Visitors

My aunt Maryiln, uncle David, and cousin Jacob came to visit us for a long weekend. It was good to see them! We packed in as much as we could. Saturday we took them to a waterfall at a nearby state park. Sunday afternoon we made a trip to the beach, and Monday we ventured into New York City. Benjamin loved having them here, and entertained them with his non-stop chattering.


This is hard to see, but it's Jacob fetching Benjamin after he took off running up this hill by himself. I can't run as fast as him anymore, for obvious reasons! And Benjamin has definitely entered the independent stage of toddlerhood! Everyday is another opportunity for him to test out his bargaining skills.


A few shots from the beach:

First trip into New York City (outside the womb)

Benjamin did great on our trip into the city. We took the ferry over to the statue and Ellis Island, saw the new Yankee Stadium, saw ground zero, and even saw the mayor speaking in Battery Park. It was the first day of his life Benjmain did not take a nap. Poor guy was so tuckered out by the end of the day--not to mention the rest of us!



Freedom from the backpack! (This was taken on Liberty Island, where the Statue is.)


"Yeah Yankees!" as Benjamin would say. This is in front of the new stadium. We also saw the old one--they're starting the demolition process. We saw a jackhammer, and a forklift truck there--huge highlights for one member of our group!

The whole crew in front of the NYC skyline.

Only a pk (by the age of two)...

• Can make the sign of the cross and say, "Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
• Wants to preach a sermon every Sunday after church (and has a meltdown if he can't)
• Uses phrases like, "Take and eat, this is My body" and "the holy Christian church" and "Hosanna in the highest"
• Wants to be the director of the church choir, or at least sing in it
• Will listen attentively to the sermon, and recite back important lines
• Understands the order of service in church, like going up to Communion after we pass the peace
• Enjoys making announcements around the house similiar to those made after church is over
• Says at every children's message that "Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead"
• Knows that the Bible is "all about God's love"

New outside toys

Someone from church was trying to find a new home for this swingset. We said we'd take it. Benjamin was so excited to play on it! Dad was glad we hadn't gone out and bought a new one!

Grandma and Grandpa gave Benjamin a new sandbox for his birthday. It's not exactly the same as the beach, but it's still fun to dig in!

Despite these toys, Benjamin's favorite thing to do outside is still anything sport-related--golf, frisbee, baseball, tennis, kickball...you get the idea!

Just cuz I'm so cute!

Beach Day

We recently had a string of days close to or over 90 degrees, so we decided to go to the beach on Monday, Jonathan's day off. To our surprise, it was only 58 degrees at the beach! We know it's always cooler by the water, but we were not prepared for that! We were able to find a spot a little out of the wind, and it did warm up a little bit. So, we enjoyed a few hours playing on the beach.