Caught in the Act

Bridget's favorite new hobby: Body Art.

Beach Birthday

We had a beach birthday party for Andrew yesterday. We played games and had cake inside. Then we headed out for some fun in the sun. Fortunately the weather cooperated. It was hot enough for the sprinkler and slip'n'slide, but not so hot that the moms were uncomfortable standing around outside while the kids played.

After the party, we gave Andrew his birthday present because we don't have room in the car to bring it to the Ozarks. He was incredibly excited, as was Laura because she gets his old bike.

Yes, indeed. This is post 3 this week!!!

The kids just finished swimming lessons. They were both very excited to pass their levels. I was just happy to be done with the mosquito-infested pool grounds for a while. One thing that cracked me up about the lessons is that the kids' personalities really showed in how they dressed for class. Every day Andrew got on his swim shorts, his swim shirt, and his goggles. Laura, I think, dressed differently every. single. day. Sometimes she would wear a swimshirt over her swimsuit. Sometimes she would wear her swimshirt under her swimsuit. Sometimes she wouldn't wear the swimshirt at all. Sometimes she wore goggles, and sometimes she didn't. And of course she had to rotate her two swimsuits.

Bridget spent her time trying on Laura's shoes and playing with rocks.
And here are two pictures of our new van. We are very happy with it.

Journal of June 2010

I'm doing a little bit if catch up. :) We had a busy month of June. My college roomate and Andrew's Godmother, Rebecca Niemerg, visited us for about a week at the beginning of June.
Then we headed for El Paso for a college friend's wedding reception followed by a week of VBS with the cousins. They all had a good time.

And I think I wrote in an earlier post that Bridget and Abby are good buds. Well, here are some more pictures to prove it. :) They are so cute together!

After we got back my dad came for a visit. I didn't get any pictures, but we had a very fun weekend with him. We went strawberry picking with him, which was the first time Bridget had a chance to go berry picking (not in a sling). She loved it and came home red from head to tow. We went berry picking again later in the week, and ended up with 26 jars of strawberry jam and I think about 10 gallons of frozen strawberries!

Later that week we went to Chicago. Again, no pictures, but we had a great time. We went to the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium, a tour of Soldier Field, the Lincoln Park Zoo, and the American Girl Store.

That weekend our good friends from Springfield, the Yeagers, came for a visit. We always enjoy visits with them. The kids had a sleepover in the basement, and then we spent Father's Day at the zoo and beach. Andrew and Laura were sad to see the Yeagers go, and we look forward to seeing them next time we head South or they head North.

We finished off June with Drake family camping, which is always a favorite for the kids. I don't have pictures of that either, which tells me that I need to be little better about bringing my camera places. :)

We had a great time and now we're having a nice, relaxing July. Or at least we're having a nice July.

Summer splashing and goodbye Dodge Caravan!

Yesterday we pulled out the play pool for the first time this summer. All of the kids had a great time with it and were outside for hours.

Yesterday was also our last day with our Dodge Caravan. John drove it to work yesterday, and came home with our new Honda Odyssey. The kids are very excited about figuring out the secret compartments and fun features of our new van. Laura is especially excited about the automatic doors and wants to open and close them all the time. I'll post pics of that as soon as we get some. So for now, here is our "goodbye van" picture.

Illinois Weekend

This weekend we made a last minute decision to visit Springfield. A few weeks ago we had to cancel our visit due to sick kids, and we realized in the middle of the week that this weekend would be a great weekend to reschedule. Originally it was going to be a pretty brief trip with us heading to Illinois late Friday, spending Saturday in Springfield, and then heading back home first thing Sunday, but we ended up in central Illinois for the whole weekend!

John decided to take Friday afternoon off work, so we got to Illinois in time for a delicious dinner at Great Grandma and Grandpa Drake's house with lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. It was a beautiful day and the kids and fun playing out in the yard with cousins.

Saturday we went to Washington Park and O'Charley's with Great Grandma and Grandpa Beagles and Uncle David. Then we spent the afternoon at their house playing cards. Laura and Andrew had fun listening to Uncle David read and picking strawberries from Grandma and Grandpa's garden.

In the evening we visited with some good friends from Springfield, the Yeagers. The kids all had a great time together.

Jim and Maureen's family were staying in El Paso this weekend also, so the kids had some fun times with cousin Audrey cousin Abby. As the two night owls, Bridget and Abby had some good bonding time, and Abby is now one of Bridget's current favorite words.

Instead of an early exit Sunday morning, we stayed to help John's brother Carl move into his new home in Bloomington. Andrew and Laura were excited to see cousin Ben and cousin Ella for the first time since Christmas, and we're all happy that they're going to be so much closer now. Laura was a little disappointed that Ella wasn't moving in next door to us.