First day of school...a bit belated

Ellie and Austin have had a great start to third and first grade.  Austin's teacher is a UD Flyer, so gotta love that!  Here's their picture on the morning of the first day of school:

The beach - 2012

We also enjoyed four days at the beach on our summer vacation.  We had a great time again in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  This year we brought Ellie and Austin's cousin, MacKenzie, with us.  It was fun showing her around our vacation spot.  She was also a great help with the kids!  

Enjoy our pictures!

DC

On the first leg of our summer vacation, we spent a day in Washington D.C.  It was hot and there was a lot of walking, but all in all it turned out to be a fun day.  There is just so much to see in D.C. that we could probably spend many more days there and still not see it all.  We chose a few sights that the kids would enjoy...


We rode the Metro into the city:

The Smithsonian Natural History Museum:

A giant snake poster at the Natural History Museum:

The White House:

If you look closely here, you see a helicopter.  As we were approaching the White House, we heard a helicopter.  Before we knew it the helicopter below rose above the trees and left the White House.  It said "United States of America" on it (President Obama?).  Closely following this helicopter, were two other helicopters (Secret Service?).  I am pretty sure the helicopter had President Obama in it!  At least that is what I'd like to believe.

Washington Monument:

Lincoln Memorial:

Ellie and her first American Girl doll (Julie) and her newest American Girl doll (McKenna) purchased at a Washington D.C. shopping mall on our trip:

It has been awhile...and lots of happenings here at our house

I never wanted to have to start a post by saying..."it's been awhile", but here I am saying it.  I think of blogging often, but have just not taken the time to do it.

I can't document all we've done in the last month or two, but here's a few pictures to enjoy, in no particular order:

There was some fishing...

some kayaking...

a piano recital...

a weekend get-away with the Miller family in Indiana...

a Churchill Downs weekend with the Browning family...

raising butterflies...

making home made Cheez-Its...

new glasses for Ellie...

and last but not least, there was some hula hooping...

It's been a fun summer!

Memorial Day 2012

John and I took the kids to a local state park for a hike on Memorial Day.  Austin LOVED it.  I think he talked the entire time...he liked the waterfalls, the trees, the bugs, the creek, etc etc.  Ellie did REALLY well...for Ellie.  She didn't complain until we were 1/2 way done.  That is pretty good for her.  All in all it was a nice day.

A great day for a hike and a great day for an ice cream treat on the way home.

Austin's first tie

So, Austin, and the rest of us, were going to attend Jordan's wedding.  This is Austin's first cousin to get married.  I assume there will be lots more weddings to attend, since Austin has 11 other cousins!  But, this was the first time that I thought that Austin was old enough to actually wear a tie to an event.

Austin was pretty excited about a tie.  He wanted a "clip-on" tie because a friend of his had one.  I bought a clip-on tie and a zip-up tie (if anyone has seen one of those).  Well, they weren't quite right, so I went ahead and bought a "real" tie.  Lucky for me, Austin was okay with the real tie.

John and Austin got ready together.  Super cute to see them!  Austin seemed pretty proud of his tie and as a brave little guy on a 93 degree Saturday, he wore that tie until half way through the reception when 2 of his other cousins went to play Frisbee with him outside.  At that  point he took it off.  Talk about a hot, sweaty day!

My little boy is all grown up!

Ellie's Art Show

I have so many things to update!  (John and I have been busy watching Downton Abbey in the evenings - which has been keeping me AND the computer busy so my blog posts have been lacking).  Hopefully, I'll make up for one or two postings tonight, before we watch the next episode...

Ellie had her Art Show at school the other day.  They did a great job with lots of art exhibits, videos, docents explaining how the art was created and a mosaic in progress that everyone could add to.  It was fun to see what Ellie and her friends have made in art this year and then we enjoyed a treat at McDonald's on the way home.  Enjoy the pictures!