GGRRRAAAAAHHLLLGGG!!!!

Was that scary?

I have been trying to develop a rougher, tougher persona.

If it looks like a duck...

Samuel sets off in search of the answer to the question that has been vexing him for several moments now.

Does a duck have teeth?

A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz.

Monday Grandpa Wagner took the family to the ballpark.
Hot dogs, popcorn and fellowship were shared by all.
Samuel and cousin Peyton enjoyed the rides more than the game,
but that should change when Samuel develops his curve ball and can locate his change-up!
Tigers lost 2-7.

Fishing at Grandma and Grandpa's

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

~Henry David Thoreau

The Cottage

Our weekend at the cottage.

Samuel doing some birding.

There are wild raspberries right across the road from the cottage. They seem to have more flavor than garden grown berries. This explains why Samuel had a ring of red around his lips and we ended up with about half the berries we picked.
The turtle trap. Samuel, my dad, and I built this gizmo a couple weeks ago and it has proven to be irresistible to the shelled beasts. We caught 7 turtles over its first weekend of use and another 5 this past weekend.
Samuel snacking on a boat ride. (Not pictured here is the Mason County Sheriff who kindly persuaded us to put a life jacket on Samuel.)

We built and hung a tree swing. It doesn't take too long sitting in a swing to come to the realization that it is a cottage essential.

A more aesthetic view of the swing.

A more aesthetic view of the family.

Sunday best

Making dots look good!

Phone call

Abigail orders a pizza

"...no, I'm serious. The coupon says 'free 2 liter of pop with medium pizza'...All I want to know is can I get breastmilk instead??......"

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving” Albert Einstein

Samuel masters the bike.

Click here to see video of the 2029 TDF champ.

...

5 month statistics

Abigail had her appointment with the doctor yesterday. She received her second round of shots. Here are the numbers.

Wt: 15#0oz.

Ht: 25 1/4"

65th percentile for weight

75th percentile for height

The data seem to be telling us that Abigail will pass Yao Ming in height sometime around her 5th birthday.

Weekend Adventure

With our driver chomping at the bit early Saturday morning we were off to Uncle Nick and Aunt Joy's cottage on the Muskegon River.

Loaded up on java, we were ready to point the motor-coach north.

The weather was beautiful and Great grandma kicked back with Abigail.

Samuel, Sarah, Owen, and Uncle("boppa" to Owen)Nick catching minnows and crayfish in the river.

Huckleberry fin times two.

During lunch Abigail evaluated what was soon to be converted to breastmilk and made available to her.

"Hey, you guys!! I bet we could package some of that milk stuff into a handsome container for casual drinking. These chairs seem to be already outfitted for holding the containers....neat!" Abigail.

If all of these babies ever realize how much they out-number us we could all be in big trouble.

On the way back we stopped by Ohma's house to say hello. Ohma took this opportunity to make a wish on Abigail's head.

A big hug and kiss for Ohma and it was time to hit the trail and head for bed. It was a long day.