June

We've had a great month so far! Here are some of the highlights from the last few weeks.

My parents came to visit for a week. We had a "stay-cation" here at our house. We had a lot of fun together.

Mormor and Abby

Morfar and Abby.

Canoeing on the Little Miami River

Wegerzyn Gardens

Dave, Dad, and I did a duathlon on base this week. We ran 2 miles, biked 10, then ran 2 more. Dad and Dave also went on a long bike ride another day.

Emily had her dance recital on Friday. My parents, Dave, and I watched 3 hours of dance to get to Emily's 3 minutes of glory. And let me tell you...it was beautiful! She was graceful and remembered all of her steps! Good job, Em!

Here we are...tired at 10 pm after the recital was over.

Benjamin and his partner on TOAD Day (science fair).

Benjamin's poster presentation. His project explored force and motion. He did a great job explaining how the experiment worked.

Joshua's preschool class went on a field trip to Wegerzyn Park. They loved playing in the water! Here is Josh with his friends Josh and Nate.

Joshua enjoying the waterfall.

Josh and I had such a fun time together!

Here is Abby last week. She can push herself up to stand.

This week she took a few steps. She is growing so big!

Abby is delighted with herself!

We went camping at the Narrows this weekend. Here I am starting out on the mile long walk into camp with Abby.

Everyone else floated down the river to camp with all of our gear.

Unloading the canoe at camp.

Carrying gear to the meadow campsite.

Crossing the little stream on the way to camp.

Eating dinner

The kids always want to roast marshmallows.

Making peach cobbler for the adults

Flashlight art

Canoeing on the Little Miami River

Abby loved being on the water.

We all had a great time!

The best field trip EVER!

Third graders at Parkwood Elementary go on an overnight field trip to the science museum in Columbus (COSI). We were in the museum for almost 24 hours, and it was such a great time!

Here is Ben climbing the intestine wall in "Grossology".

Benjamin and Archna in "Gadgets". Ben and I were teamed up with another boy named Tyler, and we all hung out with Ben's friend Nikash and his mom, Archna.

Ben, Tyler, and Nikash in the Chemistry Lab.

Dance Party at midnight!

We had such a great time! Thanks to the third grade teachers for putting this together for us!

And finally, Ben's first missing tooth!

In April, we celebrated Abby's first birthday. Here she is just before she attacked and ate her ladybug cake. She thought her birthday was great!



The lilacs bloom in April...we have bushes that bloom throughout the entire month, filling our yard with the wonderful scent. I love it so much that I would bring the blooms inside, and our house would smell like lilacs, as well. Benjamin hated the smell, though!

Time out for women in Indianapolis.

Benjamin's field trip to Wartinger Park. They had to dress like pioneers. What do you think? Does he look like Almanzo Wilder?

Ben turned 9 in May. We had a huge birthday party, and went out to dinner to celebrate. Here he is with his boxers from Mormor.

Benjamin lost his first tooth just before his birthday, but I don't have a picture yet. I'd better get on it, because the permanent tooth is almost in! Here is Emily in all her glory. She is a toothless wonder! And she has more that are loose!

Here she is looking a little more natural!

There are no pictures of Josh this month because he has a huge sty on his eye! I guess I should document the sties, but he would be so angry if I tried!

Poppy Snaps

Just a note to let you know about my friend Shelby's etsy shop. She and her sister make really cute stuff. She made some things for me when Abby was born, and I have loved them. Check out her site before Monday (Feb 1) and enter a drawing to win $35 worth of free stuff!

http://www.poppysnaps.blogspot.com/

Sunday Dinner at our House!

We think our kids are great, but trying new foods is not their best thing! Here you see them in their prime!

Abby learned how to crawl today.

For New Years 2010, we traveled to Maryland to visit
the Chesnuts in their new home. We stopped off by our old home
in Silver Spring and saw the DC temple.

Benjamin was this small when we lived here!

We spent one day seeing some sights in DC.
The Capitol...

A holiday train exhibit at the National Arboretum...

The Arboretum...

A beautiful Christmas Tree...

Benjamin helps out at the Air and Space Museum

The aquarium at Baltimore Harbor

This place is amazing! So many sea creatures!

Kathryn and Joey enjoyed the aquarium.

This is one big mouth!

John feeds Andrew some ice cream.

Sarah's family

Benjamin climbs the staircase.

Joseph's Family

Megan's Family

I sure love Andrew!
Thanks for hosting us, Sarah!
We had a great New Year's Celebration!