Another Summer, Some More Itching...

For those of you with really excellent capacity for recollection, you will recall that last summer, all but one of us was plagued with an itchy case of the chicken pox. Well, this summer has been a lot more fun -- but not without its itches and scratches. While on an annual canoe trip, the intrepid Tobin stepped on a nest of yellow jackets. The enraged yellow jackets flew up Tobin's swim trunks, causing considerable discomfort. Miles, an innocent bystander, received only two stings from the disturbed nest. Unfortunately, he was stung once over each eye, and almost immediately his eyes began to swell shut. Despite these injuries, the canoe trip was terrific fun. All five of us in one canoe are beginning to sit a little low in the water -- we may have to have two canoes next year!

Muratore boys form swim team

Chris,Toby and Miles Muratore learned to swim this summer. They were partially inspired by their parents' promise to present them with the largest and most delicious ice cream sundae offered by their local ice cream shop upon swimming the length of the pool under their own power. It was a pleasant challenge for them as the summer was particularly hot, which made the city pool even more appealing. Toby invented a new stroke called "the crazy man" which makes the feat of swimming across the pool even greater, as he would go forward only a little more than he would go back, resulting in his swimming the equivalent of 1.85 times the length of the pool each time. They are now hooked on frequent trips to the pool which we have found to be a great way to spend the summer.