YaYa drove back home with me after the cabin weekend, but the other kidlets headed the opposite direction to spend a few days with Auntie Dot and the cousins. Auntie Dot delivered them back driving a borrowed 15 passenger van (7 kids didn’t fit in her vehicle) with broken air…

After seeing the strangest caterpillar frozen on a vine leaf outside my office window with little white bumps growing out of its skin, I did a little research and learned all about parasitic wasps who insert their eggs inside butterfly eggs. The larvae remain dormant inside the caterpillar until the…

Hooray for “Tastes Like Chicken!” It continues to be a hit card game. Auntie Dot introduced a Bean Bag Toss tournament with mandatory participation. There were some twists and turns, and the final round ended up being a match between the two leaders plus a teammate of his or her…

I hopped aboard the pontoon just as it was leaving the dock for the annual Pontoon Ride of Mishaps. As discussed in previous years, the pontoon at the family cabin is old . . . so very old. It’s rusty. It travels slowly. Parts of the pontoon are replaced with…

The night before we left home to return Cousin Nathaniel and spend a couple of days at the family cabin, we headed to the Secret beach. Dr. Peds had already left with some kidlets, but we were relishing Camp Aunt Rachel and needed a few more extra hours. The water…

Cousin Nathaniel was one joyful, flexible, and energetic camper at Camp Aunt Rachel. He was ready for anything, and did it all with gusto. To close out celebrating Mr. Trouble on Feet’s birthday, we went to the sandy beach. I actually don’t have any pictures of Mr. Trouble on Feet…

Cousin Nathaniel is a snuggle bug. Several times I walked into a room to find him nestled up next to a big cousin watching them do some work or calmly having an interesting conversation with them. It made me smile. Those squishy cheeks also make me smile.

This summer the road to our very favorite little swimming hole is closed, which means to get there you have to hike in a good three miles, and we simply haven’t been that adventurous. Instead, we’ve been frequenting a different but still excellent swimming hole that is more popular and…

He was giving his little brother some helpful advice on improving his front crawl stroke.