5 Months - Really?

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted, and for that I apologize. A lot has happened and changed since the last time, and this will be my effort to catch up. There are a lot of pictures in this update, so take your time. But take time to see what we've been up to for the past 5 months.

August

Some quick pics from a Phillies game that Brad, Dad, Aaron and Justin went to in August. We sat through over an hour of rain delays, but it was worth it to see the Phils win and to see Ryan Howard hit two home runs. This is a picture of the second.

Group shot, and we thank Justin for the great seats.

September

Kristina, Amanda's friend from Michigan, came for a visit. It was great seeing her again. We did all of the obligatory "coming to PA for the first time" stuff with her like Hersheypark and the beach.

Addy cheeses at Red Robin in Hershey.

With the singing cows in Chocolate World.

On the train at Hersheypark.

We even spent two nights at the shore. Here Kristina and Addy pose on the boardwalk.

Daddy gives Addy a ride on his shoulders, while she gives Curly the french fry the same.

Posing for a group shot by the Wildwoods sign.

Addison thought sitting on the giant beach ball was a blast.

At the end of the old, but refurbished, but still-too-short fishing pier. The beaches grow in Wildwood.

A birds-eye-view of Brad and Addy in the hot tub. I love this picture because of the little footprints that loop around the left side.

We went for a bike ride on the boards before we left. Addy and my parents took a surrey (sp?). Amanda and I opted for these wicked cool low-riders.

Addy thought the low-riders were too cool to pass up.

Pausing for a pic at the other end of the boardwalk.

Amanda's grandparents, Bill and Donna, also came for a visit at the end of the month. We were glad to have them, and Addy had a fun time with "Gamma Donna and Gampa Bill".

We took them for a spin on the Strasburg Railroad.

Say Cheese!

Grandma Donna and Addison.

This one's a keeper.

The train did put Addy to sleep, though.

October

We took Addison to Cherry Crest Farms to see the animals.

Addy's favorites were the little chicks. She actually touched them!

Don't know why, but we turned around and found Addison sitting on a pumpkin.

Cute.

I wanted to conquer my claustrophopia.

Is this thing safe?

Whew! I made it!

(yeah right - I couldn't fit)

Which one is the real Addy?

Addison kept her distance from most of the bigger animals.

I just love the way Addy looks at Amanda sometimes.

A family picture on the way out.

"No Addy, don't eat the corn."

We took a trip to Tennessee also in October, to visit our friends Jarom and Alixa, and to go Dollywood - a place that has been on Brad's list for some time.

First things first when we got to the park.

25 cent showers? How could we pass that up?

Amanda was a bit shy.

Since Amanda doesn't do spinning rides, Alixa rode this one with me.

Amanda and Alixa used this ride to warm up a bit. It was cold!

Addy wouldn't sit here by herself. It made for a cute picture.

Holding Daddy's hat while he rides a roller coaster.

Family picture by the mill.

Addy was thrilled to ride a bunny on the carousel.

Daddy rode the 'efalants' with Addison.

Proving that Amanda can ride spinning rides when someone other that Brad is involved.

Posing with the old cars in the '50's' section of the park.

I'm so cool.

Taking a picture next to the Sun Sphere at the former World's Fair grounds in Knoxville.

Wasn't this on a Simpsons episode?

We went up to the top, and it was a nice view. But someone needs to keep the birds out, paticularly the dead ones.

Amanda's going to yell at me when she sees this picture.

A picture from the top (the non-dead-bird side.)

With some orange guy.

(we were close to the University of Tennessee)

We took a self-guided tour of Neyland Stadium.

Hi Amanda!

Cute picture, helping Addy down to the field level.

Chillin' on the steps.

A funny bumper-sticker that I wanted to share.

They stole my nickname!

To the left is an old couple that walked out as we drove by.

Bravo! Good for them.

Getting ready for trunk-or-treat at church with Wonder Woman and Exercise Girl.

Fly Wonder Woman, fly!

Wait, shouldn't she have an invisible jet?

Addy and Mia like each other's costumes.

I win the award for coolest trunk... again.

Amanda and Rylan pause for a picture.

Since the Eriksons were in town, we decide to visit Philadelphia. Here we are at Penn's Landing, which is much more hopping when it's warmer, I'd imagine.

Over by the Liberty Bell.

I love this picture of Addison looking back at her mommy.

Another family pic, blocking the bell for some reason.

We were taking so many pictures, Addison thought she should be in them. As you can see, nobody wanted to take pictures on the non-cracked side.

