Picnic

Laura and Nick hosted a gourmet picnic at their homestead in June. We had a great time, great fellowship, great food... Their place looks awesome (They've put in a lot of time, energy, and creativity into their home).

The host and hostess

Aunt Meredith entertaining Lydia

Nick displays his masterpiece.

Lydie refused to sleep in her pack-n-play, but nodded off in Aunt Mere's arms. She seems to have the "touch" with little ones!

Gabby & Val

Vacation

We just returned from vacationing in New Bern, NC with Mike, Val, & Gabby. What an adventure taking a road trip with little ones! Overall they did great - they were roommates and slept through the night. After we got back from the beach things took a down turn... The girls decided they had had enough of our routines (vs. theirs) & their pack-n-plays (vs. their cribs) and certainly let us know. We cut the trip short by a day and drove through the night home. Everyone enjoyed the time away and feels refreshed! Enjoy the photos! And check out Lydia's blog for some more photos... (http://babylydie.blogspot.com)

Gabby gives Lydie a smootch! Friends indeed!


They LOVED the stairs. We spent much of the week trying to keep them from climbing...


The whole crew sight-seeing: Tryon Palace


Val & Liz enjoying the calm before the storm in the gardens of the Tryon Palace. A few moments later we were drenched!


The Pool



The Beach! As you may be able to tell by the expressions on their faces, Gabby definitely liked the beach better than Lydia. It was a hot day (even though we got there in them morning) and very windy. Since the umbrellas blew down my primary goal was to keep Lydia's hat on. Lydie had other ideas (like taking her hat off) and of course eating sand! I resorted to letting her chew on a seashell to halt the fussing. Thus, we ended up taking her for a walk in her stroller on the boardwalk and resting in the shade while Gabby played with her parents. It was a really nice beach (Atlantic)- not crowded, warm water, soft sand and besides infant challenges, a nice day!




The girls in their green dresses. It was quite a production getting these photos! It took 3 adults and much fanfare by Uncle Mark to keep them smiling (he was spouting plastic fish in the air from his mouth - a riot!)




Gabby finally smiled! :)

Gabrielle's Tol

Gabby's 1st birthday party celebrated in the traditional Korean Tol.


Proud Grandma!


Gabby must choose her future...


... the book! A Scholar she will be! [Her daddy was hoping she'd choose the coins for riches (they were even strategically placed ;), but I say she can use her smarts to make lots of money.]


Yeah, Gabby!


3 generations of joy!


A family photo with one missing...


...there's Mere!


The squirmy cousins.

Cousins

We ALMOST had another complete family gathering. The idea was to celebrate Valerie's birthday, but a work trip came up for Val, so we ended up having a family get-together without her (and Nick - school work called!) We certainly missed them! Meredith made us an awesome dinner and the cousins provided entertainment. Naturally, the babies tended to capture the photographer's eye. They are just so irresistible!


Budding musicians!



Gabbie was showing us how she can walk (with Grandma's help).



Gabbie just loves Lydie's head. This time she found her ears...


Nature is just so interesting.


Aunt Laura & Lydie


Aunt Meredith & Lydia


Proud Grandma with her girls. Boy, are they getting to be armfuls!


Like father, like son. The men and their dogs.

Lydia's Baptism

If only the weather would have cooperated... Then the whole clan would have celebrated the day with us. Unfortunately, a snow/ice storm hit us just as Lydia was to be baptized. Thankfully, Mom & Dad and Meredith came up the night before and were able to share this special event. The others were here in spirit and prayer (and pounds of pretzels! Thanks, Val!) Enjoy the photos.
















Lydia wore the Christening gown that her grandma made. Her daddy wore it as well as her aunts and cousin. What an awesome testimony of faith through the generations. God is faithful!

Together Again

We all gathered this weekend (for the first time since Thanksgiving) for a surprise birthday party for Meredith. We had a blast! With 2 babies and 3 dogs we were thoroughly entertained. We went downtown for the Ice Fest and by the time we got home we had almost turned into one of the ice sculptures - it was so cold! Despite the chill, warm hearts abounded...



Check out the cousins!


Gabbie decided Lydie might taste good!



Ice Fest


Happy Birthday, Mere!



Dad & the Dogs (Guinness, Mabel, & Buddy)