Labor Day at the McDonoughs

Jeff, Jack and I snuck up to Philly at the last minute on Saturday of Labor Day. Happily we missed traffic and the weather was beautiful. Sunny, warm, with little hints of fall in the air. We barbequed, played baseball (The McDonough Boys --Mark and Michael-- beat Dave and Mark 20-17). The kids were great with Jack. Mary Ann and Dave also worked very hard at making us feel better about the foibles of parenting.

This is Michael, sitting with his parents. He's the middle child. He thinks about things.... alot. He is one of those people that you enjoy just listening to, because life just spills off his tongue. He is already a wiz at the piano. Uncle Mark is predicting Philosopher-king.

This is my namesake. He's the youngest and has the heart of a lion. He's a gambler, a fighter, and has a heart the size of Mt. McKinley. He's also a goof when he wants to be. Underestimate him at your own peril.
This is Anna. Apparently, she scored in the highest 2% in the world on some third grade math test. She really likes art and reading, though. She was so sweet with Jack. She is built like Allison Felix and we all hold out hope that she will carry on Jelly Bean Grandpa's legacy.

Jeff is snuffling with Jack. Snuffling involves burying your face into the many folds of Jack's neck and blowing bubbles. He seems to like it...at least that is what we think the peals of laughter indicate. Mary Ann...seen it all before!

We were teaching Mary Ann the classic political picture-taking technique of "down and out." (Lead with your chin...down and out...hides the chin-neck effectively!). She's really quite beautiful.

This is Dave. He is the anchor of the whole place. When you are in Dave's presence, you find yourself thinking "ok, so the world is gonna' be ok."

He bbq'd steaks for us. And made us laugh. And made us think.

We love Dave. And seriously, how many people can say that about their brother-in-law from Brooklyn?

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We had a great time especially in the new guest room. We were treated like kings. Mary Ann was particularly hilarious with her gift basket with all sorts of timely baby-related candy, like Baby Ruths, Peanut Chews, Sugar Babies, etc. She also had this laugh-out-loud hilarious frog puppet that ribbets various tunes like Old McDonald. (I know some of you are thinking I am quite daft, but I am telling you, that frog is genius. Kinda reminds me of the talking/singing frog from the Disney cartoons.)

Dave and Mary Ann, thanks so much for taking such good care of us.