family vacation part 1--on the way

 We recently returned from a trip, our first ever LONG journey as a family of five, to Santa Rosa Beach, FL where we met up with a portion of Justin's family for a week of beach madness.  It takes about 9 hours to get there, not including stops or traffic issues.  We left at 7 a.m., and got there at 6:15 p.m. (or thereabouts), including some traffic issues in Alabama, and a couple of stops.  Overall, the kids did great!  We were surprised they only slept about an hour (all at the same time, thankfully), but they watched several videos on our DVD player which really saved the experience from drama and trauma!

Owen wanted his monkey and Snoopy dog in his lap at all times, and ended up like this for a while (not sure what the pillow on the head was for).

On a sidenote, I really feel like I-65 should be 3 lanes all the way from Northern Indiana down to Florida.  It would keep traffic moving so much better!  Anyway, despite some lengthy delays through northern Alabama, we pulled into Birmingham around noon and had a nice walk through the botanical gardens before lunch. It's free! Stop in if you are driving through!!

 The kids were happy to walk around after sitting for so long.

Owen was excited to find a nice pine cone!

 This was the entrance to the Japanese Garden and the boys were pretending to be ninjas.

  The Japanese Garden had a pond with fish and some swimming turtles.

Phoebe was happy to walk around, AND she tried to make friends with just about everyone she saw.  Having a girl is SO different!

We had lunch at Chick fil a in record time because it was later than usual and we'd just walked around to work up our appetites.  Then came the nap for about an hour, followed by music, movies and excitement as we entered Florida, our destination state!  The kids really got excited when we entered each state.

 This was the bay on our way into Santa Rosa. It was really beautiful!

When we got to the Beach House, and had a quick dinner, we rushed the boys down to the beach because there had been such anticipation built up for months.  There was still a bit of light on the horizon.

They were pretty excited to be there, and Grandpa helped guide the way.

early summer video highlights

So we take videos of the kids......Phoebe taking steps, walking better, now almost running!  And we are slow to post them, so here are several we took in May and June, pre-vacation.

Here is Phoebe walking, taking a few steps and then reverting to a crawl on May 3rd.



Here's a few days later on May 8th, she was walking even better.



By June 6th, she looked like this at Fountain Square Park.



And this one is Owen reading a sign at the park.



And this is a weird game that Lewis and Justin play sometimes where they pretend to chomp body parts and eat them and then say, "And now you have no .... (ear, nose etc.)." On this video, Lewis had just chomped one of Justin's ears.

may/june highlights

 Our indoor activities have included coloring (which Owen does not generally like, but works harder at with a LOT of encouragement!)....

 church....and riding home with crazy prizes.....

and a cute baby sister......

taking photos of ourselves.....

 a visit from Natasha, and drinking lots of coffee (Lewis has decided he likes to drink coffee with milk, syrup (honey) and whip (whipped cream) after playing with the iPhone app "Coffee Cafe." We got to have a nice coffee date with Natasha and spend some time with her in Nashville, at our house and then driving her to Lexington for her next stop.  We were very happy to have her around for a couple days.

Phoebe has been trying to put her shoes on lately, this time right before bed.  She does it especially when she wants to go outside.

Last week the boys got to go to VBS, and Owen was constantly using our toy "microphone" to announce things while wearing a hat and crazy glasses.  When I went to the closing ceremony, I got to see the lady he was pretending to be, who leads the singing and large group activities and he had her routine down pretty well.  They loved VBS at the Lutheran church this year and remembered a lot of the verses and themes each day when they got home.

outdoor play

 We've been playing outside a lot lately.  Phoebe LOVES walking around and throwing things.

 All of the kids are enjoying bubbles, drawing with chalk etc.

 Notice Phoebe's HUGE smile.

 We've been hanging out in the park, and getting our hair cut.

 Lewis before....

 and after.

 Phoebe is adorable in one of her many birthday dresses (thanks to the Sluchers!).

 Owen likes pretending he's a ninja.

Lewis and Phoebe try talking on the back porch.

social skills

We've been able to go to a lot of "Build & Grow" workshops at Lowe's lately.  Our friend, Henry Cahoon, and sometimes his sister, Judith, come with us often.  They like making the crazy projects like the ice cream truck pictured here.

Even Phoebe got to come one time, and had a great time. Many Saturdays, and other random times, Henry has come to play and practice social skills with Lewis.  We have been spending a lot of time working on conversation and social skills.  Here are some videos to show how things are going.

The first is of a conversation asking the boys about some frozen yogurt they had with daddy one day.



The second is Henry and Lewis talking. At first, Henry asked why Lewis needed to practice talking and then later he said, "Oh, I get it now!"



The next are a couple that Lewis and I recorded after making some muffins one day.  We noticed that if he could see himself while talking that he answered more readily.





Obviously, we still need quite a bit of work on things, but they are making progress. We are grateful that Henry has been willing to help talk and play with Lewis and his parents for letting him come over! :)

circus square fountain

The boys have enjoyed going to the fountain at circus square park since they turned it back on.  Owen is not as terrified of the other kids like he was last year.  Lewis wants to hang out on the edges mostly, but overall they are participating better than they have in the past.

Owen was engaging in some weird repetitive speech on this particular trip.  I chose to record it because it shows some of the odd behaviors that Owen falls into from time to time, and we try to snap him out of it.  It worked temporarily and then he started doing it again.

preschool graduation

Owen finished his first year of preschool this year.  They had a ceremony to celebrate those finishing their first and second years.

 Owen and his friend, Jadon, posed for some pictures.

Owen still talks about Jadon a lot, and we hope they can stay friends even though Jadon is moving on to kindergarten next year.

And here's a video of Lewis getting his Kindergarten awards.

may highlights

Phoebe was toddling everywhere, and she still is, but she is becoming more sure of her footing. So cute to watch her getting around.

 Lewis and Owen got a little crazy while standing outside the new Gallery 916 building. 

 They were really excited.

Owen and Phoebe had a peaceful swinging adventure one afternoon.  We've been to a lot of parks lately.

The boys helped me make cookies one afternoon after their obsession with Cookie Monster had fully developed. Owen had no trouble digging in.

Lewis even wanted to eat a cookie.

 Lewis had a dentist appointment on election day, and it cracked me up when they gave him sunglasses and the "tickle straw."  Quite a look for him!

This was our awards night for Awana.  Owen got a certificate and little Cubbie bear for learning all his verses.  Lewis also got a ribbon and some bucks to spend on shop night.

This was a photo they took at school on spring picture day.  I guess Lewis and Owen happened to be taking photos at the same time and they got this nice moment. :)

When Tasha came to visit, she gave Phoebe this little skirt and when we put it on her, she stood admiring herself in the mirror for quite a while.  She likes Tasha's style!!

rosine, ky

 Last month, we joined our friends, Adam & Rebecca, on a little trek to Rosine, Ky. where bluegrass music is performed every weekend in a barn of sorts.  It was pretty amazing.  Rebecca's brother and family performed and were a big hit. They live in Austin, but had come to visit and had a great time playing in Rosine.

 Rebecca's brother, Colby and his son.

Colby's wife, Kim, and the girls. They were precious, and we so enjoyed the music out there.  It was worth the trip.