Updates

We haven't been able to post much lately because Elise "washed" our laptop in mid-November and we had to get a new one.

The girls continue to grow and change each day. Elise cracks me up with her vocabulary. She's using "probably" and "actually" all the time and in the correct context. It cracks me up when she'll say, "Not right now," or "Oh, man! My __________ fell!" She has an amazing memory for things we do or people we meet. We went to the grocery store yesterday, and it was the first time we hadn't given the woman from the Salvation Army money, and at dinner last night she told Ray, "We went to the grocery store. We didn't give the girl with the bell a dollar this time." One day, she also was telling me the bible story of Naaman we had been reading a couple of weeks ago, counting to seven for the number of times he had to wash himself in the Jordan River. Elise is still completely in love with Rebekah, always wanting to make sure she's ok or safe and constantly referring to her as "my sister."

Rebekah is just about two weeks shy of her first birthday. She babbles all the time, although we're not really hearing any real words. She knows "mama" and "dada" and will occasionally say them in the correct context, usually when she's upset or really wants one of us. Rebekah absolutely loves cheese! It's the first thing she has to eat at lunch and when she sees it she says "chs chs chs" with a huge smile on her face. Rebekah's able to stand for a few moments on her own now, although it doesn't happen very often because she's always on the move. She doesn't like keeping her shoes and socks on, and she loves crawling up the steps. Typically we'll find her half way up the stairs with her shoe or sock in her mouth. This past week, Elise had her first visit and overnight hospital stay due to an illness. She woke up on Tuesday morning at 3am calling for Ray, and when he went into get her, she started crying saying that she wanted me. I went in and could kind of tell something was off, but she didn't have a fever, so we put her back to bed. At 4am she woke up calling for me and ended up getting sick twice. She was able to keep her medicine down and slept until about 7am and then got sick two more times. We ended up having to give Elise her first emergency shot (which was not fun for us, but now we really know what to do) then she got sick again, so Ray and Elise headed to the ER. Thankfully our ped. endo. is so wonderful and accomodating, he called the ER before they got there so the medicine would be on its way, and they wouldn't have to wait too long. It's amazing what a bag of IV fluids, a Solu-Cortef drip and lots of prayer can do. When I was finally able to go see Elise later in the afternoon, she was more or less back to her usual self ready for pizza for dinner and to color. Elise wasn't very happy to have to sleep in a crib or to have a board on her wrist to stabilize the IV, but she was a trooper. At one point she started picking the tape on the IV board saying, "I take this off. I break this! I wanna break this off!" I was able to stay the night with Elise at the hospital. She wanted to sleep in bed with me, but since she couldn't I held her until she fell asleep- that was such a sweet moment for me, being able to hold my little big girl and thank the Lord for her life and happy spirit and the amazing blessing that she is to us! In the morning she woke up ready to go home and in a wonderful mood. She was talking to the nurses and playing peek-a-boo with them through the window of her hospital room. I thought she looked adorable with her puffy, had a lot of IV fluids and just woke up face. Elise got home close to 11am on Wednesday morning and the reaction between Elise and Rebekah when they saw each other was the sweetest and most priceless moment ever. Huge smiles, lots of claps, and excitement!

Updates

The girls have been changing so much lately. In just the last month, Rebekah has gone from army crawling, to her version of crawling, to pulling to stand, and cruising a little around the furniture. She's not usually content to stay in one place, and definitely does not like having her diaper changed because she's stuck in one place. Rebekah has shown us her displeasure for certain foods and when we take something from her. Ray and I are trying to figure out how to handle those outbursts, but all in all, she's a very happy and content girl. I love going into her bedroom in the morning or after her nap to see her standing in her crib with a huge smile on her face. It's a highlight of my day! She also started clapping a couple days ago... I really love hearing that little smack, smack, smack!

Elise's vocabulary has been growing by leaps and bounds. The other day she fell over and said, "Woah! I lost my balance!" She loves to color and draw circles. She loves singing her songs from Sunday School and reading her bible story and lesson before nap and bedtime. We're in a phase now where she is making comparisons, something is always like something else. Elise is started to get more comforatble around other kids, eventhough she still won't talk to them. She no longer insists on leaving the playground when all the kids come to play after school, and I even saw her try to give one of her Sunday School friends a toy when we were at a play date.

I'm trying to cherish these little moments as they are all passing so quickly. But now, I'm being asked to go outside and to go to the playground. Elise LOVES her routine!