After the Liberty Bell, we headed over to the Museum of Art to run the steps and take a picture of Rocky.

Heading up toward the steps.

Larry took this one once we got to the top.

Addison doing her Rocky impression.

Relaxing on the steps of the museum.

After we were done in Philly, we hurried home to get ready for trick-or-treat night.

Amanda poses with the resident monster.

Addy still doesn't like the costume.

Addy, Halie and Cori posing before heading out for candy.

Wrapping up the night with Halloween pajamas.

"So cute, it's scary!"

November

Brad, Justin, and Marc headed down to the Eagles-Giants game on November 1st. It wasn't pretty for Justin.

Here you can see the likes of Michael Vick (coat), DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Brian Westbrook (in black).

A nice view of the stadium.

And... the final score. Like I said, it wasn't pretty.

Addy and I went out to play in the leaves a bunch.

Close-up!

Addy sports her Westbrook jersey for an Eagles game.

This was funny. We came out to the living room, hearing Addy freaking out.

We found her like this. I don't know how she managed to squeeze into her mini shopping cart but she did. We managed to calm her down enough to take a picture.

December

Went to Hersheypark Candylane with Mom and Dad for Mom's birthday.

Addy loves her carousels.

She almost measures up to Kisses!

We saw Santa at church. Addison actually did well.

Mia - not so much.

Helping Daddy straighten the tree.

Putting the 'starfish' on top.

Addison learned 'starfish' before 'star' and so all stars are starfish.

Hanging the ornaments.

The finished product, with Grinch in hand.

Next came Addy's birthday. We had her party on the 10th, since Amanda had something going on, on the 11th. Addy was so excited for her party that she didn't take a nap...

...but fell asleep in the high chair while eating dinner.

Smile, Birthday Girl!

All of the ladies at the party (at least 'til this point).

Katie, Julia, Addison, Sofia, and Macie.

...Happy Birthday, dear Addy! Happy Birthday to you!...

Enjoying some cake.

Addison was thrilled (as you can see) to get a Handy Manny tool set!

She loves to help Daddy fix things.

Addy got this cute apron from Carolann.

So she pretended to make cookies.

And she couldn't wait to get her tools out.

On her actual birthday, Addison and I spent some quality time together, first at Dutch Wonderland...

She wasn't too sure about the Frog Hopper. It was funny. I held her hand, and every time it dropped, I felt a little squeeze.

Another carousel picture.

Can't get enough!

Afterward, we hit Friendly's for some chicken and french fries, and of course a conehead sundae.

Mmmm... ice cream.

Oh dear... "Sorry Mommy, I got chocolate all over my white shirt."

So, after the beatdown in Philly, Justin and I were able to head to New York in December for the rematch at Giants Stadium, the last Eagles-Giants game held there.

This is a nice view, but the place has become a dump, much like the old Vet, in Philly. So, it's coming down this spring.

Do you think they'll find Jimmyy Hoffa? They have to look, right?

Justin and me at happier times - when it looked like the Giants might pull it off.
Not quite. Eagles win again.

Later on in December, I felt like chocolate chip cookies, so I enlisted Addison's help.

"Thank you for your help, Addy, but eggs go into the bowl."

That's better. Into the bowl.

Smile with Mommy!

And set the timer for a family pic!

We had a huge snow storm in December as well.

We got 15 inches at the house, as you will see below.

Looking out from a snow-covered deck.

Check out the grill.

Looking out front from upstairs.

Getting ready to go exploring.

Addy didn't like the snow last year...

She was ok watching me shovel.

(so was Amanda - from inside)

But, Addy didn't like the snow from a sitting position.

Look at that face...

The next day I cleared off most of the deck.

You can really see the snow depth on the picnic table.

Christmas Time

First, at Grandma's and Grandpa's on Christmas Eve.

Another family picture.

Nice face, Addy.

We really pack 'em in at Grandma's.

Leah got the first of our gag gifts.

I think she was only upset that it was too big.

Travis got the other - this hairy green monkey vest.

Aaron got a roll of toilet paper. Thad was wondering why were were all fighting over this one.

This would come in handy later...

Say hi, Grandpa!

Six beautiful blondes

As I was saying earlier, the toilet paper came in handy.

Thad was a good sport. He'll think twice about bringing toilet paper for the white elephant game.

Addy and Mia

"Mia, Sweetie, that's not a phone. That's Grandpa's chair remote."

Back at the house, Amanda needed to make some last minute Christmas cookies...

...not without Addison's help.

