we are family: part deux

later that night my sister and her crew all showed up. they had to come late because monkey #1 had a track meet and he totally got a medal -- granted i think when the track meet is a bunch of 4-5 year olds everyone gets a medal -- but that's because they are all winners. they were very tired as evidenced by daisy's yawn:



i'm with ya' puppy -- i feel like that every night around 9:30. (btw -- this is, like, the perfect dog -- totally quiet and calm, acts like a hoover around the table but doesn't really beg, and is super cute.)

the next morning we got up and went to the river to look for ducks and monkey #2 was excited for the chance to tote his big boy backpack:



this boy has serious love for that backpack -- he didn't go so far as to bathe with it but he did have the backpack next to the bathtub -- his love runs deep.

once we got to the river monkey #1 set about teaching monkey #2 all about feeding ducks:



dadgo summoned us to the bridge and we fed the little floaters from there:





but once that got old the monkeys wanted to experience nature -- mainly monkey #1. we decided that monkey #1 is going to have his own nature show on the discovery channel called "the naked naturalist" -- which i guess is like saying automatic teller machine machine because aren't naturalists nudists? but that's not the kind of naturalist i mean -- i mean the two things he loves the most seem to be being naked and being in nature.

let's play my new favorite game a la where's waldo. . .i call it "spot the monkey":







after relaxing by the river and a quick hike we came home for lunch and an even quicker nap and then headed back out for some fishing! see you think i'm all new york city girl but i'm totes a country girl. i mean look at me:



i'm a fisherwoman! here's dadgo putting a worm on the hook for my sister:



and here's me watching him (warning: not my best picture):



see? totally country.

we all fished:



but only momgo actually caught a trout. go, momgo, go!



here's our fishy:



which was then gutted and cleaned by the lovely woman who owns and runs the trout pond:







the next morning momgo cooked fishy up:





i de-boned it in one fell swoop (see? country!):



and then, much to monkey #1's horror, we ate it:



with eggs and toast. because that is how you eat a trout and oh my goodness it was so so good.

after our hearty breakfast we went for hike numero dos to what was once a waterfall but is now a dribble down a rock thanks to the extreme drought that part of the country is going through:



that rock face use to be covered in rushing water and now it's so dry little daisy can run up like it ain't no thang.

monkey #1 continued to commune with nature:



while rogray and i posed in all of our adorableness (finally! one good picture):



and then we headed back. my sis and her crew headed home leaving momgo, dadgo, rogray and me to eat leftovers and watch a movie. the next day we headed back to nyc feeling refreshed, loved, and full.

oh, and yes, that is a reflective vest rogray is wearing in that last picture -- we didn't want him to be confused for a bear and get shot. if that's not family acceptance i don't know what is.