Little gymnast

Just some pics and video from Savvy's gymnastics class . . . she LOVES it, and has no fear.

I do.




She calls this (first video below) "Skin the cat" and has figured out how to do it on the branch of the tree in our front yard. Repeatedly:)

A visit from Mike and Michelle

This month, Uncle Mike came to visit us with his adorable girlfriend, Michelle. We started the weekend with a trip to the DC temple. Magnificent!

And a visit from Uncle Mike wouldn't be complete without towers, magic tricks, and a card game or two.

We have always wanted to visit Mt. Vernon, and it worked out that the day was gorgeous that we took Mike and Michelle there. Mike took some great pics.

Trev in the car on the way there:)

Mike and Michelle. Aren't they are a darling couple!? And she likes the library and math - so we get along perfectly:)



The kids were worn out, so luckily we had planned for a picnic break:


I really wish Rachel hadn't fallen asleep just before this shot!


Mt. Vernon is amazing, beautiful, dignified, old, and very educational. If you ever get the chance, go! Or come visit and us and we'll go with you!


Rachel waves at everyone, and she has since added a "Hi" to the wave.

Of course, we had to take Michelle to see the Academy, and Mike took some more pics. It was a beautiful weekend.

Beautiful Spring in MD

Since it is officially summer, I have to share some pics of our beautiful MD Spring. I really love living here amongst the lush green contrasted with the crisp bay water.

Pictures in our yard . . .

Grandma L has taken it upon herself to supply our birds with plenty of seed when she visits (we won't discuss the problem of the acrobatic squirrels who stealthily steal the seed, as not to upset Trevor:)). This is not the best picture, but shows what we love to watch outside our sunroom windows. Gma L sent a book about the birds in our area, and Trev loves to bird watch using that book. Can you see the bright yellow bird in the center of the first pic?



And these are from one of those perfect spring weather days, when we just took a blanket out in the front yard and spent most of the day out there . . .




I am hoping that these cherished, blissful memories will carry us through what is sure to be a HOT and HUMID summer.

Farewell Preschool . . .

I think the preschool years are some of the best- so many exciting things to learn and fun ways to learn them. Savvy had her last day on Friday and sang in a concert with several other classes. Their music teacher is amazing and when the concert was over, a cute Grandpa in front of us said, giggling, "I wouldn't have missed that for a hundred thousand dollars!" Which captured how everyone was feeling. I took video of the concert, but it would be next to impossible for you to find her in the crowd, so she performed some of the songs on her own at home. (This is mainly for the Grandma's out there.) My favorite song is the first video.




Savvy made Mrs. Lay this necklace!
(And she put it on immediately as a loving teacher would:)

How sweet it is

Rachel turned 10 months old on Monday. WHERE is the time going? After dinner that night, she got her first taste of Jello, and thus her first taste of sugar!! Her reaction was too funny - and I love hearing Trevor's cute voice with her in this video!

Mothers day metaphor

Hope you all had a wonderful Mothers Day. My fam treated me with a yummy crepe breakfast in bed, cute homemade cards, and some sweet gifts. I love them so much. I have been thinking of Motherhood all week in preparation for a talk I was asked to give in our church meeting yesterday. I have thought of many of you - my mother, grandmothers, mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, aunts, great aunts, cousins, sister-in-laws, "adopted" moms, and many friends, who share wisdom with me in word and through example. I even used some of your stories and insights in my talk, so thanks for providing material for me:). To my friends and family who desire the blessing of motherhood (or long for another child) and have yet to attain that in this life, I want you to know that I thought of your aching hearts yesterday and pray for you. This is my Mother's Day thought for all of you:) Even if you are not a mother, I think this parable applies to so many aspects of life.

I am reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey. In the book he discusses the “Miracle of the Chinese Bamboo Tree.” After the seed for this tree is planted, you see nothing “for four years except a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all of the growth is underground in a massive root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the fifth year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!”

As parents, we put so much effort into nurturing our children, yet we may not see results for awhile. We are laying the foundation, and if we are patient and keep nurturing, that “fifth year” will come!

All things April

I am a bit overwhelmed that it is already MAY! Life comes at you fast, especially with three little munchkins in the house. I have so much to post about, so here are our top 10 of April (listed by Trevor and me, in no particular order:)):

10. Visit from Gma Linton, Aunt Daija, and Cousin Bridger. We had fun at a circus-like show in Baltimore, and hung out and shopped. It was great to have them. We enjoyed LDS General Conference together - twice per year, our church broadcasts messages from headquarters in Utah. We enjoyed putting a puzzle together while listening. I love this church and the guidance it gives me in raising my family.

9. Grandparents Day - Trev totally lucked out because my parents flew in before Gma Linton left and all three grandparents were able to attend his school for Grandparents Day. He was elated! One observation by the grandparents: Trevor's desk is ultra organized inside - Gpa Goldy was very proud.

8. National Aquarium - we took my parents to see the Dolphin show and lots and lots of sea creatures. Trev and Sav took their mini digital cams (thanks Dwayne and Dee) and Sav kept asking us to pose, saying "Gather together! Gather together!" Then we took them to a fave local restaurant - so YUM!

7. Cherry Blossoms - Gma Linton and Daija went into DC on the perfect day. My parents, Trev, Sav and I hit the blossoms a week later, when most of them had fallen into the water, but it was still beautiful, and gorgeous weather.

6. Gettysburg - WOW! Ashkii and I learned more about the Civil War in about 8 hours than we ever retained from school. My Dad could have spent a week there. I had visions of us Goldy kids, if we'd grown up in the east, spending our childhood touring battlegrounds rather than the National Parks of the west:)

Oh - and it was here Rachel tried her first sip of Ale 8 - he he! (this pic is for the Goldys - Ale 8 is a fabulous gingerale-type soda only distributed in KY, but my SWEET Uncle Dwayne ships it to us and we share it sparingly!)

5. Speaking of Rachel, she got her first tooth in April (along with a not-so-fun ear infection) and developed an ear-pearcing shriek that I have dubbed the velociraptor scream. Yikes, this girl needs to learn some words for what she wants!

4. Easter - the kids enjoyed an egg hunt at our neighborhood beach park with Gma Linton between conference sessions. It was COLD and WINDY but they still loved it. My parents were here on Easter day, thankfully, because they helped out while I was in bed sick with a stomach virus Rachel and I caught - yuck!!

3. Easter clothes - Trev was a good sport (it took some bribing) about posing for these pics once I felt better enough to take them:) Thanks, Grandmas for the girls' dresses!

2. Ashkii's b-day: The big 33. He said he was glad it was a calm day: bfast in bed, a surprise bday balloon at work, dinner and the requested brownie sundaes. His gift was a trip to:

1. Hershey Park!!! Last summer we went to Hershey for a tour/Chocolate World. This time we hit the amusement park. The weather was wonderful and even Rachel enjoyed a few rides. Unfortunately, I learned that I can't quite stomach the spinning rides like I used to! Trevor rode his first of the old, rickety coasters and decided those are his favorite - aaah!
If you made it through this entire post, you are amazing! I will try to post less, more often!