snips of snails and puppy dog tails

Gone fishin':




Ready for retirement in Florida:




Sweet brothers:


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Piggies in a blanket

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David Gray!

Welcome to the coolest venue I have ever seen! It's hard to capture it in this video but it is really amazing. So here we sit, waiting for David Gray to come out following his lovely Irish folk opener, Lisa O'neill (http://www.lisaoneillmusic.com/).

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Location:Akron civic theater

Love at Eight Weeks

Meet Leon again, now featuring the beginnings of a personality:

Tonight at dinner we talked about each of our purposes in life. The answers were fairly gospel textbook until we came to Leon, whose purpose, according to Lucy, is "to cry and poop."

We'll let you know as additional features and thus accordant purposes are added to his repertoire.

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John comes home from work and whisks the big kids off to the metro parks in whatever attire they happen to be at the moment (witness Lucy, ever dress-up clad). There they tromp through the forest and throw rocks in the river to their hearts content.






Meanwhile, I relax with "little Leon", as we lovingly call him. Now six weeks old, he is perfectly amiable and a lovely evening companion.



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Location:The look of this summer

Babies in a basket

On one hand, the two bigs want to act like babies.

But alternately, Lucy asserts herself as a powerful bride to be.

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Enjoying Saturday

This morning we went to Parade the Circle at Case Western campus downtown. It was better than I could have hoped. All of the "Austin" of Cleveland was there, parading home made costumes and all kinds of art.








Now we're hanging in the backyard, christening our $5.00 slip-n-slide. John keeps showing the kids how it's done. It is a beautiful day.

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Baby Leon is here!

Leon Kincaid arrived last Monday night at 10:22, weighing in at a solid 9 lbs., 12 oz. At first blue and bruised from his rapid arrival, the man child is now rosy and pink cheeked, eating his weight and sweet as anything.
Thank heavens for grandma, I seriously have no idea how we'd be faring were it not for her help and presence.









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Making Good

Lucy lately:

M: Lucy, what is it that makes you want to put your finger in your belly button (a favorite lil' habit)?

L: (without looking up, nor hesitation) Jesus.

On another day, after getting in trouble with dad, the two separated themselves. Finally she walks backs up and says thoughtfully, "Dad, I've been thinking. Let's play tag." And so ended the conflict.

I let so many things come in the way of making a record. Somehow these photos and the quotes of the day get shoved aside in favor of cleaning or myriad other things. I regret that I don't make it a matter of more importance. Enough time goes by, the nuances of our daily life are left unrecorded, and thus not long forgotten. I will admit here something dreadful- I still have yet to make a baby book for Lucy. Rowan? Fugget-about-it. That kid is lucky to even have photos taken at all.

Why is it so easy for some, and so overwhelming for others?

Whatever the answer to that question, I am determined to at least make it manageable and consistent. I do so want this time to be preserved.

And so, a small update here:

John has been offered and accepted a position in Cleveland, Ohio- still with Boeing- but newly charged with putting business and a working team together for his own patented idea. The man knows how to get where he wants to go. We went out for a visit last week and decided Cleveland gets a bad rap undeservedly. But as native Texans ourselves, I guess we should understand that. Our house is on the market so we'll go when that's settled.

Mamie is now 6 months pregnant with baby #3 (another boy). She got her undergraduate diploma in the mail last week from BYU and is still teaching Spinning at the gym. Sleep is gradually estranging itself from her however, the honeymoon period (if you could ever actually call it that) coming to a tired and achy end. We are due May 12.

Lucy. Oh seriously, what do I even say here? The girl is constantly bursting with energy, running us to the edge of sanity and always cracking us up. Last night after we put her in bead she called out frantically, "Mom- there is something stuck in my nose!" I walked back, eyes rolling, for this type of callback is a game she loves to play. "What would you like me to do about that?"

"Can you just bring me a snow blower?"

Rowan is now just over 2 and is reveling in his new ability to communicate verbally. He talks about everything and is ever sensitive and kind. A few weeks back he came down with a flu. Walking around the house he let it go once on the newly shampooed carpet, and then again in our entryway shoe box. Each time he'd look up at me with sweet eyes and say, "Sorry mama, sorry."

In short, life is good.