Summer Holidays Part One: Kim's Family

The youngest member of the Long clan, my gorgeous niece, Eliora, trying on the Elton John glasses in the doorway of Wazoo Playhouse: A treasure hunt brought all six cousins together (ending in a pinata hid underneath the forsythia bush). Here in front of Wazoo Playhouse: Drumroll please. . .the homemade slip 'n slide! My brother-in-law Luke, and Martin, fashioned it out of industrial plastic, duct tape, and pool noodles for the 'speed bumps' at the bottom. Everyone went down, including my mother, who, after her first trip down the hill, sprang up, covered in grass, laughing, and bounded back up to the top, whooping with joy. Here, Heather shows us how it's done:
The whole ride ends for adults in a roll in the grass. The cousins got more and more intrepid:
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The babies found tamer entertainment than the slip 'n slide:

And we found a peaceful corner in the back of the house for outdoor bathing--hot and cold water, mind you, bubblebaths by the trees and showers in the open air!


Here's a little section of my mother's thank-you e-mail: It may be a while before you have a chance to check email, but I wanted to drop a note to say what a wonderful vacation it was at your place! Every day was precious; Dad and I loved sleeping in the shed, the creek and fishing, the slip and slide, the babies in the pool, meal at night outside, fabulous trip to Deep Creek, card games, lovely breakfasts by Martin, watching the children together. What a week!. . .It was magical and the stuff of memories for years to come. > Sunflower Cottage (aka, the shed), where my parents slept in undisturbed slendor:
Lots of wine, cheese, chips, cards, and conversation:


We all had important summertime jobs. Here, Martin with a corncob:

And Luke with the fly swatter, defending Wazoo Farm and its eaters from natural preditors:

Oh, summertime, family, sunshine, food. What a grand combination.

Across the Bridge at the Pittsburgh Zoo

I am downloading this video to make a dad happy--namely, the father of my sister-in-law's sweet girls and little boy. (It's out of order chronologically.) The kids walking across the bridge are wonderfully intrepid together, and the zoo itself is the best zoo I have ever experienced. There are no depressing, dreary cages--the zoo is landscaped beautifully, meandering over hills and around bends. The animals are healthy and seem happy in their lush, spacious habitats. Everything is clean and family-friendly and the tone of the place is most definitely one of respect to the world and environmental awarness.

My favorites include watching the elephants take their showers; listening to the proud, Hemingwayesque (ie., very full of himself) lion roar; watching the kids climb under a glass tunnel full of stingrays (the aquarium was too crowded this particular day for that); eating our picnic outside with a strutting peacock, and enjoying the polar bear, the penguins, the sea otters, and the sea lions romping about with their toys in the water (all in separate tanks, of course!) Martin even got to walk under the huge glass tunnel while the polar bear swam over his head, digging at the water with his immense paws. Fantastic!