S. and J. Decorating Cupcakes

On April 19th after church, S. and J. wanted to decorate cupcakes with lots of different colored frosting. I made some cupcakes and they picked the color of the frosting.

They had such a good time.

Trip to Boston (Last Month!)

In April, Sandy, Chris and Claire came to visit. They were going to head to Boston for a one day trip one of the days they were here. They invited us to go along. Wayne had to work, so the kids and I joined them for the day.

In the van, on the way.

Chris was trying out some horns. At first he said he'd only be an hour. I knew better than that! Get any musician with many instruments of their choice and they will be there a while. :) It's also like that with most of my family....computer people can stay awhile amongst computers, book lovers (including my mom, the librarian!) can stay in book stores for a L O N G time etc.

So the kids and I went looking for parks with the handy dandy GPS. As an aside, we got one last year when we were living in VA and I really love them! Anyway, the first place it directed us to was a baseball field, the second was for kids way younger than my own.

We decided to go back to where Chris, Sandy and Claire were and wait.

Chris stayed a bit longer while the rest of us went for some grub. :)

He joined us a little bit later.

After that we drove into the heart of Boston, got information about the Freedom Trail and walked to the USS Constitution for a tour. It is the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in the world.

S., Lori, J., K. on our long walk to the Constitution. The kids did great and didn't complain at all.

Claire (in the stroller), Chris and Sandy


On the way, we saw these two markers. The first one is where Paul Revere landed to begin his midnight ride.

The second is the point where the British reinforcements landed - Battle of Bunker Hill.


The USS Constitution


Chris, Claire and Sandy waiting in line for a tour.


I love this one of Chris and Claire.


My kids inside and next to the cannons.
FYI the cannons each had their own names . Some were Jumping Billy and United Tars.

This is where the non-officers slept. On the backside was a sheet and on the other side of the sheet was sick bay. I would not want to sleep near that sheet on a daily basis!

The officers' rooms looked generally like this. Very tiny, but way better than non-officers!

After we finished touring the USS Constitution, my kids and I went to check out the USS Cassin Young. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day. Bummer.


Because the USS Constitution was a long walk from where we parked, we thought it wise to take the ferry back to downtown Boston. It was so cheap (I didn't have to pay for the kids either!) and totally worth it.

Although J. didn't want to go to the top originally, he did go up and liked it.

On the top level of the ferry.

J., Sandy, Lori, S. and Kaylea


S.


Chris and Sandy


I enjoy looking at bridges and architecturally cool buildings. This first picture is taken from the ferry.


This was taken on the way back. I just liked the cool buildings, the many different sizes of buildings and the coloring of the sky in the background.

We went to a restaurant on the way home. It was yummy.
Chris, I have another pic with you in it(I didn't want to leave you out), but I think you would prefer if I kept it on my hard drive and not put here! :)

S.

We got home really late, but it was totally worth it! Thanks Chris and Sandy!

K. - National Jr. Honor Society

In April, K. was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. She was nominated for it and had much to do to make it happen (paperwork, getting endorsements, etc.). We are really proud of her.

We didn't take many pictures because our camera batteries died. :( We took this before we left.

K.'s Pillow

K. has enjoyed sewing for years and even bought her own machine a few years ago.

K. is taking Home and Careers in school. They had a sewing section and they made pillows. This is the one K. did. I think she did a beautiful job.


FYI the picture in the middle was taken using our digital camera. It was a flower in the Botanical Gardens in Va.

An Unusual Rainbow

On April 2nd (the same day as the kitchen fire, but earlier in the day), my kids called for me saying there was a rainbow outside.

I dutifully followed them outside and I am so glad that I did. This is what I saw:



I have never seen an upside down rainbow before. It reminds me of a smile.

I felt awed by the beauty of God's masterpiece and felt loved.

Bees vs. Hornets

Yesterday afternoon after I got home from the busstop, K. tells me that daddy called and that he was stung by a hornet, he's ok and they put ice on it.

I was worried because Wayne is allergic to bee stings. I did some quick research via the web and found out that just because you're allergic to bees, that doesn't mean you're allergic to hornets or wasps. Luckily, it turns out that Wayne didn't have a bad reaction to the sting.

What a thing to happen on his birthday, however, I am very grateful that it was a hornet and not a bee sting, and that he is ok. Blessings!

J. and His Teeth

J. lost his first tooth on March 27th! He was so excited!

Wayne pulled it right out.

Since then another tooth has fallen out.

He's growing up so fast!

In the days preceding the event, his teeth began to shift. The first picture is of him after his teeth shifted, but before his teeth came out.



After 2 teeth came out:
They grow up so fast!