Gramma Paula Came, She Saw, and She Suggested :)

It's always really fun to have grandparents come to visit. The kids love it, Andrew and I love it, it all a win. It makes it even that much harder to live so far away, but visits are all the much more important. Ella is starting to realize more what saying goodbye is all about, so it's getting rough to see family come and go, but it's life right now and we all have to learn sometime. My mom had a fun time with the kids and we were glad to have her here. The unfortunate part was that her own mom had passed away 2 days before she came to see us, so there were still a lot of loose ends and even more emotional adjustments looming. I'm so glad she came though and I will miss my own Grandma Jane when I visit Alaska this summer.

Porch Time!

Sewing the quilt we all helped make Andrew for his birthday. A few days after it was made, Ella says to Andrew, "Hey Daddy, Grandma made you a quilt for your birthday, it's a surprise hiding in the cabinet." Andrew asked her, "Are you supposed to be telling me this?" We could only laugh.

John was starting to warm up to Gramma.

Ella in the back with the roses.

Before taking my mom to the airport, we went to Olive Garden. It was that very outing that John decided he was going to test his squealing muscles! I was shocked and frustrated all at the same time, then Peter put a breadstick on his finger and waved it around. We had a good laugh and left the rest of the patrons to eat in peace.

We bought a loaf of bread and taught the kids how to dip it in olive oil. This was their special lunch of bread, grapes and cheese. It seemed very uppity to me seeing them eat these little entree's.

The Lewisburg parade was not something we planned on going to, but it was happening when we went to look at a rug, so we stopped to enjoy. The kids always think they are so loud and spend what ever time they aren't chasing flying candy, covering their ears.

Ella is painting Gramma's toes.

John and Andrew had been out for too long I guess.

Saying farewell to our friends, the Smits.

My mom walked all over Danville while she was here.

What a handsome little munchkin.

The first time I've worn a dress since John was born. It was for another farewell picnic of the chief residents in Andrew's program. There are a lot of "farewells" around here when you live in a place that has revolving residents.

Free ice cream at Friendly's!

Black Raspberries

Andrew goes hunting up at the property of one of his attending doctors and thought it would be fun to go pick black raspberries. They are similar to regular ones in taste, but smaller and darker. He thought they would be out in full force since he'd seen so many bushes on his last trip out there. We loaded up Peter and Ella (John stayed with Gramma), grabbed containers and headed out. It was a pretty amusing time. We walked up the road to a wide grass covered path and started up the hill. Peter was the straggler, as always, doddling along while I got eaten by gnats. I asked Andrew if we were almost to the spot (I wasn't seeing any stinkin' berries). He replies, "I thought you were from Alaska! This is the woods and the bugs aren't that bad." OK. #1. Yes, I am from Alaska, but that DOES NOT mean that I love the woods or the bugs. I like berries, so what, I could get those at the store! And yes, the bugs were terrible. There was even a deer who about made me pee my pants when it went bounding through the brush like a small bear. (I HATE BEARS).

#2. I thought a little walk would be fun, but with 2 toddlers, a hike up the side of a steep hill is a whole different story.

#3. There were no berries up there. The little one you see in the container was the sole one that made it back down that stupid hill.

So, we get back down to where we are parked and lo and behold, there are bushes all around the parking lot full of berries!! I helped pick, the kids helped eat, and we made it home with a few to spare the neighbor who Andrew had promised berries to. Next year, I pick the location we hunt for black raspberries. Fun memories.

Dress Up

I love dressing the kids up and trying new things with my camera. Today I took them out in the back alley by our garage and snapped a few pictures. The one of Peter in the hat is my new fav of him. Our neighbor saw me taking pictures and gave Ella some roses from her garden to hold. It was a fun few minutes before dolling out much deserved lollipops.

Washington DC

On June 6, we went to pick my mom up from the airport in DC. We had a fun night there walking around in Georgetown, eating Thai Food, just getting away for the weekend. I was usually walking behind Andrew and I could not help but stare at the chubby little legs dangling from the backpack, crossed so perfectly in front of me. John has great legs! We saw the monuments from afar. Walking with 3 little kids in the heat is not all that much fun. We will do this trip again before leaving the East Coast for sure so we can see more things and the kids may actually care about some of them :). I loved all the colorful apartments and houses in the area. We got to do some shopping and we found a Trader Joes there too! I stocked up on some organic munchies for the road and we headed back home the next day. It's nice to get away and I hope we can do it more after this summer busyness is over! We were all also very excited to spend the next 3 weeks with Gramma Paula!

Big Gap Blogger

Alas, here we go again, another big long gap in blogging. Life has been busy, but full and here are some picture updates and stories. These were taken back in May after Mother's Day and since then lots has happened, but I will let the picture captions tell all.

June 5 was free ice cream day at Friendly's. We like to go there as a family, but eating out is such a chore these days, so free ice cream day outside is a much better option. Fire trucks and radio stations were there to celebrate 75 years of business. Yes, it's a small town and this was a big deal :)

June 5 was also the day we were supposed to be in Cape Cod for a wedding, but with change of plans we went to the resident farewell bbq. At least I finally got to wear a dress. This is my friend Elissa. She has 2 boys, and her husband Andrew, and my husband Andrew are both in Ortho here. We spend a lot of time with their family.

Our dear friends who came to our Monday night bible study left in May for Russia for 2 years to learn the language and eventually do missions in Siberia. We miss them and their sweet little girl!

John is having lots of tummy time and reaching for toys. He's 7 months in this picture.

Video chat with Aunt Jenna.

Three little monkeys.

My neighbor has a great clothesline. It's funny how cool I think this is as my drier spins out of control during the week, but with 3 kids, no one wants all those clothes hanging across the yard adding to the mayhem that is...the backyard.

This is the same neighbor's window to their shed. I love old stuff and it makes great black and white pictures.