Dedication

Beautiful Abigail on her dedication day! My grandma made the gown she's wearing for my baptism - very special!



Abby with her Godmother, Aunt Mary! We're so thankful that she has such an awesome aunt - my brother sure knows how to pick them. Her Godfather, "Uncle" Pete, was needed back in Ohio, so couldn't make it up. Abby can't wait to meet him!!

Laff Christmas

Our first Christmas celebration was tons of fun. Bethany is using her new fancy camera like crazy, and Rebekah is "cooking" up a storm. The kids are so much fun this year!!

Ohio

A couple random pictures from our last trip to Papa and Grandma's.

The Party

The party was awesome! The present opening was kind of crazy - the big kids opened most of Bekah's presents for her. She was ok with that because she got them once they were out of the packaging. She loved her cell phone from G.G.s Faye and Richard.

I'm so thankful for Rebekah. Her sweet, happy nature is a constant blessing in our house. We love hearing her babblings, and watching her think new things through. I love how she's already so much different than Bethany - such a unique personality to love!

Go, Bucks!!!

We were in Columbus for the OSU-Michigan game, which is practically a holiday down there! Matthew and his buddy, Andy, were the only ones with tickets to the game, but that didn't stop us all from going to enjoy the skull session. We took the bus (possibly Bethany's favorite part), and clapped/danced/yelled through the band's performance. And of course, had a bathroom emergency, which is always fun in a crowd of 15,000 people. All our cheering paid off. Go, Bucks!!!!

Congrats!!!

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Independence Day!

After our trip to Rondeau, we headed farther west to Bridgeport to visit Matthew's grandparents. We took the girls to see fireworks. Bethany was pretty much uninterested, but loved jumping on everyone and at the same time saying "sorry!"

Happy Father's Day

A belated happy Father's Day to you all! My girls are so blessed to have a daddy as amazing as Matthew. I've never met a man so happily involved with his kids... who's willing to change diapers, be kept awake at night, and have plenty of time playing on the floor. Bethany and Rebekah would say "you're the best" if they could. We love you, Daddy!

35 Years

Saturday was also the 35th wedding anniversary of our friends, Kermit and Kathy. Their son, Kevin, grew up with Matthew. (He's the one in the picture.) It was fun catching up with people from Matthew's former church, including the mother of Bethany's namesake! For those who don't already know, Bethany was named after one of Matt's friends, Bethany, who died several years ago. She meant a lot to Matt, and we wanted to honor her!

Easter Celebration

Bethany got spend Easter in Ohio! She loved having plenty of time with her grandpa Jon and grandma Miriam, and got to visit with lots of friends and family. A belated Happy Easter to all, or as the Lutherans would say, "Christ is risen!"

Gaitlinburg

While spending Thanksgiving in the Smokies, we managed to do some sightseeing. Aren't Bethany's boots the cutest? And with that, I am done posting about Thanksgiving and can move on to Christmas festivities. Yay!

Skull Session

On Friday we all, including "Uncle" Andy, went down to Ohio for an OSU weekend. Bethany got to ride on a bus for 2nd time in her life, and this time we made it into the skull session! Everyone was entertained by her dancing, and she got to meet one of the band members. Daddy and Andy headed to the game, and we went home and watched them win on the computer (G&G don't have cable). Yay! Other events of the weekend: we had a nice, big outing to Applebees with all our friends and got to see Andrew C. for the first time since he's moved back to Columbus. We also got to meet Grandma Faye's new fiance, Richard. Congrats, Grandma and Richard!!!

Go Black Bears!

Goodness, it's about time for an update! Last weekend we went down to Coshocton to finally catch one of the triplets' football games. And they won! We were so excited. We spent the rest of the weekend in Coshocton with Grandma and Grandpa and G.G. Faye. We got to go to the Coshocton County Fair, and Bethany loved seeing all the animals. We attempted the carousel again, but did not enjoy that. Ah well.

