Fun Adventures

Luke and I have been in Pennsylvania this week with my family while Mark traveled for work. We've done so many neat things with Mimi during the days, and taken some exciting field trips.

First came our annual trip to Chocolate World, where Luke again loved tasting a Hershey's milkshake:

We also visited the Whitaker Center (a Science Museum with children's exhibits in downtown Harrisburg):

Luke loved this exhibit- I think it was all the balls to throw!

Scanning produce in the "grocery store".


Our favorite activity by far was our excursion to Lake Tobias (a wildlife park), where we took a safari ride. Luke was so excited to ride the "special bus" and fed the huge wild animals crackers right out of his hand! At the Lake Tobias Petting Zoo, Luke ran around hugging and petting the "amidals", repeatedly proclaiming, "Look at THAT one!" to Mimi and me. It was adorable.

The deer gently nibbled crackers right out of Luke's hand.


The bison were enormous, but Luke had no fear!


Feeding the pygmy goats in the petting zoo.


Luke-sized llama.

Click here for a video of Luke and the "amidals" at the Petting Zoo.

Here is a slide show of additional pictures from our week in PA:

Taste of Summer

Sometimes, it's just so delicious to have a 2 year-old!

Winterhoff Family Beach Week

We just spent a great week at Rehoboth Beach, DE with our Winterhoff family. Bean and Poppy did so much to provide a wonderful family vacation for all of us, and the grandchildren all had so much fun together. There were 5 children (ages 6 and under) in the beach house this year, so it certainly was a busy and fun-filled week. In addition to splashing in the sand and waves, we played at the pool, took daily outings to the rides at Funland, and had evening visits from the Beach Fairy (who leaves treasures for all the children!). There are too many precious pictures to list on this blog posting, so many are in our Winterhoff Family Photo Albums, and in the slidehow at the end of this post.

Our Growing Family

We have exciting news to share: Luke is going to be a big brother! We are expecting a baby, and are thrilled that we have been blessed with another healthy pregnancy. Our little "Sprout" is due on January 11, 2011 (1/11/11), and I am 14 weeks along. My (all day) "morning" sickness and nausea are starting to dissipate (after a long 3 months), and I'm beginning to feel more like myself again. We're looking forward to enjoying this second trimester, and are going to find out the baby's gender next month. We're so excited about this newest addition to our family, and will keep you posted on all the exciting developments!


"Sprout" at 12 weeks, trying to suck his/her thumb.


Week 10 Baby Bump (it appeared so much earlier this time!), June 2010.

Beach Vacation!

We just returned home from our annual vacation at Topsail Island, NC with my extended family, and Luke LOVED the beach this year. I didn't know what to expect, since he didn't like touching the sand at all last year, and wasn't a big fan of the water, either. However, this summer, Luke had a wonderful time, and one of the first things he said each morning was, "Go to the beach!". He splashed and swam in the water, dug in the sand, & picked up seashells (throwing them into the ocean, proclaiming "SPLASH!"). We love that the beach house where we stay is right on the ocean, and it's so convenient to walk down the steps to virtually our own private, beautiful beach. The weather was gorgeous, we had a great visit with aunts, uncles, & cousins, and of course, Winnie was beside herself with excitement. Topsail is her favorite place in the entire world, and she spent most of her vacation chasing balls in the ocean, hanging out on our beach blanket, and greeting many beach goers with an enthusiastic tail wag and wet, sandy shake. We're not thrilled to be back in 100+ degree weather at home, but have many wonderful pictures and memories of our fun vacation.

Looking for seashells with Daddy


Beach Bums!


Busy digging in the sand.


This fantastic family cabana kept us cool in the shade!


The rest of our beach vacation pictures are in the below slideshow and in our Winterhoff Family Photo Albums.

Happy 4th of July!

My patriotic kids








Watching the fireworks

Summer Fun & Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa has been visiting this week, and we've been having a fun time doing many different summer activities. We've been to the pool, where Luke has a new trick that he finds hysterical. He loves to be thrown up in the air ("like a big kid", he tells Daddy) and is quite proud of himself each time. Luke and Grandpa rode George the Train (at one of our local parks), we've gone to the zoo, playgrounds, and also celebrated Grandpa's birthday yesterday. Here are some pictures and a couple of recent videos of our summer fun.

Such brave boys in the pool!


The train for kiddos is such a neat feature of the Greenville Parks Department.


Luke talked about Grandpa's birthday cake all day, and declared, "DELICIOUS!", when he took a bite.


Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Click here for a video of Luke learning to blow bubbles.

Click here for a video of Luke being a "big kid" in the pool!