First pool trip of the summer, May 30

 He loves it.  And yes, so does Elli.  She swims like she has never left the pool.

 Chunk chewy as I like to call him.

Fun to see them playing together.  It is going to be fun this summer.

Elli's last day of school, May 30, 2013

 Elli with Mrs. Carol MaHaffey.  She is retiring this year and Elli said at the end of the day she was going to miss her.

 

 Brody was our car pool buddy.  His mom, Amy STkins and I, shared the trips from Xenia to Cedarville.  Amy went to elementary school with Leah then moved to Cedarville after 3rd grade.  She lives in Xenia again though and we worked out some car pooling.  What a blessing to get to know Brody and to have some help on these day trips back and forth.

 Elli's friend Sydney Mack.

The K-5 awards ceremony.  We are very excited to have summer break upon us.  For Elli's last day of school she had an awards ceremony, watched the movie Finding Nemo, had two extra long recesses, lunch, and some cookies and ice cream that her teacher brought in. Not a bad day, but why go?

Memorial Day Weekend

 Nana and grandpa had the chance to spend lots of time with their grandkids. (not all of them, but good time with the ones here)

 Micah was very excited to see and pet the goats again.

Until this goat bit the stroller and didn't let go.  Micah started crying and we had to leave the area before he would stop.

 Yep, first taste of ice cream.  He didn;t know to bite, so he just got a little on his lips and licked it off.  Of course he wanted more and more.  At least his first taste was Young's yummy ice cream.

Elli loves the goats and shows such care and concern in how she feeds them.  She is so gentle and kind with all animals.

 We took a ride on a ferris wheel.  After a while, Elli said, "This is boring.  All you do is go around and around?" 

 She rode the jet planes with Seth who thought they were awesome!

 Oliver's first visit to our house was on Memorial Day.

We went to Kyle and Meg's for a cook out and some fun.

 The boys were loving it.

 Micah does not like the feel of grass on his legs so he was holding his feet up.  And why not taste that shoe I am holding in the air?

Matt was helping the boys.

 Oliver took a little nap on Meg's floor.  So sweet.

Matt was banished to the kid table.  Even the kids left:)  JK He was helping the bos eat but they lost interest.

Sweet little Rayna was crawling all over the corn hole game boards.  I am not sure how I missed gettign a picture of Seth as he was just as involved playing as the rest of the kids, but alas, I missed him.  It was such a fun weekend.

Playing

 Mom, help me.  I know my sister is in here but I just cannot reach her!

 See, mom.  Right there.

Tuckered out.  Love that he sleeps like this. SO sweet.

Dragon's Game, May 23

 It was incredibly cold, but we enjoyed the game for as long as we could stand it!  Micah stayed with my parents.

Elli asked if she could pose.  They ended up winning that night, but we were already home by then.

First Grade field trip to the Columbus Zoo, May 23

 We all went as a family and had Molly with us as chaperones:)  Micah loved petting the goats.  He would touch them and then make this face with his quiver laugh.

 Elli taking a look at the young elephant.

 Yes, of course we would like some dippin dots!  Molly and Elli had a good time together.

 We couldn't resist a picture with the pink flamingos.

Elli liked being able to feed the birds.  The two at the top of this vine were the hungriest.  Micah was also quite excited with more giggling and oooooing.

We couldn't leave without a picture of the Okapi.  One of our favorites.  We like to think God made it and Jesus added a little striping at the end!

Elli's first grade Field Day, May 22

 Elli and Sydney ran this balloon hug race so quickly that they took first place!  Look at their hair just flying:)

 They did not fare so well in the wheel barrow race but they sure did have fun trying.

Mrs. MaHaffey planned a sweet treat for each of them.  Elli chose a Pepsi.  (her first ever to my knowledge)  She couldn't finish it but said it was yummy:)

The Kelly Miller Circus, May 21

 This is not a circus picture but it is a reminder to me that I am raising a boy.  Look at him weilding his sword!

 Here is the circus.  Elli and I joined Kyle, Meg and the kids for the fund raiser circus.  What a great time we had!

 Elli got to ride an elephant.

 So did Kyle, Seth, and some others:)

 She also got to ride a camel!

 This guy was one of the most amazing acts as far as we thought.  He was swinging on a bar, totally balanced on his head.

Of course the elephants were fun to watch too.

May 19, 2013 Dedication of Homes

 Listening to Pastor Boucher challenge us to raise our children to honor and love Jesus.

 We stood with the Neu's as they dedicated Sterling.

 Micah was a busy boy.  He wanted to squeal, shake his head no, pull ELli's head band off, look at her, grab the microphone, etc:)

Elli must have gotten a little tired during the prayer.

First bike ride as a family of 4

 Elli chose this bike instead of a purple and white one.  We were ok with it so now Micah can ride it when he gets that age.  She said she wanted blue and white like mine:)

Micah has mixed feelings about this ride.  Sometimes happy and other times not.  He definitely likes to keep moving.

 Looks like we are going to have a fun summer.