Yardwork

I understand that a hundred acres is a lot, but seriously: can't they tidy up a bit once in a while?

It's a good thing Ryan wanted to take a tromp through the woods, because we had a trail to maintain. Paths needed to be re-swathed, brush cut, felled trees unfelled, deer sighted, lanes of operation rediscovered. We also got to show him large patches of moss, which was a little confusing since he had just met a Redskin we told him was moss, too.

He then found an L-shaped stick that he used to tap tap tap on every single large rock or tree limb along the path. So the second leg took a bit longer than the first. But he was doing his duty, he felt. Daddy and Grandpa are messing with stuff; he'd join in.

After lunch, during which Erin had her first sampling of pickle, which turned out to be a disappointingly but ultimately unsurprising non-video-worthy event since, like everything in her life, she studied it rather than reacted to it (Ex: Grandad makes goo-goo face at her. Erin: do I like this person? What makes one go goo? Should I smile? Hmm. *stare stare stare*), we again split up for nap, this time with me only pretending (honest!) to go to sleep until Ryan actually did (on his back, legs crossed), while I read an entire Smithsonian magazine, no small feat.

Grilled pork chops out on the gazebo, sun setting behind the hills, Ryan learning how to pee in the bushes...the perfect setting for the perfect start to a vacation.

We'll skip the part about neither of our kids sleeping much that night.