AIRPLANE

This is an "airplane" that the boys built. They had guns and bombs, etc. (It's a fighter plane, of course). You notice Samuel is under the blanket up at the front and his "gun" is sticking out. They really wanted me to take a picture. :-)

GOODBYE!!

(We got snow!) We're off to visit the great state of Mississippi. We're so very ready for a week with family. Our absence means I won't be putting anything new on here for about a week. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

DANCING IN APRONS

We celebrated our first snow by making a joint effort at cooking French Banana Pancakes for breakfast with big mugs of tea! A little dancing occurred before the cooking. The dancing turned into Ring Around the Rosie

...and we all fall down!

ONE MONTH OLD

These were taken almost 2 weeks ago. She's growing fast. This was a Saturday and there was a lot going on, but in the midst of it, Calvin ignored all the activity and spent a solid 20 minutes laying here looking at and talking to Cecily. I took a picture to remember that. He's my most gentle child. Most kids are fascinated with a newborn but after a few minutes, when the baby doesn't do much, they move on to other things. Calvin doesn't get tired of her.

PICTURES OF THE GIRLS

BRAVE GRANDPARENTS

I keep coming up with more pictures from mom and dad's visit. I really do believe this is the last, though. They took these pictures because, I wasn't there. That's the point. They actually braved taking all four boys out to a high-traffic biking trail with their bikes. I, myself, have not attempted this yet because I was concerned about them causing some kind of accident with an adult biker. Apparently, all went well and the report is that the boys are pretty good at obeying the rules of the bike trail. I really like this picture of them in the gazebo that's by the trail. Since Ben has just learned to ride his bike he didn't have a helmet yet and wasn't going to be able to ride on the trail with his older brothers. I think his long face did it's work and Papa stopped and bought him a helmet so that he could ride too. Here he is with Calvin, wearing his new helmet and looking at the dam on the Monongahela River that is by the trail.

ME AND THE GIRLS

My mom and I went shopping at the new outlet mall that was built in our area. We visited a coffee shop where mom took this picture of me. The Chai Latte she bought me is a good memory but me wearing her out with shopping isn't.

3 YEAR OLD DAY AT THE ZOO

Calvin is almost in a world of his own sometimes. He enjoyed himself in his own 3-year old way at the Good Zoo.

THE GOOD ZOO

This is my last set of pictures from my parents' visit. I took awhile to put these on because there's so many. We visited the Good Zoo at Oglebay Park in Wheeling, WV. It was a lovely fall day in the lovely, woodsy zoo.

Some birds of prey

Everyone looking down at....

a pig in the barnyard.

The barn where we saw several farm animals including some really neat barn owls.

This is the petting area with the typical goats and sheep.

This red panda was so cute!

There is a large pond and marsh where some wetland creatures live.

These are the Lorikeets, which we think are really beautiful and interesting. This particular pair of birds were interacting and entertaining us greatly. The one on the right was bobbing his head up and down very dramatically and scooting closer and closer to the bird on the left, who was warding the him off with her foot. Bird romance?

They definitely thought that Dad might feed them.
The amazing kangaroos.

Part way through the zoo there is a very fun playground for the kids to play on and for everyone to take a break from the animal viewing.

Even Dad tried out the slide.

A very good bench at the Good Zoo.

Isn't this a good one?

Looking tired and a little cold.

5 year old

9 year old

This picture is by William. He really wanted to take a picture himself.

Look at those eyes!

Looking at a spectacled bear that didn't come out enough to get a picture.

By the otters...

Inside at the zoo, there is a very extensive train set with miniature countryside scenes and towns...

a carnival

And last, what do you do at the end of a long day at the zoo? Amelia will show you.