More cousin fun

Fun times in the backyard! Cousins Sophie and Alahna enjoy the swings while Gavin mows the pebbles.
Gavin, Sophie, and Casey enjoy the sandbox.
Sophie gets a hand on it.
Who wants to go down the slide when you can just watch as Liam does?
Sophie makes her way down the slide.
Casey ponders the slide as Aunt Stephanie helps him up.
Cousin Alahna gets ready to slide down.
Gavin braces himself to squeeze down the slide.
The love seat for five: from left, Casey, Liam, Alahna, Sophie, Gavin
Family portrait: from left, Chrissy, Alahna, Stephanie, Sophie, Liam, Keith, Casey, Brian, Gavin

Cousin Love

This weekend our family took a road trip to visit Brian's brother Keith, wife Stephanie, and the boys' cousins Alahna and Sophie. On Saturday, we all enjoyed a trip to an indoor bouncing gym. Above: future dodgeball champion Liam
Smiling high atop the slide: from left Gavin, Aunt Stephanie, Alahna, Brian, Casey
Cousin Sophie and Uncle Keith sport their happy smiles.
Cousins Sophie and Alahna sqeeze into an opening in the bounce castle.
Time to smile!
from left to right: Alahna, Uncle Keith, Sophie, Casey, and Brian pause for a moment at the top of the slide.
Gavin loves to twirl hula hoops with his Mama.
Casey and Chrissy take a break from bouncing.
Aunt Stephanie and Gavin have a ball.

Our house, in the middle of our street

It's been over six months since we have moved to our new home. We're mostly unpacked, so I thought it was about time that I take some pictures of our new place.
I started with the second floor. Here is the hallway looking into the boys' room.
The room belonging to Casey, Gavin, and Liam. Yes, three cribs fit in here with some room to spare.


This is the master suite. Okay, it's not really a suite, but it feels that way because it's the third floor. The attic was converted into livable space.
Whoops! I woke up Belly with this shot.
The exercise room, or second guest room, or future playroom.
The views from the windows in the exercise room. This view faces north.
And this view faces east.
The guest room is also where we store toys.

The dining room, with a view into the family room.

The view from the dining room, which faces east.
Here is our light kitchen.
The view from the kitchen.
The banister at the end of the stairs with the really cool window.
The view from the cool window.
The family room. Everyone has a place to sit!

Lions and Tigers and Gorillas, Oh My!!!

Today was our first trip to the zoo together as a family.
With much pointing and staring, Casey, Gavin, and Liam admired the animals.
The gorillas were stinky, but the boys didn't seem to notice.
By far, the sea lions were the most fun to watch as they swam right up to the glass to say hello.

What gets your goat?

Today we went to a pumpkin patch that had it all: pumpkins, apples, petting zoo, slides, a "sandbox" made of dried corn, and hay and corn mazes. With all the different activities, we had quite a busy day!

First, we enjoyed the petting zoo:

This goat liked chasing me around. I finally took its picture. Apparently there are some really photogenic goats out there.
Paco makes friends with two goats.
Casey, Gavin, and Liam watch as Dad says hello to the goats.

Gavin and Liam watch as Mama feeds a goat. Casey did not care to watch.
We're not sure why there was a duck in the chicken coop, but it gave the boys a chance to practice saying "Duh.."
Gavin lets a goat sniff his hand. He's definitely the brave one at times.