Elliot grinned as he saw Theo and the kids. Holding out his fist to Riley and Lily in greeting, before his attention turned to Theo. "Hey!" He signed back, relishing in how nice it was to be able to sign with Theo, even if it was just short things here and there. It was a huge step from where they had started. "Awesome! I was hoping so." It was like their own little corner of the beach, somewhere for them all to really enjoy the day. Making his way over to the blankets and Sawyer, making room for what the kids and Theo had brought as well. Letting out a laugh as he saw Sawyer waving hi- her new thing as of late. Waving to everyone she possibly could, no matter where they were at. Reaching into the pocket of his swim trunks for his phone, Elliot swiped over to type, wanting to make it easy for Theo still. At some point this summer, I'm going to have to hit you up to teach me how to surf. Nodding to the board in his friend's hand.

Beach days were some of Theo's favorites. He enjoyed the beach, whether that meant dozing off on a beach chair in the sun, surfing (both with a board and without), or helping his kids build sandcastles, he was all about it. And the perfect way to end a beach day was to build a fire, roast some marshmallows, make some s'mores, and just hang around the bonfire. Having the day off and getting an invite from Elliot, Theo couldn't accept it fast enough. Bringing the kids along, they brought along some toys, including some boogie boards, sandcastle shovels and pails, and of course, Theo's surfboard. Packing a cooler filled with lunch as well as drinks for both the kids and adults, they made their way on down. After parking, they brought their supplies and eyed Elliot, waving to him. The kids ran ahead while Theo carried his surfboard and dragged the cooler behind them. "Hey!" He signed, after putting down the stuff, "this is perfect!"

@theobrowningfd The Swimming Beach June, 2024

If there was one thing that signal the start of summer, it was going to the beach, and having bonfires. It had been a staple when he was growing up and had carried into his adulthood as well. And with them both having some time off, Elliot was thrilled when the kids and Theo agreed to meet him at the beach. Had it been months ago, Elliot would have left Sawyer at home with someone but at almost ten months old, he brought her along. Figuring she could have some fun as well. Not seeing Theo quite yet, Elliot laid out the few blankets he had brought off to the side, away from most people so they would have their own little private part of the beach. Plonking Sawyer down into the middle of them, tossing some toys her way as he put rest of his bags down- filled with everything they would need for their day at the beach and hopefully a bonfire later in the evening.

"Something about the mango one is tempting and I'm honestly not a fan of super fruity drinks." But it seemed like it would be so refreshing, half tempted to just go for it. Knowing he could order another drink if he didn't like it. At Jamie's question, Elliot gave a nod of his head. "There is. For some reason I just always finger spell it but this is the sign for it-" Moving his hands to demonstrate it, signing a few times slow before he signed it at what would be a normal pace for him. Nodding his head in agreement with Jamie. "I get that, especially work. But I've been studying to try and test into medical school." Something that had been a slow going process but Elliot was determined to do it.

“Good question,” Jamie signed with a nod. “There’s never anything wrong with a classic…” he said, pointing to the menu. “Great thing about a margarita is that it can be made fruity and still taste amazing,” he nodded. “Margarita…” he spelled out slowly. “Is there a sign for that?” He asked curiously. “Been busy, yeah, this is my chance to interact with humans outside of work who aren’t my mom or my sisters,” he said with a chuckle.

Elliot replied with a wide and warm grin. If he could help someone learn ASL or even just practice it, he would jump at the chance. That's great! She's also growing way too fast. Currently in the crawling and getting into everything phase. Not that he minded one bit, he loved watching Sawyer grow and learn, to see her little personality come to life. Trying to wrap my head around how she's going to be one in August. It was bitter sweet, knowing she wouldn't be a baby much longer but also excited for the next phase as Sawyer grew. We should get them together one day for a playdate somewhere!

Alice nodded, looking over to read what he had written on his phone and she smiled. "Yeah, I'd love that," she said, signing carefully again with a nod. She figured she could use all the practice she could get. "She's wonderful," Alice smiled warmly. "Growing so fast," she nodded. "How is your little girl?" she grinned widely.

As soon as Elliot saw the opening, he went for it. Prepared to kick the ball out from under his brother and get it between the two trees. To declare victory over Kellan and of course rub it in his face for the next few days. But as he went to kick it, Elliot felt the toe of his shoe snag on something and before he knew it, he was going down, landing right on his back. Also instantly the laughs were falling from his lips, first his fish had gotten away when he had been fishing with Cage, and now he had tripped right at the end against Kellan. Looking up at his brother from where he was, making no effort to get onto his feet, Elliot brought his hands up. "Go on, score the goal. Bring honor upon the family name." He signed, laughing once more as he did so.

