Wildlife and Beyond

Alex and I started the month by visiting Grandma in Minnesota. He is still cute as a little button according to Grandma. Isaac and Daddy went on the Stake Aaronic priesthood camp-out in New Jersey. Apparently roasting Marshmallows made quite an impression on him. I was grateful they came home without ticks. It was nice to spend some time with mom.

The city has had a big "I'm a Mormon" blitz marketing campaign. There is/was a large billboard in times square, and several subway cars have "I'm a Mormon" posters, as do many cabs. I was walking home from the park and saw one and couldn't resist taking a picture. The media campaign came on the heels of the musical "The Book of Mormon" winning several Tony's, as well as Romney's official entering of the Republican primary. Newsweek has commented that the nation is having a "Mormon moment." Very exciting.

Isaac has found several fun ways to beat the heat. Most of them involve sand and water. Others involved wearing only underwear and refusing to leave the A/C of our apartment. Smart kid. So we have been painting, making pillow towers, playing with friends, and engaging in all manner of silliness.

Keara is in town for the summer at an internship. The first weekend we went and got ice cream at the Chinatown Ice Cream factory. We tried the Ginger, Lychee, and Chocolate Chip. All very interesting variations on what we would expect from the American versions. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain and not great weather for licking ice cream.


The next weekend, Keara got us in free to the Central Park Zoo. I think Isaac's favorite part was watching the Sea Lions catch chunks of fish. We walked through Central Park on the way home and watched people sail remote control sailboats and got a bite to eat--which included, of course, ice cream.


It was a ton of fun, but upon arriving home, I notice things were awfully quiet in Isaac's room. Cliff had fallen asleep within moments of sitting down, and Isaac was so tired he could only manage to lay on the floor and roll his cars. He slept until 8am the next morning, hurray.

For Fathers' Day, we had some friends come for dinner. I think Cliff felt celebrated. The Relief Society gave little cookie present packages to the guys in the ward. You know you married well when he shares his fathers' day cookies with you.

Uncle Preston came for some interviews and spent 3 fabulous days with Isaac. The morning Preston had to leave, I haven't ever seen Isaac so sad. He hung his head and wouldn't look me in the eye but kept asking where Uncle Preston went. Luckily we'll see him in about a month. And if the job works out, we'll see him even more frequently. Fingers crossed.

Here is a picture of Isaac and Uncle Preston eating hot pieces of homemade bread with butter and honey. Isaac is showing him his dinosaur sponges.


Isaac has found a new and exciting way to eat cheerios-with a tooth pick. I ate cheerios often as a child since dad worked for general mills. When I was a couple years older than Isaac, I remember asking my dad what he did at work and he said he sat on a very tall stool with a little hammer and chisel and tapped the hole in cheerios. The funny thing is I believed him. Now when I eat Cheerios I still think of him.