M.I.A.

The blog has been neglected, but it's because we've been having too much fun to stop and blog about it. It's also because I find I'm taking fewer pictures these days: having three kids during the day means I rarely have one or two free hands to hold a camera and take a picture. And when I have no pictures, I'm less likely to update the blog. It's a vicious cycle.The summer is almost over; school starts next week. We've visited nearly every park, splash park, and museum within 10 miles. Often we go to parks not intending to get in the water, but it happens anyway......and then Phoebe ends up in her diaper and her outfit hangs out to dry in the sun on the fence. Two weekends ago, we went camping with friends. There was some miscommunication (or more like non-communication) about bug spray, so Bruce didn't get any. He came out with 52 mosquito bites, Phoebe with 3, Scott with 0, and me with 2. Phoebe loved hanging out in the tent. Her favorite blankie came along on the trip (of course) and was dragged along the ground and all over the forest. It went straight into the washer when we got home.Bruce found a toad on our hike. It immediately peed on his hand and he was grossed out, so he wiped it on his shirt. That went straight to the washer too.Scott carried Phoebe on the hike......and she got a good nap from it. Many of our hikes end this way.

During last weekend's hurricane (which wasn't much to blog about, I am told), I took the kids to Ohio for a weekend of grandparent spoilage. We visited Marissa and Tevita's new baby, Asena, and I hung out with all three of my sisters for the first time in a long time. I tried to pack light, so I took my little camcorder instead of my big fat DSLR. Expect some awesome videos to appear on the blog in the next few days.