Let's Make a FORK!

Here are some more Elise-isms that I have to write down before I forget.

Playing with her kitchen- "Here's some sauce. (holding a ketchup bottle) This is chocolate milk. This is rice milk. (pointing to the bottle) See the cows? Oh, these are horses." I guess in Elise's mind if we don't drink cow's milk, then our milk has to come from some other similar animal!

Talking to Rebekah- "Hi, Bekah! Hello, my sister. Hi, my cutie! What's my cutie doing?" Mind you, cutie is pronounced, too-dee. Very funny!

Pulling out our extra blankets- "Mommy, let's make a fork!" Her new favorite this is to make a fort out of the coffee table and blankets. Today, she and Julia ate lunch in the fort. Now is when I should tell you her T's sound like K's and her hard C's and K's sound like T's. It's sometimes a challenge to speak Elise-ese!

Nine Months Old

Rebekah is nine months old already! It’s so hard to believe that time has gone by so quickly. Rebekah went to the doctor’s last week for her well-baby check-up, and she is certainly doing well! She weighs 20lbs. 9 oz. and is 29” tall. I haven’t checked Elise baby book, but I know that Elise wasn’t 29 inches tall until she was 18 months old, and I’m not sure when she broke the 20 lb mark. Dr. Otto was right when he told Elise that she wouldn’t be the big sister for very long. Rebekah has such a great personality and is happy and content most of the time. The only time she really fusses is if she’s hungry or overtired. Of course, she has shown her likes and dislikes, especially when we take something from her she shouldn’t have or when we’re trying to get her to eat something she doesn’t want. Just last week we hit two mobility milestones, which I’m really excited about! On Wednesday, Rebekah figured out how to get from laying down to sitting, and then on Thursday, she started army crawling. Bek’s pretty fast and adept at the army crawl, so we’re even more aware of what’s on the floor. I’m really excited for the mobility milestones, but the only thing bad about it, is that I’m going to have to clean my floors more often. I vacuum a lot, but Rebekah’s shirts have shown that I need to break out the Swiffer more often… *sigh*

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday, Ray and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. We enjoyed a fun, family day and took the girls to the farm to pick pumpkins. While we were there, we visited friends and checked out the hay maze. Ray and Elise disappeared for a while and came back with these...

My loving husband picked me a bouquet of wild flowers! I am so thankful to the Lord for providing me with such a God-fearing, thoughtful, caring husband. He is an amazing leader for our family. Everyday is great knowing that Ray is the one the Lord has designed for me. I'm looking forward to what God has planned for us in the coming years, as these past four have been wonderful! I love you, Ray! Now and always.

Hershey Park

Last weekend we went to Hershey Park. We went up Friday afternoon and spend the evening camping at the Hershey Highmeadow Campground. Camping in a tent with a two year old, one year old, and nine month old was interesting but went a lot smoother than I thought it would. I did feel badly for Ray when he had to take Elise to the potty twice in the middle of the night though. We had a bit of a hike to the bath house!

The girls had fun on the rides at Hershey Park, although they weren't up to part because of their rough night's sleep in the tent. Elise really liked the big slide, and we all had fun on the train. Ray and I had fun seeing the park through the girls' eyes, but we were ready to catch up on our sleep after the busy time away!

Busy Week

My birthday was last week, so Ray took the day off, and we had a fun family day. That evening we went out to dinner (which we hardly ever do) by ourselves (which is almost unheard of) to a great restaurant. It was one of those places where dinner takes a couple hours. Needless to say, we really enjoyed ourselves, but the girls had a bit of a rough night. We are very thankful to my mom for her patient and loving babysitting services! We got home close to 830 to find Rebekah awake but snuggled in Gram's arms and Elise like this...She fell asleep right in front of the door, waiting for us to get home. Apparently, she didn't want to eat any dinner, didn't want to take a bath, and didn't want to read books in her room, all because she thought she would have to go to bed without mommy and daddy home. She hasn't yet caught on that Gram (and other babysitters, I'm sure) bend the rules a little while mommy and daddy are away. It was really sweet to see her laying there though when we got home and to see a BIG smile from sleepy-eyed Rebekah. God certainly blessed me with a great birthday!