All done!

Nice and quiet on Christmas Eve.

Ask Addy what Christmas is about and she'll give you an enthusiastic "PRESENTS!"

We'll work on that one.

The aftermath...

Christmas morning family pic.

Nice hair, Brad.

On to my parents house!

We all went in to get my dad an iPod Touch.

It made his year. I think I saw a tear.

Amanda was happy to get a GPS from my parents.

Now she can't get lost, even when I tell her to.

Addy and Aunt Rosie.

Over to Uncle Jim's to visit with my dad's side of the family.

Uncle Tom with Macie.

Addy takes a moment to pose with her loot.

Macie and Addison

We finished up at Grandma's and Grandpa's again.

I got Grandma some Jello Pudding Pops, which she loves.

I even wrapped them!

A bunch of us Rittenhouse cousins went out to Chili's.

New Year's Party. Good turn out this year. It was fun.

Toasting the new year with my girl.

Addison has never liked getting the dual New Year's kiss from Mommy and Daddy.

(see last year's and the previous year's)

One last family picture for the new year.

Well, that was a pain (updating so much). It took me about 4 hours.

We'll try to do better in 2010.

Michigan/Chicago 2009

This entry is lengthy, but for good reason. We recently spent a little over a week in the midwest, visiting Amanda's family and getting some R & R on Little Glen Lake, in upstate Michigan, which is just a mile of sand dunes east of Lake Michigan.

Amanda actually flew to Chicago with Addison on the 16th of July. The Ericksons drove up to the lake on the 18th. I flew to Traverse City (a beautiful airport, by the way) and joined them on the 20th.

We had a blast and took a ton of pictures. Enjoy!

This is Lake Michigan, from the beach in a small town called Empire.

Amanda took this one.

At the cabin. Addy loves swings, and on this trip she had more swings than she could shake a stick at.

I always wanted to use that phrase.


At the beach in Empire, Addison checks out the water from a safe distance.



Watching everyone play in the water.

Notice a recurring theme here?

Hint: Addy doesn't like sand.


Playing "in the sand" with Caleb and Josh.

It seems that Addy would not leave the blanket.


She will, however, sit on a beach ball.


Jon's muscles show through even feet of sand.


So, I make it to town, and the first thing they want to do in the morning is climb this huge sand dune. Where's the fun in that?


We made it to the top of the first one. That was enough.

Let's take a picture and go back down to our lake. (behind us)

We rented a boat and some skiis.

I have to say, I was impressed with Amanda.

Getting a little tired here.

I spent most of the time doing this.

Larry's turn. Piece of cake.

Rylan takes a spin at tubing. Jon couldn't shake him.

Addy decided she just wanted to nap on the boat.

With Addy asleep, Amanda and I tried to tube.

"Huh? Wha? Mommy and Daddy are tubing? I'm sooo tired."

It really wasn't big enough for two, so I kicked her off.

Addy was still sleepy.

"Thanks Aunt Martha for watching me!"

Ok, maybe you think is was bad of Amanda and me to leave Addy on the boat while we played. But at least we didn't do what Leah and Jon did...

...and leave Jane on the dock!

Would somebody call Child Services?

(Kidding! It's an empty car seat.)

Amanda and Martha have fun on the tube.

I guess you can fit two people.

I guess I was too fat. (sniff)

Larry got up on the skiis one more time.

I took a turn driving.

I tried one more time. I actually got up just enough to fall flat on my face.

If you look closely, you can see my foot in the middle of that splash.

Back at the shore, Addy just didn't want to get in.

She did have fun hanging out with Aunt Martha.

The next day, we took a scenic drive to the top of the dunes overlooking Lake Michigan.

Amanda had climbed down a good bit. This picture is zoomed in.

This is what the view looked like from the path.

I believe it said it was 450 ft down to the lake.

Amanda and me overlooking the lake.

As you an see to the left, it's a long way down.

Time to pause for a family picture.

Later, we rented a pontoon, and gave ourselves a tour of Big and Little Glen Lakes.

Addison developed a new love for Craisins.

Over on Big Glen Lake, Grandpa Larry let Addy drive, much to Josh's dismay.

That evening, since I hadn't been to the beach at Empire, Amanda and I returned to see the sun set over Lake Michigan.

No, that's not a lake monster. That would be me.

I felt like I had to say I had swum in Lake Michigan.

That's right, I said 'swum'.

Amanda and me at sunset.

Don't we look super-imposed?

The lake was great, but it was time to head south to Portage, MI to see Amanda's hometown.

