Zoo For Two

To celebrate Dexter turning two, we decided to skip the party and take Dexter to the zoo with the Riley and Owen.

 Ready for party time.

Riley, Maya, and Dex enjoying the giraffes.

 Happy kids.

 Thirsty giraffe.

 A birthday muffin.

Hard to believe this guy will be two in 3 days.

Family Bike Ride

Continuing the bike riding trend.  We went on our first family bike ride.

Morning look at the garbage truck.

We rode a few miles from a favorite breakfast place to a playground.

Maya on two wheels.

Dexter and Momma.

Daddy was taking these cool pix.

"Dance Party" video

Dance party!!!

Let's Ride

The two kids take their wheels to Gerstle Park...

Dexter with his sweet push car.

 Maya riding in style.

"Maya Rides a Bike" video

Maya's been getting more comfortable without training wheels on her bike this summer.  There have been a few moments where she's done a couple peddles or a moment of gliding with no help.  Today, she suddenly figured it out.  This is her first time really riding...

Mt. Tam

Maya started school, but Todd had one day left of vacation, so we headed up our local tallest mountain, Mount Tamalpais.  

Parking lot with a view.

Ready for a hike.

Toddler on board.

At the lookout at the summit.

Our house is down there somewhere.

"On The Lake" video

A few fun moments from our trip...

A Rough Finish

Our trip was over too soon.  We headed out early in the morning for our trip home.  Everything was fine...until it wasn't.  

Maya and Momma at the airport.

On the second flight, Dexter got very hot, listless, and was panting in a very similar way he had behaved on our way to Bozeman.  He woke up from this nap pretty miserable.

We started to get worried since it was such a long flight and we knew that Dexter had required breathing treatments in Bozeman.  After about over an hour of watching him, we created a little drama by pushing the 'call' button.  We told the flight attendant that our son was having trouble breathing and they brought over some oxygen and asked if there was a doctor on the plane.  Paramedics met the plane at the gate and we were escorted off the plane when we arrived.  Then Momma and Dex headed off to the ER while Daddy and Maya got the luggage and met us there.

It was soon discovered that Dexter had a 103˚ temperature and its rapid rise probably created the symptoms we witnessed.  He was actually breathing fine and his oxygen levels were good.  So, we basically gave Dexter some ibuprofen and he started returning to his regular self.  After all that drama, we made our way home and our little guy got better after a few days.  Hoping that we don't see anymore breathing issues...especially on airplanes.

Lake Rituals

There are a few things should always be repeated at Skaneateles Lake...

One must always walk the trail to the Point.  It's a little path above the cliffs between the Higgins cottage and a flat point where other friends live.  The path has several small bridges including the Kearsley Bridge built in 1975.  

Dexter rides in style.

The sweet corn is essential!

Picture with the grandparents...of course.

Swimming to the buoy.  Maya was very excited that she did this all by herself (with the life vest).

 Hooray!

Naked child pushing Pop into the water.

Here's this same shot more than thirty years ago.

Fishing, Boating, Burning, Etc.

Having fun at the lake...

Lizzie helps Maya with fishing.

Fisherwoman!

Morning at the cottage.

Snacktime.

Yes, we are burning the trash, a cottage tradition.  Ecofriendly? Ummmm...

Teaching Maya to row a boat.

Maya rowing the boat.

Gram gets her first visit to the cottage after her hip injury.

Gram sitting with her three children: David, Susan, and Betsy.

Scott and Sue prepare for waterskiing with Maya as lookout.

Daddy and Dex in the water.

Maya helps pick up Sue and Lizzie after a swim.

More fishing.

No, we never caught anything, but it was still fun.

Relaxing on the porch during another tough day.

Lake Time

Random moments at Skaneateles...

 Dexter wakes up his sister with a kiss.

 Sunset boat ride.

 Lizzie (on her last night before heading to college) and Kearsley on a puzzle marathon.  Todd added a piece or two.

Swamp Adventure

We couldn't wait to spend some time at the lovely cottage on Skaneateles Lake.  This morning we decided to go on a little adventure to the swamp at the south end of the lake.

Maya enjoys the view.

Cutie.

Maya takes us on a lake adventure.

Heading toward the 'swamp.'

Momma and Dex.

Slowing down as we approach the shallow swamp area.

This swamp has an airplane.  Dexter likes.

Back at the cottage after our swamp adventure.