Aunt Jess!

I bribed Jessica to come out for a visit in July by buying her a ticket for her birthday for the James Taylor concert here in Saratoga. So, we got to see her and JJ for a week and we had a GREAT time! We did something fun almost every day, and we were so busy having fun that we didn't take to many pictures. :-)

Straight from the airport JJ was one of the Porter kids.

We played in the park and rode the carousel.

Went to the trampoline park.

Read books.

Ate yummy food.

We went tot he race track, but the only pics we have are playing on the playground.

Of course Jess and I got to go see James Taylor. I think I've seen him 4 times now, and this was probably my favorite show.

JT improving and being silly for "Steamroller." Such a great song!

All around the kids had a great time, and it was so much fun to see JJ and L interacting more than the last time they saw each other.

Ball Day at the Track

Matt's work treated it's employees to a day at the track. We were all able to go and had a great time. It was a HOT day, and it was naptime so we only managed to see one race, but we got to do other fun stuff too.

They had a clown that did face painting and balloon animals.

And they provided a catered fried-chicken lunch. I LOVE this picture of the two of them together!

L was happy with his balloon animal dog.

 

And I was happy with my new track/pool hat.

They called it the "first annual" day at the track, so I can't wait to go again next year!

Happy Birthday to ME!

For my 32nd birthday we decided to have a fun-filled family day! We started out by going to a trampoline park. Everybody had a great time!

 

After the trampoline park, GrandMary took C and I to see the New York City ballet. It was amazing!

Then Matt made yummy fondue for dinner and got me a yummy cake! It was a great day!

Great Uncle Jim's Memorial

My Great Uncle Jim (my Grandfather and GrandMary's brother) passed away earlier this year and right after the 4th of July GrandMary and I drove down to VA for his funeral. Uncle Jim's Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/carrollcountytimes/obituary.aspx?pid=169015966

The was interred at Arlington Nation Cemetery, that that place is pretty amazing. Veterans are given the recognition that they deserve. Uncle Jim had a marching band, color guard and gun-salute-guys and his urn was carried in a horse drawn carriage. The ceremony was beautiful with great words by the Chaplain, the unfolding and folding of the flag, taps and the 21 gun salute. I was really thankful to be there with GrandMary and my other extended family members.

 

After the ceremony I convinced our driver, Uncle Bob, to turn towards downtown DC so that I could see a few of the monuments since I had never been to DC before. We did a quick drive around before heading back to the hotel for a luncheon.

Jefferson Memorial

Capitol Building

National Archives

Just a peek of the White House

There was a nice luncheon with slideshows of Uncle Jim, lots of stories and memories. It was really nice to visit with my extended family.

The Huber siblings/cousins that were in attendance ...

... plus the spouses.

I am so grateful to have gotten to know these two so well in my life. Uncle Tom lives in Hawaii and when I lived there, from age 8-13, I spent a lot of time with him and Auntie Gloria. Now we are so lucky to be living so close to GrandMary here in Saratoga. Love these two!

A small group decided to take the train down to DC for dinner and a little more sight seeing.

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Memorial, at sunset

Korean War Memorial (very cool, but kinda eery at the same time)

A strong reminder that is very hard to forget while you are looking at all of these memorials.

The two nurses in the family standing in front of the Vietnam Women's Memorial. It was especially cool to visit DC with cousin, once removed, Joan (on the left), she is a Navy Captain and former White House nurse and she had lots of stories to tell and was able to explain so much about each of the monuments. Here is a very neat bio on her: http://www.colby-sawyer.edu/currents/huber.html.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

It was a super short trip. I flew home that evening, instead of driving, because I needed to get home so that Matt could go to work the next day. It was a quick, but great trip. I love my Hubers!

18 Months

The best way to describe L at 18 months is ON THE MOVE! I couldn't even get him to sit still and hold is 18 month sticker. He finally started walking around 15 months and he hasn't slowed down since! He's got an opinion about everything. He loves cars, trucks and airplanes. He loves music and singing and being loud. He is such a joy, and I love watching him explore his world.

4th of July

We had a very nice, low key, 4th of July this year. We had debated getting a hotel room in Albany again, but decided that since we had just gotten back from Disney that we didn't need the adventure. 

We went downtown in the morning for the parade. While waiting for it to start Matt took some super cute pictures.

The 4th of July parade is surprisingly disappointing. Not very long, or very involved, but L still loved waiving at everybody who walked/drove/rode by!

After the parade, we went home and took naps and then headed back downtown to meet GrandMary and find a spot to watch the fireworks.

We ate ice cream and rode the carousel while we waited for the fireworks!

I wasn't sure how L was going to respond to the fireworks, especially since we were VERY close, but he did great! He was starting to get restless right before they started, but as soon as the first boom went off he was limp in my arms just staring at the fireworks.