Ray's parents came to visit us Thursday through Sunday, so we had the opportunity to be tourists in our own city. Because it was raining on Thursday, we had to do something inside, so we took the girls to Storyville at the Rosedale Library. Because you know I love going to the library and doing free activities, this was perfect! We spend a few hours there in the morning, and the girls got to use their imaginations and play, all while cultivating a love for reading and spending quality time with Mommy, Daddy, Grandmom, and Grandpop. Friday was a great day for a trip to the zoo. We got there right when it opened and had a wonderful time visiting the exhibits and seeing it all through the girls' eyes. Some picture highlights...

Saturday morning we went to the Inner Harbor and took a free walking tour. It was really quite interesting, and I think we all agreed that it ended in one of the best areas of the city- Little Italy. And just in time for lunch! We had a nice picnic lunch under a tree near Pier 6. Ray and Elise had a lot of fun playing in a new fountain downtown, and we all enjoyed the amazing weather!

I just noticed...

Elise is wearing her "shrimp" shirt in quite a few pictures on the blog. It's not because she doesn't have any other clothes. Believe me. We could dress at least three other children with the amount of clothes we have for Elise. It's just that the "Who You Calling Shrimp?" shirt is her absolute favorite. Appropriately so!

Elise's Heaven on Earth

On Thursday, we had two van loads of workers show up in front of our house to istall FIOS for Verizon. When I came downstairs with Rebekah before 7:30, I went to the living room to open the shutters. What I saw would only make Elise's heart go pitter pat. There were about 20 men in hard hats with shovels, brooms, and rakes getting ready to go to work. Since she was in the kitchen with Ray eating breakfast, she had no idea what was going on. I said, "Oh, Elise. You better come look out the window! You are going to LOVE this!" Needless to say, breakfast was abandoned. I quickly took her upstairs to get dressed and let her finish her breakfast outside on the porch while she watched the "boys," as she called them, work. The only time we came inside all day was to put Rebekah down for a nap, use the potty, get Rebekah up from her nap, and to eat lunch. There were wheelbarrows and pick axes, and they even used a jack hammer to make two whole in the street. I'm also pretty sure I heard some kind of a saw. Elise really liked watching them and digging in the dirt piles they made. She was a little sad when they left for lunch, but was glad to hear the generator going before she went down for her nap. I think she probably fell asleep watching them out her bedroom window. The men didn't finish up their work until after 6pm. I wasn't home when they left, but I think Elise was probably a little disappointed. Having them here all day was a dream come true for her!

A Song to Remember

I hope that when the girls are older and if they're going through self-esteem issues that I'll be able help them from my experience. If that doesn't seem to get the message across, I hope this song will. So powerful and so true for young girls and women today!

Elise-isms

So more for my memory's sake than anything else, I want to record some of the funny, interesting, quirky, off-the-wall things Elise says. There's usually something memorable everyday.

"mmmm. A blueberry sandwich!" -this was about a NutriGrain bar.

"Hello, Beekah, Bookah, Beeks, Bekah!"

"Hi, Bekah. Good morning. How you doing? What you doing, Bekah?" -I overheard this when she went into Rebekah's room one morning.

"Hi, Bekah Harmer!"

"Cook Daddy!" -every evening before we start making dinner.

"I help Daddy cutta the gas."

"What you doing, Mommy?" -this about 12 times in a row after I've already answered her.

"Where'd (insert name here) go?" -typically during mealtimes, she'll ask about family members or pets.

"Mawmellow. Boom. Shovel." -when we get out the toy lawnmower, all of the other grass cutting supplies need to come out too.

"Em. Mommy Jane. EASE!" -when I asked Elise what her name was.

And just for fun, here is Elise in August 2008 and last week. She's really grown! Elise is such a sweetie and makes every day a joy for us!

Updates

It's been a bit since I've updated about the girls, so here's what they're up to. Elise is becoming more and more independent everyday, which means that we are doing more and more training everyday. All in all, she's pretty compliant and only needs occassional reminders about what is the better choice than what she is currently doing! Often I hear, "No. I will do it." Then about 30 seconds later, "Mommy. Help." Elise is totally into being outside. It doesn't matter what she's doing, she just wants to be outside. Her new favorite toy is her lawnmower from Grandmom. I believe Elise has played with it every single day since she got it. She also has to get her wheelbarrow, shovel, rake, and broom out when she uses the lawnmower. Elise is also getting to be a very good jumper. Not only does she jump up and down, she'll jump off of the steps, a stool, anything is fair game for her! And just today, she walked up all the steps from the playroom... no crawling. I'm not sure if that's a real milestone or if her legs are finally long enough to walk the steps! And for the most important thing, Elise is potty trained during the day!!! No more diapers in the day time for Elise! She's so pround of herself and loves picking out her panties every morning. Since she's such a big girl now, she also wants to sit on the pooty like a big girl and takes her potty seat off. That means I have to hold her while she goes, but that's way better than changing diapers!




