Tuesday - Keene, NH and more water play

This is my new favorite picture of Jonathan. Thanks Dave for capturing that face!

Grandpa and the boys

Grandpa, Jonathan and Ben

Andrew and Ben - together again.

We joked that Andrew was careful to never let any air get between them!

Andrew wanted to hold Ben's hand as we walked to this cute shopping area in Keene, NH.

Keith and Andrew in the kayak

Proof I was on this trip and "in" the water!

It was so peaceful on the lake that we did not want to go back to the noise of our children!

Monday - lake day

Ben teaching Andrew how to play a game on his DS. Ben was super patient with Andrew, who thought Ben was the best cousin ever!

We had a relaxing day on Monday watching the kids play by the water. They came up with the idea to create a waterfall. All four worked together great for about an hour, until the waterfall became more like the Grand Canyon and was a bit of a safety hazard!

Ben supervised the distribution of the buckets of water.

The official supervisors

Teamwork!

Jonathan was not to be out done by the big kids and carried his own big bucket of water!

Did I mention the boys LOVED the water?!

Jaffrey, New Hampshire

Waiting patiently for our crew to arrive so we could board the plane.

Andrew played his Leapster as soon as electronics were allowed on the plane!

Jonathan following in Andrew and Keith's footsteps playing with the ITouch.

Dave captured this amazing photo of the lake one EARLY morning.

We were near Mt. Monadnack

The house came with all these amazing toys. The boys were in heaven!

Andrew and Ben spending some quality screen time together.

Jonathan was like a turtle with the life vest on and instead of helping him, I took a picture.

On Sunday, extended family and friends made the drive up to see us. It was great to see everyone!
This was the sun porch where we ate all our meals.

Keith and Jonathan on the kayak

water time

Andrew, Dave, Cate, Keith and Jonathan

Dave and Andrew having a splashing contest

Jonathan in the kayak

Keith and Andrew out in the water. Andrew quickly got over his fear of water and we had trouble keeping the boys out of the water. They didn't seem to care that the water was freezing either!

Last Saturday, in the early morning hours, we boarded a plane for Boston and then rented a car and drove to beautiful Jaffrey, NH. And there we met up with Grammy, Grandpa, Dave, Audra, Ben and Cate. We stayed at a beautiful house for a week, and I forgot to take a picture of the house, so you'll just have to believe me that it was GREAT!

The house was on a lake with the clearest water I've seen in a LONG time. The water was a little chilly for my taste, but the boys had no trouble getting in!

The night before we left, Andrew woke us up around 1:30 puking and then again at 2. We called the airline to see how much it would cost to change our tickets to Sunday - $1200. We decided that was a bit expensive and to take a chance that he wasn't really sick. And we are so glad we went with that choice. We think he had a reaction to the ear drops we gave him that night as a precaution for a possible ear/tube infection. We stopped giving the drops, and he didn't throw up anymore and he didn't have any trouble with his ears. Neither Keith or I slept that night as we lied awake praying for healing and direction. Thank God, he provided both! And everyone stayed healthy the entire trip!

But the fun didn't stop there. On our flight, Jonathan was playing with my cell phone and put it in a paper bag with our bagels. I remember thinking at the time that we need to watch so we don't accidentally throw away my cell phone. Unfortunately, in my extremely tired state, I failed to remember that thought until several hours later when I couldn't find my phone. We had just landed in Boston and had exited the plane when I realized it was missing. I ran back onto the plane and made the poor flight attendants help me locate the phone. Fortunately the bag was on top of the second trash bin we looked in! My phone was a little nasty, but it still worked!

I kept my phone safe until the way home. Once again, Jonathan was playing with it when we landed in Wichita, and sadly that was the last I saw of my pretty red phone with all of its wonderful contacts. And now that I have a new phone with very few contacts, I think I've learned my lesson: Jonathan cannot play with cell phones anymore!

All in all, we had a great trip. The boys slept OK. Keith shared a room with Andrew and I slept with Jonathan. Not ideal, but we got adequate sleep and the boys took naps in the car when we went sight seeing.

And did I mention the weather?! It was fabulous. Mid-70s most of the time. Can't beat that for August!

The Zoo

Getting a little ride from Grandpa Story.

Jonathan and Brenna

Brenna, Andrew and Sydney and the giant grizzly bear.

Sydney and the tiger
And no, she's not petting him. There is a thick plate of glass between them.

"Umm, Auntie Jill, Do you think this is a good place to park me while my mom is taking my brother to the bathroom?"

little flirt

4 generations

Jan, Sydney, Joanne, Brenna and Jill

the mommies

the munchkins

Jonathan, Sydney, Andrew and Brenna

Jill and the girls stopped in again for a quick visit on Sunday and Monday on their way home. We squeezed in a trip to the zoo, which all the kids loved! Jonathan was the model child, staying in his stroller eating a snack the WHOLE time. How do I maintain that behavior?! The other three ran about checking out all the animals and generally wearing themselves out!

Andrew's favorite animal remains the hippo. I think he asked to see them about 20 times before we worked our way to the hippo exhibit. I asked him why he loved the hippos and he said, "Because they are so swimmy and splashy." Who can argue with that?

Friends!

Sydney and Andrew would swing for hours and hours if we let them!

Brenna and Sydney taking a turn

We had a surprise rain shower while we were playing outside and so Jill built the kids a campfire to roast pretend marshmallows on and tell "scary" stories. They loved it!

Sandbox time!

Rare moment of quiet time watching TV

Jill, Sydney and Brenna stopped in for a short visit on their way to Kansas City to visit Lisa and family. Andrew was so sad when they left but was cheered by the knowledge that they were staying with us for a couple days on their way back home. But everyday until their return he asked if this was the day they were coming back. I'll be glad when he learns the days of the week and understands the concept of "in a couple days!"