V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!!

It felt soooo good to get away. It wasn't for very long, but boy did it feel good. Brian took Friday and Monday off, so we drove up to Vermont last Thursday evening and stayed in Burlington with our very good friends Grant and Rachel. We were able to see their new house and they took us to Shelburne Farms where Abby got to milk a cow and hold a chicken.






































































































Grant just chillin' with a chicken.






















Rachel just chillin' with a baby.

















































































The two Rachels. College roomies, art buddies and sisters in Christ.





































The next stop on our trip was an hour north of Grant and Rachel's home, almost in Canada. We met our friends Bryn and Kirsten along with their children Cai (Abby's close friend) and Kea at Kirsten's parent's lake cottage. We had such blast swinging on the hammock/swing, boating/tubing, playing games, going for walks, taking pictures, making yummy food, lounging by the water, watching movies, and just relaxing with a glass of wine or cup of tea. It was so nice and peaceful, exactly what we needed. We arrived to a gorgeous sunset.

































































































Going for a boat ride.





































Leah not so sure of her life jacket.












































































































Yummy smores!












































Brian's stary night picture.















Day two on the boat. The weather really warmed up, so we were ready to get in the water.















Abby enjoyed the ride much better when her Daddy was there with her.






























Kea not so sure.















The lake water was chilly. Luckily they had "Da-Da" to warm them up!












































Trying to cheer Leah up. She wasn't too crazy about wearing the life jacket.






















We ended our trip by going back to see Grant and Rachel and visit their fairly new church, Dwell. We really enjoyed the service and getting a glimpse of what God has been doing in their lives. We just love them so much!

bunny and bath time

I came home from and appointment and found Abby wearing this. She found Leah's shorts and put them on, was wearing heels and sunglasses. Megan, our awesome babysitter, found the bunny ears in the toy box and we had some fun taking pictures. Only when you're three!












































It's about time I had a picture with my children and me. I forced the camera in Brian's hands and made him crack a few shots. Leah loves the water. She is such an agreeable baby. She loves dogs too. She is so interested in them and is all smiles when she sees one. I can't even put her on the floor when Joey is around. She books it over to him and wants to pull his fur and put it in her mouth.

Time for an update

What a great summer it's been. The weather has been incredibly beautiful. There have been a few weeks of unbearable heat and humidity, but I have been loving all the sunny days. We have spent a lot of time in the pool, at the park, library craft hour, and hanging out with friends. The girls are both at such a great stage/age in life. For the most part they are easy going and float from one thing to the next. I am trying to enjoy every moment I have with Abby. She starts pre-school in the fall and I know that will bring a more committed schedule. Here are some pictures from a recent photo shoot we did with Tim, Jess and Mikey. We were photographing just their family, but our free babysitter, May-May, is out of town, so we brought the girls along.

Milestones

Well this post comes a few weeks late, but Leah is officially on the move these days. Here's some video clips we shot a couple of weeks ago as she began to get her crawling legs.
Also this afternoon we got video footage of Abby's first endeavors to swim on her own. She has really come a long way considering that all she has had was 3 "baby" swimming lessons. She was signed up for swim lessons at the end of the winter, but had strep throat and a double ear infection twice during the 8 weeks of classes. Needless to say, she missed 5 classes. I've been trying to get her back in a class, but she just might get this swimming thing figured out on her own. She is a fearless kid!

Enjoying summer

If you have been keeping us with us on Facebook (mainly Brian), you know by now that we are proud owners of the iPhone 4. We struggled to switch from our trustworthy carrier, Verizon, but knew it would be worth the change with the new phone. I must say, it is a great phone! Even Abby knows how to turn it on and find her way to the folder with all her games. Anyway, all the pictures we have taken of our family lately have been with the iPhone. Here are some pics in no particular order.



















































































Cashed out on the way home from the fair.

















Enjoying the hammock with May-May























Went to Illinois for the 4th of July. This was us on the way to the airport to go home. Grandpa sat between the two car seats!
















At the mall