On the way, I had to stop at Michigan's Adventure.
Martha and Rylan came with me. Amanda and Addy went shopping.

This is me and my wife at the park.

Smile Amanda! Thanks for coming with!

Here Amanda and Addy stand in front of the house that Amanda grew up in.

It was a little emotional for Amanda as the new owners let it get a bit run down.

Here Addison sits on the green deck out back.

Little does she know that our own deck was being built at the same time back home.

Outside Portage Central High

Go Mustangs!

Amanda and Leah pose at Mancino's grinder shop.

It was really good.

Addy and her cousins playing in the restaurant.
Jon bought them a round of lollipops.

We headed over to the celery flats, and took a surrey ride not far from Amanda's old house.

There is a park at the end of the trail.

While Amanda and I were spent from pedaling, our little monkey had all of the energy in the world. She did this all by herself. Addy's quite the climber.

Coming down the slide. Big Girl!

Now, it's Sunday, and we're in Joliet, IL.

This would be three generations of Schieks.

Speaking of generations and genes, there must be an Erickson 'electronics' gene.

Larry fiddles with his I-Phone, while Addy fiddles with the flashlight.

Four generations of Ericksons, with Amanda's grandparents Len and Lucy.

It was off to Chicago on Monday. The only reason I post this picture of Soldier Field is because this will be the site of at least one Eagles victory this coming season.

This is the Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennuim Park in Chicago. It's reflective, all around and is pretty cool to look at. It's huge, as you can see, with Amanda and Addison to the right.

The natives call it the 'bean'.

This is a picture I took of Amanda and me standing inside it.

A family picture next to another Millennium Park sculpture.

Addy had fun walking around inside of that one.

We walked around downtown for a while. Amanda poses here on one of the drawbridges.

I love how the Chicago River runs right through the heart of the city. The water and many drawbridges that cross it are beautiful.

While walking around, you can't help but see a lot of Obama paraphernalia. If I had eaten lunch, I would have surely lost it when I saw this one.

Caleb, Addison, and Josh at Buckingham Fountain.

A scenic shot of the fountains with the skyline in back.

That would be the Willis (no longer Sears) Tower to the left. Amanda, Joy, Addy, and I walked to it from here. We ate lunch inside, and waited in line for over an hour to go up to the Sky Deck.

For me it was well worth the walk and the wait.

From the top.

As the last picture looked up at the tower, this one looks down at the fountain (to the right of the top of the red building) almost at the same angle.

Looking north toward the Hancock Tower

New to the Sky Deck are three (or four) glass floor booths that hang off the west side of the building. I had to do it.

Looking straight down from the corner. I have to admit, the first step is a little nerve-racking.

Addy stepped out like it was nothing. It was funny because she then paused when she looked down, almost as if she realized something wasn't right.

One more, looking south.

Instead of walking back, we opted for the $2 water taxi, which gives you a great view of the river and buildings. It's the only way to go.

Had to take one here. This was just across the river on Michigan Ave.

Chicago is really a beautiful city, and it's easy to navigate. We ran out of time for Navy Pier, and some other things.

There's always next time.

This is little Jane, by the way. You know, the one that was left on the dock.

Before we left, Amanda had to go to Tickbee's (TCBY), since we don't have any in PA.

Aunt Jan came along, and posed for a picture with Addy and the boys.

Addy enjoyed The Country's Best Yogurt.

See?

Before we headed to airport, we stopped to say goodbye to Bill and Donna, Addy's other set of Chicago great-grandparents.

Here Addy rides on Great-Grandpa Bill's tractor, just like Mommy used to do.

There's a joke in here somewhere.

How many men does it take to put up an awning?

Grabbing lunch at Chef Clause's with Bill and Donna before we leave.

We love going to Chicago, and really should try to get there more often.

It's just a short flight or a 10 hour drive away.

Thanks to Larry and Joy for such a good time!

We've Expanded!

No, it's not what you're thinking. Amanda is not pregnant.

We've added to the house again. When we bought the place, we borrowed a little extra to make improvements. One of the things we wanted to be sure we did was re-do the back patio and build a deck. The space really wasn't usable, so we wanted to enhance and expand it.

This is what it looked like.

We enlisted the help of Brad's high school history teacher and his high school basketball coach. The timing was such that they built the entire thing while we were away on vacation, which made us a bit nervous, but they did a wonderful job. The deck ended up being a lot bigger than we pictured -315 square feet to be exact.

