A Visit to Egypt!

From June 21-25, Emma visited Egypt! Well, at least she thought she did. We were actually at our church's Vacation Bible School. Daddy played Joseph, who told his life's story to the kids a bit at a time each evening. By the end of the week, Emma knew that Daddy was pretending to be Joseph and that he lived in a palace! On Friday, we wrapped up our week with a supper of "Mummies in a Bun" (hot dogs) and a petting zoo! Finally, on Sunday at church, Emma and friends performed a favorite VBS song during the service, and Grandma Coe and Aunt Linda came to watch! It was a great time learning about God and getting to know our church family a bit better!

Fun with Family!

Emma and Mommy went to stay with Gramma and Papa for a couple of days, now that Mommy's on vacation! We went to several places around the Mansfield area, including the carousel (for rides on the cat and ostrich), the bookstore, and the Loudonville Library (a very cool library with a playhouse, bus, and little shopping carts to carry your books). We also went to Malabar Farm, where we saw baby goats. A couple of "kids" somehow managed to escape their confines just to greet Emma! The next day we went to Lake Erie. Emma got sick on the way up (actually, just as we pulled into the Marblehead Lighthouse parking lot), but it must've just been car sickness as she seemed to make a speedy recovery. Besides the lighthouse, we also visited children's illustrator Jody McCallum at her studio where Emma "read" "Jesus Loves Me" to her! Finally, we went to Lakeside, a shore front community, where we enjoyed the pool, beach, and ice cream! Finally, Aunt Kristen came up to Gramma and Papa's for a visit and suggested a trip to the pool at the Mohican State Park lodge, where Emma got to show off some of her swimming and jumping skills and try water wings for the first time! We even got in a brief visit with Uncle Jason when he came up that evening...Emma loved showing off her puzzle-constructing skills for him!

Splash!

Emma's been enjoying her new sprinkler (compliments of Grandma Karen) and her whale wading pool (hey, that baby pool from last year has no more square footage than your average bathtub)! We've had plenty of hot days so far this summer to make good use of them both!

Cowgirl!

On June 13th, Emma got to ride a horse! Not a pony at a pony ride, but a full-sized one, which she loved! The horse-back ride and the other events pictured were all part of a customer appreciation day presented by our energy co-op.

Zooin' it...again!

I know, it's been over a month since I've blogged...Mommy's been busy teaching (and is, as of this blogging on June 8, pretty much done until August)! We enjoyed Memorial Day Weekend in Toledo. (Going to the Toledo Zoo was just one of our many adventures there...see next blog for details!) Grandma Karen went with us, and Emma had fun seeing and trying new things this year. We saw a baby giraffe AND a baby polar bear (both adorable). We also got to see the new elephant exhibit and return to the children's area that just opened last year (hence the picture of Emma wading in the water...the kids are supposed to collect rocks to build dams, just like little animals)! Emma also enjoyed a ride on the train and the merry-go-round. She told everybody who would listen this story afterward: "I wanted to ride the Okapi (giraffe-like creature), but it didn't go up and down, so I rode the dolphin, and it went up and down, and I went up and down, too!"