Birthday month!!

Yep! It's August. Birthday month. Last post was June. Got some catching up to do!

I promise - it'll come shortly. I will describe Sammy's cousin's and Sammy's friend, Rachel's birthdays (way back at the end of June!). I will post about Fourth of July and how much fun we had. I will let David post about the week in July that he and Sammy were at the beach. I will post about the wonderful trip to Winthrop that Sammy and I took with her aunt, uncle and cousin. I will describe the awesome camping trip we went on this last weekend for Sammy's birthday. I have pictures for all these events. I just seem to lack time and motivation at the same time. But, we'll get there.

So as a teaser, I will leave you with this:

No, the monitor doesn't need adjusting. And no, Sammy has not yet experienced the joys of lying in the sun baking for hours. Rather, Sammy has been playing with her favorite toy of the summer: a big ol' pile of dirt. At our neighborhood block party - which is an annual event sponsored by the city to get to know your neighbors - we once again realized how many kids there are nearby. Lots of nice people. Makes me wish we had a cul de sac or something: these little side streets and the busy street we live on make it seem awfully treacherous! Anyway, I digress. Last year, the host of the party rented a big Jumpy House - or whatever they are called: kids can go in and bounce around for hours. This year, he had planted coins and marbles in a pile of dirt, gave the kids shovels, and we all sat back as they had a blast digging for buried treasures. At one point I looked over to see Sammy sliding down the hill on her tummy with a huge smile on her face. Ah!! Summer.

And that, for now, is all.