Happy Birthday Connor!

8/09 Dear Connor, You looked at me today with a big grin and shining eyes and said, "I can't believe I'm seven already!". Neither can we. You have brought us joy every single day of your life. You have the sweetest nature that I have ever seen in a human being. From the time you were big enough to open the refrigerator, you have never gotten a snack without getting one for your brother too. When Dillon would get put in time out for picking on you, you would go sit with him. I love to watch your tenderness with Halle. You are her source of comfort....when she gets tired she tells me...."Need to hug Connor". Your teachers love you, the boys want to be your buddy and yes it's true, you have already had some marriage proposals from the girls. Happy Seventh sweet son. We love you so much! Love, Mom and Dad

Trevor feeding the hungry kids some pizza.

Seven candles!

Connor opening his presents. Which reminds me that the thank you's are still not written. Yikes!

Twelve kids in the pool plus Trevor the lifeguard. We had a great time. Lots of friends, too much food, plenty of laughter and good weather.

Bryan and Arianna

We went to Arianna and Bryan's wedding . It was absolutely beautiful. It was really nice to have some time with all the Enge relatives.

Going away in style:)

Bubbles

Halle being spoiled by her cousins, Ainsley and Kylie. Thank you for the fun gift pack!

Dillon and Connor made a new friend. They obviously share the same sense of humor.

The happy couple

Ainsley.......I can't believe she is going to college! It seems like she should be Halle's age.

I love this picture of Jan. She was cracking up over the ring bearer who would not lift his face off the pillow.

Halle loved Crazy Cammy. (We all do!) Life is always a little more exciting with Cammy around.

NYC

We stayed at Broadway and Times Square.

The boys in the M&M store

We walked around and scoped out the city a little at night.

Popsicle break- It was 95 degrees the whole time we were there.

12 more hours until the Nintendo World Store opens and Connor gets his DS.

Pikachu! One happy boy

I loved the contrast of this beautiful old church with the modern buildings around it.

Halle and Daddy in FAO Schwartz making a Barbie fashion show.

Hagrid Lego

Flags at the Plaza

Picnic in Central Park- I loved the delis!

The boathouse

We loved New York. We were surprised by the friendliness of the people, and the courtesy of the drivers...we loved the constant stimulation, the ease of getting around and the million sights to see. The smell of the hot dog stands we could live without...Connor wanted to take the Lysol bottle from the bathroom into the street with him....We met an aspiring rapper, MuchMore...in Central Park , who performed for us....and had fun giving him marketing advice....It was a great first experience and we will definitely be back, we really didn't realize how close it is to us. The boys wanted to move there:)

Virginia Beach

A spectacular sunrise

Sleepy morning face

Connor has been desperately wanting a Nintendo DS. We told him that if he read a whole Junie B. Jones book, we would buy him one at the Nintendo World Store in NYC. Here he is, trying to finish it on the beach.

Prowlers on the boardwalk.

Dillon had a great time boogie boarding.

Trevor and the kids built this lovely castle.

Halle and Daddy

We rented one of these fun contraptions and cruised the boardwalk one night. It was a blast! And a great workout!

My beautiful babies all cuddled up

The view from our room. There was always something going on. There was the constant entertainment of near crashes on the boardwalk and every evening there was a volleyball contest.

Dillon, Connor, and Halle in a brief moment of sitting still.

Washington D.C.

We drove through Washington D.C. on our way to Virginia Beach. The traffic was atrocious all the way there so we didn't arrive until 10:00 p.m. We found a parking spot, our umbrellas, rounded up the children and made the trek up to the Lincoln memorial in pouring rain. This led to a great discussion on the civil war and slavery, culminating with the question, "Mom, were you alive when Lincoln died?" The city was absolutely beautiful, all lit up and glistening. The children, not so glistening after a day in the car. I think they did enjoy it, and I hope they remember the city and not our extreem frustration with them. Ahhhhh......this is what memories are made of.

Summer House

It has rained almost 4 days a week all summer here. As a result, our flowers are all huge! Trevor and I divided and replanted a lot this spring and the results were fantastic! It makes me want to go through all the effort again next spring!

A trip to the Zoo

We are making good use of the Zoo tickets that Kari and Ryan gave us! Today was a perfect zoo day-75 degrees with a nice breeze. Cheryl and the boys on the train.

Halle and Connor really enjoyed the butterfly house. Or the "flutterfly" house as Halle says. Her word makes more sense.

Dad- Here is an interesting birdhouse for you. I think you could incorporate the tile mosaic into your next one:).