Gulf Shores Vacation '09

Here's a slideshow of some pictures and a video from our beach vacation. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

July 4th, 2009

We celebrated our great nation's independence at my Grandma Sipe's house at the Lake of Egypt in Marion, IL. Even though it stormed and rained (poured!) most of the day, everyone had a great time swimming, canoeing, grilling, eating, fireworking, and visiting with family. Good All-American fun!

Nella & Marley waiting for the rain to stop. It finally did . . . at 6:00 pm!

All-American Cutie

Helping herself to some lemonade.

Swimming in the rain.

The way a cheeseburger should be, with a gigantic slice of homegrown tomato thicker than the burger itself!

The works!

Waiting for the fireworks to start.

Literally blowing through hundreds of $$ in an hour. But oh, what fun!

'Ooooh, aaaahhhh'
Nella loved the fireworks!

Oh, and Nella got to play with her favorite car at Nana & Grandpa's house.

Playin' At The Park

We went to Waterfront Park with some friends this morning.
Here are a few photos:
Nella was just fascinated with baby Talmage. It could have been because he's so adorable, or it could have been his pacifier.

Playing on the weird pyramid thing.

Playing with Julianne.

LOVES the slide!

Nella Spins

(Quick) Trip to Nashville

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Nashville, where we attended the wedding of a friend.

Simon sharing with Nella.

The Cha Cha Slide.

Friends reunited.

Wiped out.


Upcoming travels:
June 27-28, Champaign, IL.
July 3-5, Lake of Egypt, Marion, IL.
July 11-18, Orange Beach, AL.
August 8-9, Chicago, IL.

Also, Caleb has finished his last on-campus class! He'll take one online class in the fall before graduation in December, hooray!

Weekend Trip to Marion

This past weekend Nella and I took a trip to Marion for my nephew Marley's 1st birthday party. We had a wonderful time visiting with family. Here are a few photos from our trip.

This Radio Flyer car was a huge hit with Nella. She wanted to play in it all day, everyday.

She just loves toy cars with doors that open. She will climb in, close the door, climb out, close the door . . . over and over and over again.

Sharing a ride with cousin Marley.

My sister Haley (Aunt Juicy) polished Nella's toenails. Nella was so intrigued.

My cousin Jeff from Albuquerque, NM came to the party.

Just for fun!

Birthday cake time!

Nella just LOVES bubbles! She calls them buh-buhs.

Nana helped her pop the buh-buhs.

You can find more photos from our trip posted on facebook or in a Picassa web album, here.

Pregnancy Update - 23 Weeks

Profile. 23 weeks.

Two weeks ago, it was confirmed that Silas had SUA, that is, Single Umbilical Artery, or what is commonly referred to as a 2-Vessel Cord. This doesn't always indicate problems, but has been linked to developmental problems. So, as a standard procedure, I had a level 2 ultrasound today to double check everything and make sure baby boy is growing as he should. He is right on track! The doctor didn't find any problems at this point and doesn't expect any major problems, but they will continue to monitor Silas' growth throughout the remainder of the pregnancy. So, we'll get to 'see' him often, and hopefully have plenty of neat pictures to share. They did try to get a few 3D pictures, but the boy was squirming all over, so they had some trouble getting a clear image. These are still pretty neat.

This is a side view of his face

Here's his profile. He has his little fist up by his face.

Thank you, praying friends. We appreciate your prayers for our growing family.