A whole lot of family

Caleb and Jom left for their respective States this afternoon, and somehow amidst the wrestling





And other such fun, we managed to get in a family picture (thanks, James!). I've included some of the out-takes, just for fun.

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Independence Day (and, of course, puppies)

Well, I promised these pictures several days ago, and everyone is home now to actually see them in person, but for those of you who are interested, here's a few pictures of the pups at 5 days.









Penny, the puppy that my parents kept from last year's litter (she'll have her first set of puppies next year), thinks that she should be considered a second mom. All that this does is confuse the puppies, and she's not allowed in the whelping box anymore, but I had to take this picture before she was kicked out (she's the one on the left, with the darker puppy thinking he's going to nurse):


What a head case.

Caleb and Jonathan flew in on Independence Day and my parents and all of the rest of our siblings drove back here from New Jersey. While they were en route, Hannah and I cooked a big dinner for everyone (well, I baked, Hannah cooked.)

Lavella helped me with the baking:








We made pound cake (pictured above, in batter form), zucchini bread, strawberry shortcakes and honey whole-wheat bread.

It was the first time we'd all been together in a very long time.





(The only people missing from this picture are Greg and I)

Happy Independence Day to all of our American readers!

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Last of the beach pics

To wrap up our week at the beach (because I hate to leave anything unfinished...)

On one of the last days down at the shore, we all split up to do our own things. My children and I went to a nearby playground, although that was short-lived; the sun was beating straight down on us, and there wasn't any shade over the swings and such, so then we visited a convenience store, where we picked up some milkshakes and lollypops. We went back to the house to enjoy our snack in the shade of the porch off of our room.



I taught my littlest sister Rachel to spin:



(They're still in NJ for the rest of the week, so I left her with some wool and the spindle to use until she comes back.)

This is some yarn that I spun while we were on vacation:


And some final pictures:


My dad feeding Lavella cherries. She was so enthusiastic about these that he could hardly cut them up fast enough for her to stuff in her mouth!




Grace and Lavella -- squatting baby pictures are pretty much the best thing ever, I think.


Yet another squatting picture, just because I had to.


Andrew and Elijah, "keeping warm" on a blazingly hot day.



We generally got to the beach around lunchtime, so we'd bring snacks and sandwiches with us. Unfortuantely, this was an open invitation to the seagulls, which were a total menace. One actually bit my finger trying to steal a bagel out of my hand, and at least one of our group had something taken directly out of their mouth.

All of this to say, that's why Christopher armed himself to eat his lunch:

He still got dive-bombed, but at least he could fight back.


Lavella wanted to visit every other family set up on the beach, and had to be rescued several times...doesn't she look like she wants to be rescued?



Joy and Lavella




One of my favorite shots from the week.

For all of those concerned (read: my siblings, who are still in New Jersey), the puppies still pretty much look the same, although a bit fatter. No new pictures today, but I promise a few tomorrow.

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Puppies!

I've got a few last pictures from the beach, but I know that for a few of you, none of that matters until you see this:









These pictures were taken a few minutes ago.  These three little dudes were born on Saturday.  They're adorable and, especially since there's no competition for Maia's milk, they seem to get fatter every time I go in to check on them.  They squeak and fuss, sounding almost like human newborns at times.  Their little heads are incredibly soft and velvety, and they're all doing very well.

Congratulations, Maia!

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No birds were harmed in the making of this post

When my family went to Washington DC, my younger siblings tried to catch the pigeons. And were successful. (Yeah, they drew a crowd of onlookers and everything.) That's why it was no surprise when these two fellows set out to catch some seagulls.



(I mean seriously, look at them. Could they be looking for anything but trouble?)

But anyway, I love the following set:








I especially love how the birds have completely disappeared from the frame in the last shot. Needless to say, no birds have been caught yet. But we still have a few days left...

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Splashing fun on the Jersey Shore

Well my friends, if you keep coming back to the blog this week, it can only be for one reason -- more beach pictures.  If you're all done with looking at more (and yet, even more!) pictures of us playing in the water, then go away and don't come back until next week.  There's nothing more to see here!  =)

Last night my dad made fantastic spicy Lobster FraDiablo and we had Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Bob over for dinner (they live about an hour from here).  We had a lovely visit with them, as usual, and my dad and I made Tiramisu for dessert, which was a sweet finish to it all.

Tonight for dinner Hannah took me out for my birthday (I know, a tad late, but that's how we roll 'round these parts), and we had a rollicking good time as only two pregnant girls can.

Oh, and for anyone who wanted to know, Hannah's due on July 12th.

So, for the latest and greatest of our vacation pictures:



(The first picture of all of us together in quite a while, I think.  Andrew's head is hiding behind Lavella.)



I love it when water droplets are perfectly frozen in a picture.



Rescuing Lavella from the waves.











I love their shared anticipation of the waves; both of their little bodies are tensed for the next one rushing in.



Little sand monster.



Greg asked for pictures of me from this vacation, so I had Joy take some today.  Please excuse the plethora of Faith And Lavella pictures -- this is partiularly for Greg's benefit.

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