Boating = AWESOME

We rented a pontoon boat in the Thousand Islands while we were camping. I'm not a fan of boats because I get sick on them so often, but not this time! We found a great spot to anchor and swim away a lot of the day. It was just plain awesome.

Big day

I started the day, waking up with the birds while everyone else slept in -- except Jack. But he showed me something new about himself today:

He buries bones with his nose!

Then we headed home and tried to beat the heat with some sprinkler fun, while waiting to hear some news from a friend:

And then we got the news -- yay! A new "nephew," and now we must ALWAYS call the dog Jack Jack, because our new friend is Jack Giovanni:

Hope

Getting photos of Hope is going to be hard. She doesn't stop moving! We brought her home tonight and we're trying to introduce her to Jack Jack and Sammy slowly so she's staying in the bathroom for now. She's small, like Sammy, and needs to gain a few pounds. She was a stray found at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Her tail is really long, very expressive and pointy.

Sisters! Sisters! There were never more supportive sisters!

I love how we're both looking at the screen and not the lens, and that we're so close, my glasses are all out of whack. Not the prettiest picture of either of us, but I love it.

My little buddy

This is my favorite 3-year-old nephew (OK, I only have one who is 3, but he's pretty AWESOME!). He makes the best faces.

I also got to see this guy (my uncle Charlie), and that is just too awesome for words:

Spinning

We went to Lockport to hang out with family and visit my uncle in his new assisted living facility. It was really nice to see what a great job Edie has done with him (not that I doubted it for a second!) and to spend some time with my dad and brother. None of my pics turned out that day. I don't know what I did to my camera...

Great day

We woke up today with a bunch of things to check off our list, but first, Joe took us to Highland Park Diner. Mmmmm. That's my Park Special. Mmmmmm.

Then we headed over to Highland Park to visit the tree dedicated to my mom. The girls played for a while (isn't this so Blair Witch? WEIRD!).

The tips of all the branches were so red. I don't know if you can see it on your monitor, but it's a beautiful color.

I love that this man knew I was missing my mom and needed a day like today.

Reflection

After an emotional night with my girlfriends, I am feeling reflective about how lucky I really am. I mean, look at the remnants of the movie night Joe had with the girls. He's just the best dad and best husband I could've ever hoped for. And I totally just fell into this. It's not really fair, but I definitely appreciate that -- and him. (And he's going to "barf" when he sees this.)