29 July 2012 - Joanne's Birthday/Beach

Sunday was Joanne's birthday, so we had a big party.  Amanda made Joanne a chocolate cake, and lots of people gave Joanne presents.

Monday was rainy, so we went bowling.  Even Baby Zachary helped.

Here are Kurt and Amanda in action.  They were good, but only Jake and Uncle Matt rolled Turkeys on this day.

Tuesday was hot and sunny, so we went to the beach.  Here is Trevor at Tower Beach in Delaware.

Tower Beach gets deep fast, so the waves come ashore pretty big.  Here's Madeline, Jessica and Amanda taking on some giant waves.

After six days of fun and family, it was time to come back home.  We got things settled at home for a couple of days and then on Friday evening, we had a big birthday party at the church for my golfing buddy Tom, who turned 70.  There were about 60 people in attendance.

Tom continues to golf with me about once a month, despite undergoing regular chemotherapy for cancer.  Tom is an inspiration to everyone who knows him.

22 July 2012 - Delaware Part I

This week we had a little family vacation to Delaware.  On our way there on Thursday, we stopped at Coopers Rocks State Park in West Virginia.  The Cheat River runs through a steep ravine in the state park.  There are some rocks and cliffs in the area that I wanted to check out as possible rock climbing and rappelling spots.  Here's Emily on the river overlook.

When we were hiking the trail around the rocks, we found a little cave.

Sometimes the trail required a little bit of rock scrambling.

After arriving in Delaware, we spent Friday at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.  This is in the Amazing Machines exhibit.

We got to ride (very slowly) on an actual train.  The kids got to play with the controls while we were riding.

Right now the Franklin Institute is hosting the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit.  This was very different from the rest of the museum, because it is primarily hands-on and fun for kids.  The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit is all original artifacts from the Middle East, and is definitely hands-off.  They have hundreds of items, including coins, jewelry, pottery and of course, original pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls, taken from several caves all around the Dead Sea.

On Saturday, Karl and Jolene's ward had an Eagle Scout project, so I went and helped.  We cleaned up an overgrown cemetery.

While we were at the service project, Joanne drove up to New Jersey to see Jerry and Danae's new baby, Dax, who was born earlier in the week.

15 July 2012 - Pillows and Parties

Emily and Joanne have been very crafty of late.  They've been quilting and making pillows. (See below).  Emily has been learning to use the sewing machine.

For young women's this week, the girls had a birthday cake for Leah, one of our four active girls.

Here are some of the fruits of Joanne and Emily's labors.

The Young Women also had a pool party for their weekly activity. Since the young women's president has a pool, this was a pretty easy activity to pull off.  It has been so hot and dry until just recently, being in the pool has been one of the best places to be.

8 July 2012 - Grandma in PA

On Monday we went to the Carnegie Science Center.  Connected to the science center is SportsWorks.  Here is Madeline executing a back flip on the bungee trampoline.

Mommy's back flip was higher.

Emily is a monster of the climbing wall.

In the museum, the girls explored a mock submarine.

Their newest display is on the science of guitars.  In this shot the girls are playing with a sound frequency wheel.

After the museum, the girls had a swim meet.  All three girls did extremely well.  Here is Emily with an excellent start off the blocks.

Tuesday was a trip to Ohiopyle State Park.  Here's the whole family (including Grandma) in front of Ohiopyle Falls.

We had an excellent picnic near a small stream.

After a little hiking, eating and wading at Ohiopyle, we went to Fallingwater, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home near the state park.

For the Fourth of July, Madeline worked all morning preparing for a party.  She made a pinata out of a cereal box.

We played pin the flag on the flag pole.  (Grandma and I lost).

And we had confetti fireworks.  Madeline has a future as a party planner.

On Thursday, Grandma had to go home and I had to go to scout camp for a few days.  We were among those who suffered from the heat wave, so the girls mostly hibernated inside and worked on sewing projects.  Here is Emily's latest effort.

Joanne in her crafty element.

1 July 2012 - Home from Utah

Once we were back home from Utah, Madeline, Emily and I went back out to the farm.  This week we were able to help with the carrot harvest.

We beat the heat at the pool, or at least dealt with the heat.

Our neighbors had their annual 4th of July party a little early (June 30th), complete with way more food than necessary, and an outstanding illegal fireworks display.

The kids particularly enjoyed the pinata.