Run at the shore

(Joel here.) Tina went for a run down to the beach at the beginning of the week, and I rode alongside on my dad's bike.

It's always interesting to see a bit of local history. We went past the site where James Garfield died two months after he had been shot. He was brought here in hopes that the fresh air and quiet would help him recover. The small street where this monument stands is named for him.

This church is near the site where Garfield died. Seven different US presidents would vacation at the shore here and all of them attended services at this church. It is currently scheduled to be restored, and is now known as the Church of the Presidents.

Happy B-day Joanna

Happy Birthday Joanna!

Have a happy day - We love you!

Grandma & Carriage Crossing

Grandma came in the beginning of November to help Scott and Rebekah out with their new daughter, Chloe. Aunt Patty also came down for the weekend while Mom was here. It wasn't easy getting a picture of all the cousins together, but here's a good one.

One morning we all went up to Carriage Crossing for a late breakfast.

Everything is big at Carriage Crossing. Eliana is ready to dig into her plate size chocolate chip pancakes that she shared with Joanna, Caleb & Mom.

After breakfast, we all shared one of their big cinnamon rolls. They are so big and should not be eaten every week!

Can you tell Caleb enjoyed his share of the cinnamon roll?

Finding seashells at the beach on a cold day

Usually, we visit Boomba and Grandpa's in the summer. Going down to the beach in November this year certainly was a bit chillier!

Karis watched the activity from her vantage point all bundled up inside Joel's coat.

Follow Caleb's footprints down onto the beach with us.

The kids had baggies to collect their seashells and sea glass in. Eliana was all smiles.

Caleb particularly enjoyed throwing large shells and sticks into the waves.

Joanna collected more seashells for her collection.

Time to head home. Too chilly to stay a long time.

Waffles

The big kids helping Uncle Dave make waffles.

While they were making waffles, Karis was enjoying the fire.

Doesn't this look good? Yum!

After 4 years & 9 months

We celebrated Joel getting his braces off back in October with caramel apples. I'm not sure Joel would have gotten the braces had he known how long it was going to take. But he's very glad he did it though.

Eliana wasn't quite sure what to do!

We made it!

After a 14-hour day followed by another 12-hour day in the car, we're glad to be at Boomba & Grandpa's (Joel's parents) house relaxing. The kids did extremely well, even Karis! Now we're looking forward to some of Uncle Dave's famous waffles tonight and lots of fun.

Eliana is thankful

Eliana drew a picture of some things she is thankful for. She is bringing it to Cubbies tonight to share with her class.

Check out mom & dad's hands! I also love her E's. She likes them to have lots of extra dashes.

Timeline Card Wall

We have been working on learning our history timeline this year. I wanted to string the cards up, but realized it would take up too much space, so I decided just to put them up with sticky-tac stuff. So here is our "Timeline Gallery" as Joanna calls it.

We also took turns making audio recordings of the card titles to help us learn them, and we can now listen to the CD while looking at the cards.

Hopefully the bottom row will survive this cute little baby once she's walking.

Just like me doll

Joanna received her new American doll last week. She just loves her new doll and loves that she could pick one that looked like her - brown hair & blue eyes! Lots of fun and lots of tea parties ahead. Thanks, Grandma!!

Peek-A-Boo

This video clip of Karis playing peek-a-boo just makes me laugh. I love seeing Karis flapping her arms and legs, and I can't stop smiling while listening to Joanna laughing in the background.

All he wants...