End of summer

Over Labor Day we got to go to a Detroit Tigers and Yankees game in Detroit. They had a tiger carousel and our seats were in the shade. These things combined to make a great day.

One of the big grocery stores here in Michigan is called Meijer. Abigail loves going there because they have a horse there to ride on. I like it because it only costs a penny for a ride. Ever since Abbie was little we have had the tradition to let her ride the horse when our shopping is done. We sing:

"Horsie, horsie on your way. We've been together a many a day. So let your tail go swish and your wheels go round. Giddy up! We're homeward bound.

I like to take a horse and buggy, when I go traveling through the town. I like to hear that good old clip clop. I like to see the wheels go round."

She loves it. Her new thing is that she kisses the horse when we are done. Its our little form of idle worship. My uncle Lee has a farm and she has ridden horses there before. Abigail really loves horses. She has some plastic ones and really enjoys playing with them.

We have a pool at our apartment. Abigail and I made good use of it this summer. Some weeks we went 6 times! It is only about 100 steps away. Often there would be nobody else but us, so it felt like our private pool. Awesome. We started going in May and it just closed a week ago. It was heated, so we went sometimes when it was only 60 degrees outside. In the beginning Abbie would just get her feet wet and play around it but not get any deeper then up to her stomach. By the end of the summer, she became a little fish. I eventually remembered that we had a swim suit with a life jacket thing in it. She is quite the daredevil, so it eased my stress level when she started wearing it.

Abigail has gotten really good at dressing herself everyday. She also loves to dress up.

The Forsyth family has a wonderful tradition of making Pumpkin muffins on October 1st. My mother-in-law Jamie gave me a beautiful bundt cake pan that I used instead of muffin tins. It was delicious. Abigail took the picture of me next to the cake. She has been taking pictures lately. You can see the great big chunk of cake that Abigail grabbed when I wasn't looking. At least I know she liked it.

A little update

We are all well, but we are having technical difficulties with our camera. I thought I would just write up a few things while I have a minute.

The other day we were going to the swimming pool and I saw a daddy-long legs. I showed it to Abigail and told her what it was. She was interested and we watched it awhile before we started to swim. A few minutes later she tilted her head to one side and asked seriously, "Have you ever seen a MOMMY-long legs?" It was very cute.

Yesturday I was on the couch reading to Abigail. She jumped from a nearby foot stool and bounced off the couch and went head over heals OVER the back of the couch and onto the floor. I was really surprised and waited for her to start crying, but she walked around the couch and came right up to me and said with furrowed eyebrows, "It was a hand over." I guess meaning like a back handspring or something...so funny.

This one is dedicated to Grandma Jamie

Benjamin's mom said that after Abigail was born she had the song On Top of the World going through her mind and so the song especially reminds her of Abigail. Well, Abigail has recently become a fan of the Carpenters (along with the Cranberries and a number of other musicians) and so we all thought you like to see how Abigail keeps herself busy on long trips...

...And here is one from the Cranberries:

House Sitting and poison ivy

We have been house sitting for some friends of ours for the past week. Abigail and I have loved the backyard and animals. Benjamin has suffered because of the backyard and animals. Confused? Let me explain...

Two weeks ago Benjamin camped on the property of the house that we are staying at. He somehow got into some poison ivy and has been miserable ever since. I guess once you've had poison ivy you are super sensitive around it. So when he plays with Abigail outside on their awesome swings, he gets itchy and uncomfortable, poor guy. He is also allergic to their cats and dog, so he hasn't been breathing very well.

As much as it has been hard to be here for Benjamin, Abigail has loved it! Abigail loves animals and our friends have a dog, two cats and a parrot. She has had fun feeding them, walking the dog and playing with them. The dog has become my new alarm clock. At an early hour everyday he comes in and licks my face until I wake up. Abigail and I take him out with us on our daily stroller ride. His name is Caleb, and he is a really sweet dog. Abigail is always giving him hugs, chasing him, trying to feed him carrots and graham crackers, and chasing him around. He puts up with her.

We have spent a lot of time outside enjoying their big back yard and long driveway. There has been a lot of wildlife. They have pond with lots of frogs that Abbie likes to through grass in. We have seen lots of deer and rabbits.

We got to go to Grand Rapids for a Danish Festival with some friends. We had a really fun time. They had some children's activities that Abbie enjoyed. She made a crown and has been wearing it a lot the past 2 days. It is really cute. Her favorite part was an inflatable slide they had there.

Benjamin had his birthday last week and we had fun celebrating. Abigail was really excited to tell her daddy what his gifts were, the day before his birthday :), and to hide his gifts.

We have watched some of the Olympics and that has been fun. Abbie went bowling for the first time and had fun. Benjamin starts up the semester soon, so we will get back into the swing of things. We have had a wonderful summer.

Enjoying Summer

These are some pictures of us camping in New York with my brother and his cute family. Abbie had her birthday that week, thus the hat.

We've had a lot of fun things the last few weeks. Benjamin hiked at Pictured Rock National Park in the upper penisula of Michigan for a week with the young men he used to work with. They hiked like 25 miles in some really beautiful areas. They had some mean racoons, but Benjamin was able to protect the group with his sling shot skills which he learned under the tutelage of his brother-in-law David. His camera was out of batteries by two hours into the hike so there are no pictures besides the one we copied off of the Pictured Rocks website. He has been writing a proposal for a conference and his comps. So that has kept him busy.

Abigail and I have done lots of fun things together. We have been swimming a lot and been to a lot of fun activities. These include a dairy expo, county fair, story time at the library, tricycle rides, parks and a water games activity. Last week I helped with the youth games for a Pioneer Celebration. It turned out well. We spray painted rocks and did panning for gold. That was a favorite. We have really enjoyed summer.

Abigail really enjoys playing with her dollies, toys and blocks. She had so much fun at the petting zoo that was at the county fair.

Grandma Grow sent a tea cup set and Abigail has really enjoyed it.

Abigail had a little birthday singing session with her new toys.

Benjamin's girls in red.

One thing Abigail loves to do is dance on our bed while her Daddy plays music for her. I think all would agree that we need a trampoline for this girl!