Uncle Michael Strikes Back

Sunday afternoon.

Slip 'n Slide!!!





Atlee is actually in motion in the photo. If you look, the water is being pushed up by her hands.





This is the neighbor girl. I was impressed by how her towel had turned from a simple wrap into a kind of Vera Wang wedding dress.

The Princess Table (notice the tablecloth).

Do you think somebody was hungry?

Uh, dude. Man-boobs. You gotta get rid of those things early. I speak from experience.





Odds and Ends:

This is a text I sent to my brother.


The Toad
This is the second toad I've seen while in Gettysburg. Both homeowners have said that the toad comes in the night and just hangs out on the front walk. Curious. (Are they plotting a takeover???!!)






Sweatily yours,
Uncle Michael

Guess who's going to Cleveland?

And we'll even bring Greeley. Send us an address if you want a postcard.




Can I possibly say, "Thank you!" enough to Tracey at Just Another Review Blog? Thank you for putting together such an awesome giveaway! That picture up there? A Christmas Story House...with leg lamp in the window.

Uncle Michael's Secret Post #3

This is who it's really all about: my friend for life, Greeley.


Ever since Fuzzy died, she's been a bit obsessed with death. One day she asked me: "Uncle Michael, can you dig a hole in the yard for when I die?" Here I tried to prompt her to tell me a tale about Fuzzy. Apparently she's not so good at crossing fiction and non-fiction.




In that video, we were at Storytime (the home version). She was the teacher (hence the chair) and I was the kid (hence the low angle - I'm sitting on the floor). In the following video (from the next day), we are going to Storytime again. (The clicking you hear is me texting.)




Swinging!




On a family walk, she was behind and I waved for her to catch up.




She played a little game with her rabbit (whom she had earlier referred to as her "husband"). I was a little taken aback with the vehemence of her victory.




This is her talking about her water bottle. I shot it to record the way she says the word "funky," which she says at the end, facing away from the camera. I often miss the best stuff.

Another Uncle Michael Secret Post-Midnight Post

The inimitable Atlee:


Quote #1



Quote #2

Uncle Michael's Secret Post

Some photos I have taken over the past few days.

First day of school:


The family at Storytime:






Greeley gives Wilson some love:



Shea on his scooter on the family walk:




Emerson at Storytime:


Dad and Emerson on the lawn:


Greeley enjoying Dad's homemade chocolate banana:



Shea and Mom talking about his first day of school:



Atlee's colorful outfit on Day 2 of school:



More will be posted if I get more fun shots.

I want to go to Cleveland.

So, you may have noticed I haven't put up anything new. Rich bought batteries on Monday, but they still have not leaped into the camera yet. Uncle Michael is coming on Saturday. My theory is he's a little concerned I won't get the batteries in the camera by Wednesday, the first day of school. He's coming to make sure I don't screw it all up. It's a theory.

Moving on. Tracey from Just Another Mommy Blog has a side gig, a moonlighting gig: Just Another Review Blog. And on her Just Another Review Blog she's offering up a giveaway to Cleveland. I would tell you all about how wonderful it is and how much work she put into putting all of this together, but I want to win it. There. I said it. It's not an honor to be nominated. I want to win it. And if I tell you all how awesome it is, you'll run over and enter.

So, I believe I have now followed the letter of her law, if not maybe the spirit.

ETA: So, big brother, PatioBoater, hopped on over AND ENTERED ON MY BEHALF! A whole new phase of shameless begging thus begins. Because, you see, I've used up all of my possibilities of entering. But those of you who have blogs and no interest in going to Cleveland could maybe, PLEASE, head on over and enter- with a little note that if you win THE TRIP GOES TO ME!!! Yes, it's shameless. Have you learned nothing about me on this blog yet people? Nothing?

Thank you for your assistance in getting the Gettysburg Family to Cleveland! Granted, the trip is only for four, so we'll have to see who we leave behind. My money's on Greeley these days.

Yellow Lab Haiku.

Wilson sniffs the air.
Smells the sweet, delicious
scent of a gray squirrel.

Katie the Beagle
Loves her rabbits, Wilson the
Lab loves his squirrels.

Faretheewell, Fuzzy.

I feel like I just said this about Acorn, but in case any of you missed the status post on Facebook, Fuzzy is no longer with us. I'm afraid he had a stroke or some such which led to an inability to get up and so we ended his suffering.


Atlee recovered remarkably fast asking, "So, can I get a third rabbit?" Um, no. The rabbit cage will go into storage for a few years. Truthfully? It makes me a little nervous that if I had died last December, she would have been setting Rich up on dates come January.

So long Fuzzy. You were a wonderful rabbit. I hope there are lots and lots of carrots in the Great Warren in the sky.

Thanks to my mom!

Thanks to my mom, we have a handful of pictures from our trip to Maine last month. Seeing the cool lake reminds me of how hot I am.

Greeley may take the prize for loving the camp the most this year. She cried on the way home. A lot. Because she didn't want to leave. She repeated that phrase a lot. I really, really mean a lot.


Blame her?
Who's the happiest little girl? Greeley is.

Atlee might have been until she burned her back so badly she blistered. A lot. (That's known as a recurring theme.) She managed to enjoy making s'mores though because she is a trooper.

And while it may look like there was some marshmallow involved in this hair style, it was actually s'mores free.

Shea perhaps spent too much time watching Cartoon Network. I think next year, we'll tell him the cable doesn't work. We won't mention that we had Grandpa unplug it.

And just another Emerson picture- just because.

The camp in Maine offers outstanding sunsets. Not pretty enough for you?

There will be another stunning one tomorrow.


"Have a great time at the camp this week!", I say to my sister and her family that are enjoying their turn there. Greeley wishes she was with you!

I'm sorry the pictures are all so small. But not sorry enough to figure out how to resize them all right now.

Time Capsule.

Do you know how much I love you all? So much I had to create a stinkin' You Tube account to show you this video. This action packed video.

Look for:
-Me picking swallowable (is too a word!) small stuff off the floor
-Emerson dragging himself around
-Me picking stuff out of my cleavage
-Greeley asking if she can please, oh please, give the dog a cookie
-Our dog!
-Greeley being her normal shy self



It's like a Gettysburg Family scavenger hunt!