Mama’s Little Helper

This little boy is going to make some lucky girl very happy one day…

                                                 

Grapefruits, Lemons, and Oranges, Oh My!

We decided we needed a brief respite from the seemingly endless Ithaca winter, so we spent a couple of weeks in the warm Arizona sun. It was delightful.

   

We played outside a ton...

                                                                                                       

…enjoyed the desert scenery….

 

…and we drank fresh lemonade (made by Jonathan) almost every day.

                                                                                          

We, also, visited Old Town Scottsdale…

                                                                                   

…and Lincoln’s Great-Grandparents.

                                                                                  

Jonathan and I struck out on our own and took a day-trip to the Grand Canyon. We missed Lincoln (who stayed home with his Mamie), but otherwise we really enjoyed our little side trip.

                                                                                              

                                                                                    

                                           

                                             

Lincoln discovered he loves to swim. Outside. In January. Delightful, I say.

 

We tried to recreate a classic Jones generational photo…

                                                                                         

… and spent lots of quality time with Lincoln’s little cousin.

                                                                                   

We explored a little bit of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix and discovered that Lincoln really loves to hike.

                                        

                                                     

Really, we loved being able to spend so much time outside. Thanks, Senior Joneses for letting us come to visit!

The Curious Case of the Dog in Our Hallway

This week we’ve been dog sitting a Wheaton named Maggie  for some friends. Lincoln has been expressing his pleasure with this new development often (from yelling, “A dog! A dog! A dog!” the moment I brought her in the house to squealing with delight every time Maggie comes out of her crate). Although Jonathan and I are generally not pet people, I’ve also enjoyed spending some time with Maggie. She is, seriously, the best dog I’ve ever met. She doesn’t bark, she comes and cuddles with me on the couch, and she is so gentle with Lincoln when a lesser dog might lose their temper.

                                                    

We had Maggie’s crate a few days before we had her and Lincoln really liked to go sit in it, like his own little fort. When Maggie actually got here, it sometimes became difficult to keep him out of it. I don’t think she was too pleased having an intruder in her home, but Maggie took it all with good grace.

                

It was an interesting experiment, having a returnable dog for a week. I’m a little sad to give her up, but a little relieved too. Having a dog is a lot of work!