a few more

sammerjam and peanut.
the best thing about vacation is spending non-stop time with you.

pico

we’ll miss...

your underbite, your expertise in picking out christmas trees, your clicking toenails, the way you cocked your head when we said your name, the way you barked at our cars when we pulled in the driveway, your pickiness when it came to treats and who you would let pet you, your prance-like gait, the way grandma always thought you were going to talk, the way you always sat in our plants, racetrack, you running off...but always coming back, your sweet dark eyes, the way you howled when neighbors and friends came to the door, the way sam squeezed your face and told you he loved you, the funny noise you made when you held furry man, how much you always wanted to go running with us, your warm furry smell...

ha ha bird

picture and sound.
otherwise known as a florida least tern.
they laughed at all our jokes. even mommy’s.
yup. ha ha bird.

treasure island

travel

have you heard us say what good travelers they are?

fyi

nothing drips more dramatically or faster than a spongebob juice-pop.
be warned.

who am i, tommy bahama?

(sorry. our favorite line from the simpsons movie)
one of our favorite restaurants. the kids acting crazy. well, at least it wasn’t raining.

sorry. working on exporting this so you can see it.

the sun

it was a rare sight the naples part of our trip.
everyone we ran into told us...this NEVER happens here.
so we slapped them.

twelve

july 11th.
not only were we leaving for vacation, but more importantly celebrating a birthday.
(in the hotel room)
happy birthday, olivia!

vacation

from work, from chores, from burton...and well, from blogging.
but, we are back. and yes, i do intend on bombarding you with vacation photos.

hey dad, where is the duct tape?*

*words that should probably scare you when your kids come to the back door asking.

happy birthday, grandpa

see you soon! xoxo

party

well, against some odds, the indiana jones birthday party was a success.
they came, they screamed, they slipped, they slided.
a huge thanks to aunt sheryl and uncle john for their extra eyes and grilling expertise.
and to the middlefield giant eagle. the cake totally exceeded our expectations!
to olivia, for being a great ringleader and just an all-round thoughtful person.
and of course, to all sams’ friends and their mommys and daddys. thank you!

zoo

we stopped at the zoo last weekend before the culmination of the weekend of jim.
we dodged a few raindrops, but we always have fun there.
the animals are great, but i think the people-watching is the best part.
thank you, olivia, for being family photographer that day.

sock angel

yup. still having trouble with laundry management.

no puppyguarding

from the urban dictionary...

When a person guards a "safe" or "base" spot during a game of tag, forcing the person at the base to get tagged when they come out. "Hey, thats not fair, no puppy guarding!"

it makes me laugh everytime i hear it.

feast

i really miss blueprint. but sometimes living has it’s moments.
im in love with this spread from the july issue.
my next table will definitely have dill sprigs tucked in lots of little plain bottles.

number 10

he looks manic!
but i think he is genuinely that excited to play.

drawing

from sams’ student of the week booklet.
it is osom i tell you!

15 years

and yes, i’d do it all over again.
i love you, brian.

last day

of school.
first day of summer.

bubbles

sam > in the pool with olivia, mommy, daddy and grandpa

i farted. see those bubbles? they’re full of gas.

butterfly

sam called me out to the yard yesterday morning to show me this.
butterfly eggs, he said.
maybe, maybe not. but it’s still a lovely thought.

poppy

literally...poppy.
it’s the only one.
because of the increasing shade in our yard, the poppies have gone the way of the false indigo.
i love when i see yards full of them. the color is just so amazing.
but until the basketball hits it, i still cherish my one.

promotion

from 6th grade to 7th.
didn’t she just graduate from kindergarten?

batter

we missed sammy’s last 2 games.
when we asked him what position he played...that’s what he said.
to check out the rest of the berkshire cardinal games, click here.

nervous

she was. but she did her best.
and had fun, right?
(better keep that trophy close...sam is jealous.)

laundry mountain

just east of sock peak.

can-can

the berkshire elementary 6th grade band.

i thought i was being all fancy last night recording this and stuff...
but i find out today that olivia didn’t even play on this one. oh well.
olivia is that cute trumpet player in the back.

collage machine

scanning my sites today, i came across this
at poppytalk.
and be sure to check out poppytalk handmade.

my birthday is in october.

* still

7:31 > woke up, fed pico, fed sam, made coffee.

8:14 > searched laundry mountain for soccer clothes.
9:31 > left for sam’s soccer game.
9:52 > find out game is at 11, not 10. leave with dad to get another car.
10:20 > get back, find out game WAS at 10, but at another place.
10:35 > rush to other field. (thank you grandma and grandpa for coming!)
10:45 > game in progress, good job, sam!
11:00 > dad leaves to take olivia to music lesson.
11:40 > game over, leave for olivia’s game.
11:51 > bathroom break at the house.
12:10 > olivia’s game.
12:28 >*.
1:17 > game over. they lost, but olivia had some great runs.
1:25 > olivia wants mc donalds.
1:46 > sam wants burger king. (yes, im a sucker.)
2:04 > bathroom break
2:15 > drive into town for haircuts
3:42 >target (did i mention i’m a sucker?)

5:03 > get back home, unload car
5:30- > fuss around the yard, make dinner, wash dishes, clean bathroom

8:24 > *.

6th grade camp

a burton elementary school rite of passage.
she left us on tuesday with notes on everyones bed...
the only way we know what they are doing there is by checking here and here.
we were told that she will come back a different person than from when she left.
does that mean she’ll stop leaving clothes all over her room?
it’s pretty funny around here. we really miss her.

laura (aka) mom

back 9

i hear this is a pretty nice place...so no throwing things at the band.

i ticked it.

daddy, explaining how its done, at the lake county captains game today.
which is a good thing ’cause up till now,
sams entire baseball education has been from benchwarmers.
(I didn't know athlete had three syllables, that's AAMAAZZINNG!)

put something in

draw a crazy picture.
write a nutty poem,
sing a mumble-gumble song,
whistle through your comb.
do a loony-goony dance
’cross the kitchen floor,
put something silly in the world
that ain’t been there before.

by shel silverstein
(and olivia’s favorite poem. she has the loony-goony dance perfected.)

daisy

meet daisy.
thank you, ruth, for sharing her with us this weekend.
as sam would say...shes showing us her cuteness.
(and much happiness to ruth’s friend and her new baby!)

this saturday

will cheshier and his tiny orchestra...
featuring the fine conga stylings of our own daddy.
(brian roach...olivia wanted to make sure that you knew)
i might be there...
but just remember, tequila makes me surly.

indiana jones

and the curse of slime dog’s kitchen.
as it should be.
and please, let us stop humming the theme song.

color

happy mother’s day

we miss you.

sweet

dinner conversation topics > kentucky derby tragedy > questions of animal cruelty >
that there is such a thing as dog racing > and sammy thought about it a minute and said...

i don’t think dogs like it when people ride on them.

blow out

sams cleats.
happened at baseball the other night.
and yet, he still played on.
he wants to use the glue gun to put them back together.

may

hypothesis

natural ingredients.
a healthier muffin.
good enough to be a finalist,
but we didn’t win anything.
i think the winner of
the fair spliced a gene...
or built a
human heart valve...
something like that.
so, we’re pretty happy.
and very proud of olivia.