Tale as old as time

Our church put on a performance of Beauty and the Beast this week, and even though I wasn't in the play, I came dressed just in case they needed me. 

The show was a ton of fun and the actors were really cool to meet after the play. Still, I can't help thinking the whole thing could have used a shorter Belle on stage...

Christmas in July

Aunt Jeanne couldn't have her annual Christmas party last December, so we had it in the middle of summer instead. She even set up her tree, just like in the winter!

We had Christmas cookies and gave out Christmas cards and even posed for a nice Christmas photo with all the kids (although we're not usually in shorts in this photo). 

You should have seen us trying to set up that photo, though: 

Like herding cats. 

Slime time

We got some slime to play with and ...

I mean, it's just really gross. Emma loves it, of course. 

Moon landing on the Mall

Mom wanted to head downtown this weekend to see the special presentation for the Apollo 11 anniversary. I was hoping they'd land a space shuttle by the Capitol, but it was pretty cool even without that. 

We saw a Lego astronaut, which was awesome. I wanted to build one at home, but Dad wouldn't buy me 90,000 more Legos to do it. 

We got a nice seat with a view of the Washington Monument, which was the movie screen for the night. Kinda weird, but they showed a lot on there. 

Emma caught a falling star (OK, it was just a light-up balloon.)

And then the show began. I can't believe how much it looked like a rocket ship taking off. If they can do something that cool, maybe one day we'll put somebody on the moon again.

Out of the shallow now

Oh yeah, this happened: 

That's me going off the diving board into the 12-foot-deep end of the pool. My swim teacher Molly was there to help me out, but I'm pretty much an expert swimmer now. 

Do you think dinner is going to make itself?

No, it's not. So go get me the eggs. 

Jimmy Chitwood

This was the third take. He sunk the first two as well.

So much summer

Sometimes the relaxation is so overwhelming, everything just locks up and you fall over. 

Kindergarten prep

Classes start in less than two months. It's time to start getting Emma ready.

Rock and roll

We've been to Boulder Field dozens of times, but it never gets less cool. I still have trouble jumping across, but you should have seen Tommy moving on there. It was like he was running on a flat track. 

Meanwhile, Emma and Shane were ... being Emma and Shane.

Don't go chasing waterfalls

You gotta visit Hawk Falls when you're up the Poconos. I mean, how often do you get to hang out on top of waterfalls? (Nobody tell Mom about this picture.)

Oh, Jonathan was climbing close to the edge too. 

We got to climb all over the place, and found all sorts of cool passageways. Next time, I gotta remember to bring a bathing suit. Maybe we can climb up the waterfall itself!

Up the Poconos, 2019

Jonathan and I get to spend the week up the Poconos with Grandmom, Pop, Tommy and Shane. You know what that means...

It means ice cream on the dock after dinner and a lot of spoiling that Mom and Dad really don't need to know about, that's what.