Family Pictures

Maine

Corbin and I took a little vacation to Coastal Maine. We had so much fun exploring the beautiful towns and hiking trails of Maine. We ate our fair share of lobster and whoopee pies. I don't feel the least bit guilty.

A quiet Morning of Fishing

We got up early one morning in September and took everyone fishing. We didn't catch much, but we had fun watching the sun come up, listening to the birds sing, and enjoying some nice family time.

First Day of School for Tessa

Tessa has started Mom's Day Out this week. It has been fun to have her to myself for a couple of weeks but I know she will enjoy seeing her school friends and learning new things. She is getting to be a big girl.

Tessa Turns Three

We had fun celebrating Tessa's birthday. We went to a water park and had cake and ice cream. It was a fun day to celebrate a special girl. Her favorite present by far is her mystery machine and the Scooby Doo gang. It has gotten a lot of miles in the last week.

The First Day of School

It is hard to believe that summer is over and school has begun. It is even harder to believe that Anna is in 4th grade and Cole is in second grade. They both had a great first day. I think it is going to be a fantastic school year

Grandpa Partridge

What a great way to finish off the summer by having Grandpa Partridge come and visit. It was so fun to have him here for a few days.

Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave is an amazing and beautiful national park. The history and structure of the cave are so unique. We enjoyed our tour and sleeping in our little cottage (despite having no air conditioning and Tessa's black eye).

Kentucky Down Under

Our family took a little vacation to Tennessee to get Cole from a gymnastics camp. On our way back home we went to a fun place called Kentucky Down Under. They had kinds of animals from Australia.  It was amazing to feed birds nectar, pet kangaroos, and pan for gems.

Fourth of July

We always look forward to the Fourth of July in our neighborhood. The kids had fun decorating their bikes and riding a parade through our neighborhood. It was also enjoyed having a picnic with our neighbors after the parade.  In the evening we had dinner with some neighbors and friends. Indiana has been hit by a heat wave and drought so fireworks were outlawed for the 4th, so it was an unusually quiet evening.

Summer Fun

I love to have time in the summer to explore and try new things. Anna and Tessa enjoy taking swimming lessons with our neighbor. Cole loves to explore outside. He wanted us to wake him up at 4:00 one morning so he could have more time to play outside.

St Louis

Our family enjoyed a fun weekend in St. Louis. We didn't make it inside of the arch but we got close. The City Museum was so much fun. We spent all day there climbing and exploring. There were some other fun things about the trip: feeding giant gold fish, listening to Sign of the Beaver in the Car, and rolling pennies on the coin racer. All good times when spent with your family.

Summer Camps

Anna has enjoyed doing an art camp this week. She had gotten to try doing a lot of different types of art and met some new friends. Cole is excited to do a gymnastics camp with his  friends.

Visiting Grandma Jane

Anna and Cole had fun visiting their grandma and cousins in Utah. Grandma Jane kept them busy going to movies, swimming and playing with their cousins. We are so grateful for the love that grandma gives to each of our children. I don't know what we would do without her!

Picking Strawberries

The strawberry season started a couple of weeks earlier than normal so instead of going when Anna and Cole were out of school, Tessa and I picked them up from school and we headed straight to Spencer Farms. The weather was perfect and we picked a flat in no time at all. We enjoyed an ice cream cone in the sweet shop and then headed home with our fresh crop. It was fun to make a couple of batches of jam from it. It will taste so good on toast and waffles.

Geist 5 K

Anna and I have been training to run the Geist 5K for a couple of months. It was so fun to have this time to spend just with Anna to talk about her day and track the improvements we made with our time and distance. I am so proud of Anna for running the entire race. She never had to stop and rest and ran the race in 30 minutes. I am kind of sad it is over. I loved having this time with Anna. I guess we will have to find another race to run.

Second Tooth Gone

Cole lost his second front tooth (with a little help from Dad). He tricked the tooth fairy by leaving a fake tooth under his pillow. The tooth fairy still gave him money. The tooth fairy must be tired to fall for that trick.

First Tooth Gone

Cole lost his first front tooth at school. An hour later Anna went to the nurses office because she lost a tooth. The tooth fairy was busy that night.

Canal Walk

We took a boat ride along the canal for another vacation day. The canal is such a beautiful part of Indianapolis. I wish we came here more often.