Friends come to Visit

Before I begin, I must confess that I stole most of these pictures from Liz (stole because I didn't even ask--hope it's OK Liz). Our friends moved away and we have missed them, but I think Oakley missed his friend most of all. They came to visit and it was like they had never left. It was a great time. Hope to see you again soon!
The boys hanging out.

Going to the beach.

A few parting shots.

I think they just might stay friends for a long time despite the miles of separation.

Soccer and Pinewood Derby

Oakley played spring soccer this year (because baseball is too boring). He has a great time on the the 6-7 y.o. team since he didn't turn 8 until the very end. It was kind of nice for him to be one of the more experienced players and he loved it. I think soccer might be here to stay.

This was Oakley's first year in the pinewood derby. He and Bryce worked on the car and Bryce was sure it would not be fast. But, guess what? Oak's car won the whole thing! Go Oakley! (who'd have thought....)

Happy Father's Day

We have one of the best dads around. The kids were so excited to decorate his office at church for Father's Day. We heard the decorations were a big hit for branch council. Here are the pictures for the card we left.

Start of Summer

We started off summer with an outing to see the Trenton Thunder. It is always a fun time. The girls were dancing to the music and the guys were into the game. Everyone ate french fries and lemonade. Everyone was happy until 9 when the girls went home and the guys stayed until the end.

Bryce and I actually had a real date, and it was a lot of fun. We spent the afternoon walking around the beautiful Longwood gardens (if you haven't been, you really should). Then we stayed to see the Indigo Girls in an outdoor concert. They were great and Bryce was a good sport, even though he only knew one of their songs.

June 4--Baptism and Birthday

What a special day! Oakley was baptized at 10am at the church. It was a very nice baptism with family helping with music and talks. Oakley said he felt good when he was confirmed. I can't believe he is so grown up.

Afterward all the family went back to the house for lunch and cake.

Amy Beth helped me with the rock hopper penguin cake (didn't it turn out cute?).
The kids all played on the slip and slide until they popped it. It was a fun afternoon.

Oakley got scriptures from G&G Smith and a carrying case for them and a journal from G&G Harrison.

I love this picture with all the adults pitching in to help and all the kids waiting for cake.

The Harrisons and the Stinsons--so fun to play with cousins.

Memorial Day

We continued our tradition and hiked BaldPate Mountain on Memorial Day. My sister Rochelle went with us and we had a lot of fun. It really is the perfect hike for kids--Tessa and Oakley did the whole things themselves and Hathaways did part of it.

Birthdays and Easter

Whew! We made it through April with birthdays, traveling and Easter. Tessa decided she wanted a pillow pet birthday and a cake that matched her pillow pet. Here is our attempt (I know not the actual size--who could eat that much cake?). But she seemed happy with it.

She had a few friends (plus the Coxs) over for a little party. They went fishing for these little dogs and made felt animals.

She opened presents and had cake--really what else do you need? She was even happier that she got to open more presents on her real birthday.

Tessa's preschool class had a field trip to Howell farm (and it was freezing). Here she is with her friend Nina grinding corn.

Oakley and Hazel after their safety puppet show.

Can I give you a little advice? Do not travel south on I-95 the Saturday of spring break with tornados coming. If you do, you just might end up in a hotel room instead of grandma and grandpas. This is Hathaway on her birthday eating an ice cream sandwich in a hotel room instead of a cake at grandmas.

We FINALLY made it after 6 extra hours on the road. Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt were waiting for us.

Hathaway's second birthday celebration with a cake grandma Donna and Aunt Marian made.

Once we were there, the weather in SC was great and we went be the beach with the Adamsons.

The next day we headed out to Fort Sumter on the ferry. It was the 150th anniversary of the start of the civil war. It was interesting (Bryce even let me stay and listen to the lecture, since I'm not from the south and need some instruction). The kids thought it was OK for not having any animals (although we did see a lot of dolphins).

Hathaway's third birthday celebration with the cake mom brought and made.

Finally, we made it to the Caw Caw reserve. Bryce saw some kind of kite how wanted to see (it's a bird) and the kids saw: 12 alligators of various sizes, lots of birds (including the special one Bryce saw), skinks, lizards, a tree frog, lots of catepillers...I think that is it. They were upset about no turtles. It was nice to walk around outside.

We had a great time with Grandma and Granpa and Blackie and Jesse (even though Tessa isnt showing it here).

And no trip is complete without a stop at the great dismal swamp. We had a fun time walking around and then sleeping in at the hotel in the morning while Bryce went hunting for another special bird (a type of warbler this time), and he found it. We must be good luck.

We made it home just in time for Easter. The kids had time to color a few eggs.

Easter Sunday!

A final picture: I told the kids I had checked out some books at the library. A few minutes later, I walked in and this is what they looked like. I love it!