???

For some reason, I'm not able to upload photos lately. That's the reason for the dearth of posts.

All are doing great here. We've all been sick some. Sandy pretty badly a couple of weeks back; I with laryngitis (I know, I know, finally a break for those around me); and the young Miltons mild colds.

Anyway, maybe someday soon the photos will upload again.
A

Delicacies

I hope he's not allergic to peanuts.


Sandy, her mother, and I went to see Bill Cosby last night. Mim has always liked him, so we took her for birthday. Maybe this eating sequence reminds me of his goofy pudding ads.

He was charming, maybe even quaint. Funny, if somewhat predictable (he did a bit about dentists that I remember hearing when I was a child).

He made a few comments about sociological issues--he's become very controversial in the black community for his diatribes against general irresponsibility, especially absentee fathers--but kept saying, "I'm not being political about this." Pity, I think I'd rather have enjoyed that. See his now famous "pound cake" speech.

Of course, it wasn't really the audience for that--I think I saw 8 or 10 black folks. And Sandy and I were well below the average (median, mode, and mean) age.

One year

Thursday, October 16

The celebration of our homecoming with Peter.

Auntie Fawn & Peter before the dinner celebration.

Some days later...a sweet moment after getting home.

Tomorrow

October 16, was the day we picked Peter up in Atlanta.

Peter, about a week old.

It has been quite a year.

He has been a delightful addition to the Milton family.

And he looks good in hats, doesn't he?

Wanting a private moment...?

On October 2, we celebrated his birthday. Sorry, all the picture's were grainy.

An unbelievable surprise...or surprisingly unbelievable?

He looks pretty surprised, too.

And he has been the delight of his mother's heart.

But I didn't have to tell you that.

Bye...for now

We'll be taking a little hiatus from this blog. Starting back up at school is taking a lot of time--new building, new technology (I have to do a class web page, for instance), etc.

More later,
The Miltons

7 legs, 3 eyes

We've been talking about getting a friend for Zach. (We tried a couple of years ago, and it didn't work out.) Well, Jackson, Miranda and I found Squint at the Humane Society, so we all trooped over there to see if everybody (most of all, Zach) got along with her. Everybody did, so now she's ours--for a month now.

It has worked well so far. They get on well, and she is great with Peter. He can pound on her, get in her food, and such, and she licks him with joy.

Oh yeah...she only has one eye.

Time for school to start....

We got to move into our new building Friday afternoon, and school starts tomorrow (Thursday).

It has been a little frantic, especially for our administrative staff.

My room would never have looked this good without Sandy's help. I arranged the desks, she did just about everything else.

You probably can't see it all that well, but this room has a lot of technology--a Smartboard (a touch screen white board that acts like a computer monitor, with a finger as the mouse), a document camera (replacing the old overhead projectors), and more.

My particular room has a wide variety of old and current maps, and a general "world travel" motif--maybe, worlds of learning?

It also has last year's Starbucks cup from Lithuania. Alex, one of the 2007 LCC-SLI students, made it after I complained (jokingly, of course) about the lack of Starbucks in Lithuania. You can see the frame on the top of the first photo, then up close below that.

Walking, clear evidence

The walking series. It's sort of like a little flip book, so I guess you have to look through the set fast.

Can't you almost see him taking those steps? Oh, there is a video...the uploading isn't working out too well. We'll keep trying.

Canoeing

Yet another first (or several firsts). First time on the water, first time in a canoe, first time in canoe in Gig Harbor, first time in a canoe with "Aunt" Ellen, first...I think you get the idea.


He did fine, for much of the trip. The last few minutes were not to his liking, though.

We met Ellen at the marina in Gig Harbor while the kayak team, of which her daughter Amelia is a member, practiced.

The best plan...Ellen does all the work, and we relax.

By the way, how many other English words have 'oei' in a row?

Camping

Kopachuk State Park is about 20 minutes from our house, so it's an easy overnighter. We've been taking Hope and Travis along on a camping trip of some sort for three summers now. (You can start singing, "Tradition, Tradition, Tradition....")

There were, however, many firsts for Peter. In the post below, you can see first steps.

And there's first time in a tent. He did pretty well for only one night there. (Usually, he has one adjustment night before he settles in at a new place.)

Then, of course, first photo taken through a fire grate-- (shot in a badly self-conscious effort to be "interesting") .

Peter had the appropriate fascination with the fire.

I guess this would be first group photo at Kopachuk...?

The Pitter Patter of Petite Peter Feet

I know this photo is about as substantial and substantiatable as one of those bigfoot pictures, but

it really is a photo snapped as he was walking. (He being Peter, not Sasquatch. You can SEE that "he" is walking.)

The photo was actually the second time he walked. He never seems to do it when we're ready, so this almost accidental photo is all we have...so far.

Officially, first steps, August 13--Kopachuk State Park.

We're back

If you want to see some other photos--some professional photos--of Jackson, Miranda and Peter, click here. There are a few on the main page, and if you click here, there are dozens more in her flickr site.

More photos to come, including some of our new one-eyed dog.

We Leave 6/28

We're off to Lithuaniaagain...
So watch for us some time next week at http://www.miltonsinlt.blogspot.com/

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Birthday

Today is Jackson's 13th birthday.

Happy Birthday, young drummer man.

I should have mentioned Miranda's birthday on the 7th.

She's 9 now.

At the Pierce's

Peter's cousin, Elizabeth, took these photos. She's something of a photographer, by avocation. Next fall she heads off to UC Berkeley to study language, art history, politics, and so on.
There was much discussion about this gazebo, focusing mainly around whether to keep it. If they had torn it down, we wouldn't have been able to get this picture.... Seems like that oughta end the discussion, doesn't it?

Ron (Elizabeth's father) and Peter.

That's Elizabeth there in the back on the left. Thanks for the exquisite photos, E.

The All Face Team

The best faces of the week.

Nice jacket

There's Reagan, surveying the environs of the RR Library in Simi Valley. More later on the library--for now, I'll just say that "meeting" the president here may have been the best part. Well, besides the air conditioning.

Swimming, a redux

Aahhh, the pool--very nice for our trip to Southern California. It was 108 degrees where we were staying. Yes, it was a dry heat, but it was HEAT. We left 60 and drizzle for 108 and dry mouth.

So the pool is enough to make you jump for joy. Or be thrown in the air for joy.