Canoe, Picnic, Three Mile Island

We got a canoe a bit ago. It's small and portable which is good, but it also makes it much less stable than most canoes I've ever been in... which isn't so good. The first time I got it, I took it out with my canoe champion friend on a place in Middletown where the Susquehanna widens out into what they call a lake. We didn't have a lot of time, but we were determined to at least get out on the water. So we got in: me in the back, Brant in front. Brant started reaching for the pier and rocking the boat a bunch and acting like we were about to tip over. I assured him we'd be fine, we'd get used to it, and pushed us away from the pier. I'm not an enabler.

So, after boating around Highspire some, Heather and I tried the pier in Middletown again and, since I've been rowing in the back, I thought I'd try the front. Now, even in the back, there's a fair bit of rock in the boat that's can be scary. Well, in the front, cramped, even a slight rock one way or the other convinced me we were going down, we were headed for soaksville. So, at the pier, right where Brant was telling me that he was unsure of how steady we were, I was leaping for the pier. Leaning on the pier with my arm, butt still in the boat, Heather wondered if I was okay. I was just amazed we hadn't actually tipped over. Heather offered to change seats with me, but I was determined to try the front seat. Maybe as penance for what I know realized was amazing cool-headedness on Brant's part, maybe because I actually thought it'd get better, maybe because I'm stubborn.

Anyway, we made it across the lake, across some tricky rocky areas to a lovely bit of rocks where we picnicked and enjoyed the view of the birds, the lake, the trees, and the nuclear powerplant.

Our wee canoe.

 And a bit of jumping.

And enjoying.

A bit better close up of the plant.

Birthday Month of September

September has been eventful so far.

September 7-8, Our neighborhood experienced flooding. The rains came down and the reservoir and Susquehanna came up. Our little house was dry as ever, but roads were closed so we had evacuated to the Jones' when we could. -So much for getting new carpet ;) We are grateful we didn't have to deal with a mess.

We escaped to the D.C. Temple on September 10th. It was such a gorgeous day. For dinner we stopped off at Cafe Rio in Maryland on our way home! A comfort from our western home is that delicious pork salad. They also have yummy mint lemonade.

Then it was Monday, and I got laid off at work. Laid off from the promise of a few more months of something, but thankfully, I had an interview for an after school reading tutoring program that day too. They are hiring me so there will be work for me this fall before Baby comes.

This blue picture is just outside our door and taken on my birthday, Wednesday the 14th. I turned 24 and our baby was 24 weeks along! Happy Birthday to me! Spencer took me on a successful boot shopping trip on my birthday eve and then we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner right after these pictures. When we were leaving the restaurant, there was a grand lightening storm. After a quick stop at the thrift store down the road, we braved the weather to grab a treat at Cold Stone. The power was out in that neighborhood so we went to Meadow's Custard-another favorite and shared a Turtle sundae. mmmmm. Then there was time for a game at the Ellsworth's!

Mas Pinatas

We made more pinatas this week. One for my awesome sister in Boston who loves clown fish and one for our good friend, Annie Ellsworth, who just turned 3.

Fish was small and fun to make--had to make it compact for shipping. Finding some German treats to fill it with was a fun adventure that took us to a warehouse owned by a Bosnian who, even though he didn't have what we wanted, threw a lot of fun free samples at us. I guess it worked cause we walked out of there with an East European version of the bar we were looking for. Nicht so schlect fur uns, nicht wahr?


Make your own animation

Then another VW bug. This one more of a fisher price version than our last one. Have to give Heather most if not all the credit for this one. I was working on one project or another while she did most of this.

I added a bit to the back and some to the bottom. Mainly I just held it from the balcony and hit kids with it when the time came to bust open our very strong, it turns out, pinata. It was funny to see the children try to process that it was suddenly okay to both hold a long wooden stick and to hit things with it. Behaviors I'm pretty sure their parents spend a fair amount of time teaching them not to do. Most took to it pretty well and had a good time hitting or pushing or grabbing the pinata as I tried to make it look hard to hit. Really I just tried to get it to where they could hit it the best which isn't too easy looking down from above. But it was taking plenty long and most hits were barely denting the thing. But it was a lovely birthday party with lots of our favorite people, and it was great to be a part of the celebrations.

Our fun little bug. That German engineering's a little too sturdy sometimes, though. Even Brant given free reign with the pointy stick took a while to free the goodies.