I had to do a lot of digging, to prep the site, but I should mention a big 'Thank You' to Aaron and my dad for finishing up some un-forseen digging while we were gone.

The following is a series of before and after shots.

From the side yard looking back. I hated mowing this area.

It was always muddy when it rained.

Not anymore.

It's wide and covered with wood now.

The old seating area wasn't level anymore. And the patio was angled, limiting the sqare footage.
Do I sound like one of those HGTV people?

This is a view from the neighbor's yard. It's very spacious now.

Here is where the old patio led down to the yard.

This is the new lower level, where previously it was hard to grow grass close to the house.

Not a problem anymore! And now we have two seating areas.

In the top left corner you can see our tiki torches.

I can't wait to put them out. I can barely contain my excitement.

Again - before...

...and after.

Don't mind the mess in front. Landscaping is next on my list.

From the other side.

I really like the long steps.

Sorry if this was a boring post. We're excited about our deck.

Does that make us weird?

Amanda's Birthday

Amanda turned the big 2-5 on July 1st. She is officially closer to 30 than to 20. We still had family in town so, we spent about an hour at Dutch Wonderland so Addy could play with her cousins. Amanda had a rough day. More on that later...

If it's your bithday, you need to take the obigatory picture by the Dutch Wonderland birthday cake.

Show me the two and the five!

Uncle Matt got Addy to finally go down the little waterslide.
She just doesn't like the water right now.

Kylie, Addison, and Kacey walking back from the water area.
These next few pics were so cute, I couldn't pass them up.

I think this one is my favorite.

Another. Cute, right?

So, Amanda had an appointment for a root canal on July 2nd (the day after her birthday). But she woke up on July 1st (her birthday) in such pain, that she called to get it done then and there.
So, yes, Amanda had a root canal on her birthday.
She came home very groggy and in a lot of pain. But she took a Vicodin and toughed it out.
Of course, the Vicodin made her very sick. We tried to go out to dinner with family and friends, but it wasn't happening.
Amanda felt horrible that we had to leave.

We came home and this next picture pretty much sums it all up.


This is Amanda, sick, but smiling with her gift. We had a bet a while back to see who could lose 15 pounds the fastest. The winner got $200 to spend on whatever. Well, Amanda clearly won, and I couldn't bear the thought of her spending $200 on clothes, so I spent it for her, and got her a 16 gig I-Pod Touch. Her original I-Pod struggles to hold a charge, and well, she deserves it.
25 is a big birthday.

On Thursday, we had people over for a cook-out and cake.
Amanda was feeling better, and we had a good turn-out.
Here Kylie's making big bubbles for the kids.


Our neighbor let us use his swing set, as there were nine kids running around. Addy loves it. "Sing! Sing!" she says.
(which is 'swing' in Addy-talk).

What is it with kids and bubbles anyway?

Kacey took a break from the bubbles to hold her second cousin Macie, who is getting huge!

Kylie has a new found interest in guitars, and was very excited to find out that Uncle Brad had one.

Start the guitar lessons!

I wanted to get Amanda a special cake for her special day.

Willow Valley did a great job with it.

Blowing out the candles. Keep Addy's hands away from this cake.

(see previous posts)

Seriously, it was hard for me to cut up the cake.

One, it was a beautiful cake.

And two, I had to cut through my wife and child's faces.

So, I asked Amanda what she really wanted to do for her birthday night, and she said "Brad, I just want to play Nintendo."

Not the answer I was looking for, but hey, it's her day.

Wildwood 2009

Matt, Nicole, the girls, Bryan, and Rose all flew in from out west for the yearly Boyd excursion to the shore in good old Wildwood, NJ. We spend 4 nights down in what we have declared as our condo (which is very nice - top floor and one block off the beach). We spent three full days down there, and the pictures are divided up accordingly.

Day 1

Addy was very excited about her "wag" as she calls it.

Addy and Grandpa relaxing on the patio.

A family pic looking out at the beach.

Here's a better look at what the patio looks like.

Pimp...

A look at the kitchen/living area. Very big. The condo has 4 bedrooms and 4 baths as well.

Tuesday night we went up to Ocean City. Addison, we found out, is not a big fan of rides that go up.

She is, however, a fan of cars.

Good luck pulling her out of this one when the ride's over.

"Or-see! Or-see!"
Which is Addy for "Horse-y! Horse-y!"
I look thrilled, I know.

Later, we headed back down to Wildwood, along the scenic coastal road, and ate on the roof at Stewart's. Good food, great atmosphere.


