We can now be certian that Brenna is, in fact, my daughter.

I have a quirky tendancy to read cookbooks as if they are novels and then read them over and over again. One recipe that doesn’t catch your eye one day will sound irristable the next.

The other day I was sitting on the couch reading a little recipe magazine and Brenna climbed up next to me and said, "What do those words say"? I read her the recipe title and description and she requested to know what the words on the next page said. My two-year-old, who normally couldn’t care less about reading books and doesn’t cook all that much, sat next to me for quite a while listening to me read recipes and the pithy little discriptions. Funny. Only my daughter!

May this be the beginning of a good many years of Brenna sharing her Momma’s love of food and cooking. 

Here are some photos of our time with Dad. He lives in Rector, AR. He spent most of the four days while we were there with this blissful expression on his face. 

Here is Dad explaining to Brenna the finer points of playing in rain puddles. 

Possibly, I should have taken off Joseph’s pj’s before I let him crawl around in the mud. Athough, those stains will bring back good memories.

And then, there were the water balloons. 

Okay, this is not the promised pictures, but I remembered that Preston asked for a picture of the jackhammering a while back and I never delivered. This was taken from the window of our dining room. Those trash cans at the bottom of the picture are in our backyard…. Anyhow, this is one of the beauties of life in downtown Annapolis that we are missing while in CO this summer. It is a multi phase project. Maybe all the deafening phases will be completed by the end of July. Our upstairs neighbor’s kids in this apartment stomp around a lot. I barely notice.

Of course, I had grand aspirations of blogging as we traveled, but that obviously didn’t happen. We have settled into routine here in Ft Collins. Ahhh, the high altitude and low humidity are glorious. Life in Fort Collins is simple, simpler than home anyway. Fewer stairs, I can park just feet from my front door. I don’t have a lot of my kitchen stuff, so we eat simple meals, and who cares about cleaning a tacky little apartment that you’re only going to live in for two months. So, you might think that with all this simplicity, "don’t your kids get bored?" And that is the beauty, life is easier and yet there are more things and people around to entertain them. It is a win, win.

We took our time getting here. Two weeks hopping across the country visiting family and friends. It was great! The kids turned out to be great travelers. Blessing! Is there any bigger dagger than being cooped up in a car with grumpy kids?

Here are a few facts and observations reagarding travels, etc….

1. My mom is in Paris right now. Fun for her.
2. My baby, Joseph turned one year old last week. How does time pass so quickly? Pictures of cake smearing soon to come.
3. You never know what will occupy a two year old in the car. One day Brenna spent 20 minutes playing with a wet wipe.
4. It is, in fact, possible to drive across the country making quick fast food stops and NOT eat french fries.  Nasty little carbs.
5. Discovery in Charlotte, NC, Brenna is thrilled beyond measure by jumping on a trampoline.
6. Discovery in Louisville, KY, Joseph can actually stink up an ENTIRE house with toots. Must get that from the Faulkner’s side
7. Discovery in Rector, AR, there are few sweeter sights than watching Papa Jim play in the rain and splash in puddles with Brenna.
8. Discovery in St. Louis, MO, there are abundant fun, free things to do with kids in St Louis.
9. 2nd Discovery in St louis, MO, if we do move to go to seminary full time, my vote is Covenant.
10. Bunnies might be taking over the world. Downtown Annapolis, Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, and Iowa City are running over with rabbits. Haven’t seen any in CO yet. Maybe they are working their way west. That, or they know that I on to them and they are strategically avoiding Fort Collins.

There you have it. Birthday pics and pics of Fort Collins soon to come!