First day of school 2013!

Back to school night, 2nd grade!

In our school district "back to school night" is before school actually begins.  This is my opportunity to take pictures in Lilly's classroom and with her teacher.  On the first day of school there is a strict drop at the door policy. On each back to school night I have taken a picture of Lilly under the "2011" stone and then a picture with her teacher.  That's what that collage is all about. Do I need to say "I can't believe how much she has grown??"

Back to school night 2013. My baby is 2nd grade. I REMEMBER 2nd grade very well. Now I HAVE a 2nd grader.

I love my 2nd grader.  She has been so excited for school and is such a happy girl.  Her teacher, Mrs. Long, gave all the kids special sleep glitter to put under their pillows before the first night of school.  She is a great teacher and Lilly is so excited for her school year.

Lilly's BFF from Kindergarten, Jera.

BFF from 1st grade, Daelynn.

Excited to see what new friends she will make this year.

4 months

Lucy turned 4 months on August 14.









She is a sweet, sweet baby.  She can roll over both ways, she can grab onto toys and laughs and smiles at us. At her 4 month check up she weighed 13 lbs and 7 oz. She was also 24.5 inches long.  She is in the 25-26th percentile for weight and height respectively. She is loved and adored by her siblings and her parents.

Beach Day

Beach day - 65 and rainy

We didn't go to just any beach, we went to the island of Chincoteague and Assateague. Have you read Misty of Chincoteague? It's a great story.  I went there as a child and had fond memories of the island and the wild ponies.  It has fascinating history.

Wild Ponies:

Wild ponies zoomed in:

You really need to read about these wild ponies.  They were shipwrecked hundreds of years ago and have adapted to life on the island.  Every year island men gather the ponies and swim them across the small channel and then auction them off.

(Wild ponies in the background above)

There is also a beautiful lighthouse on the island that was under renovations (we couldn't get close).  A memory came back to me as we walked the path to get to the light house.  My family visited the island when I was a teenager and we took my Grandmother Crane with us.  She had never seen the ocean before so she was very excited about the trip.  I remember when we took her to see the lighthouse she lay down on the ground flat on her back to get some good camera angles.  I was mortified as a teenager, I couldn't believe she would lay down on the GROUND in PUBLIC.  Now, I smile at my silly self and admire my grandmother for getting a really great shot of the lighthouse.  Sadly on this trip we were all being eaten alive by mosquito's and nasty green flies so I couldn't lay down to get a decent shot of the lighthouse.

We also "climbed" the high point of Delaware. I raced Jim from the car to the sign so I could be first, I'm mature like that. Then when he asked to take his picture I took the following:

Don't worry, I'm not a brat. I took a nice picture too.

As you can tell he is a good sport, then he had to text his friends about how funny his wife is.

Then we drove 8 hours home in traffic. It was worth it.

The End

Jim's Milky Way and Moon

Jim went camping in one of the darkest places on the east coast.  He used his brother's telescope (and our camera? not sure how this happened) to take these pictures.

Summer Vacation

I went to visit my sister in California and at the tail ends of the trip I was able to visit with both of my parents. At the end of the trip (which is just where I am in my photo editing, which is not in order) we took the kids to the Washington DC temple.  Jim and I were married there 10 years ago.

Not only is it where we were married but it was where our family was sealed together.  This is a very special place for us and we were so happy to take our children there to feel the peace that comes with the temple grounds.

After our visit to the temple we had birthday dinner and birthday cheesecake for Jim at my mom's house, courtesy of Scott.

My mom is a great grandma, she sure does love her babies.

Art Camp

Lilly attended messy art camp this summer, which met for one week M-F from 9-12.

They did all things messy, she even made the shirt she is wearing. Tie-dye!

Lucy is 3 months (or was last month)

Lucy turned 3 months on July 14th.

I am lucky I can even remember to take pictures each month on the same blanket.  Sadly, it's not how I should have done it, my mom even tried to tell me to put her at the top of the blanket but I didn't listen, not sure why. I think it was because I really like the center of the quilt.  Oh well, I hope you enjoy my monthly off centered pictures of Lucy in a different outfit.  You can still see how big she is getting.

I've taken to calling her Blueberry because after we went blueberry picking I realized that her eyes look exactly like a fresh blueberry.  Jack and Lilly are trying to make Lulu her nickname, we'll see what sticks.

Jim was the one who got her to laugh like that for these pictures.

She really is the sweetest baby.  She is so good natured and doesn't really cry very much.  She has rejected the pacifier and takes to her thumb or fist.  I lay her down in her crib and she just falls asleep after a minute or two of fussing.  I know this will jinx my life, but I feel I should record that fact because there is no way I will remember.  She is our angel baby and we all adore her to pieces.

July updates

Here are some updates from my real camera.  In July we went to visit Jim's grandmother who is 97 years old and doing very well for herself.

The children really love Grandma Bea.

She asked us to name the baby Elizabeth, which is why she is named Lucy Elizabeth.

And then my children were adorable...