Amanda and me

This is the view from our patio of the neon signs of some of the old motels down the beachfront in Wildwood Crest.

Day 2

Mommy and Addy at the beach.

Addison was not liking the water too much.

Grandpa playing skyball with the girls.

Addison really got into the ladderball balls.

No one else was allowed to play.

Up on the boardwalk again, Addy had her first driving lesson.

This is advertised as the world's tallest High Striker game. I never seem to have a problem with it. Aaron generally gets it. Bryan and Matt struggle.

See? I win.

Addy, who's daddy is the strongest?

"Eh-fant?" which would be 'elephant'.

She wasn't sure about these either, especially when they took off.

Addy and Mommy again, this time doing some pretend driving.

This is one of my favorite spots in Wildwood - the boccie courts. We've become big boccie fans in recent years. There are two courts there. One is open to the public, and the other always has these old men listening to old italian music, playing until the wee hours of the morning. They are fun to watch.

Aaron got me a nice boccie set a few years ago.

Here Bryan takes a turn.

Aaron tosses.

Rose wasn't half-bad.

What form! What grace!

Amanda's turn.

Aaron, you're so silly.

Group shot!

Afterwards we took a walk down the renovated fishing pier.

Our shadows made for a nice picture against the water.

Good call, Amanda.

Day 3

Addy and Kacey got packed into the wagon with the rest of the beach stuff.

This picture was too cute to pass up.

Addison loooves her cousin Kacey.

Bryan, Rose, and Amanda looking for the perfect wave.

By the third day, Addison was brave enough to take her sandals off and play in the sand.

Family pictiure back at the condo.

Addy and Amanda

"Watch the tram car please!"

We headed off on our own for a bit, to the end of the waterpark on Morey's Pier.

This might be my favorite picture of the trip.

This one is a little hazy, but it's cute nonetheless.

Riding the boats with her cousins.

Ring the bell, Addy!

Addison was ok on this little ferris wheel, probably because she spotted Mommy with the camera. She's getting more brave.

Another family picture, this one on the boardwalk.

Bryan and Addy after some ice cream.

We always stop for ice cream on the way home at Richmann's Dairy.

Good stuff.

Update! 3 Months Full!

Getting caught up from the past 3 months.

I will do it in 61 pictures and captions.

Here we go...

Addy and her hat.

She used to hate things on her head. But, since about March, she's been all about hats.

I love her face in this one. "You talkin' to me?"

In March, Amanda and Addison went down to Maryland to visit her friend Lindsey and her son, Colby. The two had some fun in the play-pen.

I'm not sure how I feel about Addy bathing with boys.

She should at least wait until high school, right?

Also in March, we had a night on the town with Abby. We went to Annie Bailey's.
Not sure where Rob was.
Sometimes I get Amanda and Abby confused.

St. Patrick's Day was the first really nice day of the year - like 80 degrees nice.
Addy took her car for a spin.

We also played on the playground at Rockvale.

This is Addison's first solo attempt on a sliding board. She loves them.

Ugh.. Amanda made me put these up. Amanda and Kristen had to go see the New Kids on the Block when they came to Hershey in March. Gross. Of course, they can't just go to the concert, they have to dress all-80's.

Were they even out of diapers in the 80's?

No words.

Whatever floats her boat...

Amanda, Addison, Kaylan, and Haley (and Cory) took a trip to the Hands On Museum.

EASTER

Easter Morning

Addison is checking out the pansies that somehow survived the winter.

We had dinner at my parents and took some pics there in her Easter outfit.

One of these people found their Easter basket, and the other is not a very good hider.

Somebody got spoiled... And let me tell you she loves candy.

Some family pics - inside...

... and out.

So... Addy also likes cake a lot - to the point where you can't get near her with it.

This is at my parent's house, celebrating Uncle Jim's birthday.

Later in April we celebrated Daddy's birthday, first at Chili's.

Then, back at the house.

Notice the whole cake thing again.

What did you do...?

Addy gets a kick out of Mommy and Daddy kissing, especially when there's icing involved.

We celebrated at Mom and Dad's the next day.

MAY

May brought on a night at the Buchanan Park Carnival. We didn't ride anything, but we definitely enjoyed some carnival food. It must seem that we only feed Addy sugar. That's only half true.

Learning how fun dandelions can be.

Cute.

Addy thought the big rocks at Buchanon Park were slides. It actually worked.

See? She had fun.

So much fun that we took her to the big slides over at the playground.

She was very brave to tackle this one on her own.

Mother's Day

Thanks to my job, I was nowhere to be found.

