Elizabeth Simpson: Photojournalist

Elizabeth took these photos yesterday with a Canon Powershot SD600. She primarily shot on Auto for spontaneity and gaiety. On the first shot, however, she used a slow shutter speed and a tight aperture to capture both the indoor and outdoor light.

Her framing is a bit off but I believe she will be shooting for the Inquirer by age six.

Ain't Nothin' Cuter Than Piglets

Old Gertie is once again a proud mom, though she only had 6 piglets this year. She delivered at least a dozen in '07!

Following Mom around the barnyard

One loud squeal is all it takes to learn

to stay away from the electric fence

Piglet high jinks

Feeding time causes some excitement

There's one in every crowd

Mmmmm, that's good pig chow

Batty, batty, bat!!!!

For all you Sesame Street devotees out there...we had a batty, batty, bat in our house last night!!! Ugh!!!! I went up to bed at 11 pm and after checking on the kids headed into our bathroom. All of a sudden I noticed some shadows moving in the hallway. When I took a closer look I realized it was a bat and screamed - which caused the bat to head toward me in the bathroom. I ran out the door as he flew in. I had the presence of mind (not quite sure how!!!) to slam the door shut behind me. We deliberated quite a while in front of that door about how handle this. I wish I had taken a picture of Pat suited up in his jumpsuit for work at dangerous plants and holding one of our All Clad sauce pans (why couldn't he have grabbed the farberware)!! We weren't quite sure how to get Pat in the bathroom without the bat getting out and I wasn't sure I would be a good second line of defense...so we called the PG Police. When I told them "we have a bat in our bathroom - can you help us with that?" The officer's response was, "Boy, I hate that." Sums it up for us too! So, Officer Owen Duff came over and was a HUGE help. After, more deliberation and Officer Duff suiting up in his fighting gear too... Pat and he finally entered the bathroom. After about 10 mins they found the bat hanging upside down off of my conditioner bottle. Needless to say, the bat is no longer with us (well, he is double bagged in our fridge but no longer of this world). Animal rights for cute furry animals - not bats that come into my house! Today he'll head to Bernardsville Health Department for rabies testing. And, I'll probably never sleep well again!

Summer Travels

Our blog has been a bit... empty. Maybe everyone is taking a break for the summer? Why not post some photos from all the amazing trips I've heard about - Maine, Adirondacks, Vermont, the beach??

Here are some photos from our August trip to Nantucket. Great family vacation spot. On cloudy days we hit the museums and shops; sunny days we biked to the beach (Elliot is now turned on to the boogie board!). And sometimes we just hung out at the house. Nice way to get away from the normal routine.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Future major leaguers

and their popcorn, cracker-jack, nacho eating; beer and coke swilling parents

italian pork sausage fried chicken steak burrito anyone?