Scenes from a summer evening

Perfect way to end the day....

(mom roasting her marshmellow)

(Dad, Chris, Mom, Geneva)

(Geneva)

Happy Birthday Dad

Yesterday was my Dads 62nd birthday. He spend most of the day in this chair, sitting by the water, reading his book, while his grandson played in the sand nearby. He said it was an awesome day. Actually, he says that every day that he's alive now is an awesome day.

Meanwhile, we've been chasing our curious boy around the beach. Life is good!

Let the vacation......

Begin!

Last summer, c was only 5 months old when we came here to Long Beach, IN for vacation. He'd sit in his bumbo and stick his toes in the sand, happy to watch whatever we were doing. Now, less than a year later, it's a whole different ball game! He's so into playing in the sand and splashing in water, that I was excited to see his reaction when he first saw the seemingly never ending beach and water. Soon after arriving today, we walked across the street and made our way down to the beach. His eyes were big as saucers. We put him down in the sand and he gestured for his sand toys. "Yes King!" He was excited but I also saw a little trepidation.... not so sure about actually getting in the lake yet. It will be interesting to see how this changes by the end of the week.

My goal is take lots of pictures this week. I want to practice so that I can get better at this photography stuff.... ugh.... not so easy as it turns out....

Chris is taking the train here after work. I can't wait until we're together, sitting on the front balcony, sipping a glass of wine!

(((sigh))))

Ahhhh vacation.... drink it in!

Father's Day

"Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad"

Colin,

You currently think that the sun rises and sets according to your Daddy

I love it

You follow him around and are curious about whatever he's doing

Watching and learning

You're excited to get up in the morning to spend time with Daddy before he goes to work

Even if it's WAY too early to get up, Daddy always acts as if it's the perfect time to get up and play together (This is the same man that used to sleep until the late afternoon in college!)

He carefully makes you a big breakfast... that you pick at

You cry every day when he leaves for work and press your face up against the window to wave goodbye for as long as possible

You and Daddy share a love for the outdoors

If I can't find either of you, I know to look in the yard or on the deck

There I'll find you both watering the plants or just kicking back in your bare feet, feeling the breeze

You are a lucky little man to have the father that you do

Patient, kind and loving

I'm thankful for the man that he is and the love that he gives us every day

Here are a few other recent pictures of you and Daddy that I just love:

Family Day at the Zoo

LM- taking you to the zoo today was the best! First, we had brunch at Toast. You were so good! Just sat there enjoying your pancakes and sipping out of a big glass of water. At the zoo we saw lot's of animals, plus you took your first ride on the merry go round with Daddy. I turned into a crazy lady watching you take your first ride and enjoy it so much. I was running around with camera in hand and tears in my eyes, alternating taking still photos and video of you. If you were any older, you would have probably been embarrassed of me. But not today! Today, it was just the three of us having a great time together. As we were leaving, we saw President Obama's helicopter fly overhead which I also thought was pretty neat. I think you had a great day because we weren't even out of the parking lot and you were already fast asleep.