But, I was able to sneak Amanda's presents (new patio furniture) on to the front porch.

Notice the new floor too (done by your humble narrator).

Grandma and Grandpa Erickson came in for a visit in May.

We headed over in Inner Harbor after picking them up in Baltimore.

We took a boat tour of the harbor. Addy could not sit still.

She kept trying to climb the fence, saying "Bath! Bath?"

A nice pic looking back at Inner Harbor.

If she can't sit still, walk her around the boat.

Grandma's turn to watch her.

Time out for a family picture.

This would be Addison pouting since Daddy yelled at her for climbing the fence.

Don't tell this girl 'No'. Kinda' like her mother.

Enjoying the ride with Daddy.

Back in Lancaster, we decided to take a buggy ride.

You know, I've lived in Lancaster my whole life, and I'd never ridden in a buggy.

They almost look Amish, don't they?

Addy and Grandpa going for a walk.

Addy and Grandma checking out the animals.

So, after the buggy ride, we decided to see if we could stop by Rocky Springs, where we had our wedding reception four years ago. This is the old roller coaster car.

This is a view from the river, looking back at the old park.

That's the carousel building on the left.

We had dinner at the Horse Inn, which is literally hidden in Lancaster city. That might have been the best steak I've ever had, and I think Larry agreed. I highly recommend it.

Here Addy and I meet little Macie Boyd, my cousin Chris's little girl.

We tried to get Addy to hold her, but she was a little shy.

Amanda and me at Ben and Alyce Larsen's wedding reception.

Sometimes when Mommy is working, Daddy takes Addison to Dutch Wonderland for an hour or so. Addy likes the train.

JUNE

So, for our anniversary (#4), Amanda and I drove down to Williamsburg, VA. We went skiing at Busch Gardens, where Brad had a little accident. Ok, that was lame. But, we had a great day at the park.

We had lunch at the Festhaus, where Brad had some German sausages, saurkraut, red cabbage, potatoes, and a gigantic piece of cake. Mmmm...

This is one of their newer rides, Griffon, and that would be a 210 foot vertical drop. It was pretty awesome. Even Amanda loved it.

Griffon makes a splash down at the end. I told Amanda to go down and pose for a picture.

Little does she know a wall of water is about to nail her.

We squashed some grapes over in the Italy section of the park.

Ok, not really. That was lame too.

Amanda finally hatched.

Ok, enough with the lame captions.

The next day, we headed over to Colonial Williamsburg. We just walked around and took pictures. This is outside the Governor's Mansion.

We got in a bit of trouble.

I thought public urination was legal in colonial times.

Las Vegas, UT

For us, Las Vegas might as well be a city in Utah. We can't seem to go to Utah without making a trip down to the desert. We love going out west. We love the west.

Utah has friends and family, old hang-out spots, and Tucanos (among other of Brad's favorite eating establishments not found elsewhere.) We both love Salt Lake too. It was nice to take Addison out to the place we met, and introduce her to all of our friends.

While I don't think we'd want to live out west, we'd certainly like to be able to visit more often. Lots of good memories in Utah for both of us.

Getting ready for our decent into Salt Lake. The only reason I post this picture is to show our little angel, all tuckered out after a long day of flying. She caught a little bug on the plane and was coughing the whole time. Poor thing.

So, upon landing, instead of being good parents and putting her to bed, we went to the Skybox for dinner with some friends. I shot hoops while we waited. Addy loved it. "Ball! Ball! *cough-cough* Ball!"

We soon found out just how sick she was as she spewed all over our table. Addy had never done that before, and she was pretty scared. She promptly fell asleep. We ate quick and got out of there in our rented PT Cruiser - a very spacious car.

The next day, she seemed better, so we went up to Ogden to see Robyn, Jeremy, and Elise. We went to Best Burger, which consistently lives up to its name, and then went bowling at Fat Cats.

From Ogden we drove down to Spanish Fork (2 hours) to visit a family from Brad's mission, and then drove back up to Orem to go out to Iggy's with a portion of the Kalamazoo, UT community. It was then back to Salt Lake.

We stayed with Heather and Gary, friends of ours from back home, who moved back to their home in UT. They live in Holladay, and we are ever so grateful for their hospitality and patience as Addy continued to throw up all over their house.
Here Amanda and Heather do some cross-country skiing at Heather's parents' house.

It's actually hard to call it a house. It's huge. Huge enough for an indoor pool. We enjoyed it, especially after the mountain experience. I won't get into that.

