A bunch of pics...

The contrast of the daylilies on the white picket fence made me happy.

Mr. Chase getting his allergy test. He was sooo itchy! He was only allergic to grass, which doesn't explain his horrible eczema. Poor guy.

Chase took Karate at the YMCA. He really enjoyed it. He seems to do better in individual sports. This is his last day when he got a little red stitch on his belt for completing the class. He was so proud of himself.

Shaking hands. He looks so nervous!

Our strawberries FINALLY grew this year. They were delicious and so fun to pick. We'd get a basketfull per day. Hooray!!

Fresh from showers, these kids were cute and cuddly so I took some pics. I love them!

Let's hope they stay close like this forever.

Uncle Doug gave Chase some old scrubs. This was before I cut them down and sewed them to fit him. He sleeps in them now.

This is just some of the carnage I walk into on a daily basis. Chase told me there was a major battle here and nobody won. Yikes.

The fun thing is we got these from Phil's Uncle-they were his as a kid.

Enjoying a summery Saturday afternoon.

Who doesn't wear their winter hat w/ their swim goggles?

Ty w/ that freaking water gun. He's ruthless!!

Chasey's Kindergarten Field Trip

I feel so lucky that I'm a stay-at-home mom so I can chaperone all of the kids' fieldtrips. Here we are on the bus on the way to the Camden Aquarium. It was great this year that I only had Chase. We had fun together.

Chase insisted we get a pic of the hammerhead shark. It's his current obsession.

There's little Chase on the bottom. He sat and stared for a looong time.

Bubble Boy.

I love being able to have one-on-one with my kids. Love ya buddy!!

Some More Hiking

We took our friends, the Herway's, to do the same hike on Bald Pate Mtn. I think they were as impressed as we were that there's a hike like this in NJ. It was fun!

The kids liked scaling the rocks.

This time we checked out the mansion there and snacked on their patio. It was nice and shady and relaxing. Of course Jake and Phil threw the football nearly missing my head on several occasions. I will get used to that, right?

Jake climbed up this tree that was wrapped and covered in these thorns that were about 2-3 inches long. CRAAAAZY!!!

Annual Hamilton Memorial Day Parade

Each year we seem to have a different crowd when we go to the parade and this year was no exception. here's Chase w/ his buddies Cameron (our neighbor) and Zach. I love that Chase is wearing an army hat.

We bumped into the Carpenters so they sat by us and Eliza loved playing with Dylan.

Amanda and Emma.

Eliza had fun waving to everyone as they passed.

My handsome Ty. Collecting loot in a backpack. He was ruthless, literally stealing candy from babies. I had to have a "talk" with him about sharing. :) He's sooo competitive like his dad.

Miss Emma trying her first lollipop. She loved it of course.

Another fun day at our little local parade!

The Shafer's had the audacity to move...

Once I accepted that the Shafer's were actually moving, we decided we could go down to help them pack up. And we also met this little peanut. I was in love. She looks like what I always thought my kids would look like and never did. She's a sweetheart!!

Chase appears to not really be enjoying Grace. But he did.

Packing up some pods. It was a serious jigsaw puzzle. Jack-do you remember the plastic hanger sorting fiasco? I think they were exhausted!

My Phil. Pure muscle.

Jackie looking pretty dang good post-pregnant.

Doug's hat from Halloween-which is very generously gave to us. Thaaaanks.

Getting creative to keep the kids busy. No furniture. No toys. It got tricky.

The boys also worked hard. I liked that.

woops!

Packing up the kitchen. She looks like she's really enjoying herself, doesn't she? or maybe she's gone mad from all the moving, babies, allergies, etc.

2 cute brown-headed kids.

We were able to relax and have a bit of fun in our hotel pool. Nice crack Chasey!

These 2 love each other. Eliza misses "my Addy"

me and Addy

Not a great pic, but she does this all of the time and I had to document it. Silly.

The morning they left for their 2 week tour across the US. We were well, devastated they left. I will miss getting together w/ them all of the time. But they are really happy w/ their new digs in Oregon, so I am happy too.

Phil had a brief moment where he considered having another baby and then it was gone instantly. INSTANTLY.

On the drive home we stopped at the D.C. Temple so the kids could see it for the first time. They thought it was gorgeous. Eliza thinks it's a Princess Castle and we even saw a "princess" on her wedding day.

I love the big doors at the Temples.