Cousins, Cousins Everywhere...

 My kids are blessed with lots of cousins.

Dennis and Machelle and their four girls are staying with Grandpa and Grandma.

My kids waited and waited for them to come "home".

Kevin and Lydia came for the family reunion last weekend from Indiana.  They came back this weekend for a reunion on the other side.  We were blessed to get Alena and Gregory for the week in between.  

Emily has been well for 69 DAYS!

We are hoping this trend continues for a long time.

Pepper

 It was a rough morning.  Our dog was hit by a car last night and died. 

It's only been two years since Sam died and Pepper joined the farm.

I knew Davis was going to take it the hardest.

Just the other day he found "How to draw a dog" and drew this picture FOR Pepper.

In the most comforting of gestures, the Carrington crew brought the kids a 

a little stuffed black lab puppy.  

Davis and Megan spent the morning hugging it.  And crying.  

Even the non-dog-lovers shed a few tears.

Looks like we'll be prime target for anyone looking to sell a black lab puppy...

IN AUGUST!  

Once we're back from Minnesota.

Twenty Years

It's been twenty years since we said "I do."  

Go ahead, have a laugh on me.  

The timing wasn't right for a lengthy getaway so we went

biking on the C&O canal trail.

Since my kids have done hardly anything except bicker since we finished school

 for the year, it was a relief to spend the day with...

Did you know turtles don't bicker, talk back, or snip at their siblings all the live-long day?

I digress.

The trail included a canal,

the Potomac River,

and the paw paw tunnel.

which is a 3,118 feet long canal tunnel - quite creepy, without any lighting, a drippy ceiling, and an uneven path.

(I swiped this pic from google.)

See that light waaaaaaaaaay at the far end?   It stays that size for a long time.

After arriving at the other side we turned right around and walked back again to scarf our lunch. 

We ate subs we picked up at Davis' favorite bistro - Rick's gas station.

Quite the romantics, eh?

Kenton's highlight of the day was our stop at this former aqueduct.  

Did you know this was an aqueduct?

I didn't.

Kenton did.

To quote the farmer in the dell,

"It may have taken 20 years, but I was right once!"

He's got the map to prove it.  

Here's to another twenty, babe!

Emily is THREE

Emily had a birthday.  It was so much fun to see her joy and excitement over her "bipdy".

Such a contrast from the pictures we have of her last year at the orphanage.

 Do you think she had fun?