Kellan had no retort for that, though he was not even a full year into his forties. Besides, Elliot would reach that point before too long and then Kellan could have the last laugh. He fought the temptation to fake an injury for the dramatics, instead blocking his brother on the way to the trees, just for a moment, but then allowing him an opening. It might have been hubris, but he wanted to give a fun game and a good chance to his brother. "Final stretch."

It's quite the look. Elliot typed back with a small huff of laughter, his eyes going between the other and the dog that was still running around. Letting out another laugh as the dog took off instead of coming over to her owner. I feel like all dogs are trained until you actually need them to be. Giving Lady a pointed look, which she responded with just a tail wag. Elliot Newman by the way, nice to meet you. That's Lady and that one is Hugo. Pointing out each of his dogs before he turned the phone back around towards him.

"Well Cleo's a pretty thing." It was at that moment, possibly at the sound of her name, that she came to an abrupt halt. With her ears up, her white fur windblown, she looked spindly and alarming. "The fur's giving Einstein right now, though. Come here girl!" She play bowed, yipped, and went running toward the other side of the fence. "Obviously, very well-trained as well."

There was no stopping the loud laugh that made its way out of Elliot when he saw that there was a branch on Cage's line and not a fish. He could feel his shoulders shaking from the laugh, that would be their luck. That his would break the line and get away and that Cage would have a branch and not a fish on he end of his. Elliot sat his pole down and reached out a hand to his brother to shake his. "A draw it is. Though I feel like mine might have counted more since it was an actual fish." He teased but really, there was no way to call victory when neither of them had pulled a fish over the side of the boat. "Lets just not mention this part to Kellan." He added after a second, shaking his head as he did so. But despite his fish getting away, it had been an incredible afternoon out fishing with his brother. Something he wanted to do more of since the weather was getting nicer out. "We both deserve a beer after that." He added after a second, plopping back down into his seat on the boat.

"The very best, most amazing one that you have ever had," he signed wide grin stretching across his face. Although Cage was sort of partial to the idea that the Newmans had lucked out when it came to siblings -- he loved all of his brothers and sisters, had always felt supported and nurtured, had been incredibly lucky when it came to his son, watching him grow every day in the care of Kellan, Elliot, Lucie, Ashley and Clementine. And the millions of cousins running around town. And… well, everyone else in his life, too. Pulling his focus back to the task at hand, he narrowed his eyes in concentration, reeling and reeling and reeling, and then he heard the snap and turned his head sharply to look at his brother, watching as the line went slack and the fish swam away. He wanted to laugh, honestly, because it was… really, really funny, and then he looked at Elliot's face, and then his own line, and realized that no one was going to be winning this. Especially not when his own catch got close enough to reveal an old branch, covered in algae and weeds. "Draw?" he asked, turning back to his brother and wrinkling his nose. "Unless my branch counts," he signed, raising his brows at Elliot. At that point, Cage did let himself laugh, because the situation truly was ridiculous. "After all, my branch didn't swim away…"

THE FUN SPOT:

Do you plan on attending pride weekend? What do you most look forward to each year, and what does the event mean to you?

Yes, I'll be at Pride weekend! I identify as Pansexual so Pride has always been special to me. A chance to get out there and celebrate not only myself but my friends who are also part of the LGBTQIA+ community! It's just amazing to get to watch everyone be their true authentic selves.

Elliot furrowed his brow some, trying to catch what was being said to the barista but missing it completely. Instead he did his best to try and shake the entire situation off. Not wanting it to ruin his day entirely. That things like this had happened to him so many times before, that this wouldn't be the first or last that he would find himself in a situation like this. It was simply the reality of his life. As Rafael turned around with the coffees, Elliot gave a nod of thanks as he took his, eyes carefully watching the other man's lips. Now able to see what he was saying with Rafael facing him, making lip reading much easier for Elliot. And at the other's question, Elliot gave an instant nod of his head in agreement. The park would be nice, would get him away from the coffee shop and hopefully with distance, the feeling in the pit of his stomach would fade away. So he gave a nod of his head towards the door, holding it open for Rafael and falling into step next to him, finally taking a sip of his coffee as they started to walk along towards the park.

Rafael understood two things: one, that Elliot deserved to be treated better by the barista, and two, that he probably didn't want there to be a scene surrounding the entire incident. But that didn't mean that he couldn't bring it to her attention, clearing his throat as the coffees were handed to him and explaining to the young woman that the person he had been ordering for was deaf, that the coffee shop was normally very good at accommodating for that, and the manager there more than likely knew that; that in his line of work, he knew that it was a slippery slope to go from a mistake to a legal issue. He didn't wait for a response, instead fitting her with a tight smile before he turned to Elliot, his smile brightening. "Don't worry," he said, knowing Elliot could once again read his lips now that he was facing him, "I think she realized the error of her ways. Want to take these to the park?"

