We made it!

In May of this year, Tim got accepted to the Johnson MBA program at Cornell. Fast forward 3 months and a cross country move to NY and the four of us are settling into our new home in Ithaca. Everyone here is welcoming and Tim is loving the program so far. We couldn't ask for more during these first few weeks of this new adventure.

In front of Sage Hall - the Johnson MBA building on campus.
June and Jo are thrilled that daddy goes to school in a castle.

Opening social on the rooftop of Willard Straight Hall. 

Cornell class of 2035 and 2037.

We can't get enough of beautiful Ithaca! This town and the surrounding areas are full of hikes, waterfalls and lakes. And Ithaca is sprinkled with so many charming, historic New England homes and chapels. It's been so much fun to explore.

Taughannock Falls hike

June spotted some holes in the leaves, courtesy of the very hungry caterpillar.

Taughannock Falls in the background.

The trail follows a river. The girls had a blast exploring and wading through the water. It was hot and humid, so the shirts came off and they jumped right in. 

Each time the girls and I go to the store or run an errand, we discover a new park or garden in town that's not only beautiful, but cleverly and uniquely catered to kids. 

The Children's Garden in Ithaca.

It's free to enter and children are allowed to pick veggies from the garden and munch on them as they play. 

The only way I can convince them to eat carrots.

Summer swim at the Cass Park pool.

One day after a run to the store we stumbled upon Stewart Park.
It sits on the edge of Cayuga Lake and has lots of fun play equipment and beautiful views.

But the girls were most excited about the old-timey carousel we found.

Oh, and the splash pad.

Littered with goose poop.

Jo didn't seem to mind.

And soon enough, June didn't either.

Ice cream night at Purity Ice cream.

Sunday afternoon games.
Look at my girls. playing. together.
It only lasted for all of five minutes, but I needed to document that this moment happened.

The Neighbor's Yard or Bust

This past Friday afternoon, I was inside folding laundry. The slider door was open to the backyard and the girls were running in and out of the house playing. We have a fairly small backyard that wraps around the side and back of our home so I'm easily able to listen to them play in the backyard while getting work done inside. I was watching a show while I folded clean laundry and was trying to enjoy the quiet time to myself while it lasted...when I realized the quiet I was enjoying had probably lasted a little too long. The girls were up to something. I walked outside, first checking the gate to make sure I didn't have any escapees. Then I walked the grassy path that follows our yard to the back of our house and had to smile, a little surprised, a little amused by what I saw.

June had found a fence plank that had come loose at the bottom and middle rung. She had swung it back and was holding it up for Jo, who was straddling the bottom rung, one foot in our yard, one foot in our neighbor's yard. Jo looked ready to make a break for it and start a new life in our neighbor's backyard. And June, the enabler, was coaching her through it while holding the loose plank up in the air.

Of course when I called their names, they panicked. Jo submissively stumbled back into our yard, while June stubbornly shouted protests, clearly not pleased that their escape plan had been thwarted by their mom. As I was nailing the plank back into the rungs, June was wailing. I went back inside to continue folding laundry and once again realized the girls were entirely too quiet. Wanting to make sure there were no other loose planks, I went back outside to find June acting on the same thought. She was scaling the back fence, tugging and looking for points of weakness in each plank.

These girls are 1 and 3 and I think I got a quick glimpse into what my future holds during the upcoming years...

The nutsos