The dog days of summer

Hmm, here at this house we can't have dogs, but we have a huge cat who thinks he's a dog. I like to call those summer hot days the cat days of summer. Here's a few funny pictures of our furry little weirdos.

Fluffen would spend her mornings lounging by the pool. I'm so glad she never managed to scratch a hole in the thing!

And for Alexander, even after we shaved most of his thick mane off, he was still so hot. He spent most of his days doing his animal skin rug impression, wherever he could find the space.

A much needed visit from the cousins

Way back in August, Michael's sister Julie came to visit us, along with her two beautiful children, her friend Marcie, and my mother in law (Baba). It was really great having them all here! It was nice having the extra hustle and bustle around here for a little while : )

We had a handful of really great days and took full advantage, with some beach time, and plenty of splashing around in our pool.

Julie and I even took the little ones to one of our all time favorite farms here in town, and got to see all the different animals, buck at the chickens, help with eggs, see the rabbits, cows and pigs, and I even managed to save a baby goat. Loooong story, but a true one!

Unfortunately we don't get to see them very often, I wish we all didn't live so far away from each other! I am really glad that they all made it out here for a great mini vacation!

A few very late updates...

I was recently reminded that it's been noticed that our blog hasn't been updated in quite some time. (sorry Baba!) I'm jumping back on track!

Expect regular updates from now on!!

The Stanley Cup

The other day, the Stanley Cup came back to the Vineyard! Michael was selected to do the police detail, which meant that he got to have a super up close view of the cup itself. I had been so disappointed when he wasn't able to see it the last time it came here.

It was at the hockey rink, which was obviously very crowded, so I didn't get too many good pictures

Felix Neck

My BFF, Ronda has been spending the summer here this year and I couldn't be happier about it! We have been trying to get together as much as we can, which is a little more difficult these days, with our work schedules conflicting.

Last week we took the kids to one of our nature preserves here, called Felix Neck. There are many walking trails there, but we didn't want to push our luck with that, especially being so close to nap time.

It was really cute to watch them in the explorer room. There are a few different fish tanks, so they got to see turtles, frogs, crabs, fish, and a whole bunch of other local critters.

There is a live feed owl cam in the room, the owls live in the eves of the building. While we there, one of the owls laid an egg!

The kids got to touch and explore all sorts of things that you would find along the shoreline at the beach, and things that you would find in the woods. They had such a blast!

The Trances take on Troy, NY

Two weeks ago, we all piled into the car and headed to Michael's hometown of Troy, NY. Michael and I left the boys with Baba and Gigi and headed four hours west, to Geneva. One of his buddies from college got married in a beautiful castle that was nestled on the edge of Seneca Lake.

Unfortunately, due to an allergic reaction to the smell of the seafood in the air, we weren't able to stay for the reception.

I still had such a fun time. It was the very first time that I was away from Isaac overnight, and besides bursting into tears before we even turned the car on, I think I did pretty well! The whole area was simply breathtaking.

Beach Beauties

We have been very blessed with so many gorgeous beach days this summer, and we've been lucky enough to be able to enjoy them with friends and family. It feels like each day gets a little bit better than the last. These are really the days we'll remember!