Walks and Icecream

We have spent lots of time taking walks and eating ice-cream this summer.  Above, my side of the family took an evening stroll along the boardwalk, fed some ducks, and cooled off with . . .

ice-cream!!!

Sophie hitched a ride on Daddy while we walked to dinner . . .

Then completed the meal with . . . ice-cream!

Pictures I Stole from Aunt Jen's Blog

I stole these pictures from Auntie Jen's blog.  Above is the annual picture of us with Kent's family, and below, Madeline volunteered to be a target for some water balloon throwing.

Above, we have Kent cannon-balling into Auntie Dawn's pool, and below, the three musketeers slow down enough for a picture.

Hanging out at the beach pictures.

The National Zoo

We spent a day at the National Zoo.  I was on a mission to see some pandas!  There are less than 2000 left in the world, and did you know, they only ovulate once a year?  Very interesting stuff. 


We met up with Jessie's best friend Kim and her son Bryce rounding out our group to 6 kids ages 5 and under.  It was a great day without a single nap or a single meltdown.  Well, no naps at the zoo, but lots of napping on the way home.

The weather was great, in the high seventies and overcast. It was warm enough for the kids to enjoy  drenching themselves in this spray just before we made our exit.

Like I mentioned before, lots-o-napping on the way home.  Who knew you could use baby wipes as a pillow?  Good thinking, Aunt Jessie!

Pools and Picnics

Our cousins, aunts, and uncles on my side of the family have arrived!  Aunt Jessie, Adam and Emmet are here from Montana, and Uncle Josh, Jenn, Dagney and Paige are here from New Jersey.  It is a full house!  Full of kids, love, laughter, noise, and activity.  

Everyone loves the pool.  In the picture above, Madeline was finally able to coax Sophie out into the water with her.  What's great is now I don't have to get in with the kids and get to relax at the water's edge or (gasp) lounge in a pool chair!  

Madeline is almost 6 and the oldest, Sophie, Emmet, and Dagney are 2, and little Paige is the youngest in the bunch, that is until October when Sawyer and Baby L arrive!  Next year, we'll need something larger than Grandma's condo to corral us all in.

The infamous red watering can that I heard so much about last year is still around . . . and still very much loved by Emmet-pants.

We had a lovely barbecue at Harry's house one evening.  Madeline rode a bike up and down the street, still with training wheels, that's something to work on for next year, and the little ones pushed cars and trucks around.
The picture below cracks me up!  I am not sure what my sweet and loving Sophie is doing . . .    I didn't even realize I took this picture until I scrolled back through them, and caught her, red-handed.  Oops!

Auntie Dawn's House

We spent a day out at Aunt Dawn, Uncle Tim, and Eddy's house in West Virginia. Our cousin Eddy is a lucky girl! Not only does she have her own 18 acres to run around on, she has three dogs, a zip wire, a swing set, and her own pool! We made sure we tried out everything! Even Sophie, who I can't even get on a carousel, willingly rode on the zip wire several times.


Aunt Shirley got all the kids sweet matching outfits for a family picture. The best I could get was four out of five cousins in the shot, but as soon as Aunt Jen gets me a a copy of everyone, I'll be sure and post it here.
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Sophie and Cousin Kyla chillin' poolside. It was a little rainy, but that didn't change our swim plans.

Here's Madeline jumping off the diving board into the deep end of the pool!

Fish Outta Water

Did I mention that Madeline likes to swim??? Every day she works on some kind of new skill, her latest is an under-water-flip-somersault thing. She is a "Fish Outta Water" which also happens to be the name of Chali Tuna's new record, mixed almost entirely by my talented husband.

Monday Play-date

Aunt Jen let my girls and I tag along on her Monday morning play-date. We enjoyed playing at the park, walking through the woods, riding the carousel, and topped off the morning with ice-cream. Sophie was so tired, she went home and took a 3.5 hour nap. Thanks Auntie Jen, Kyla, and Ian! We had so much fun!

Swmmin' in Style

Grandma Shirley got the girls some adorable new clothes, including these cute new bathing suits. Thanks Grandma!

More Cousin Time

The girls love playing with their cousin Eddy. She is almost two already! Will she get a brother or a sister? We'll find out in November when Auntie Dawn's baby is due!

July 4, 2009

We spent our Fourth of July at Kyla and Ian's house where we grilled and set off small fireworks in the yard. We were completely outdone by the neighbors, though, who set off huge illegal fireworks until well after midnight. Madeline loved the fireworks, the other cousins, let's just say, weren't such big fans.  

Patriotic down to her tongue thanks to a blueberry jolly rancher:

Kyla found a caterpillar/bug thing.  I don't remember its official name, but it didn't survive anyway.

July 3, 2009

We spent the third of July at Grandma Connie's house where the town does a fabulous fireworks show over the water. We walked around outside while we waited for the sun to set, then headed to the best seat in the house: Grandma's balcony. The girls loved it, and with no parking or crowds to deal with, I loved it too. All in all, a great way to start off the holiday weekend.