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Okay, okay, we admit it -- we may have been a hair slow to update the blog lately. That's because we've been really making the most of this whole "maternity leave" thing, but rest assured that we've been taking the requisite photos to prove it! Here's a brief rundown....
One fantastic outing was over to the annual
Rock for the River concert - without a doubt one of the best events of the summer. Suffice it to say the quality of the music is top notch, and equaled only by the heaps of grassroots river lovin' that hangs in the air throughout the evening. Kudos to everyone involved - including the babysitters who made it possible for us to sneak across the river to the concert!
(I'm listening to Joe Purdy, Garrison Starr, and Joey Ryan as I type this, all of whom are veterans of the river. I bet at least one of them is headed to town near you soon... We can heartily recommend you check them out if you're looking for some good times and great tunes. Same goes for Chris Pierce, Chris Seefried, Amber Rubarth, Eliza Moore, Matt DelVecchio, Adam Christgau, and of course the good Jay Nash who organizes the event each year. Take our word for it, WOW.)
Of course there was plenty of boat time involved. Actually - the past couple days have been dreadfully hot, so it's been all about the boat and repeated leaps into the river in order to maintain a reasonable body temperature. This means that Zoe got to wear another life jacket - this time a snazzy red and black ordeal that only coincidentally (I think) matches Cara's suit/dress. And then it was time to get in the drink:
There goes Cara, fearlessly jumping off the boat in order to save an errant fender. Do note the similarly fearless puppy watching. He does not take such aquatic endeavors lightly...
Rut row raggy... Rocco's on the case! Believe it or not, Cara cannot walk on water, despite her best efforts here.
Splish splash, she's in the bath! And Rocco's hurtling through mid-air with apparent reckless abandon! We're well aware that he can jump darn near five feet vertically, but when it comes to horizontal leaps, we may well be talking double digits... Particularly when there's a Cara to be saved!
Funny thing is, Cara generally doesn't need saving when she's in the water. In fact, she made a tidy living saving
other people from the water for a while... Regardless, Rocco doesn't leave anything to chance, and insists upon saving us each and every time we get wet. Interesting then, that his idea of "saving" us is really more like jumping on us and trying to climb on our head while we're treading water. Not exactly my idea of a good lifeguard.
Zoe kept a keen watch on the helm. Thankfully she's not quite as quick to leap out of the boat as the rest of us. Yet.
Rocco, again on lifeguard duty... This time he didn't even wait until I hit the water before he decided a rescue was necessary. There's nothing quite like coming to the surface face-to-face with your favorite wet dog.
This amused wee Zoe Mae tremendously. She tried to explain the whole wait-for-distress thing to Rocco, but he'd have none of it. Silly dog. At least one of the little ones in our family knows what's up. Chalk up another point for the humans.
Then again, upon firing up the old outboard, Zoe does tend to pass out straightaway. I mean who can blame her? As gorgeous sunny day on the water draws to a close, Zoe knows that she's well protected: She'd kickin' it in a life jacket rated for thrice her weight, Momma's right next to her, Papa's at the wheel, and there's the most hair-triggered lifeguard in the business keeping watch. Perfect time for a nap indeed.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and it's always nice when they come to a beautiful end.
A day without a good sunset is like a pub without beer.
fin.
