The adults visited with Father Brian while the children took a custom-made train ride.

Father Brian Shininger was home from California for a weekend. He provided some music for a family sing-a-long with Grandma (behind Fr.) and Grandpa (in the blue) and his siblings.

Daddy helps Jesse hit his red croquet ball.

The Coolman family playing a "friendly" game of croquet!

These 3 cousins were found playing together on the side steps at the church picnic. Supposedly, they were hiding or waiting for a dog. Noah (Luke and Kelly Shininger's), Bethany (Greg and Karah Shininger's), and Jesse are all about hte same age.

One Little Monkey Jumping on His Bed

I caught Jesse jumping on his bed. This isn't the first time and I know it won't be the last!

Jesse enjoys climbing into the stroller yet and going for walks. He proceded to show me how it's done.

and now the little monkey is completely in the stroller

Samantha is finally sitting by herself for more than 2 seconds!

Samantha and Mommy enjoying the beautiful weather.

Jesse has been playing with his Thomas the train quite a bit.

Jesse plays nice abd even shares his toys with Samantha (most of the time).

Samantha seemed to enjoy my concert the other day while I practiced for a wedding.

After that first week of 90 degree weather, I decided to get my hair cut. It wasn't long enough to donate, but it sure feels a lot cooler and lighter!

Tim and Celena's

We spent Jake's 4th of July "weekend" visiting his brother Tim and his wife Celena. Jesse became pretty good buddies with Tim while watching a Disney movie! Thanks for the visit!

Tim and Celena took us to a park that was like a mini Cedar Point. We took Jesse on the little train. He didn't want to get off, so he and Dad went again.

A picture of mom and Samantha on the train!

This was the awesome playground Tim and Celena took us to in New Philadelphia.

They didn't have a train whistle, but they had bells that you played with music notes.

Jesse showing Uncle Tim how to drive the train and shift.

Jesse and Uncle Tim play with the maze on the train.

Baling Old Style

On June 29th we baled 1158 bales of hay. The following day we went back in the field to pick up the tags or hay that was missed. We thought we would pick it up the old way because it didn't look like very much. This is what we ended up with. Jake was pretty tired by the time we were done!

Babies at their Best!

I found Jesse like this one afternoon. He was watching a movie.....it must have gotten boring!

Isn't this just a most peaceful picture. This is the day she slept in our bed until 10:15! She must have been really comfy and warm!

Now, this is one tired little baby! Apparently 10:30 is too late for her to be out and about!

Jesse was a weee bit tired after the fireworks!

A Day at the Canal

We spent a whole entire Saturday at the canal with Jake. We left the house at 10:30 and returned home at 6:00. Jake had all 5 boat trips that day. The kids and I walked the 1st trip with him, spent 2 trips at the playground, hung out by the mill for another one, and rode the boat on the last trip. I'm not sure who was more exhausted; the kids or me. They both fell asleep on the way home. All in all, they were very good and we had an enjoyable day at work with Dad!

The first thing Jesse does everytime we go to the canal is play on the concrete caps that rock back and forth! Huge entertainment for a 2 year old!

The second thing we did was chase Daddy's "pet" groundhog. We were seriously about 4 feet away from this fat guy. He lives in the corral.

Jesse tried to figure out what those things were attached to Dad's pants and how they worked!

Jesse got to help Daddy walk Sally and Molly along the tow-path.

He even got to help daddy open the walor gates to let the boat through the lock!

Jesse and I took a break from walking to play a game of checkers.

Even though she spent all day in the stroller, she was still a happy girl!

Happy Children

My little codfish enjoys playing in her exersaucer!

Samantha has started to eat and devour baby food. On this particular day, I'm not sure if more of the carrots ended up on her or in her! Either way, she's happy!

A lovely close-up of Grandma and Samantha. (she's either tired or trying to figure out what the heck mom is doing!)

One of Jesse's favorite things to do at Grandma Meyer's house is play with the kittens. He's finally learned how to hold them nicely!

Samantha is big enough and strong enough to peek over the edge of her crib to see if Mom is coming to pick her up yet.

Jesse decided to lay on the floor and let Samantha play with his feet while she jumped. They both were giggling! I wonder how long he'll be this nice and playful with her?!

Little Miss Samantha loves jumping on her own! She'll jump for a good 1/2 hour, which really helps mom get things done!

This calm, cool, and collected little guy was a watching a movie when I caught him on camera! He looks so relaxed!