Picture of the Week

Boston, Massachusettes

Man, did I miss my guys this week! I traveled to Boston for the annual Children's Literature Association Conference, which was a lot of fun, but it's always hard to leave home. My favorite part of the trip was exploring Boston. I'd never been there before, and it is a pretty cool place--literally and figuratively. Beth and I took the subway to Faneuil Hall for some shopping and dinner, delicious lobster rolls. I loved all the shops and market stalls in the area.

Emily, her friend Allison, and I took a bus tour of the city on Friday. This turned out to be a great idea because we were able to see so much in a short amount of time. We began the tour at Fenley Park.

 The characteristic of the city that struck me again and again was the strange juxtaposition of the old  and contemporary. It's interesting and certainly makes the city stand apart from so many others.

The double-decker bus was the way to go. We had great views of the whole city.

 Oh, yeah, and there was the conference too. Here's a picture of some of the ISU crowd. The conference was really interesting, as usual, and it was fun to present on a panel with friends. The highlight of the conference for me, though, was Gregory Maguire's (author of Wicked, among others) keynote address. That guy is brilliant and fabulously entertaining! No wonder I enjoy his books so much.

JD and Michael somehow survived without me, and it made me feel so good when Michael got really excited to have me home again. Thanks so much to all the friends who helped out while I was gone, especially Emily M. and Randi. You guys are life savers! Traveling is fun, but home is the best place in the world.

All Boy

An update of Michael's latest bumps and bruises over the past 10 days:
Cut from ankle to knee on right leg from falling on the edge of a concrete block.
Huge bruise and lump in hairline above left eye from walking into a swing coming toward him.
Cut under lip on left side inside and outside of mouth from falling into a train table.
Scraped left knee from falling on driveway.
Scratch on lower back - still unidentified cause.

I swear, he is always in motion and, consequently, always in trouble! At least each accident bothers him for only a few minutes each. All I can say is, Michael is ALL boy!

Michael Turns Two Part Two

We got to celebrate Michael's 2nd birthday again this past weekend with our Illinois family! Michael has really enjoyed his new lawn mower as he works hard with Daddy in the yard.

Our friends were so generous and knew just what kind of toys Michael loves best.

Even though it rained a bit during the party, we still got to go outside and enjoy the summer evening after presents and cake.

Thanks, everyone, for making Michael's birthday so special. He had his 24-month checkup on Tuesday and is doing really well. He's average in height and increased a bit in weight, just as we expected. His developmental skills are right on target. We just have to grasp the fact that we have a two-year-old now!