Travel Update

So much for cutting down the wait time between posts--but at least we've got reasons. First, school's out forevah! (Sing it like Alice Cooper and it makes sense). I managed to make it through the remainder of the year, finals and tons of grading. Its a little wierd to begin a summer without a countdown to the first day of school, but I'm excited about what its all going to mean for our family and Evie June. For the moment, though, we're looking forward to a number of mini-adventures as a family: a short bike trip next weekend, a hike next month, and lots of time at the park.

But Evie and I just returned from what will surely be our most ambitious expedition of the summer--a trip back to KY to see family. By far the most difficult portion of the trip was leaving Jimmy behind. Evie walked around my sister's house saying "Da? Da?" looking in random places for her father. But she managed to have some fun despite the absence of her favorite playmate.


Eating at the kid table at Auntie Katy's. Maybe it was because throwing it from a lower height wasn't as much fun, but somehow, most of the food on her plate actually made it into her mouth.


And she even tried getting in on the clean up fun. Note to self: must buy tiny broom.

At our family reunion, she got some tractor driving tips from second cousin Keaton . . .


. . . some strawberry cake courtesy of Auntie Jana . . .


. . . and some peekaboo time with Great Grandma Evelyn--who at 95 is by far the most experienced player Evie June has yet encountered. We think it really raised her game to a whole new level.


In Owensboro, we spent some time at the Children's museum. Evie loved pretending to be a bat . . .

. . . but hated her turn in the stock car driver's seat. Sorry, Poppy, but apparently Little E only shares a nickname with young Earnhardt.


She like riding around in the van with her cousins Harrison, Hayden and Logan.


She liked it even more when Diego and his jaguars joined them via the magic screens mounted to the back of the seats. This was truly Evie June's first TV watching experience, and we're a little startled at how quickly she picked up the technique. Slump in the seat? Check. Mouth slightly gaping? Check. Glassy stare? Check. What can we say? She's a prodigy.


But even more than Diego, she fell in love with swimming this trip. We made a couple of visits to the swimming pool, where Evie learned that the baby pool is always warmer.


And that pool snacks are perhaps even finer than the water.


We had a great trip, loved seeing family and friends, enjoyed humidity, fireflies and thunderstorms, but its good to be home.
Jen