Of all the things his sister could have signed in response, Elliot was not expecting that to be it. "Wait- what?" Stopping in his tracks, reaching out a hand to get his sister to stop as well. Surely had had read that wrong, surely the father of her baby wasn't in town. Unless something had happened that he had missed. Did Lou finally tell him that she was pregnant? Did she get back together with him? There were so many questions he had. "I'm really going to need someone to teach me how to say 'what the fuck'. For reasons like this." Doing his best to keep things light for a moment before he gave a shake of his head. "What's he doing in town? When did this happen? Do I need to kick his ass for you?" Instantly going into protective older brother mode.

"Come on, man!" There was a little hop in her step then. "We'll throw me in a huge life jacket and I won't go over 10 knots." But yeah, she knew they were probably off limits too.It as why she was stooping so low as the suggest illegal activities with her big brother.

She paused for a moment at Elliot's question, eyes narrowing. Had he been talking to Cage? She'd meant to send out a big family announcement, but it'd been a long week. Her more rational mind was in gear now, telling her things like this shouldn't be shot off in a group chat. "You mean, besides Kash showing up in town?"

Elliot gave her a playful roll of his eyes. Even if he knew before hand that he would be sore after horseback riding, he still would have came out and done it. That with starting anything new that was physical there would sure to be some soreness that came with it. That it would simply take his body some time to adjust and hopefully this would become something that him and Livvy could enjoy a lot together. There was no stopping the wide grin that made its way across his face as she signed that he was doing good. Not wanting to be absolutely awful, even if he was just starting to learn. Making sure to keep his balance, Elliot carefully raised a hand so he could sign back to her. "You and Winnie are the pros here, I trust you both. So whatever is totally good with me." Finding it a bit more tricky than he had thought it would be to sign while riding but figured with time, he would get used to it as well. "What made you want to learn how to ride?" Elliot asked after a second. With as long as the two of them had known each other, he always knew that Livvy road horses but never asked much about it. And now that they were together, he found himself wanting to know more and more about her. What made her tick, what else she loved to do, everything that he could get to know about her. Always truly curious what might have lead up to someone picking up hobbies when they were younger that turned into something like it had done for Livvy. Easily keeping his eyes on her, even as he moved his hand back to hold onto the reins. Not feeling quite brave enough to only hold on with one hand.

"I couldn't tell you ahead of time, you never would have gone through with it," she teased, playful smile on her face. Really, though, anyone who jumped on a horse's back was bound to feel a little bit of discomfort, at least for the first little while, but she didn't doubt that Elliot would adjust and feel as though he had been doing it his whole life before too long -- or at least, that was Livvy's goal, if she got him out on the trails often enough. Once she was up in the saddle, situated, and pulling alongside Elliot, she couldn't help but to let out a laugh at his comment about jumping things, shaking her head, "oh no, you need much more practice before we start you out on any jumps!" Besides, Livvy herself hadn't soared over any obstacles in quite a while, getting herself to do that with someone else watching might be a little nerve wracking… even if she knew Elliot would still think she was the best one out there. When he said that he was ready to go, she nodded her head, letting him start off first and beaming when the horse moved forward. "Good!" she signed, nudging Breeze off after them and quickly catching up so that they were side by side as promised, staying along the outside of the paddock fence, headed up towards the woods. "We'll mostly stay in the clear," she explained, moving her hands carefully while keeping her balance, used to the easy rhythm of the mare's walk. "Might go into the woods a bit and we do have to cross a stream, but Winnie is a pro, I promise you won't end up in the water."

"Thank you." Elliot signed as she joined him and the coffee was handed over. He took a sip of it, his eyes on Elise's hands the entire time, it was really nice to have a chance to catch up with her. "I've been really good! And she's doing great- crawling and causing all sorts of baby chaos." Elliot signed with a laugh, though he loved getting to watch Sawyer grow and her little personality come out the older she got. "It really has been busy but in a good way, if that makes sense." Setting his coffee down finally to have both of his hands free. "But how have things been with you?"

Elise came to join him a few minutes later, offering him a smile and his coffee before she sat down beside him. She took a few sips of her own drink before signing to him, having to put the coffee aside for a moment to do so. "How've you been? How's the little one? Feel like spring has been so busy."

As Hugo was busy running around the park, Lady stuck close to Elliot's side, watching as another dog seemed to have a rather impressive case of the zoomies. Grinning as he saw Lady tilt her head to the side with her tail wagging, looking up when he felt someone knock into his arm, eyes instantly going to the other's mouth as he began to speak. Elliot let out a laugh as he reached for his phone. It is and honestly I think it's working. Pretty sure Lady has never sat this still at the dog park in her entire life.

