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Here's another video of Elliot. He's still practicing his letters...

Alphabet

Elliot's been very interested in learning his letters these days. So we checked out a slew of new alphabet books from the library. Here he reading one of the new books with dad. (This video can take a while to load.)

Alaska!

We had the good fortune to travel to Alaska recently with Mark's family. We stayed at Salmon Falls Resort just north of Ketchikan in the south eastern part of the state. We spent a week enjoying each other's company while fishing for salmon, hiking in the rain forest, touring local sites and, of course, eating our fill of wild blueberries, huckleberries and salmon berries. On our way home Mark, Elliot and I spent a day in Seattle visiting Elliot's Great Grandma Elizabeth (my grandmother) as well as my aunt Libby and Uncle Jim in Seattle. We had a fabulous trip and were happy to return home with 100 pounds of salmon and a boatload of good memories. Here are a few:

Elliot climbing the stairs at the Saxman Totem park.

Some of the amazing local art.

The view from our resort.

Heading down to the dock to check on the day's catch.

When's the boat coming in?

Rough seas ahead!

Picking blueberries.

Searching for the perfect rock to throw in.

Hanging out with Grandpa Gene.

Seattle.

Summertime, and the living is easy...

Well, it's July and summer is in full swing here in Wisconsin. We are finally getting settled into our new house (and finally have internet again!), and Elliot is really thriving on all the space and freedom he has out here. We got a small flock of chickens from a neighbor and now have fresh eggs every day. I just have a scaled back version of a garden since we were moving during planting time, but I still enjoy spending time out there, and it's great being able to eat what's growing. We recently put up our first harvest of hay, and we also just harvested the garlic we planted last fall. It's curing in an old corn crib we have here... it should make good eating all winter long!

Here are a few snapshots of a day in Elliot's life...

Our chickens come running when they see Elliot. They like to follow him where ever he may go.









Our day is never complete without a visit to the raspberry patch!









Here's Elliot checking on what's growing in the garden.



































The pond is perfect for throwing rocks into, but the pool's better for swimming (not so slimy!).

Bedtime

Thanks for helping, Dad!

April showers brought plenty of

May flowers for picking.





Here's Elliot "playing" in these same flowers last year.



Elliot's commentary on passing traffic (this one was a dump truck).


He's a tree hugger already!

Some shots from April

Elliot and his friend Toby eagerly wait to see what's in Grandma Kathleen's Easter Egg.



One of Elliot's favorite foods these days, "bap-ple."

Walking and Talking!

Elliot's now 15 months old. He's been walking for a couple of weeks now and gets better every day. His vocabulary is increasing slowly but surely as well. This is such a fun age!!


This video's a little bit longer. You can see Elliot playing with some of the beautiful wooden toys that Elliot's grandpa, Gene Lydon, made.

The Little Giant

Mark is super excited about our new ladder.
I think Elliot likes it, too!