Playground Fun!

Some recent pictures of Sam at his favorite palygroud! There is a large fountain for the kids to run through in the middle of the playgroud - unfortunately it is turned off after Labor Day though. But as you can see, Sam is still happy running around the fountain (looking for the water).

He stops and asks us (in his toddler language of course) "where is the water?"

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

He stopped just long enough for me to take his picture - lucky me :)

Our 1st Trip to the New England Aquarium

Last week we took our 1st trip to the New England Aquarium - it was great! Sam loved looking at the penguins and sharks best. We will definitely make another trip soon. Above Sam is pointing the penguins and below he is showing us the fish. Sam stood in this window for a long time watching the animals swim around and around.

Lots of fish and SHARKS!

Below Sam is waving to the trains - we took the T into Boston from our apartment for this outing. He loved riding on the trains! He is also sitting with his new Penguin friend that he wanted from the gift shop :)

Vegging out after a very busy day at the Aquarium!

Pit Stop in Michigan

On our very long drive from Kansas to Massachusetts we made a two day stop in Michigan to spend time with family and strech our legs. It was so great to see everyone! Above is a picture of Craig with his brothers, John and Derek.

Craig, Sam and Grandpa Bruce.

Sam with his cousins - from left...Connor, Molly, & Jackson, and his Grandma Jane - Sam was not a happy boy in this picture!

Uncle Derek, Uncle John, and Craig with their kiddies!

Aunt Sara, Aunt Jessie and Aunt Sarah with their kiddies.

Quiet time with cousins before we hit the road in the morning!

Good Bye, Lowe Place.

Here are some pictures of our last few days on Lowe Place, a home that will always be a very special one to our family...

(at the very top of the picture below, you'll see what Craig left behind...)

I must say, it was very sad when it was time to drive away from our home on Lowe Place. This October would have been 5 years that we have lived in that house. It is where Craig and I started our lives together, welcomed our doggy Gus into our family, said a tearful good bye to eachother for a 15 month deployment, welcomed our beautiful son, Sam, into the world, made some amazing friends, and so much more...I could go on and on :) I just didn't realize how much it felt like home to me until it was time to go. Although we were ready for the next chapter, it was certainly a bittersweet goodbye for everyone in our family.

The last memory I have before driving off is a great one...Craig and Sam found a HUGE tree in front of our house - it must be hundreds of years old! - Craig tossed his boots up as high as he could until they clung to the tree...we are hoping they will stay there for many years to come. I think it was Craig's way of keeping a part of him at Fort Riley - good closure :)

We'll miss you, Lowe Place!