Swimming and Friends

Renae Sanford turned 8!  We were so lucky to be apart of all the fun celebrations.  They had a swim party in their backyard, which was perfect for such a hot and humid afternoon.

 The teenagers have always been so good with our younger kids!
Ellionna and Gavin just LOVE all of them.

And of course, 8 is great, because you get baptized! 

Cirque d'Art

Makenzie has had the privilege to be apart of a wonderful dance organization while we have lived here.  They perform an amazing show at the end of the school year each June.  This year the theme was Cirque International.  They performed with a variety of music from around the world.  Makenzie and her group did a tap routine to an Irish Jig.

 Man, put a little make-up on her and she grows up way too fast!  She's a beauty!!

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 Striking a pose!!! 

They had a broadway song and her group represented "Wicked."   I had to explain to her the basics of Broadway and the play, as she had no clue what it was about.

School's out for Summer!!!

Yes, Gavin graduated from pre-school!!! It is such an accomplishment, that they even had a graduation ceremony!  He has had a good year. 

 He made several friends throughout the year, but he loved Miss Janeya.  

She seemed pretty fond of him, too!

Tyler has been working in Columbus this month, which means he has been staying up at an apartment that the hospital provides for the residents.  He has only had a few days off, so we made sure to get a visit in when we could.  There is plenty to do and see in Columbus!

While Daddy has been away, the underwear ninjas have protected the home!

I am so grateful for technology!  I love being able to send Tyler pictures and texts throughout the day to let him know what is going on.  One day I sent him pictures of a typical Sherman morning....

2 kids sleeping in my bed.

Jordan snuggling with a blanket and the TV remote.

 

And this wild-haired child eating breakfast....

  

 Our outside adventures are happening more and more.  Of course, the unplanned ones in the water are always the funnest. 

The boys so graciously stopped and posed for the camera.  

Makenzie was already too busy and heading off to find some bugs and critters.  

 The kids got lucky one day, and I bought everyone a sucker.  They were pretty big. It barely fit in this little girl's mouth.  She had no complaints though!

Okay, so I do have to document that I have salad-loving kids, too.  

 

And, of course,  I can't help but document another sleeping picture of my Energizer Bunny.

School is DONE.  Seminary is DONE!

Let summer begin RIGHT NOW!

Ziplining!

We found a great deal on a zip lining adventure, so we decided to make a double date of it with our friends, Chris and Michelle Sanford.  It's been awhile since we've done something like this, so we were definitely looking forward to it. We had until May 1st to go on our tour, so we decided to go the last Friday in April, thinking the weather would be the nicest.  Ha Ha!  It poured rain the whole day.  It was still raining when we arrived and were getting ready.  BUT, it stopped literally when we started putting on our gear!  It was a little chilly and wet, but I was so glad we weren't doing it in the pouring rain.

They start you out nice and easy.

Tyler looks like a pro... just leaning back and enjoying the ride!

After several lines, we eventually got to enjoy several 1000 foot lines that went clear across the property.  Now that was fun!!

Such a great time!  

She's 2!

Ellionna is now 2!!!  Oh my!  I've been all sentimental this past month knowing that our time in Ohio is almost over.  Having Ellionna join our family has been a great part of this chapter of our lives.  I'm so happy that I got another little girl!   Ellionna has been showing some great independence.  She has learned from the best-- 3 older siblings.  

She knew what this birthday thing was all about.

She mastered opening presents!!

and blowing out the candles on her cake. 

 

She loves her new riding toy!

This little Miss is starting to avoid her naps when she can.  Sundays are usually the day when that happens.  Ellionna loves just playing in her room by herself.  I often let her be, as I can hear her through the baby monitor downstairs.  One day after church I realized it was mighty quiet up there, so I went to go check..... She put herself to sleep while reading books.

If an afternoon nap doesn't happen, she usually treats herself to a dinnertime nap instead.  

Ellionna loves changing her clothes.  I don't even bother getting her dressed in the morning anymore, because she will change her clothes soon after.  They are often inside out or backwards.  It just cracks me up.  She loves dress up too.  I just had to capture the bat-woman look.... (with her backward clothes on!)

One night, Ellionna woke up crying (which is pretty unusual now).  I went up to find out what was wrong and found her completely soaked.  As I took her out to investigate, I noticed she didn't have a diaper on!  I put her to bed with pajamas and a diaper on.  Before she made any effort in going to sleep, she must have unzipped her jammies, took off her diaper, and zipped them back into place. 

Ellionna isn't saying many words, but the ones we hear are:

 Dada (no mama yet!)

Jesus

two

Ta-Da!

Ray! (For Hooray)

She loves making all the sounds for pretty much every animal, as well.

Her preferred way of communicating still is by screaming.  

Ellionna is becoming quite the picky eater.  She loves any kind of drink and would prefer that over food.  She loves fruit, yogurt, cheese, and Chicken nuggets.  

Her favorite place to play when we are outside is in the car.  That can be a good thing and a bad thing.    

Birds, Bugs, and Sunshine make Spring!

Makenzie had some testing to do with her home school/online school.  They require them to do testing with the school employees at a public place, which is usually a hotel conference center or church.  We were privileged to go out to the Shawnee State Park Lodge for two days of testing.  Well, it was nice for the rest of the kids and I, but probably not so much for Makenzie.  We enjoyed exploring around and hiking. 

I found a really cool bug.... one that I've never seen before.

 

There was this centipede bug that we found outside in our driveway.  

I've never seen it before either. 

Ohio has some interesting critters and creatures that we will miss seeing-- especially the lightning bugs!

And then we had some baby birds that started hopping around the neighborhood.  I'm sure they were literally trying to "leave the nest," but their little wings weren't strong enough to fly more than a few feet.  The kids found them everyday for 3 days.  They were quite friendly and weren't afraid of much.

 

 

 Ellionna sure enjoyed them....

Except for when they perched on her head.

 

Although Makenzie claims Lilly as her cat, I would have to say that Jordan gives her the most love.  For the most part, she enjoys him just as much. 

 

Oh, he is such an angel when he sleeps.  These outside days are starting to wear him out.  Ha Ha!