Congrats Grad!

When I was about ten years old, my little sister Alicia was born.  She was like my very own personal (but alive) doll-baby.  I always wanted to be the one to hold her, rock her and feed her a bottle.  When she took her first steps, I'm pretty sure she walked to me first. And to the everlasting chagrine of my mother, she called me "mama" for a short period of time (Mom has spent years trying to get me back for this). 

And now, my little sister is taller than me and all grown up. Congratulations little sister for all your hard work in Highschool and many well wishes for the future!

One Day in Philly

One day, the whole family decided to go to "Philly" to see the sites.  We've done this before.... when I was about 8 years old and several of my siblings did not yet exist.   It was also something my  brother and his wife really wanted to do before they deployed to Japan for the next three years. 

The first stop was Geno's for their famous Philly cheese-steak.  Honestly, as a non-biased human being who appreciates cheese-steak but is not picky, it was an insane rip-off.  The sandwich alone cost nine bucks without fries or a drink.   I coughed up the money for two of those suckers and discovered, it really was not all THAT great.  Ryan did not like his either and tried to feed it to the pigeons when I was not looking.  

On that note, feeling somewhat thirsty, we headed for Independence Hall and the Liberty bell.  We did not see Independence Hall because the tickets were sold out for the day.  But the line for the Liberty Bell was relatively short.

Ryan did not really care about the Liberty bell.

We saw a few more things but by that time people were hot, thirsty, tired, and beginning to look angry. 

 On our way out, we did catch some reenactors reading the Declaration of Independence.

Ryan thought the guy with the funny clothes and sword was very impressive and he hung on very word that man spoke.  

Then we all went to Dairy Queen to revive sagging spirits.

Hatching turtles

 Ryan's Grandpa "Turtle," as hin the calls him, happens to be crazy about...well, turtles.  He has a whole room devoted to his turtles and a self-made pond in the backyard which also houses turtles.  He hibernates some of his turtles in the winter, and all but one made it this year.   This year, he had a special treat for Ryan. Several of his turtles had laid some viable eggs.  During our visit, they were beginning to hatch. 

 So Ryan got to watch as they poked out of their shells.

And finally, broke through! They were so tiny.  Ryan was very impressed!  He wanted to hold it, but we told him he better wait a little while.

A Very Hungry First Birthday

Wow! How time flies!  Dylan celebrated his FIRST birthday this month!  My happy sunshine baby has grown so much this year and we are blessed to have him in our lives.  To celebrate this past year, we threw him a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" party.

My birthday boy has a VERY healthy appetite.  There is nothing he won't eat.

He is walking relatively well now and is almost ready for his first pair of shoes.   At his party, Dylan really enjoyed sitting in his birthday rocking chair and playing SO BIG!

We also did a bug hunt for the older kids (Ryan and his cousin Noah).  They enjoyed finding the bugs we had buried in the dirt and hidden in the trees with their  giant magnifying glasses and bug jars (from the dollar store).   Josh of course nerded out by lighting blueberries on fire using the magnifying glass and soon everyone was doing it....even my Mom.

Then we did cake and smash cake (yes, I made both myself and was pleased with how it turned out).

After we cleaned the birthday boy up, we opened presents.

His favorite was a lamb from his Aunt Havilah. 

Happy Birthday little Dylan!!

Slip N Slide!

Time for some Slip N Slide fun!  Aunt Amanda got this little beauty at a garage sale for two bucks.  It has provided hours of cool summer fun for these two little guys.....and Aunt Larissa.

Dylan remained suspicious and concerned. 

He was curious.  So he would cautiously, slowly crawl close.  But then he would stop.

Aunt Larissa wheedled and called him with cheery smiles and convincing words.

And he finally got brave enough to touch it.....right as Ryan plopped down sending a shower of cold water all over him.  That was that.  He booked a hasty retreat, fussing, back to the porch and refused to get near the slide again. 

Please Touch....Again

One of the special activities we get to do when we visit my family, is that we get to go to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.  This is because my mother purchased a family membership last year, so six of us can get in free. 

The kids always love it and have a blast.  This year, fun was again had by all.  Ryan and Noah really enjoyed playing with each other and I think I left a little more insightful about their future, loosely speaking.

I discovered that being a physician may not be in Ryan's future.  He also may not feel warm and fuzzy about babies.

His cousin Noah on the other hand spent a lot of time in the "hospital" and was very thorough and gentle with his patients. 

However, Ryan really enjoyed serving and cooking food at McDonalds.  He even added sound effects when preparing my drink and got my order right the first time.  He was also speedy and friendly, just the kindof face McDonalds would love to have at their establishment! 

Loosely speaking of course.  They both have plenty of time to decide what they want to be when they grow up!

On the Farm

Havilah and I decided to take the kids to the farm this week to pick some fresh produce and enjoy the experience of a hayride as well.  We picked....

CHERRIES.

STRAWBERRIES:

and last but not least, Sugar Snap Peas:

At the end of the day we ended up with a box full of delicious fresh fruit and vegetables.