Cousin Xchanges

Emma and Amaya got to hang out together for a week here in Findlay. Joe went to Columbus for the week to hang with Izak.

At the end of the week, we all went to COSI and saw the Star Wars exhibit there.

Bike Mechanic

Joe's bike got a flat and he fixed it all by himself!

Elydia's First Birthday

We celebrated Elydia's first birthday at the Tompkins family reunion. The best part was the rabbit pinata filled with 17# of candy. Elydia took the first whack with Mom's help. The funnest part for her was watching all of the cousins and kids of cousins and uncles giving their whacks. Yes - that's uncle Ben, with Elydia standing up and cheering!

Joe's First Day of Summer Vacation

Joe started off the summer with a real Mohawk! He kept it for about 2 hours, and then he went with a full buzz.

Lawnmower Girl

Another sign that our little Anna isn't so little anymore - she is mowing the lawn. And she does a fine job, too, I might add. She is also looking for babysitting jobs...

May Flowers / Bungee Run Joe

I don't know if we had much rain in April, but we definitely have May flowers. We have a flower bed just outside our back door that is in full bloom. Here's Amaya standing in them. You have never seen so much beauty per square foot!

And here's Joe at the Cooper Tire picnic, on Memorial Day. He's doing the bungee run. He had to get a running start and see how far out he could get the bean bag before the bungee cord pulled him back. It was steamin' hot today. We had a great time. Just a few more days til summer vacation!

Approved for Takeoff!

Linda has been recovering from surgery for the past two weeks. This week she got the OK from the doc to start driving again, which should help reduce cabin fever. She still can't pick up Elydia. We are thankful for everyone's prayers and support.

Flyin' High on Easter Weekend

We visited Akron on Easter weekend, and all of our kids had a great time playing with the cousins. This shows Anna and Sarah getting air time on the trampoline. We also heard Chris speak at church (he just returned from his mission to Spain), launched a rocket, went to Gabe's (ladies), went on a bike hike (Dan and Will, Will got a flat tire), and just had a nice time.

cousin vs. cousin

This is a picture of Joe and his cousin Izak. They are playing basketball. Izak won! They both seem to like basketball.

Baby's First Swim

This post is about Joe's baby sister's first swim. She did not like being splashed. She loved it. Elydia loves the water!

Tooth Fairy

On Tuesday Amaya lost a tooth. Her mom pulled it out before a soccer practice.Typed by Joseph.By Amaya.

Yoga Stretch

The school offered an evening of Yoga, Karate, and Pilates, and so we went and tried them all out. It was great fun. Joe's favorite was Karate. It was especially fun to count to ten in Japanese, and to see the art teacher asking you to punch and kick. The photo shows Amaya and Joe stretching in the Yoga class. I found that Yoga left me with the most 'buzz' in my muscles. 'The Tree' was the pose that I found most challenging. I was more like a tree on a really windy day, since I couldn't keep my balance. The kids all did great.

Balloon Boy

For his birthday, Grandma gave Joe a book on how to make balloon creations. As you can see, he has read the book. This is a sample of just a few of the things he done with the balloons. Fortunately, the book also came with a balloon inflator. I've tried to inflate these things, and - wow - they are tough. Joe is sporting his blue ray gun, his pink Martian hat, and his purple and yellow Martian.

The District Pinewood Derby

Joe got to race his car in the district pinewood derby last week. At our pack's race, he won 3rd place. Joe's is the yellow car. This is the 2nd car he's built, and I think his car gets better each year.

Maple Sugar Days

Our good friend Joe V. has started an operation for producing maple syrup. Anna and Joseph and I went to help out one afternoon. Here's Anna pounding a tap into a maple tree. The sap runs when its freezing at night and above freezing in the day. Joe collects the sap (he has several hundred trees tapped) and boils it down. It takes 50 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. After we helped tap some trees, we boiled down a little on Joe's camp fire. We took home a pint of syrup. Yum!

The Best Thing About a Beard

The weather this weekend has been very nice. No doubt that Spring is coming. So ... my beard's days are definitely numbered. What I liked best about the beard is that Elydia liked it. She liked to grab onto it and yank my head around. She liked to run her fingers through it.

First Library Card

Amaya got her First Library Card this weekend, from the Hancock County Public Library. She was so excited to have her very own card. She checked out Misty of Chicoteague, and a video. We were checking out right at closing time. Mrs. Hause, our elementary school librarian, happened to be checking out at the same time, and so she added her enthusiasm to Amaya's and ours.

The White Tornado

Auntie Em has inspired me again. Her blog has got me thinking that this is a great way to share our family news and photos.

So for starters, here is our family hero. We have noticed that whenever Saturday chores come around, Joe disappears. Fortunately, the White Tornado is always there to save the day.