Summertime!

It has been a busy summer so far. We started off in June with a trip to Washington DC and Pennsylvania. We felt like it was important to go to that part of the country to visit with Andy's great aunt who lives in Pennsylvania. We travelled with Andy's parents. After spending three days with her, we drove down to DC to spend about a week. Several days were spent visiting with family on Andy's dad's side and several days were spent seeing the sights. Andy spent the first eight years of his life there, so it was fun to see the house where he lived and some of his favorite places from childhood. It was a busy, exhausting trip, but a good one. Many of the relatives had never met the kids, and it was fun for the kids to meet their second cousins for the first time. There is so much to see there. It seems like we barely touched the surface, but hopefully the kids got a little taste of some of our country's history. They were all good travelers, but it sure felt good to get home!

We had dinner in Alexandria at a tavern where

George himself used to eat.

The boys with Abe

Aunt Ruth, 94 and still charming everyone she meets

Hot kids in front of the Washington Monument

When we got home, it was almost time for Josiah's 7th birthday! Hard to imagine that he could be seven already! He wanted a big cookie instead of a cake. We had both sets of grandparents over for cookie and ice cream and his cousin Stephen spent the night. The next day, we went to see Night At the Musuem 2, which was especially fun after having just been in DC. Josiah is a great blessing to our family. He has a gentle spirit which endears him to everyone he meets. He shows a lot of spiritual insight and makes all of us laugh. 

July 2nd, just one week later, was Caleb's 9th birthday. I guess as a mom it is always surprising how fast the years are ticking by. I found myself thinking that our time of parenting Caleb is now half over! (At least in the formal sense of him being a child in our home.) For his Birthday, we took cupcakes to a huge park and met some friends for a little party. We played a couple of games and let the kids run around a lot. They had a great time. We also tried to make a cake to have with the grandparents in the evening. But it was a complete flop, so we ran to the bakery and grabbed a beautiful and far more delicious cake than I could have ever made. It is handy to have the best bakery in town less than a mile from our house! (Even better that the owner is a friend from church). Caleb is quickly becoming a young man. He shows initiative and leadership with his neighborhood friends. He is concerned with doing the right thing. He is creative (quite a lego designer) and kind. 

What a blessing these boys are to our family!

We have also been taking swimming lessons, trying not to forget everything we've learned in school, playing with cousins, and generally enjoying a beautiful Colorado summer.

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

Caleb and birthday friends at the park

Happy Birthday, Josiah!