It was back on July 20th that Henry came to live with us, and boy, has he changed. He's gained lots of weight and has a lot more hair.  The first picture is the day when we first got him. The last 2 pictures are from tonight.  He just got a bath and had a good brushing. Isn't he so cute?!?

Last week we visited Seaworld.  Thanks to the "Here's to the Heroes" program, our whole family was able to get in for free.  Since our admission was free, we decided to take Kelly's best buddies, Emma and Annie along.  There were so many things to see and do.  Tom and I were pooped by the end of the day, but the girls were still going strong.  It really was a great time, and we managed not to lose anyone.

We ate lunch as soon as we got into the park at the Budweiser Pavilion.

Kelly and Emma really wanted to ride Journey to Atlantis, but Kelly was worried she'd get too wet, so I, being the brave soul that I am, offered to take Emma.  I rode it once and won't ride it again.  I just don't like those big drops.

This was right after the first drop.  I was hoping that was the only one, but there were more to come-SCARY!! Oh, and we didn't get very wet since we sat in the back.

(note-no specific reason this is underlined, but I can't figure out how to get rid of it, sorry)

The girls pretended to be polar bears at the Wild Arctic.

The girls enjoyed their Dippin Dots ice cream-yummy!

Kelly loved feeding the bat rays.  We do this every time we visit Sea World.

This was a fun picture of the dolphin jumping.

Kelly and Emma did end up riding Journey to Atlantis-twice.  This last time they talked us into letting them go right before we were going to leave the park.

First Day of School

We just finished our first week of homeschool.  It was a light one due to the fact that Tom had this week off.  On Wednesday it was back to class for Kelly.  She had her first day of workshop. 

Fun at the VanderKarrs

On Wednesday we hung out with our friends, the VanderKarrs. We were also reunited with the Fess family, who were visiting from Idaho. We all attended Living Hope (our church) together. It was great spending time together and catching up.

Here's some of the brood. There were about 13 kids altogether!

Always fun stuff to do at the VanderKarr house.

"The Famous Water Slide" Notice Casey hanging from the slide? He always was fearless.

Wedding Pics

Saturday we celebrated the marriage of our friend, Rosie from church.  Here are a few pics.

Kelly wore her pretty dress and old-fashioned hat.

Tom played the violin while the guests arrived.

He also played his flute while the couple took communion.

Our Family

Thursday was our first visit to the beach all summer.  The weather was just perfect and the water refreshing.  Made me wonder why we don't go more often.

I had to make Kelly pose for a picture of us together since I'm usually the one behind the camera.

Kelly loves to boogie board.....

...and jump the waves with her friend, Emma.

A picture perfect day!

Our niece was in the newspaper. Way to go, Emily!

Click on the link below to read the article.

Twin Valley and Owen J. Roberts students dig archaeology, literally, at Robeson Township iron-making site

Twin Valley and Owen J. Roberts students dig archaeology, literally, at Robeson Township iron-making site

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Our Newest Addition

Last night Tom came home from work with this cutie in his arms.  Neither Kelly nor I had no idea he was coming! His name is Henry and he's a 2-year old poodle bichon frise mix.

Kelly's smile shows how very excited she was to FINALLY have a dog.

Kelly took Henry on a short walk so he could explore.

Lovin' on Henry

Henry is a sweet little guy who loves to be held and petted.  He already follows Kelly wherever she goes.

Flying on the Trapeze

This is an older post, but thought it was worth sharing.  When we went to the fair July 4th weekend Kelly took a ride on the trapeze.  She looked like she was scared a little, but in the end, liked it a lot.

After being fitted with a harness, she had to climb a tall ladder to the top.

Then she was hooked up into the ropes.

There she goes!

This smile shows she's not terrified.

All trapeze artists must do the flip off the net.

VBS

Kelly went to vacation Bible school last week at Calvary Chapel Vista. She had a great time and made some new friends.  On the last day each of the classes performed a song. This video is from Kelly's class. Please forgive me for the shaking camera. I was trying to record with my left hand while taking pictures with my right.

Swim

Last week Kelly finished her level 2 swim class. These are some fun things they did on the last day.

She's now ready to move on to level 3.

Sewing Project

A few months ago Kelly picked out some cute fabric.  She's been after me to help her make some pillows.  We decided a pillowcase would be a good project.

Kelly's a pro at using the antique hand-crank machine.

Voila! Here's the finished project-a lovely pillowcase.

I had to take a close-up of this adorable fabric from Ikea.

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!

Chile Rellenos

This is my first attempt at making chile rellenos.  It took me over an hour to make them, but well worth it.  They were delicious!

Coastal Academy End of Year Celebration

Kelly's school year flew by!  To celebrate the end of the year, her school had a carnival.

Kelly with her wonderful workshop teacher, Mrs. Gelvin.

Cake Walk

Kelly really wanted to win a goldfish.  This was her first attempt.

Toward the end of the carnival, she finally won one.

Kelly and her friend, Zoe had lots of fun together this year.