crane in the 'hood

This morning on our dog walk, we noticed a crew working on a HUGE and very dead sycamore behind a neighbor's house. We stopped to watch and one of the guys told us that a crane would arrive around noon. Thus, by 12:30, we had claimed a prime patch of sidewalk. We did not bring ear protection and Macon needed to go down for his nap at 1:30 (oh, and also, the second limb did some significant swaying and swung into the crape myrtle right in front of us), so we weren't there too long, but we did get to see two very large hunks of tree surgically removed and lowered to the ground. It was pretty amazing. 

Also amazing: Jed is still sporting swimming attire. 

Bonus: skid steer and chipper! 

A guy is actually attached to the crane's hook. 

Now he has detached himself from the crane, he's attached the limb to the crane, and he's cutting the limb. 

The crane is lifting the limb over the owner's house. They stayed inside.
I guess ignorance of what's hanging in midair above your house is bliss. 

The first big limb makes it to the street. 

first sentence

Recently, Macon has picked up a hand-full of new words with "elbow" and "cup" among them. His repertoire now includes Yed (Jed), Dad-din (Daddy), Mama (only rarely used), Grand-mom (a remarkably clear version of Grandma), light, hot, hat, doah (dog), yet (which seems to mean out, as in outside), yum-yum-yum to indicate a desire to eat, o-bow (ball or balloon), plus a few others.

Yesterday, he added "bo-bo" accompanied by a wave of the hand, so last night, as he crawled up the stairs to bed, he stopped, looked through the balusters down to Winston, waved and said "bo-bo, in-in," which translates to "bye-bye, Winston." Does that count as a sentence? In Maconspeak, yes, it does.

at the beach with Grandma and Grandpa

The action continued after Grandma and Grandpa's arrival. 

As you look through the following photos, keep an eye on Jed's clothing. In the first round of pictures with Eric, Jed was often wearing swimming trunks and a swim shirt. Please note that this combination does not vary over the course of the week. At least the quantity of laundry we've done today has been pretty limited.

Hello, young alligator! 

Look, Macon! Turtles! Let's get our ninja on! 

The boys listened to the q&a with the diver in the shark tank, 

and Jed boldly asked two very good questions.

tent building on the deck (in regular clothes)

tent destruction on the deck

back to the beach

This was as close as I could get to a group shot. Thanks for working with me, Jed.

Grandma takes Macon to the water.

Back to Manteo to see the Elizabeth II.

raising the anchor

sneaking off with Mama to split a milkshake

Our last visit to the beach was very windy and downright cold, 

but that didn't stop the road-building project.

 On our last night, Grandma and Grandpa took us to dinner at Fisherman's Wharf in Wanchese, where you can watch your dinner come in to the docks.

And finally, on the way home we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. Macon is pant-less and Jed is still wearing swim clothes. The sign of a good trip? I think so. 

at the beach with Daddy

The boys and I spent a week at the beach. We started out with Daddy and on Sunday, he braved heavy rains to come home while Grandma and Grandpa slogged down to stay the rest of the time with us. Given Eric's limited stay, we  tried to pack a lot in, beginning with ice cream on our first night and ending with a climb to the top of Currituck Lighthouse on Sunday morning before he left.

chocolate

Jed's giving the ice cream a thumb's up, which includes a wink. 

Saturday morning, we were on the beach by 8:30.

And Saturday, we flew a kite before bedtime. 

Sunday, we headed north to Corolla. 

Let's go, Macon! 

(Notice that Jed is still wearing swim trunks, a swim shirt, and goggles.)

214 steps later . . . 

 Later on Sunday, however, the rains came and with Daddy gone and Grandma and Grandpa not yet arrived, Macon climbed the walls while Jed discovered a new television delight: The Andy Griffith Show! 

And Macon discovered Jed's lap. 

last beach day

We'll be home tomorrow, so look for a full recap over the weekend.