July

The Columbus Zoo had military days through July 4th. That meant that we all got in for free! Hurray! I love the zoo! Here is Josh with the flamingos.

Emily is on an African Safari...Doesn't she look like she knows what she is doing?

I can remember as as child thinking it was so funny to put bunny ears on someone in a picture.
Now Emily thinks it is terribly funny. I don't get it anymore.
I guess I have lost a piece of childhood!

The kids all agree that their favorite part of the zoo was the playground (go figure).
Since we didn't pay to get in, we let them have a ball in the bug themed climbing area.
I watched the older kids while Dave kept an eye on Abby...

Well, not a very attentive eye! I heard some moms laughing at some dad that was sound asleep. Wouldn't you know it was the father of MY children! He and Abby got some good rest in the play area!

Thanks to the Columbus Zoo for a great day!

The kids finished 2 weeks of swim lessons last week. They all had a great time.
This was Joshua's first real lesson, and after he figured out that no one in his class knew how to swim, he did fine. His little voice could be heard across the whole pool, telling his teacher very firmly that he could NOT float on his back because he didn't know how to swim. Later as the class kicked across the pool with kick boards, Josh was tagging along at the end of the group, he called out..."Guys! A little help back here!" And one of his patient teachers came to give him a little push along. At the end of the session he asked when he could come back, so I guess he enjoyed it!

Friday was cow appreciation day at Chick Fil-A. Here is my little herd. We all got a free meal for dressing up like cows! It was a great time!

Of course, I got in on the action, as well! Hey, it is a free meal! At Chick-Fil-A! Love that place!

We spent Saturday at the Boonshoft museum. It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday afternoon, and we all had a good time. Emily is doing a science experiment in the "Do Lab."

Ben has been growing his hair since school let out. He wants to have a more "floppy" look. (His words, not mine.) This is how he went to church today. He got lots of comments on his hair, as you can imagine. It is different from his usual short crop. I can't say much because I let Josh grow his hair out pretty long. Besides, I kind of like Ben with longer hair. I am going to take him in to a salon to have it shaped up a little, though. This is a little crazy!

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!