Rebekah has started eating solid foods. Although she's not eating a lot, she's doing really well. She has even started opening her mouth and leaning in for the spoon, so that's progress! This past week she also started rolling over from her tummy to back. She did it a few times back in April, but these rolls have been more consistent and intentional. I know I must be crazy, but I am excited for the mobility milestones, and I do my best to put her on her tummy as often as possible to help her learn to roll or crawl or scoot. Rebekah also has two teeth. Her bottom front two teeth came in about a week apart. She did really well with them and only had occassional fussiness. Finally, she's gone from a "baby dinosaur" to a babbler. OK, so she mostly sounds like a baby dinosaur when she talks, but just yesterday, she started making a "bwa bwa bwa" sound, so she's getting her lips into it.



It is so neat to see the girls develop and grow and change. I am constantly reminded how awesome the Lord is as I care for them.

Doll

Most kids have a lovey or other comfort item when they're little. Elise has a small Raggedy Ann doll whom she affectionately calls "Doll." I know, it's such a creative name. We first started giving Elise Doll when she started playing with her own hair. Ray and I thought this might be a better option, but as many of you have seen, Elise still plays with her own hair. Elise has loved Doll's hair so much that she now has two dreadlocks. Doll goes with us on almost every car trip- to the grocery store, the Y, vacations, church, the library, ect. She's flown on a plane and been to several states. Doll even went to family camp. Elise also insisted on bringing her to the playground one day because she thought Doll would like the slide. Doll will soon be getting a hair transplant, but I know that Elise will still love her just as much, and maybe even more, now that she has more hair to twirl!

Suitor

We found this on our front porch the other morning.




This gentleman caller is going into the first grade (I think). He's the boy next door and loves riding his bicycle in front of our house and on our lawn. Young Jake has had a fondness for Elise since she was a baby, calling her sweetie pie, honey, babe, and cutes. We certainly weren't prepared for courting this early, but at least it gave Ray and me a nice laugh!

Food

We started giving Rebekah rice cereal on Monday. She did a really good job eating it and didn't get too messy. As an "experienced" mom, I knew not to make it as liquidy as the package recommends because then it's a real mess. Elise has helped feed her every morning since, but more gets into Elise than Rebekah. Here's our typical morning conversation.

Elise: Mommy, I go outside.

Me: Not yet. Rebekah needs to eat her breakfast.

Elise: I feed her!?

Me: Ok. (Elise then proceeds to give Bek a big spoonfull of rice or oatmeal gooey goodness.)

Elise: I have some?

Me: Sure.

From here on out it's about one spoon for Rebekah and two for Elise until-

Me: Elise, I'm glad you like Rebekah's breakfast, but please let her eat it. When she's done, you can have what's left.

Elise: Ok. (gives Rebekah a spoonfull.) I have some!?

Too bad Elise didn't like baby cereal this much when she was little. It wouldn't have taken almost a year to get through the box of rice and the box of oatmeal!

6 Months

Rebekah turned six months old on the fourth of July. What a very fun half-birthday for her! We went berry picking at the farm in the morning, ate lunch at Gram and Pop's, went to a parade, and then spent the evening with friends and topped it off with fireworks! Actually she fell asleep right after the fireworks started, but I think she enjoyed the few she saw. So today we went to see Dr. Otto for Rebekah's six month check-up. She weighs 17lbs 14 1/2ozs and is 27 1/4 inches long. He said that she is perfectly proportioned- heavy and tall! Rebekah is wearing clothes Elise wore last summer, and I have a feeling we'll be moving up to the next size very soon. Rebekah is such a sweet, happy girl. We're so blessed to have her in our family!

Family Fun Day

We took our first trip to the farm yesterday to go berry picking. This is one of our favorite summer activities, and something that we don't do often enough. We were able to pick some of the last strawberries of the season and red rasberries. Ray had never picked strawberries before. Last year and the year before he got to eat the fruits of my labor! Elise had a good time picking strawberries, but she really liked the rasberries better. It went something like two for Elise, one for the bucket. Rebekah was just along for the ride, and I think was glad to get out of the hot sun and under a shady tree for family snack time.

