"Primo Sangria"

Josh and I bought this print this weekend at an arts fair here in Jackson.  Beyond the style and composition, I liked it immediately because:  (1) It reminded me of our trip to Mexico with Cody and Keri.  (2) The blue pitcher in the center reminded me of a similar one that David and Lynn had in their Pittsburgh apartment.  And we bought it while Matt and Ruthie were here.  So you're all in it!  It's hanging in our kitchen breakfast area.

Happy 1st Birthday, Will!

We had a little party today to celebrate Will's first birthday.

The cupcakes were a success!

Hello from Orange Beach, AL

Josh and I took an early anniversary (eight years!) trip to Orange Beach, AL this weekend.  Benjamin and Will stayed with the Lamars.  (We'll be returning the favor for them in August.  I figure Will counts for two of theirs, so it evens out.)  We had a wonderful time!

What's Cookin' In Pittsburgh

Hi Fam,

It is warmer now, and BBQ Dave made his first dinner on our grill. (We found this grill on freecycle! Such a deal!)

D is officially finished with classes, although there is still some schoolwork to be done. He takes his preliminary exams on May 7 and 8, and there are a couple of papers and his first book- review. He's doing great!
Baby Wright is doing well; she is growing (as am I). I will finish my part-time nanny job in two weeks. The Car Cruise job will pick up after that. D and I are looking forward to summer evenings eating Gyros from one of the vendors and fresh watermelon and strawberry-rhubarb pie from a local farmer near the show.
love y'all--
L and D

First book!

Jackson and I have been working on reading since January, and the other day in the car on the way to Harry's speech appt., he picked up a beginning reader and I encouraged him to read it to me. I was amazed when he actually did it! So to celebrate, we decided to have a "pancakes with whipped cream for dinner" party. He asked, "Can Charlie come?" (Charlie is the 7 yr.-old neighbor that Jackson adores), so we invited the Stokes (Betsy in green, Charlie back right, Chuck and Claire-Ellen front right) to join us:
Jackson w/ "Freddie's Spaghetti" - his first whole book to read!

*After this experience, I do not recommend teaching a 4-yr.-old boy to read! I would have waited until he was 5 (Nov. 10), which I plan to do w/ Harry, but when I got pregnant I realized that it may not happen next year in my sleep-deprived, adjusting-to-three state, so I went for it. I think it was a lot harder for him (and me) than it could have been, not b/c of comprehension, but b/c of his wiggly boyishness. We still have about 20 lessons to go in this book (next time I think I'll try this one to compare), and of course he's still very much a beginning reader. But we think he's pretty amazing!

Enchanted Rock

I've been meaning to post some pictures of our Enchanted Rock trip for Sarah. . . we went over a month ago w/ friends John and Mary Puryear (kids Theresa and Gus). Enchanted Rock is a huge piece of granite. It made for a great day trip - breakfast at a local bakery in Fredricksburg, then climbing the rock, then a late lunch and ice cream in Fredricksburg. I recommend it for all Austinites!

Jackson hiding from the wind when we made it to the top, where it was the worst: