Baltimore

Isaac's work sent him to Baltimore for a conference where he got to learn all kinds of neat statistic-y things of which I have zero understanding. Awesome for me, though, because my brother and his family live just outside Baltimore, and I hadn't seen them in almost five years! So the kids and I tagged along, if course. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time to plan the trip, and we ended up with only two days on the east coast, which was in every way not enough.
I had a few ideas of things that I wanted to do while I waited for my brother and sister-in-law to finish work for the day, but the first day we ended up just walking around the city. It was HOT and it was HUMID. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it.

I got to see the original Washington Monument:

some gorgeous buildings, a huge library, the harbor, and rows of these lovely houses and businesses:

Here's what the kids thought of our little walking tour of the city:

Yeah, they weren't so impressed. Eventually we were all able to meet up down at the harbor, the cousins got to meet, and we had a great time. That night I asked Lizzy if she had a good time that day and she said, "Well, part of the day was good. I liked the part with Maya." (Justin and Maya are her cousins.) The next day we got to spend more time with them. We went to a children's museum together and had a great time, despite losing track of the kids several times.

The boy cousins playing Lego's together:

Beautiful Maya:
Maya, Lizzy, Aliyah holding Bear, Justin, and Tanya (my gorgeous sister-in-law)

Cousins!

Justin driving.

We had such a good time. It was frustrating to have to leave so soon, but we hope to be able to go again soon. We certainly won't wait five years to see them all again!

Barak

On the 8th, Barak turned one. It is unbelievable how fast this year has gone. He has been the most wonderful baby, and I am not ready to let his baby days be over. On the other hand, I am so proud of my little boy. He is so handsome and so friendly. I love to watch him run around exploring things and making new friends. He makes friends with everybody. And that smile of his! I'm pretty sure he gets it from his Daddy; it makes me smile back every time.

We celebrated his birthday at my parents house where they thoroughly spoiled him. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the camera, so I don't have any pictures. He had a great time, though, playing in the backyard and eating barbecued chicken, which just might be his favorite.

I've been planning for months to get this wagon for him for his birthday. He has really seemed to enjoy it, and we've taken it out on many occasions.

But of course, the box was almost as exciting.

He also enjoyed his birthday cake, inside and out. I love this little boy.

July

We have been doing some fun things this summer, and I have neglected to post about it all. I've been kind of busy. In July we went out to Utah, for a family reunion on Isaac's side. His little sister was also getting married, and we were thrilled to be at her wedding, too.

Hanging out outside the Salt Lake Temple, waiting for Miriam and Dan

My children are blessed with wonderful cousins on both sides of the family, whom they love. Unfortunately, none of them live at all close by, so we have to take every opportunity to play with them that we can get. Lizzy and Lydia got along great. They were extremely cute together, as you can see.

One of the days for the reunion, we were at a park, and someone had set up this pool. Lizzy and Bear played in it all day long, as did most of the children. It was a genius idea.

Bear and Eve There were a lot of activities going on, but our family mostly hung around and relaxed. It was really wonderful. Isaac showed the boys how to play ladder golf. I think they beat him every time.

Bear liked playing ladder golf, too. Mostly he just ran off with the balls, though. We really had a great time. It made me wish that we lived closer to Isaac's family, so that we could spend more time together. Actually, I wish they lived closer to us. Anytime ya'll want to move out to Oregon, let us know. We'd be happy to help you unpack!

Lizzy Tells Daddy

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Daddy?"

"Independently wealthy."

"No, you have to be either a parader or a tree."

He chose to be a parader.