stayed on a few days after Craig headed back home to work. It was a really special time to reconnect with my family and get to know my siblings again. Roy loved all the attention! He almost always had somebody, if not two or three somebodies, crawling around on the floor with him to make sure he was having fun. Now I have to teach him how to amuse himself again.

In between visiting family and going camping, we have amused ourselves by hiking, biking, swimming in the pool at our apartment complex, laying in the grass and reading books, taking advantage of our new and gorgeous library, (mostly by checking out movies, I must confess) going to a ball game in DC, watching fireworks on the 4th of July, and just generally enjoying life. The weather is getting cooler now and I am once again having to come to grips with the fact that summer is ending, but I certainly have enjoyed this one!