The New York Roundup

What follows are some random tidbits from the Long Island portion of our trip to New York. Anyone looking at the whole of my pics might guess I spent the entirety of those four days following my nephew, The Lukester, around.
Hey, can I help it if the kid is incredibly photogenic?

Coverage of other events is spotty at best. My apologies to anyone or anything under represented. Clearly when I reach the pinnacle of my blogging career and am wealthy enough to merit an entourage, I will need to include a photographer in my posse.

But for the time being, please accept these bits and bobs.
Momma and an autumnal Aunt Jackie. Ooooh - I just want to squeeze them both!!
Love you ladies to bits!!!
Daddy-O and his not so mini-me.
A visit to 106 (the ol' homestead) resulted in a few pics and at least five movies of Eileen and Maryanne "exercising" in the kitchen. They are utterly hilarious, especially with the rest of us sisters cackling around them. They are not, however, very flattering for anyone caught on film so I decline to post them and give you the ever handsome Charlie and Thomas instead.
Unfortunately sister Maggie had to work that night, but she left just about every one of us a note. Those that don't know Magpie very well don't know that she is overly fond of notes. She even leaves little notes for herself scattered about the house and car. I giggle to think what her desk looks like at work.

"What's with the names in plastic sleeves?" you ask. Have patience Grasshopper, all will be explained.
Another Maggie gem. You gotta love this girl. Personally, I couldn't adore her more. I may even write her a poem one day (that's if I ever take up poetry.)
A sampling of my mother's ingenuity and highly organized nature.

Years ago she made each of her children a card. Sleeved in plastic, made to last. We called them simply "names." In addition to being handy for communicating in a large family, they were used primarily for keeping track of who was home and who was out late at night. Before going to bed, Mom would put the "names" of any family member living at home but not presently at home on the kitchen counter. When you came home you put your name back in the slotted mail rack she kept them in. The last person home at night knew they were last because their name was the only one on the counter, and that's how they knew to bolt the door and turn the last of the lights out. (This practice also worked against us kids when wielded as a disciplinary tool in curfew management.)

Tell me that woman wasn't a genius!!

You may have noticed that Maggie "The Note" Haltigan has created an additional plastic sleeve to indicate the status of morning coffee. Another genius!! Surely this is a classic case of Apple not falling far from the Tree.
Two of my beloved nephews, Luke and Michael, heads together, earnestly working on tackling and defeating this video device. Boys!!

The littlest boy in the family, Jake!! No video games for this fella just yet. He does take a fine self portrait thought don't he? (Which is more than I will say for myself, am I catching flies or what?)

What's that? You want some more?? Who wouldn't? Look at those eyes! That toothless grin!!
This picture is 100% indicative of Jake's personality. He is an easygoing guy, quick to smile and slow to fuss. I barely heard him cry and was able to make him laugh with very little effort. What a doll!!!
One day I had a brisk and beautiful 4 mile walk on the Long Beach boardwalk with Jake, Collyflower, Eileen, Maryanne and Casey. Sun, surf, sand, gossip and exercise. What a marvelous way to spend a morning. Naturally I didn't take any pictures, so you'll just have to imagine how great it was. After the boardwalk some of us met up with Mike and Luke at an Oceanside institution: Dee's Nursery. I did manage to snap a few shots here, of course, cause my muse Luke was involved. Dee's had a huge setup for fall family fun. Huge bouncy blow up castle, pony rides, petting zoo, story time, face painting...

...scary decorations...
...arts and crafts and much more. It was fun to watch Luke enjoy himself. For the record - this kid LOVES glue.
And me and Maryanne got to do a little gourd shopping to boot.
Nice selection!!

Jake slept through the whole outing at Dee's, but woke up with a smile on his face.
:-)
And here's one last shot of monkey boy Luke, seemed only natural to bookend this entry with his swing-set antics.

-k.