MY SISTER IS HOME!!!

:)

that is all.
annie.

This is the Place

Second day of picture logs: My sister, Melissa, my Mom and I went to This is the Place with the kids. We went late and found they shut most things down by 2:00. This kids were a little disappointed. But we did get to see quite a bit still.
Everyone got to ride ponies! (Except Charlie. He wasn't interested. He wanted to get to the blacksmith shop before they closed it down.)

The school house is always a fun place to visit!

How many pioneers drew aliens on their slates?

Annie is the best helper with all the small kiddos! (And they love her for it!)

My Mom and Isabelle.

We rode the train around the whole village.

Annie and Missy picked the back seat because it was shady. (It was over 90 degrees that day.) Unfortunately, as soon as the train started, it turned so Missy and Anne were in the sun most of the trip. -- tee hee. :)

Wheeler Farm

I'm a little embarrassed....I took over 500 pictures on our trip to Utah. So this is a picture log of our day at Wheeler Farm. (A small pioneer farm in Salt Lake City). I will follow with other posts on the rest of our trip. This dog is Copper. Izzie is so attached to him. She goes everywhere with him!
My nephews William and Calvin "fishing".

What a Calvin face!

My Mom and Annie....two of my favorite women!

Sweet Janet!

Simon trying to head up to the tree house.

William

This tree house was there when I was a little girl. I remember climbing up and peeking out of that same window.

Hmmm does your dress taste good Izzie?

This goat really wanted the cookies we were eating!

"Please, Calvin, give me your cookie!"

"NOPE!"

My nephew Brandon loves his sunglasses!

Calvin's feet after a day on the farm!

MaryBeth and Janet. Cousins!

We also fed the swans and ducks.

This picture of Brandon makes me think of his dad, Trent when he was a little boy. See that impish grin. I have seen that before! My brother Trent had the nickname "Trent trouble". Brandon seems to be a little more quiet. Love the kid!

Elizabeth's Summer

Elizabeth interned with NASA over the summer in Palmdale, CA. She worked on a droid airplane calculating drag! Scott and I were able to go for her final presentation.

Doesn't she look spiffy?

Elizabeth had special clearance to go into classified areas. Scott and I had badges (see the orange thingy pinned to me..) that said we had to be escorted by someone with red clearance (Elizabeth). Elizabeth took us to the space shuttle hanger where we saw an escape pod (above) and cone for the space shuttle when it flies on the back of the airplane. (below)
We loved being in California with Elizabeth.

For two weeks, Elizabeth stayed here in Tucson. She had her 18th birthday party in our backyard with 40 teenagers! Crazy times!

Scott set up a movie in the backyard by the pool.

Then it was off to Boston to take Elizabeth to MIT! Here she and Scott are with one of the Freedom Trail guides.

The North End is always fun. You can see Paul Revere's house just down the street behind Elizabeth. This was our last night with Elizabeth. We told her we would do anything she wanted. She picked Italian food! So we tromped over to the North End, only to find they were having a huge street festival. After looking into several eating establishments, we almost gave up. But luckily we were able to score a table at Cantina Italiano. (Recommended by our tour guide.) We had a wonderful dinner, followed with cannolis from Mike's Bakery!

Scott calling in vain for a dinner reservation!

Night in downtown Boston.

MIT is just a crazy place! East dorm builds a roller coaster from scratch every year during the week of orientation. They try to attract all the freshman to their dorm this way. You can see the roller coaster behind Elizabeth. You actually rode this thing standing up!

Elizabeth chose McCormick House. It is an all girl dorm that backs up to the Charles River. This is the view out of her bedroom window. Her roommates are fabulous. She couldn't be happier with her living situation.

Here are Elizabeth and Scott in front of the famous MIT dome. We couldn't get a very good picture, but I wanted one anyway. It was only a short hour later that we said goodbye to Elizabeth. (I cried all the way to the subway station!) It is hard to let her go; but I know she is having a blast there at MIT! For a detailed description of her activities, just look up her blog on our list "Reflections of a Nerd!"

Annie's a Junior!

Anne can be a little wacko at times. It is so fun! We love it when she teases Dad, or dances to crazy music, or when she sings out every single road sign on the road.

I just love this kid!

Anne has a way of making everyone smile! She is always looking for the best in other people. I love how she looks for ways to help out her friends and family!

Annie will have a great Junior year. Marching band, driving, good friends, being a Laurel! All wonderful things. We love you Annie!

First Day of School

Off to school these two go. Charlie is now in 6th grade, and goes to Old Vail Middle School with Janet.
Janet has a great sense of style. She loves bright colors! This next picture is my favorite of her. What a personality!

Janet is in 8th grade. She loves band, and looks forward to some challenging math and history classes.

Handsome kid!

Charlie will also play in the band. (Percussion for him.) He seemed to have enjoyed his first couple of days without any major drama. The one downer in his mind was that he had to get a tetanus booster. His arm is still sore almost a week later.

Isabelle is in 3rd grade this year. She has Mrs. Shechter. Janet and Charlie both had her previously. We just love her. Isabelle is excited to be in a room with so many class pets. (And they get to hatch chicken eggs!)

I think everyone should have a great year!