Location: Ruff around the Park Who: @elliot-newman

If there was one thing about a sighthound it was this: prepare for the zoomies. Cleo was currently attempting to break the sound barrier as she flung her body in the in ever tighter spirals. One. Two. Three. And then, like a wind-up toy, she was off. This fast she was only a blur of green cashmere. (Fine green cashmere, bought off etsy he might add.) He laughed softly, knocking the arm of the man beside him before turning to ask. "That your dog she's trying to court?"

It was already great to see a friendly face around town and had been a while since he had last seen Kennedy. Glad to have ran into her here. As he made his way over to her, Elliot was already grabbing for his phone and sliding over to his notes app. Hey stranger! He typed out his greeting, turning it towards Kennedy. Letting out a laugh as Lady and Hugo made their way past at top speed, chasing after one another. Beyond glad he had gotten Hugo, not only had he been a great companion for Elliot but for Lady as well. It's been a while! How have you been?

As they approached the dog park, Kennedy was sure Beau was doing more of the leading than she was. So she tried she keep a steady hand on his leash, nearly dropping it before they stepped into the enclosed area. Grinning slightly, she made sure the dog was somewhat calmer before letting him off his leash. As she took a few steps away, she watched Beau playfully trot along. While she had somewhat of a backyard downtown, she was sure the open space was much preferred by him. Once she'd known he was alright, she looked around for a moment, noticing Elliot. With a wave and a smile in return for his greeting, she walked towards the other to have some company.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Elliot signed back, already making a mental note of paying her back in somewhere. Even if it was something as simple as buying a coffee for Elise the next time they saw each other. "Will do." He added a few seconds later, already looking around, his eyes landing on the few tables outside. Which he promptly made his way towards. Both just needing to be out of the coffee shop and to get outside and enjoy the nice weather that had finally seemed to roll into Merrock. Taking a seat on a bench while he waited for Elise to join him.

"No, I insist," she shook her head, firmly insisting. It wasn't that she didn't believe Elliot was capable because he certainly did, but that she still saw the little boy version of him in her eyes and couldn't let him pay. "Excellent choice, why don't you pick out a table?" She smiled warmly before turning to head to the counter to order for the both of them.

"Now you give me the heads up about being sore tomorrow once I'm already on the horse." Elliot signed back with a grin, shaking his head with amusement, not that he truly minded one bit. Watching with a little bit of amazement as Livvy made her way onto the back of her own horse. Once again making it look almost effortless. Getting to see her in her element, doing something she loved, was incredible to watch. But once Livvy was beside him, his eyes instantly went right back to her hands. Making sure that he got all the information that she was telling him. Watching as she demonstrated everything she was talking about. "And here I was ready to get right into jumping things." He signed back with a grin, even though Elliot full well knew that would most likely never be a thing for him. More than content to just ride along the trails with Livvy whenever he had the chance to do so. And really, starting off nice and slow, especially with something like an animal, was a good place to start. Already picturing more days ahead of the two of them riding horses together on their days off. At Livvy's question, Elliot gave a nod of his head. "Ready." He signed back, gently applying pressure with his legs against Winnie. letting out a rather surprise sound as she did in fact start to move forward. A wide grin on his lips as he glanced over at Livvy- Silently making sure that he was doing things right, that he was off to a good start so far.

Letting out a soft laugh as she watched Elliot adjust his posture and right himself in the saddle, loosening his hold on the reins, she nodded her head, stepping around Winnie to the other side to check the girth, making sure that it was nice and tight so that the saddle wouldn't slip, but not so tight that the horse would be in any pain. So far, so good. "You'll adjust," she signed, offering him a bright smile. "You'll be sore tomorrow, too, but… part of the process," she winked, patting his knee again before stepping around to her own horse, easily sliding her boot into Breeze's stirrup and pushing herself up, swinging her leg over the saddle. It only took her a few moments to get adjusted, make sure that everything was where it needed to be. Picking up her own reins, she made a soft sound with her tongue before tightening her knees, urging her mount to walk up next to Winnie and Elliot, so that he could see her hands. "Give her a little pressure with your legs to get going," she demonstrated with her own legs, and then tugged back very gently on the reins, lifting her hands to sign again, "and gentle pressure on the reins will apply pressure on the mouth, that says stop. We'll keep it to a walk today, and I chose a wide trail, so we can ride side by side," which would make life a lot easier for their first trip out, giving Livvy the chance to keep a good eye on him. "Ready?" she signed, grinning.