Trying to figure out how to eat an apple slice.

Last night we went to a concert and cookout at Bishop Cummins. It was part of their Missions Week, and we all had a really nice time. After Elise got some food in her belly, she was dancing away. I think she got Ray's dancing genes! Rebekah enjoyed sitting on the blanket and watching all of the people sitting around us on their chairs and blankets. I told Ray that this is what Summer was all about. Spending time with family and being outside. Looking forward to another family day tomorrow.

New Perspective

My cousin Ann was right. She said that Rebekah would be sitting up this week, and she is! This whole new perspective has made Rebekah an even happier and curious girl. It's so neat to see her sitting and to see how Elise interacts with her. I think Elise is enjoying Rebekah more now that she can sit and play with toys, and of course, Rebekah loves her big sister. I don't know who can make Rebekah laugh as much as Elise does! These milestones are so exciting and fun to witness.

Sleepy heads

The girls didn't get as much sleep as they're used to while we were on vacation, so they're trying to catch up wherever and whenever they can. They fell asleep on our five minute car ride home from the grocery store before lunch. I woke Elise up when we got home, she walked into the house and laid down next to Bek. Poor things.

Our Vacation

We're back from our trip to Pensacola. We had such a nice time, and the girls did really well with the flying, driving, time change, sleeping in a hotel, and basic upheaval of their usual routine. Here are some highlights.

Wednesday morning we got to see the Blue Angels practice. It was really neat, although it was making my stomach turn just watching some of the aerial acrobatics they do. We spent the rest of the morning at the National Naval Aviation Museum- admission is free. Elise had a great time checking out all of the planes and pretending to be a pilot.

Wednesday afternoon we went to Pensacola Beach and visited with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It was so nice to catch up a bit at the beach- so peaceful and beautiful. Elise had fun with Ray in the ocean, and Rebekah took a nap in the beach tent.
Thursday morning we went to Perdido Key. That beach was further away from our hotel but a little more quiet. Rebekah slept some more while Elise played with some family's toys they left at the beach. The weather was great and there was a slight breeze. We took long naps that afternoon, and after dinner we got to see a parade. It went right past our hotel. We didn't have to do anything for these beads- they just kept throwing them and throwing them. Elise kept putting them around her neck. No wonder when we got back to our room she couldn't walk straight. They were weighing her down.

Friday morning we went back to Pensacola Beach for a short visit. Later that morning we went to the TT Wentworth Jr Museum- admission is free. The third floor had a discovery area for kids that was set up like a Spanish colony. Once she got warmed up, Elise had a great time checking out the ship, cottage, trading post, Indian village, and fort. That evening we went to the rehearsal dinner and visited with more family. The only bad part is when you go to a wedding, you don't get to catch up with the bride and groom because they have so much to do and so many people to see themselves. It's alright though. Ray and I completely understand what that's like. Ray loved all of the food. We got in the car to go back to our hotel, and he was wondering what they were going to do with the leftovers even though he said he was about into a food coma!

Saturday morning we got to Pensacola Beach early to play for a bit before the ladies went to the Bridal luncheon. While we were at the Bridal luncheon, which was a lovely intimate affair, the men took care of the girls (minus Rebekah because she doesn't like the bottle anymore). They all had a good time, and we all took long, much need naps that afternoon before the big event. The wedding was beautiful, and Elizabeth was such a graceful bride. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous, and Harley looked excellent in his seersucker suit.

We had a lot of fun at the reception. Again, Ray couldn't stop talking about the food! At one point Deb said, "I can't believe Ray's not out on the dance floor yet." To which Ray responded, "As long as there's still food out, I'll be right here." Elise had fun "dancing" with everyone. Rebekah was very tired and hungry, so she and I left early. Ray said the toasts were nice and the cake was good- he had two pieces!
Sunday morning it was time to say goodbye to Pensacola and head back to New Orleans for our flight home. We stopped in Fairhope, Alabama for church. The bishop was there, so we got to stay for a southern potluck lunch. Ray was happy they had asian slaw- Ray gets excited about food. We got to the airport late and our flight was overbooked, so I got on the plane with Elise and Rebekah. Ray was going to have to take a later flight, and I was sitting on the plane trying to console Elise because Daddy wasn't there and trying to figure out what I was going to do during the layover with two girls, a backpack, a car seat and no stroller, when Elise said, "DADDY!" I looked up and there was Ray coming on the plane. God answers prayers!!! That was a sure sign of His goodness to us.

