June update

Sophia went fishing with her BaBa. I tagged along this time. After a lot of patience they finally caught a fish. It was a tiny fish but the excitment it brought was huge. It is so nice so see a father and daughter do things together. Steve is totally involved with all his children. I don't see too many fathers as involved as he is.


Katie graduated from middle school this year. We went to New Jersey to attend the graduation. We are so proud of Katie. She has grown so much. She had a blast introducing Sophia to all her friends. Katie and Nick both share a special bond with Sophia.


Anne's friend, Tracy came up to visit. She and her daughter and another mom and daughter went to DC and New York on this trip. We were able to spend a night with them. Sophia had a blast playing with Tracy's daughter, Julianna and her friend. It was so nice to catch up with Tracy. We have been friends since we were in kindergarten. She moved to Texas in third grade but came back to visit and spent a whole summer one year. We have been in touch since. Seeing Tracy was so much fun.


Sophia and I went to pick some rasberries. We had such a blast. We picked red raspberries, black raspberries, tart cherries and spinach. We made smoothies, berry pancakes and a yummy syrup as a dessert topping. We can't wait to go again.

Florida!!

Sophia and I were lucky enough to spend a week in Florida with Heather and Katlyn. It was such an awesome trip. She stayed at Heather's dad's house. The house is right on the Sarasota Bay. It was beautiful. Sophia and I went down a couple of years ago for a few days but this time we decided to stay the whole week.

The girls got along great. We went to the beach, the pool, mini-golfing, a farm where they rescue animals, a park, an aquarium and shopping.

One night we brought dinner to the beach. The seagulls swarmed. One was trying to get a chicken leg from Sophia. I took the chicken to get the bird away from her and in seconds that bird swooped down and stole the chicken leg right from my hand. It was wild.

It is hard to say what our favorite part was. I enjoyed the sunsets on the beach. Heather and I brought snacks and something to drink and enjoyed the sunset while the girls dug in the sand and played at the shore line. There were some hammerhead sharks and sting rays sited in the area so we made sure the girls did not go far into the water.

May Update

We started out the month with a picture of Sophia in front of the azalea bushes. This is becoming our yearly tradition.

May 1st

This year......

Last year (2009).....

Two years ago (2008)....
May 2 was a BIG day. We went to visit Thomas the Tank Engine at the train museum. Sophia took this day seriously. She began to plan her outfit days in advance. She had to look good after all. She tried on dress after dress until she decided on the perfect dress. She was so excited to see Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt. The smile on her face and joy in her voice was amazing.

Sophia had her dance recital on May 7. She did a fantastic job. I was worried that she wouldn't let me put her hair up in a bun or put on her make-up but she did fine. She did a super job on stage. She was one of the few kids in her class that actually did most of the dance. She was in her element, shining on stage.

We started our vegetable garden and then had a cold snap. Thankfully all the plants made it. The fence BaBa added this year is keeping the dogs out of the garden and the plants alive. I love gardening. I wish I had more time to do it.

Katie came down of one of Steve's reenacting weekends. Katie decided to join him and spend a couple of days in 1760's. She had a blast dressing up and working around the camp. She had so much fun she plans on joining him again.
Sophia had her turn a few weeks later when she went on a day trip re-enacting with BaBa.

After getting all dressed up for Thomas, Sophia must have decided it was fun to wear dresses. She has all her dressed hanging up on her bed rail now. Every day she picks a new dress to wear. I think she has worn only dresses every day this month.

We went to the zoo and farm a few times this month. It was a month packed with all fun things.

April Update

Spring is finally here! We are beginning to see the first signs of the new season after a long winter and we love it.

We went on an Easter Egg hunt at the farm. There were lots of kids and Sophia got a bit overwhelmed at first, so much of the candy and treats were gone by the time she figured out what was going on. With a little help from me she did find a few treats. There was also a girl who was about seven years old that saw Sophia walking around with an empty basket and took two treats out of her own basket and gave them to Sophia. This girl's parents were not nearby, she did this on her own. It is so nice to see that empathy and generosity is a value in some families. I hope that someday Sophia will do the same thing. If the empathy and compassion she has now continues I know that she will become a very caring and giving person. In addition to the Easter egg hunt we enjoyed seeing the animals for the first time this year.

Sophia and I made Easter Bread together. This was a recipe that a neighbor taught my mother when I was young. I remember the night the neighbor came over to help my mother make the bread. The bread calls for ten eggs. My father, always the joker, had gotten into the eggs beforehand and poked little holes in the bottom and drained the eggs. My mother cracked three eggs before realizing that my dad had played a joke on her. This is a childhood memory I cherish. I think of my dad and his sense of humor when I make this recipe. I told Sophia the story as we made the bread together but I don't think she got the humor in it. Guess you had to be there!

Sophia and BaBa dyed some eggs. She had a blast preparing for Easter.

The Easter bunny came and left her a basket full of goodies. Sophia put on her pretty dress and we went to Grandma Bev's for lunch.
We began planting flowers this month. Sophia loved helping out and made friends with lots of worms. I am so glad she loves to dig and get dirty.
For the past few years the azaleas burst into color on May 1, Sophia's half birthday. I have captured this with photos over the past few years. This year they bloomed a couple weeks early. I will still take a picture on May 1 but had to capture the color on this day, April 22.