Cantwell Cliffs

We saved the hardest hike for last, and didn't really finish it. But, it was really beautiful, and I hope to do it for real one day. This was the only hike Bethany didn't walk, and Grandpa and Daddy were troopers carrying her everywhere!

Relaxation

Tuesday afternoon we took a break from hiking. Bethany played some cornhole... she's probably the only one who got close to beating her dad! Then we went to Lake Logan to go swimming. Bethany walked right in, clothes on and all.

Old Man's Cave

There's a reason Old Man's Cave in the most popular attraction in the parks. It's amazing! Bethany's favorite part was all the boardwalk bridges... she loved running across them. It's also amazing how someone so little can move so fast.

Mentor!

So much has happened this weekend, so I'll give you the short version and the long version. Save the long one for when you have time to do some reading!


Short version: Friday night we met Grandpa and Grandma Lafferty in Mentor, Ohio. We got a lot of good use out of the hotel, introduced G&G to letterboxing, and stopped by Mentor's Festival on the Lagoons, where Bethany went on her 2nd boat ride. (The first being the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls.)Long version: Friday night we met Grandpa and Grandma Lafferty in Mentor, Ohio for our first meet-in-the-middle of the season. OK, second if you count the Indians game. Staying in the hotel was a completely different experience with Bethany than last year. She was all over the place, and had Grandpa taking her all over the hotel exploring. She even took advantage of the outdoor pool and did some splashing around! (It was a tad too cold for actual swimming.)We took Grandma and Grandpa shunpiking around Mentor looking for letterboxes. The first was in Wildwood Park, which had a beautiful Manor House that was designed by Pres. Garfield's son. People were setting up for a wedding while we were there! The second box was in Veteran's Park, which has the largest inland pond in the country.


After letterboxing, we went to see the Festival on the Lagoons. We got some real kettle korn, and Bethany was very stealthy and got a few kernels. We also had Captain Max come and show us some cool magic tricks. And then the coolest thing of all! We were able to get a free sailboat ride on the Jambalaya. Bethany was not too fond of having to wear the life jacket, but loved the water.
Before heading home, we explored a nearby beach (where another wedding was being set up!), had a yummy dinner at Smokey Bones, and ice cream for dessert! Bethany snagged a tiny bit of ice cream on her spoon... what a lucky girl.

Weekend Memories

Happy 70th, Great Grandma Faye! The weekend celebrating in Coshocton was packed full of memories. Here are a few of my favorites:

• After arriving at G.G.Faye's late Friday night, Bethany got a pretty good cut on her forehead. (That's what happens when you're rough housing so late at night!) Thankfully, it looks like it's going to heal nicely, although she was wearing a butterfly bandaid for the rest of the trip.
• Bethany met a lot of her family for the first time! We love being able to see out-of-state relatives, especially on happy occasions like a birthday.
• Going out onto the patio was tricky, but Bethany practiced and practiced until she could do it with no hands.
• Encouraged, Bethany tried to tackle the stairs. She's pretty fearless, so we're going to have to watch her!
  
• The family was very into playing cornhole this weekend, so Grandma Miriam taught Bethany how to put the bean bag in the hole. Bethany showed Grandma that it was much easier just to slip the bean bag underneath the board.
• We had a very nice dinner at Serenity Tea House to officially honor G.G.Faye. Bethany was a very big girl and carried around her grandma's purse.
• Sunday, we went to U.Tom and A.Linda's for a little pool party. Bethany loves beach toys, especially the torpedo and beach ball, but wasn't a big fan of being in such a big pool.

Major Leagues

We rounded up our weekend of baseball with a day trip to Cleveland to see an Indians game. First Major League game for both Bethany and me. The rain held out until the bottom of the ninth, and Bethany had a much better time than I was able to capture on film.

Birthday Cake

Bethany had a spring theme for her birthday party today. And see that amazing cake? Sarah and I made it all by ourselves. Aren't you impressed? (I know my Roberts girls are proud of me.) Bethany loved her first taste of actual junk food. She savored it quite a bit, which is good considering it won't happen again until year 2!
Here's all the party guests!