Vermont

It may seem as if there is not much activity in the Kirkpatrick household. Nothing could be further from the truth!

We are very busy here preparing for the move to Cairo:
Thomas is planning a goodbye party with rocket ships, volcanoes and a pit to hold all the parents.
Emmett is working very hard to outgrow many things before packing.
Daddy has joined the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mommy is enjoying her last few weeks of equal civil rights with Daddy-- and is trying to shore up the newspaper industry before we go.

Hang in there NYT!

We have also spent some time saying bittersweet goodbyes to nearest and dearest. A few weeks back we were with the Friedman/Bradford/Vining clan in Vermont to celebrate a bunch of birthdays, including America's and Grandpa Peter's:


We enjoyed delicious birthday cupcakes prepared by Aunt Anna. Everyone got one with their own name on it! We were almost sorry to have to eat them. But not that sorry.


We also enjoyed a lot of fresh-water water play. This will be the last time for a while we can swim in any ponds or rivers, due to the presence in Egypt of parasitic worms that like to burrow under your skin and cause schistosomiasis. Thankfully we found none of these in Vermont. We did find some salamanders and other mysterious but friendly water creatures:

Roundup

Here is Daddy Dave returning from 10 days in Egypt back in June. Boy were we glad to see him!

And here's some more Ocean City, baby.

Now when we get in the car Emmett says hopefully, "Beach?" while he's being strapped in. Luckily, there's a lot of sand in his future.

These are never before seen world-exclusive shots.







So long New Jersey!!!

Painting with Grand Kathy

This was a highlight of our time in Maine. Look at these hippy grandkids-- I sure never spent an afternoon with my grandmothers like this:


Each of the cousins fully and seriously participated.




This may be where Emmett acquired a pinkish stripe in his hair. He still has it and looks kinda punk.




After everyone was hosed down . . .


. . . we had a nice dinner of naked pizza.

Father's Day and a trip to Maine

Father's Day 2010

What a hands-on dad!

And here's a peek at us in Maine with Grand Kathy. This was at Wolf's Neck Farm where Emmett saw his first actual cows, goats and sheep. He was somewhat surprised at how loud an actual baaaah is when coming from a real sheep.

Then we retired to pose against the picturesque waterfront.

It's pretty great here!