We're home, getting back into our routine, doing lots of laundry, and looking back on our vacation with fondness.

Family Camp

We had such a great time at our church's Family Retreat this weekend. We stayed at Deer Valley YMCA Camp, which is about a mile from Mt. Davis, the highest point in Pennsylvania. The weather was gorgeous, the facility was wonderful, and the fellowship was encouraging. It was so nice to be able to spend some relaxed, outdoor time together as a family and catch up with friends that we don't always get to connect with on Sundays, for whatever reason. My favorite part of the retreat was the camp fire on Friday and Saturday night. Games, singing, testimony- what more could you want from church camp? So here are some photo highlights!

The Sailors!

Rebekah's first swing ride

Free time- Elise was completely obsessed with the basketballs

Ray representing the Harmer Fam during Field Games

Tonight and tomorrow we're unpacking, doing laundry, and repacking as we prepare for our trip to Florida. We're looking forward to spending time together, visiting some really neat places, catching up with extended family, and celebrating a wedding. It's going to be a busy vacation, but thankfully it's at the beach!

New Discoveries

Yesterday was the first time Elise has helped make cookies. She got up on her stool and had her spoon already to scoop out some dough for the cookie sheets. Well, she decided to take a taste of the cookie dough, and that was the end of baking for her. Elise quickly set her spoon aside because it was mush easier to use her hand to eat the dough. I'm not sure exactly how much she ate, but it couldn't have been any less than four cookies worth of dough. I even told her to stop eating the dough because we were going to have dinner soon, and she replied, "No dinner." If Bill Cosby can justify chocolate cake for breakfast, Elise can justify oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for dinner.

Rebekah noticed that she had feet on Saturday. It wasn't until yesterday that she decided to taste them! I have a feeling that they are pretty yummy since everytime she's on her back she has at least one foot in her mouth. I was carrying her to the bathtub from her room this evening and she would not let go of her foot. Bek even played with them during her bath tonight. It's pretty adorable and definitely a cute discovery.

Daddy's Home

Mini-Vacation

We had a wonderful visit to see Daddy. Elise and Rebekah both took their first plane ride and did great! Elise's favorite thing about the airport wasn't all of the planes, it was the trucks that take the baggage and supplies to the plane. Elise got a little nervous during take-off and landing, but when I asked her who we were going to see, she perked right up and said "Daddy!" She also loved that she got her own bag of mini pretzels. Rebekah just had a nice time smiling with the man sitting next to us and touching his arm.

We spent two days with our dear friends the Devers. Elise and Makayla really hit it off. They played in the kiddie pool together, read books, made smoothies in the play kitchen, sat next to each other at lunch, and even took naps together. Typical girls, they didn't go to sleep right away, but rather, they talked and made a little bit of mischief before settling down- yes, that's Elise asleep on the floor.

Ray and Josh hung out and did man things, while Kim and I talked (surprise surprise!) and got caught up with family happenings. Elena and Rebekah just did their own things, but we hope they'll become great friends like their big sisters. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Everytime we get to visit with the Devers' we feel refreshed and encouraged. They are a great example of a covenant family, and we hope our friendship continues for years to come. We're already talking about another visit so we can check out the beach... maybe camping in their backyard! Thank you so much for your hospitality!

We spent Monday morning at Colonial Williamsburg. It was so nice to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather and experiencing the history. We definitely plan on going back when we can spend more time and the girls can appreciate it a little bit more.

Monday afternoon we went to the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. It was like a small zoo/ aquarium combo. It was very interesting and educational. Everything was related to the various geographic areas of Virginia. We all had a nice time. Elise loves animals that aren't up close and personal, and so does Mommy. Rebekah liked her nap in the carrier, and Ray like seeing all of the animals and talking to Elise about them. Too bad we didn't have more time there. If you're ever in Newport News, you should check it out.

Yesterday we had a relaxing day while Ray went to work. He was back at the hotel by 3, so we went to a petting zoo and then out to dinner. In our typical family vacation fashion, we ate almost all of our meals al fresco. It was great! We're looking forward to our big vacation in a week and a half. The flight will be longer, but thankfully both Ray and I will be flying with the girls. What could be better than spending time at the beach with family and attending a wedding!?