All American

Some things are just all American. Like going to the ball park, watching a good game, having a hot dog, watching fireworks, and enjoying an MC Hammer concert. Wait - what? MC Hammer? Oh yes. The singing didn't sound quite as good as it used to 20 years ago, but the man can still dance. He really is 2 Legit to Quit!!!

Not bad for a man who's almost 50 ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7412ULrhtE&feature=related

Chicago!

I love Chicago! There was so much to there! We drove up Friday to meet my Aunt and Uncle - Marianne and Dennis. Marianne had a work conference and we were all able to spend a few days together at the end of it. We went to a zoo and left just when the rain started. It was a crazy storm! Later that night we went out for some Chicago style pizza. Very yummy, but I find it odd that they put the sauce on top of the cheese ...

We also toured a Frank Lloyd Wright home and an old church and a museum. Then we went to Navy Pier. It was amazing. Lake Michigan looks like a really calm ocean and the pier is incredibly huge. There are restaurants (yeah for Jamba Juice!) and stores and a ferris wheel and a carousel and boats all along the side. There is a children's museum and a stained glass museum. The stained glass was incredible.

Sunday we went to Field Museum and spent a little longer there than we planned, but there was so much to see! Anyway, the weekend was packed and absolutely wonderful and we even got in a game or two of Hand and Foot. Thank you Dennis and Marianne!

Frank Lloyd Wright house
View of the water (and our little family) from the pier
View of the city from the pier
Dinosaur Sue - the most complete T-Rex skeleton there is
Mikey loved this little exhibit. There were different buttons to push that would light up different areas. He had lots of fun with his Great-Aunt Marianne on this one!

We love cousins!

Michael's sister Megan and her 3 kids were able to come and visit us for a week. We had lots of fun going to the zoo, a museum, having a water play day, making lots of fun, and just hanging out at home. A few shots from that week ...

Mikey, Isaiah, Linnea, and Elijah waving goodbye on our last day together
Elijah and Linnea help Auntie Bekka make cinnamon rolls
Water play day! The kids loved the slip'n'slide
Auntie Megan and Mikey having a good laugh
Believe it or not, all 4 of them fit in the tub!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a wonderful long weekend in North Carolina for Memorial Day. We were able to visit a couple of friends from Virginia Tech - Paul and John. It was great to catch up with them. We also had dinner with Bekka's cousin Shana one night. We spent a majority of the weekend with Gram Cooper. She is on a mission right now in Raleigh and loving it. Saturday we were able to go to the coast - Wrightsville Beach. We just loved it there. Here are a couple pictures from the weekend.

Mikey's Third First Birthday Party

Mikey ended up having three first birthday parties this year. Three different cakes. Mikey absolutely attacked the third one a couple of weeks ago, and some of the pictures are really great!

Click here to see a slideshow of the destruction and consumption of his slice of cake!

The fun begins when he dumps the cake off of his plate, and gets really good once he decides to get rid of the plate altogether!!

Mikey is Learning to Walk!!

Of course we weren't holding the camera at the "right time", but this short clip (turn your head sideways!) shows that he is learning to keep his balance!!