Mowing

Mowing the lawn at Pa and Nannie's house has two parts- the riding mower part for the expanses of grass, and the push mower for the edges. The boys always call dibs on the riding mower. :-) Gwen has gotten to tag along with the driver of the tractor on a number of occasions, most recently here with Seth.

Mira Mae, at last

Last Saturday we were all officially introduced to our youngest niece and cousin, Mira (pronounced Meer-ah). She's a perfect little blonde peanut, and we think she is darling!
Love those blue eyes!
The three youngest nieces- Adelaide, Mira and Naomi. Want to guess how many shots I took to try to get all three striped girls looking at the same time? :-) Sweet girls!

Ladies' Man

Caleb gets the girls, which we have in abundance! Here he is with Gwen and cousins Emma Clare, Naomi, Maggi and Adelaide. :-)

Miss Personality

I've been enjoying getting to know sweet cheeked Adelaide this summer. She is the sixth of our seven beautiful nieces... meeting Mira Mae, the seventh, tomorrow, so more pictures are coming!

Our Kind Of Town

Last week in the midst of all our college visits, we had a one day reprieve in Chicago. Scott had a business lunch, so Caleb and I had a couple of hours to spend in the city. Mid summer weather makes Chicago especially appealing... we loved the sunshine, blue sky and the stunning aqua water of Lake Michigan.
We followed our noses to Millennium Park to see the Bean and the face fountains, to listen to the symphony practicing in the band shell, and to people watch a bit. This was a place I took the kids many summer afternoons in the past, riding the train into the city from the suburbs, and I loved being there again. If you haven't been at the Bean, it's hard to describe how amazingly cool the reflections are. What's real, what is a reflection, and what's a reflection of a reflection?
Love these fountains! I remember a time we rode the train home, kids shivering in the air conditioned train cars, soaked from playing in the fountains all afternoon.

After Millennium Park, Caleb suggested we hop in a cab and head to Navy Pier, another downtown destination we have loved in the past. We rode the giant Ferris wheel there (at Caleb's request- how many more times will I get to buy him a ride ticket?? Loved it!) for an amazing view. As the wheel slowly rose above the city, I felt a little giddy with the beauty of the day, the love of Chicago, and the joy of being with my guy.
Our only sorrow last week was that Justin and Mary aren't in Chicago anymore... they made our time there in the past that much sweeter. But though it won't be the same without them, Caleb and I agreed that we are sure looking forward to living in Chi-town again someday soon.

Twins

Lissy and Gwen love to be twins!

Moss and Trees and A Bit of History

I seem to have a thing for cemeteries. I took a lovely walk in one this morning, in fact, close by the hotel where we stayed the night in Indiana, first stop in our week of college visits. The one I visited this morning, although neat and well manicured, with rolling expanses of lawn, wasn't nearly as interesting as this one my dad and I visited on Hilton Head Island last week.
This cemetery was o-l-d. Several of the headstones were Revolutionary War era. With the inscriptions showing several hundred years' worth of weather, the wrought iron fence rusting and broken, and the abundant Spanish moss hanging in the trees, this place had a definite feel. Not eerie, I don't think of it that way at all, but heavy with history, perhaps. The little building in the background of this photo is the oldest building on the island, circa 1820.
My dad discovered this headstone, slowly being swallowed up by the growth of the tree beside it. Was the tree even there when the stone was first placed here? I'm guessing not.
The best part of being in a cemetery for me is thinking about the day when "The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the air. Then shall we ever be with the Lord." Can't wait! :-)

College Visits

Left my parents' house after dinner tonight, Scott and Caleb and I. We drove across northern Ohio, passing corn fields and farm houses. I soaked in the green and gold of the fields for the first hour, loving the intense color. As the first hour turned into the second and third, my attention shifted from the fields to the broad expanse of the sky. The dome of blue above us seemed huge, and its color changed and gained intensity as the minutes and miles passed. The sunset was a show like I haven't seen in a year, and I was a captive audience as we drove into it. Scott pointed out the winking fireflies in the grass at the sides of the highway as the dusk gathered. Ahhh. So lovely.

Now we are safely tucked into the beds of a Hampton Inn, the first college on our itinerary of visits this week just ten minutes down the road. Can't wait to see where this next bend in the road leads...

Evening on the Beach

We're loving it. :-)

Cousins in the Pool

Group fun! :-)