Mudpies

We got a new sprinkler a week or so ago, and Lori took the kids outside today to give it a whirl. Carter is still a little timid around the sprinkler, but she's warming up. But it didn't matter much, because it eventually turned into a muddle-puddle extravaganza. Carter was content to just pour water on her brother, but Sean got himself pretty muddy. Have you ever seen a kid so happy, I ask you?

Growing Up

Carter has graduated to the big girl swing! She looks so cute, don't you think? She looks like such a big girl on that swing. My little girl is growing up. She'd better not start bringing boys home!


Great-Grandma

Lori and the kids try to visit Lori's Grandma at least a couple of times a month, and they always have a really good time. I love to see Carter snuggled in to read a book, and Sean was fascinated by the balloons great-grandma was blowing up for him.


Winnekenni Castle

While Tracy's baby shower was going on, Dad and I took Sean to Winnekenni Castle for a short hike and a chance to wear himself out at the playground. He got to see a lake and a castle all in the same day, and on top of that he got his first experience with an ice cream truck. It was a little odd - he had never seen one before, so he didn't understand what it even was until the woman inside actually handed him the ice cream. But you can bet he won't forget what one is now, alright!



Fun in the Sun

With all the heat last week, the kids needed a chance to cool off. We haven't bought a sprinkler or a pool yet, so we propped the hose up on a wheelbarrow. That's innovation! They had a great time, although Carter was a little nervous about the water and mostly just played in the sandbox.



Scenes from Space #43

I think it's been almost a year since I last put up a "Scenes from Space" post, but this is a special occasion. On June 13th, at 12:05 PM, GLAST (the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope) was launched into orbit. One of the instruments on that satellite is called the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM), and I was involved in the software development effort for that instrument. So good luck GLAST! And if anything goes wrong, I swear it wasn't me. :)

Maudslay State Park

We went to Maudslay State Park over the long weekend - twice, in fact. The first time, we stepped out of the van, put brand new batteries in the camera, turned it on, and it immediately started complaining about dead batteries. It's actually been doing that a lot lately, so we finally decided to buy a new camera, and went back to Maudslay on Monday. The kids loved both trips, pictures notwithstanding. The did a great job walking, and we had a nice little picnic lunch by the river. Sean saw a lot of boats, a few jet skis, and he swears he saw a submarine. :) We probably racked up about 2-3 miles each time. The loved the whole experience, which I find really encouraging - as I've got high hopes for them wanting to hike more with me in the future.



Putting Them to Work

This past weekend, the kids and I washed the van. Or more accurately, Sean and I washed the van, and Carter alternated between running away from the hose and raiding the cookie bag when nobody was looking. Sean had a blast, but I think he underestimated how much actual -work- is involved in washing a van. When we first filled the buckets and were ready to start, Sean grabbed a sponge, rubbed it three times on a fender, and exclaimed "all clean!"