some of my extended family on my Dad's side at our annual family reunion
J (on the right) takes off with his uncle and cousin (and a bunch of other relations) on a hike to a nearby waterfall
J navigates a log across a stream
Zoo Boy and my 2nd cousin once removed, G, search the stream for newts and other treasures. The Map Man watches from the left -- the waterfall is in the background (along with another distant cousin)
the boys had a great time rock-hopping and wading in the stream
family "pony rides" on Annie (this is J)
the boys pet a Fenec Fox at a zoo Member Appreciation night
Zoo Boy makes friends with an Arctic Wolf
fireworks in Southwick, MA
The Map Man and the boys ooh and ahh at the display
the kids and I got to spend the afternoon in beautiful formal gardens with my nearly-92-year-old grandmother, who is up visiting from South Carolina
the boys patrolling the perennial beds
picking out the New England states on the great stone map of North America
J and his great grandma watch a butterfly on a coneflower
a close-up of the aforementioned butterfly
the boys and Yule on our morning walk at the nearby state forest
we found a really cool frog print in the mud
Zoo Boy hiding from the wind at the lake today
proof of the windy day -- I was starting to wonder if he wasn't going to take off!
J shivers after getting out of the warm water
black raspberries -- YUM!
For a morning project before Zoo Boy and I got out of bed, J created a world puzzle and had fun showing us how to put it together.
Zoo Boy tools around the lake on a kickboard
The magic book J ordered (just like the one he picked out for his friend B's birthday present) arrived today, and joy (and magic tricks) erupted. Here he works on the "bending fork" trick.
Echinacea coming into bloom in our garden -- this particular plant is supposed to be orange -- we'll see....
a really cool beetle we found on our morning walk -- in fact, we found a whole bunch of them, all along one of the stone walls 
Zoo Boy diligently works on some stenciling while waiting his turn at speech therapy
introducing.....Banana!
....and Kiwi!
yes, Christine, I can hear you laughing....
the boys and our dog, Yule, on our morning walk
Black-eyed Susans along the way
Zoo Boy helps out watering the new trees
our Lilies are getting more beautiful every day
to quote J on his creation: "the great scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, and the apple that helped him learn about gravity"
