In loving memory

My Grandma passed away on May 22. She had suffered from health problems for years. She was an amazing woman and we will miss her. We find such peace in knowing that we will be with her again someday. We flew out to Utah unexpectedly so that we could attend Grandma's funeral. It was a really nice program that was a great tribute to Grandma.

Here's Grandma holding Rachel on the twins' blessing day

We haven't had my parents and all of my siblings together in 2 1/2 years- this picture is long overdue.

The cousins enjoyed spending more time together as we all stayed at my parents' house.

Memorial Day weekend

We were so glad that my brother Joe, his wife Candis, and their baby Alexis could drive down from New Jersey to come and spend the long weekend with us. We really enjoyed their company. This was our first time meeting Alexis. Rachel, Lydia, and Charity just love Alexis. They stayed right by her side the entire time.

Our girls loved bringing Alexis toys....to the point
that she was often buried in them

Here we all are at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon

This is a really neat memorial. A name of someone that died
is engraved on the end of each bench. The names pointing towards
the Pentagon were people who died inside the Pentagon. The names
pointing away were people who died inside the airplane. I believe
there were 184 people who died there.

The amazing self-training child

Potty training with Charity has gone a lot smoother than it did with the twins. In fact, we have literally done nothing at all besides empty the little potty after she goes. We were actually planning on waiting to start potty training with Charity until after we move across the country at the end of the summer, but a few days ago she kept insisting that she wanted to sit on the potty. We finally gave in and pulled out the little potty just to humor her. Sure enough, within a few minutes she had gone, and was very proud of the accomplishment. We thought that may have just been a fluke, but she has gone every day since (number 1 AND number 2)!


We're not sure exactly how we have been so lucky with Charity, but we're pretty sure it has something to do with having 2 big sisters who she adores and she wants to be just like them. Whatever it is, we're not complaining!

Happy Birthday Charity!

I can't believe that Charity is already two years old! She had a great birthday and really seemed to enjoy all the extra attention. The highlight of the day was the bear birthday cake that she had chosen a couple months ago and wanted me to make. As her birthday approached, if someone asked her about her birthday she usually would say "Bear cake!" We're glad she enjoyed her special day.

Here's Charity two years ago when we brought her home
from the hospital- check out that head of hair!

Birthday morning- She was so excited to open her presents

A busy week

We had a busy week last week. We enjoyed having visitors with us- Kenny's parents and his brother Cory with his wife Melanie. Kenny's family was able to do a lot of sightseeing and we joined them for a few things.

The whole crew posing with the Washingtons at Mount Vernon

D.C. temple grounds



We went to the National Arboretum. The girls loved smelling
the beautiful flowers. Lydia demonstrates that here.



Rachel at the Bonsai tree exhibit at the Arboretum



There was a pond of colorful fish at the Arboretum. The
girls loved watching them. The fish are used to tourists
feeding them so they poke their heads out of the water
if you get close to the water.

Kenny took this neat picture at dusk. Notice the
patriotic colored sky.

Our three lovely ladies at the Natural History Museum



There's a Moroccan restaurant in Arlington that Kenny and
I really like. We were surprised to find out that this time there
would be a live belly dancer who encouraged audience participation.
Several of us had a chance to dance, but I like this picture of
Kenny demonstrating his moves best.

Happy Easter!

Lydia, Charity, and Rachel after the Easter egg hunt

Rachel, Charity, and Lydia all ready for church

The Awakening

There's a really neat statue called "The Awakening." It's supposed to be a giant stretching out from under the ground. We went and saw it last weekend. After that we went to Arlington National Cemetery for awhile. It was a nice morning outing. Afterward we asked Rachel and Lydia what their favorite part was. They both replied, "Throwing rocks into the river." That was an unplanned ten minutes of the excursion, but I'm glad they enjoyed it.

Here's the entire statue. Notice Kenny and the girls
next to the arm to get an idea of the size of this thing.

I think this is a neat picture. Kenny is taking the picture
from Arlington House (Robert E. Lee's house) at Arlington
Cemetery. The Arlington Memorial Bridge across the Potomac
goes right over to the Lincoln Memorial. It's symbolic of the
rejoining of the North and South (Lincoln and Lee).