And more news!

As if a move wasn't enough, we are THRILLED to announce that Ward Baby #5 will be joining us in that journey.  "Baby E" is expected to make his or her appearance out of the womb around March 22nd.  We are so thankful for all of these upcoming blessings.

Our news

That's right...we are going west.  As far west as Milwaukee, that is!  Thanks to a new job for the provider of this gang, our family is packing up really soon, and settling in to one of our favorite cities.  We will miss Pittsburgh dearly but are excited for this new opportunity and to be much closer to all of our Midwest family members.

Summer Round-Up

 

All in all, it was a nice and calm summer. Good thing, since our fall will be anything but that!  The biggest development of all is that all THREE of the big girls completed the bike riding goal (around the hilly block, sans whining) and were rewarded with a trip to the mall for pierced ears!  Mali went first and was really excited but pained by the experience.  Brinn opted to wait until Carrigan was ready so I took the two of them the last day of school before summer.  What a rite of passage.

 We spent a lot of time outside enjoying both our front and back yards.  Especially when our neighbors repaved their driveway.  Laney, especially, could have watched that for hours.

 Besides our two big trips, we squeezed in another Michigan visit.  Coordinated with the fair, of course. The baby animal barn wasn't quite as impressive as last year, the the llamas were a hit!

 We went regularly to our sweet little neighborhood library, especially during the Summer Reading Program.  They had some great events, including this one from the Carnegie Science Center.  The girls made their own silly putty and sidewalk chalk!  All of the the girls participated in the reading incentive program and Mali even won the GRAND prize...a Kindle Fire!  Not that we were especially ready for that one!  But she did work dutifully at reading harder-level books and documenting them so she's pretty psyched.

 Speaking of reading, this one's into it big time.  LOTS of Magic Tree House books now. We also read
 aloud some new winners like the Tale of Desperaux and Encyclopedia Brown. 

 

Jonathan did a few home improvement projects, with his ever-willing helpers. 

But mainly my days were spent at home, lounging with this sweet crew, playing games like Sorry and Sleeping Queens before we headed to the pool in the evenings. Not a bad gig I have!

First Day

We now have a third grader, a second grader, and an Kindergartener! Where have the years gone? There's a good thing an ice cream tradition is involved--this mama sure needs it!

(Please note the matching messenger bags)

Celebrating 80 years of Grandma Dena

 Speaking of birthdays, we had an absolutely beautiful day in the park to celebrate a certain GREAT-grandma's milestone birthday.  I wish I had more pictures from that day, but there was just so much to soak in from everything happening then, I didn't want to miss anything. The park was the perfect place with a playground and creek (with crawdads!) to entertain and a pavilion to eat and relax.  Charlie, the newborn kitten was next in line as guest of honor. We spent all day enjoying each other's company and celebrating the lady whose love, faith, and football enthusiasm has blessed us all over the years.  Happy 80th Grandma Dena!

Scenes from a five year old's birthday

 We packed the weekend full of specialness for our girl.  It was filled with marmalade-making, burgers at Five Guys (get it?  FIVE Guys?) lunch with Grandpa, Grandma Sandy, and American Girl Doll Emily, fruit pizza, and bike riding.  Her present from us was a balance bike which she put to use very quickly.  Her sisters were intent to join in.  Then on her actual birthday, a Monday, we picked up sushi and met her daddy downtown for lunch at the fountain.  She was all smiles. A sweet day for our sweet Carrigan.