The pool has a Flintstones-style slide and diving board.

Amanda, Addy, Tommy, and Heather enjoying the water.

Addy, either ready to get out, or hating the swimmies.

We had a Sunday night get-together at Bryan and Rose's. Brett and Kim came over.

By Monday, 6 days in, Addy was still sick and contaminating everyone she met. Krisina and Andrea both got the bug immediately after this photo.

The last two days in Utah were a total wash, as Amanda and I both got sick at the same time. It was horrible trying to take care of Addy, who seemed to be better, while we took turns in the bathroom. I'll leave out the details. Aaron got sick at the same time, and Rose, our gracious host, caught it Wednesday - the day we left for Vegas.

It was a shame, because there were things we couldn't do and people we didn't get to see. We essentially lost our last two days in Utah. I didn't even get to go to Orem-Tucanos. That was my home away from home!

Oh well, we'll just have to come back.

Off to Vegas!

I tried to catch a picture of the sign, as I drove the rental mini-van.

We got a great deal on a suite at the Stratosphere, that was spacious enough for all of us. This is the view of downtown from our room.

Adam and Sam and the kids came up from Tuscon. It was great hanging out with them.

We spent part of the day at New York New York in the arcade. Addison didn't like this machine. I'm mean, I know.

Pausing for a pic on the south end of the strip.

We hit the oh-so-exciting M&M store. Addy always wants to eat M&M's. She didn't seem to like the really big ones. Man, I am mean, aren't I? I need to get that checked...

Not only am I mean, but I can be pretty dumb. So, I saw the wall of M&M's (with all kinds of funky colors) and I thought, "That sounds good. I think I'll buy some M&M's."

So, I pick a couple of colors, and go to check out. "$13.75" the guy says. I guess I had a pound of them, because I later found out they cost $11/pound. So, this is me with my $14 bag of M&M's.

Crossing over the bridge to the Mirage. I really love this bridge. It doesn't make sense to anyone but me, but there are a lot of memories tied to this spot in Vegas.

This is the first of several of my scenery pictures. I should do postcards.

This is leaving the Mirage, heading over to the Venetian.

I think if you ask me why I love Las Vegas so much, I could tell you a lot of things. But most of all, I love the sights. I love the buildings. It's beautiful down there on the strip, and there are many moments to take a really nice picture.

Here the Stratosphere is framed by the palm trees and the Wynn complex on the right.

Here's a nice family pic inside the new Palazzo at the Venetian.

This show takes place where we were sitting in the previous picture. Those aren't statues.

See, they came down the escalator earlier.

It was kinda' creepy, and to be honest, a little boring.

A nice picture of the Wynn Resort, with the brand-spankin' new Encore.

We gave ourselves a tour of Encore. Amanda really liked this rug in one of the halls.

You should see the bathrooms in this place.

...And here's the bathroom. Very nice.

The outside of the Palazzo.

Back at the hotel, Addy and Ethan had a moment. They're kissing cousins, or second cousins, or first cousins once removed. I don't know how that stuff works.

Friday, we headed over to Matt and Nicole's. I love this picture of Kylie and me.

Aaron and Malia. She belongs to Adam and Sam.

Baby Kadyn, surprised to see us.

Little Kacey. She's so pretty.

Kylie being Kylie. She's got quite the personality and is a total sweetheart.

I can't believe she's gonna be 5.

All of the Boyd grand-daughters. Matt and Nicole's house turned into a photo-shoot.

Addison loved playing with her cousins for the first time.

Let's get Grandma and Grandpa in there.

Add Ethan and Malia. All of the kids here. Addy took off after this one. She was done.

One more.

For the first time in a long time, I present...the Boyd family.

We headed over to Aliante Station, the local casino, were we enjoyed the Station Casinos buffet.

Kylie is such a sweet girl. She wanted to help feed Addy, who seems awfully suspicious of what is going on.

Later that night, I surprised Amanda with tickets to Ka, the Cirque du Soleil show at the MGM Grand. We went with JJ and Marika. It was really good with this incredible stage that kept moving, floating, tilting and rotating. It was our 3rd Cirque show. We hope to see them all at some point.

Looking out the window as we head down the runway towards Philly.

We woke up Saturday, checked out, and headed back north to have Mark's Pizza with the family before heading to the airport. I stopped at In N Out, because I wasn't about to go to Vegas without getting an In N Out burger.

It was great to visit Utah and Vegas and to see everyone. There was a lot left on our 'To Do' list, so we're gonna have to return soon.