Cooper's 1st bike ride

Papa took Cooper out with his poor neglected bike the other evening and taught him how to ride within 5 tries. This is Cooper's 3rd try ever.



I had been trying for 3 DAYS now to upload a later video but it wasn't working so I hope this one will suffice.
Grrr, I'm not happy with that video, I'm going to try and add the later one again. This next video was his very next try.



Phew! That took moving back to Cali and cable internet to upload. I hope it's worth it.

Williamsburg, VA

We had the great opportunity to visit Williamsburg, VA this weekend. It is really quite close to where we have been staying this past year, only 2 1/2 hours north-east. My dad is in town for a couple of weeks so we decided to take advantage of his extra help and go enjoy ourselves in Colonial Williamsburg.

The only bad part of our visit was that the kids were going through some sort of sickness, each in turn while we were there. Fevers, chills, red spots but luckily no vomiting. We were able to work through it and I think everyone was able to enjoy themselves.

Cooper's favorite part was the Blacksmith shop. He would have stayed there all day if we had let him. Catelyn really enjoyed the hands on tour we had where she learned to curtsy and wrote on a slate.
They also got to pull water up from a well which was 40 feet deep.

Lydia loved all the people she could charm.

My favorite parts were the speech by Thomas Jefferson and the drum and fife boys (seen at the top) and this cute pair playing their flute and whistle. The elderly man on the left put his flute down and it was his cane!


Thanks to both my mom and dad for making this trip possible.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Daddy! You are an amazing man who has led by example and I couldn't have asked for a better Dad (0r a better Papa for my children).

Happy Father's Day Martin. You have 3 amazing children that you should be very proud of. They are all wonderful and bright and they love you very much. I'm so glad we brought them into this world together.

Matching dresses

The girls wore matching dresses to church today. They have about half a dozen matching dresses that I try to get them into every so often.
BTW, you don't know how hard it is to get these girls both to look at the camera at the same time. I think Grammy did an amazing job! :)
PS, when you are around Lydia, you tend to forget how bald she is. Seeing her in these pictures is so funny.

Lydia's luxurious locks

I took a few clips of Lydia walking around with my brush. This was the shortest but w/ my slow dial up I thought something was better than nothing. If this doesn't take 35 min to upload I may add another.


Here's an update w/ one more video.

Super Duper Cooper

Cooper has had a busy last couple of weeks. School has ended which means that he is now a 1st grader. I am so proud of the young man that he is becoming. He has really stepped up with helping around the house and now takes out the garbage and unloads the dishwasher every day. He is such a sweet boy that wants so much to do what is right.
Last week his school had an end of the year patriotic celebration where all the children sang patriotic songs. Cooper practiced every day, standing up on the fireplace hearth, going through each song, making sure each beat and note were right.

Tuesday was the last day of school and the last of the awards days. Every 90 days the children are honored for their great achievements, both academic and social. The school gives out these great awards that are dog-tag style, with wonderful graphics and colors on them. All the kids have necklaces that they wear them on and by the time they are in 5th grade some have quite the crowded necklace. Every awards day Cooper earned at least one award (Math Wizard) and sometimes three. Here is Cooper wearing his dog-tag during the last awards day.
And now today Cooper lost his 6th tooth. (speaking of which I know a tooth fairy who still needs to do her job tonight). He's growing up so fast and I am so proud of the wonderful boy he is.

Lydia's 2nd and last surgery

On Friday the 30th of May, Lydia had her second and final surgery on her tear ducts. This time the Dr was removing the tubes that he had placed there the first operation. The procedure was super quick, they just gave her some gas, she went to "sleep" and the Dr sniped the tube and pulled them out through the nasal cavity. She didn't have to have an IV this time and she was back out to my arms within half an hour. (They kept her in the recovery room for a couple minutes)Before her surgery the nurse came by to take her vital signs and Lydia managed to coax the stethoscope from her. In typical Lydia fashion she kept asking "Whassat?" She sure is going to be one bright kid, with her second words being "What's that?" And I promise, it's not just something we think we are hearing, she really is asking "What's that?".
This picture reminds me of Curious George.
After surgery she is starving because you can't eat or drink after 12:00 the night before. We had a sippy cup and crackers on hand.
I'm so glad that we found this doctor that had a solution for Lydia's perpetually clogged eyes. The difference has been remarkable. Here is a pic of her back in Dec.

and one just before this last surgery.


















(oh and that nasty green bruise on her forehead is from her throwing herself down on the brick hearth earlier that week.)
PS, note the non existent hair growth.

Picture update

I uploaded some pics from one of the cameras this morning. As a result, you are now going to see a new picture of each of my children, and a baby turtle. Enjoy.


I took this picture of Lydia mostly to show the Great Blue heron in the background (he's standing on the dock). This was the same day we were outside and Lydia found the baby turtle. She just about picked it up before I saw it.

Cooper and Catelyn were obviously taking a bubble bath. I started laughing so hard at Cooper and ran to get the camera.
Catelyn tried to make a bubble beard too.


I love my family and am so glad we have been able to enjoy this great adventure we have had in North Carolina.