Cavanaugh Flight Museum

We took the kids to the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison for Nathan's birthday. Granted, it was two weeks after his birthday as our Saturdays have been so busy. But we really enjoyed it. As we walked into the hangar, Nathan took one wide-eyed look around and shouted, "Wow!!!" It was a really neat museum - with airplanes, jets, helicopters, jeeps, and cars from many past eras.

Janis Family Fourth of July

Irving celebrated the 4th on Saturday and we began our day at the town parade. The kids were more interested in waving their flags and grabbing the candy that flew left and right more than anything, but we had fun. Fortunately, it was overcast and we had a few sprinkles of rain off and on, which kept things cooler

Mommy says, "Someone is grumpy..."

"...and his name is Nathan!" finishes Esther gleefully.

After evening family prayer, the kids get their drink of water before they run off to bed. Tonight we were getting them down late as we'd been partying at Daron's brother's house for the holiday. I got a cup and filled it from the fridge dispenser for each of the kids and then handed them out. Nathan cried because he'd wanted to fill it himself. So he stomped to the sink and dumped the water out.

"I do! I do!" he cried.

Fine. So I lifted him up and helped him to fill the cup. He didn't want help and screamed. So I put him down. He stomped and cried and spilled a bunch of water on the floor. Then he raced back to the sink and tossed cup and water into it.

He came running to me with arms outstretched. I picked him up and he just put his head sulkily onto my shoulder, ready for bed.

What a grouch! But it was very hard not to laugh. Needless to say, he went right to sleep.

A girl after my own heart

Esther comes walking into the room, Nathan’s baseball bat balanced reverently in her outstretched arms. Her eyes are huge. “Mommy! I just found this golden bat on the couch. It’s magic! It makes gold, and magic…and bathtubs!”

Princess Bride Parody

In early May, my friends from church agreed to perform a parody I had written (with help - thank you Brian, Daron, and Aaron for your input).

It's based on The Princess Bride - one of my personal favorites - and draws upon three of the occupations we have represented in our congregation (lawyer, chiropractor, and accountant).

If you didn't know, Daron is the lawyer.

Enjoy!

Vacation Highlights

The kids and I flew up to Ohio to visit my sister and her family. My parents had driven from Massachusetts to visit as well.

Two cute cousins loved wearing matching pjs. They got along really well for the first couple of days and then they got too used to each other. Two intense personalities rather clashed on occasion.
We spent loads of time outside. Nathan could not get enough of the trampoline!
We spent one day driving through Amish Country. Gorgeous - beautiful rolling green hills, pristine farms, horses and carriages moving slowly down the roads, simple, quiet life...
Trying to get four wiggly cousins to sit still for a picture.
My sister's third child, Daniel, on his blessing day. He is such a sweet baby!
My sister and her family.
Memorial Day parade in Hudson, Ohio.
More playing outside on Memorial Day. While Aaron chased his Dad with water, and Esther and Bekah were fighting over everything, Nathan stood in the pool and just filled up a watering can and poured it back in - absolutely oblivious to everything else.
Happy kid.

After a week, we drove back to Massachusetts with my parents. It's a long enough drive as it is, but with two toddlers, it was quite a bit longer. Fortunately, the kids handled it pretty well.

We went to Salisbury Beach with my dear friend, Julie. The weather was simply fabulous and the beach was nearly deserted. Unfortunately, the water was freezing. But if you only go to the beach to build sandcastles, get some sun, and see the scenery (like me), it doesn't really matter.
My sweet girl.

Daron joined us for the last weekend we were there. We had a mini high school reunion at my parents' house the day he arrived. It was so good to see such dear friends again after way too many years of not keeping in touch. Can you believe I didn't take a picture?

We went down to Connecticut to visit my grandparents and ate lunch at Abbott's Lobster in the Rough. I had a marvelous hot lobster roll drenched in butter. Yum. A far cry from my last visit to Abbott's when I was about Esther's age and screamed when my Dad tried to show me a live lobster.
Nathan by the big lobster at Abbott's. Esther wouldn't stand near it - go figure.
Turns out, Grandma knows the couple that owns this car. They were at Abbott's as well. So the kids got to sit in it for a picture while Daron and I drooled. A 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost - our dream car.
The last night of our stay, we went to Sully's Ice Cream, a favorite Chelmsford outdoor ice cream stand. Only teenagers seem to ever work there and it's the standard to order a kiddie cone and get something more along the lines of an extra large. They have the same signs they've had ever since we moved to Chelmsford in 1985. Good ice cream, good friends, good memories.
Yum!

The weather the last few days we were there was mild and absolutely delicious! The nights were chilly, the trees inviting, the roads winding, and the grass green. It was hard to come back to the blazing humidity of Dallas. But it's good to be home and back to life!

Nathan Turns Two!

Nathan turned two yesterday. Finally, when someone asks him how old he is, he'll actually be correct. He's been telling people he's two for awhile now. His favorite present - the foam baseball bat and batting tee from Mommy and Daddy. You should have seen the look of delight on Daron's face as Nathan took that bat into his hands and said "B-ball!" (For those of you who don't know, Daron was quite the baseball player in his youth.)

And it turns out that Nathan does not like to be the center of attention as his big sister does. You can see that he doesn't know where to look while everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. But he was surprisingly good at blowing out the candles - and quite proud of it, too!

I love my little baby, though not so little anymore. You are a sweet boy, Nathan, and we love having you in our family!