Escapes and Pleasures

Hello. I've been away in Montana running down facts and dodging Grizzly Bears. Look here where I'm armed with some serious anti-Grizzly attack pepper spray! Those bears were lucky they didn't come within twenty feet of me.


Meanwhile, Ella incredibly held down the fort in my absence; soon as I got back, it seemed that we might be right at the end of the summer, so we rushed off to Oaks Park. The carrousel has been repainted and spruced up and that makes Ida happy!


How happy? Real happy.

Meanwhile, Miki liked to ride this dog. She can say "Ida Bida," "Mama," "Daaay" (daddy) and many other words; she is a very sharp character.

The ride operator at this rocket plane ride was quite impressed at how Ida exuberantly shouted "10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, Blast-Off!"

Miki liked this stork better than the dog. She really likes birds.
The only problem with this stork was that Miki kept trying to climb around and grab his bill. Mostly she had to be held against the stork's neck so she could grab and kiss his face and bill.

No Explanation Possible or Necessary (two posts in one day, haters; too much love to deny, here)

The Name of the blog is Ida Akiko!

Ida's here to take back her blog, utilizing her new haircut!



Meanwhile Baby Matthew has continued to lose hair; no haircut, though.



Ida has been very good lately about bossing Miki around. Behold:

Miki says:

Chill out, haters!



We really appreciate your consternation, as a demonstration of affection.



We've been very busy, but will get



on it.

Adventures of Miki at Tumbleweeds

Don't you wish you could eat lunch at Tumbleweeds?


You can't. But Miki does, and it powers her through these various adventures:

Yet More Outtakes

Why would anyone take them out?



Many people were uncomfortable at the sight of these young people making out on the beach.


Scound!


"Oh, hey, hi, heh-heh, don't ice me, bro."

Outtakes: Various Films

(This film, taken by the "Cheese-Gram" camera, was not silent before I uploaded it; here's what's happening: I'm talking about the glory of cows, the many steps it takes to make cheese--gesturing toward cheesemakers--and also explaining that Ida is unhappy and hungry and says she doesn't want to eat any cheese. She got some pancakes in the cafe downstairs.)

Long-awaited Beach Vacation

I can't even tell you where we went, except that our girls love sand.

The water out there in these lands and waters is extremely frigid and so many folks resort to wearing neoprene socks and the like...

...only the rare hardy soul is able to ride these waves "bareback." (A while back one person was ridiculed for wearing underwear in a swimming environment; here on the beach the tables were turned but only low murmurs of appreciation were heard from passersby.)

Miki did a lot of very precise digging,

and also worked on some of her living skills:

You may have glimpsed a familiar figure in an earlier photo, and then recognized Maggie's voice in that fine film. Yes, Maggie VINING and the Bradfords came! Heightening the situation straight into PG-13:

Putting that matrimonial moment in motion (I would never say "licking like a camel" because that's gross and suggestive) caused Arthur to spill his beverage, a terrible "party foul," for which he leapt quickly and lapped the remnants from the sand. More on Arthur in a second:

Theo is very nice. She didn't poop on the floor until the next day.

Elsie is growing out her bangs. She's louder than Ella's ears can stand, sometimes.

Cousins, #1!

Many are now familiar with GrandKathy's "Ode to the Atlantic"; here, her son responds in kind: