Summer Travels, continued

A few days after our return from the Big Apple, Mather and I took off for Southern California to pay a visit to GrandMather and GrampaTom.

GrandMather, Mather and GrampaTom
June, 2008 in San Francisco to see R.E.M.

Mather had a blast during our long weekend which was filled with pool parties, lounging, napping, and tons of great food. We also enjoyed watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Mather's favorite part was the drummers.

Humpty-dumpty sat on a wall...

Mather and Tiffany serenade the BBQ.

Watermelon face!

Picking grapes fresh off the vine in GrampaTom's garden.

Riding a stuffed sheep.

Lugging around "Lemon Bear", my childhood teddy bear.

Vicious Lemon Bear attack while napping.

Thanks to GrampaTom for being a gracious host and for taking all the pictures!

Next up, where was Papasan while Momily and Magoo were in SoCal?

Taking a bite of the Big Apple, Pt. 2

Mather proved to a natural at helping Gigi shuck beans.

Our trip to the Natural History Museum was a hoot. The best part was the live lizard and snake exhibit, where Magoo got to be face to face with a blue-tongued skink (above), a monitor lizard (below), and several varieties of serpent, including a stealthy, dark red cobra. She was very excited by it all, running back and forth to every display case, and practicing her "ssssssss!" sound of a snake. It was a great way to spend a day (plus another excuse to ride the elligator and the subway, two of Mather's favorite activities).

Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

Taking a bite of the Big Apple, Pt. 1

We hopped aboard a jet plane earlier this month to visit Elsa, Uncle Freedom and Mather's shiny and new cousin Cora in New York City. Also in town for the happy occasion was Grandma Dorothy, or "Gigi" to Magoo.

Mather turned out to be a great flight companion. She barely fussed or cried, though she did insist on conversation for most of the flight (travel is too exciting for sleep!). Over the course of the trip, she became quite obsessed with transport - airplanes, (subway) trains, and most of all, "elligators" (elevators).

This was my first chance to hold Cora. She's a very sweet baby - I spent parts of several days with her, and can't really recall her fussing. And reports are that she already sleeps through much of the night, truly remarkable for a newborn. Elsa and Freedom are off to great starts as parents.

You can't take a child to New York and not visit the Central Park Carousel! Mather was very enthusiastic about her first foray into the equestrian arts. When the ride got moving, she leaned forward and kept saying "Go! go! go!", encouraging our mount to go faster. The next morning Nana and I were puzzled over what Goobie was saying over and over again over breakfast until we realized it was "ride a horse!".

"What's up, Cora? Are your parents going to give you horrible nicknames like Goobie and Magoo?"

Cousins!

Mather and Cora are introduced.