Little Sweetheart in the Heart of Texas

We have just come back from a lovely family vacation in Texas with Grandma Alice, Granddaddy Al, Emma and Rachael. Sage thought the airports and airplanes were fascinating, and even learned to say the word airplane on the way there. We spent some fantastic time with Ruth's Family in Austin, and enjoyed discovering San Antonio and the beach at Padre Island. in Austin, Ruth and Phil treated us royally, and Sage had a ball playing with Robert and Roy. She giggled and laughed all day, and had her first experiences splashing in the pool! We also went out on the lake in a pontoon boat (Sage's first time in a boat!) and had fun swimming in the lake.

Here are some pictures from Austin.

Swinging on the big kid swings:

playing in the pool:
Swimming in the lake with grandma:
Driving the boat (well... not really):


In San Antonio, we went to the most amazing zoo I can remember, as well as the Alamo, the River Walk downtown, and Sea World. Sage thought the Alamo wasn't all that exciting, but the rest she thoroughly enjoyed, especially the zoo! Ruth's family joined us for Seaworld and the zoo, which made our time there even more exciting. Here are a few pics from San Antonio.

Dada and Sage at the Zoo:
Emma had hurt her knee, so she and Sage rode together in a borrowed wheelchair around the zoo:
Fascinated by the fish with Roy and robert:
Having a fine time with her favorite person:
At Sea World:
I think she is looking down at the bucket she has just dropped in the crocodile pond! Needless to say, it stayed there.
Riding on Dada's Shoulders:
What fun!
Sage's first little amusement park ride with Mama and Rachael:
Family picture outside the big mexican market:


The last stop was Padre Island, Corpus Christi and the Beach: We camped right on the beach at Padre Island, and played at the beach all day the first day. Only Sage managed to escape without a sunburn, but we all had a blast anyway. The next day we thought it wise to stay out of the sun, so we went to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. Here are several pictures from that portion of the trip.

Playing in the sand:







In the camper--more fun times with Emma:
Sage learned to say "alligator" right here. She was very interested in them, but they were also rather disturbingly interested in her!
More driving!At the playground having an extra fun time with Granddaddy and Daddy:

And again with her favorite person:

Wow, that was a lot of pictures!! There were just so many good ones!

Jodocks and Whites on Bikes

We had a really lovely Father's Day yesterday. The day's activity was bike riding, and we finally got Sage's new little bike seat set up. We took a tour of our neighborhood in the early afternoon and had so much fun, though it ran into nap time a bit, so Sage Fell asleep while we were riding. After a good nap, we packed up the bikes and took them down to Berea to ride with my dad and Emma before our big Father's Day dinner. We had all had a wonderful time again, and Aren and I have decided to get a bike rack for the car so we can do some more serious riding on the weekends. Here's a picture from Berea. Note how cute Sage and Aren look on the bike together!!

It must be summer...

We finally set up Sage's new little wading pool. At first she was a little scared of it, but then started splashing with her hands, and eventually wanted to stand in it with me, and by the end was actually sitting in the water playing. What fun it was!

long-handled spoon heaven

I know, I know. I have been remiss. I suppose maybe it's because we haven't been taking very many pictures recently. Here are a few from here and there:

These two are from a while ago, but I never posted them for whatever reason.

This is from a couple weeks ago. We set up a swing inside made from a wrap because she really, really loves to swing and asks to do it all the time (she knows the ASL sign), but sometimes I just don't feel like walking down to the park, like on this rainy day:
Here is a little video of her swinging. You can see the rain in the background.

We have since put up a swing in the back yard, which is enormously popular, but no photos of that yet.

Here is a quick picture from a memorial day hike with aunt Emma. It's a little blurry, but you can see the new mei tai carrier I just made for her. She's holding out a flower she had just picked. Flowers are one of Sage's favorite things, and she has recently learned to sniff them!