Beginning of July

With the advent of July comes the mid-summer Holiday of Independence Day. This is my second July 4th holiday with the last one spent in the cradle of American Government - Williamsburg, VA. This year, I am in Ohio. Well they can still throw a parade can't they? Here I am looking at classic cars from our perch.

M made off with a large helping of candy which she is still currently eating much to both my parents and my chagrin. I wish my teeth would come in!

After the swell holiday, we drove down to Appalachia to visit Uncle J, Aunt J, F, G, and S. Friends of theirs generously allowed us to stop by their privte backyard swim club. Look at me motor through the water!



Ugh! Too much exertion! Water, please.

My sister swam a bit too!

Next time, Cousin G's birthday from the view of M!

National Zoo

After the wedding of Uncle R and Aunt K, they went on their honeymoon. We were left with nothing to do. Nothing, that is, except to visit the National Zoo! We took our first ride on the Metro in order to get there.


Here we are at the start of the zoo! We sure look excited.



How lame, another animal that doesn't move. Does the National Zoo have any animals that work Mondays?




Hey! A Hawaiian shaved ice solves the problem!



We did end up seeing a few animals. Here is an elephant.


And this is how the trip ended!

Uncle R's Wedding

A few weeks ago, Uncle R got married to Aunt K. I was lucky enough to be flower girl. Here I am walking down the aisle with my Aunt J.

Here is a picture from the wedding with the whole bridal party. I'm the short one in the center!

My dad got to be best man for my Uncle R.

My brother, JC, got to pick out his own suit. You can see he was going for the Don Johnson.

Finally, here is a family shot. We sure clean up nice!

This Past Month Part II

I, JC, just turned one about a month and a half ago. Since then a lot of exciting things have happened. One of my new skills is to point at things I would like to eat. Here is a picture of me saying I would like to eat the camera.

I can also stand by myself, as this picture attests. I am cruising as well, but no free walking yet!

Finally, for my belated birthday present, my parents took me to Build-A-Bear to get me my first stuffed friend. I chose this particular character out of a sea of bears, monkeys, and ponies. His name? Chucky.

Next time: Uncle R's wedding!

The Past Month Part I

Hello there from a few intrepid travelers. We have been all over the map the past month if your map covers OH, WV, MD, and VA. I will try and do a recap over the next week of our various adventures. First up was my dad's exam on the Friday after mom's birthday. After his exam, the committee spent a long time talking so I went out exploring. Here I am pictured in a gigantic "O" for Ohio!

They passed him! Here he is right after the exam before we went to the Varsity Club for a celebratory pizza. His excitement is palpable!

After he passed he was able to spend more time at home with me. Here you can see us ready to take our first dip into the pool this season!

We also made a bird feeder out of a pine cone. The birds ignored it, but we do have a much heavier squirrel in the neighborhood now!


Next Time: What is J's new skill and new friend!

Happy Birthday B!

With her husband still lacking gainful employment 5 years into marriage, B decided to seek employment of her own. Noticing that a new show on TLC is called "Five under five", B decided to one-up the program by filming a pilot for "Five under four". Below you can see how lunch went.

...and here was nap time. It reminded B of the four grandparents sharing the bed in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

During nap time, B realized her sanity might take a dive if she did this everyday. So she returned most of the kids to their rightful parents. 'This is not the way to celebrate a 30th birthday party,' she thought. So she went and found a cake. Here she smiles next to it. Who is prettier- the cake or the girl?

Notice it is multilayered with chocolate cake, black raspberry chip ice cream, and crushed Oreos. Her husband is quite the cake-maker!

Yum yum. Thanks everyone for remembering B's birthday and you are very sorry you missed the cake!

Cincinnati Zoo

With my first birthday comes a new opportunity for me, JC. I get to ride front ways in the car. This is me smiling because I now get to watch the Backyardigans.

The first place I rode in this car seat was the Cincinnati zoo. It took a long time to drive there but it was very worth it. Look how close I was able to get to the giraffes.

My dad got to feed the giraffe an extra large triscuit after my sister, M, became a little shy.

Later on we got to see a white tiger. But with all the hills at this zoo, both my sister and dad's blood sugar was running low. You can see they are both disinterested.

To fix the problem we went to the Gorilla Cafe. Instead of waiters, peacocks roam around and bring you your food.

With our new found energy we managed to go see the lions that Siegfried and Roy use. Don't we look less grumpy after eating?



It was a fun trip to the zoo and with the Backyardigans playing again the trip home didn't seem so bad!