Catching Up

Right now, we're cozied up in the house waiting for Tropical Storm Isaac to pass.  My house is clean and all the laundry is done in anticipation of a power outage (which we haven't had) so it's a perfect time to catch up on this very neglected blog. Lack of time and internet kept me from posting much while we were away this summer and in the week I've been back, I've been sick and trying to unpack, reclaim and reorganize my house.

While this summer was very stressful and difficult for a variety of different reasons, there were also some really nice, memorable moments hidden amidst the chaos. One was a trip to the Syracuse Zoo with my two youngest girls and a friend.

Trying on a real tiger paw!

Aravis loves animals and loves learning about them. One of the things I like to do at places that have lots to see and learn is to take our time, taking in as much as we want before moving on to something else and skipping what doesn't interest us altogether to make more time for what does.

I'm always torn between feeling badly for animals in captivity and glad for the chance to experience being this close to nature and I definitely felt both here.

 Our favorites were these Fennec foxes and the sand cat below. We have loved Fennec foxes ever since we saw them on Planet Earth (or maybe Planet Earth Extremes) a few years ago and the kids researched them, trying to find out if they could get one. Turns out for $1000 or so you can. But, while they are absolutely adorable, they don't seem to make great pets. They were very cute and fun to watch though.

These pictures are hard to see because of the glass and lighting but I thought this sand cat looked more like a cartoon character than wild beast. This guy must have been on guard duty.

 But THIS was by far my favorite moment!

......and this.

(We also saw a nursing faun and nursing cows on this trip)

Xury loved seeing all the "Bellas".

Our dog's name is Bella. Bella was her first word and anything with four legs, from the elephants to our hamster, are Bellas, as far as she is concerned.

After the zoo, we stopped at the mall to pick up my older two, eat some Pizzeria Uno and Xury had her first carousel ride. 

It was a great end to a great day!

And here, the sun is peeking through the clouds. Isaac has not given us much trouble. With six people inside all day there is definitely more damage inside than out. I'm predicting the rest of the day will consist of  Barbies, games, tv, and family time. Right now, I'm going to go get my hair done by my favorite nine year old.

Summer Days

This has been an strange summer. I've declared that I was packing up our suitcases and heading home probably once a day and sometimes more. Then, at the same time, I've felt like the weeks have gone by too quickly and I don't even want to think about packing up and going home.
It's been hot, except the one day we had planned to go to the water park. That day was chilly and rainy so we didn't go. We're used to hot, we like hot, we live where its hot, but we come up here for chilly nights and a chance to wear sweatshirts. That hasn't happened. On top of that, there's a drought and a ban on fires. We're at camp, and we can't have campfires! I have hotdogs, graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate all sitting, unused......well, virtually unused. You can't not eat graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows.

 It's been stressful.While I absolutely love our cottage, it's not the most baby friendly of places and Xury chose right after we got here to finally begin walking, hard floor, sharp edges, rocks, sticks, gravel and all. So, she has to be with me wherever I go. There's no running into the next room for a second. Add to that, a bad case of diaper rash, and a fall that resulted in her not being able to put weight on her leg for two days (no broken bones though) and It's been a little stressful.

 My very thoughtful son's homemade baby gate. 

It has a hook on the back to keep it in place.

Xury's first artwork. 

When her leg was injured I had to find activities to keep her off her leg since all this new walker wanted to do was walk.

 It's been 3 weeks since my husband went back home and not having him around to run to the store or help out with things has been hard. Especially with the older kids only around long enough to make a mess and then disappear. They've been out from the time they wake up, til they pass out in their beds at night. Not that that's a bad thing. They've been mostly hanging out with friends and having a lot of fun. Since they don't go to school, that's something they miss. But I've missed them. For weeks, I hardly saw them and had no idea what they were doing. Again, I'm ok with that. I'm glad they had a chance to be with friends and have fun but I missed hanging out with them, doing things together and knowing what was happening in their lives. Most of their friends have gone home now and since they're around more, I'm hearing bits and pieces of what was happening in their lives all those weeks. But, amid the stress and the tears (yes, there have been tears) there have been a lot of wonderful moments  too.

 Fireworks at the fort

Little did we know, there was a cannon set to go off just a few feet from where we set up our blanket. 

 

 

 Xury's first fireworks

 

 And, of course, we found caterpillars! 

We found a whole branch full of these hickory tussock moth caterpillars. We were careful not to touch them though since they can cause an allergic reaction.

 

We spent a lot of time playing with these tangram pieces we cut out of the back of a cereal box.

And a lot of time playing games

 

And S'mores in the microwave are still  pretty good.