Hannah's Sunflower

Hannah planted this sunflower from a seed back in the spring. Oh, how it has grown! We have enjoyed watching it's progress (once we figured out that that particular sprout was a sunflower, since they weren't labeled). Now it is huge...

I'm not sure why it is drooping...anybody have any suggestions? Also, we'd love to be able to make sunflower seeds to eat...any suggestions for that?

A Trip to Western New York

I grew up in Western New York, but since getting married/having kids/being involved in multiple ministries, I haven't gotten back there much. Last week we made the trek up there, and had such a good time. Here are some highlights of the trip...

Mandie and Tim came one day and we took all 8 cousins (well, Erika didn't ride much...haha), to Midway Park. It is a small amusement park that has all kids' rides. The 7 kids rode and rode...they had a blast!

I was so proud of Hannah. She is not the athletic one (sorry, honey, you get it from me), but she took on and conquered all three levels of difficulty on this rockwall. She was determined to get to the top of the most difficult level, and before we left for the day, she did it!

Hannah with her toes in Lake Erie

John teaching the kids how to skip rocks on Lake Erie.

The kids, amazed, in front of Niagara Falls.

My Dad and Julia relaxing on a piece of driftwood on the beach of Lake Erie (notice Julia's toes in the sand!).

Mercer Museum

We live in a highly historic area. I enjoy taking the kids to see historical things, but with 4 kids, the admission price adds up pretty quickly. SO, I'm learning how to find free events or times. Last Friday we went to the Mercer Museum which is a castle filled (literally) with tools and simple machines that people in early America used to function in every day life prior to the industrial age.

I'm pretty sure that John and I enjoyed/got more out of it than the kids did, but at least it was a fun evening as a family...