Jake and Angie Boone

Well, I am almost a small business owner... only a couple weeks and it should be final. I taught my first class today and loved it!!! The weather was perfect, we had a nice sized class, and we ended class with an impromptu picnic. Gabriel and Clara were awesome... G behaved and played quietly the entire time, although I think he was fascinated at how much and how loudly I was talking! Clara cried each time we stopped for the first half of class, but slept through the rest. Whew! I was so relieved that my kiddoes are so wonderful :).

Gabriel has been having quite a fun summer so far. We started with a trip to Amarillo, then m

y parents brought their camper up for a visit. We enjoyed a visit with them here in Frederick and then in Gettysburg, and Clara had her first swim in a real pool! She went underwater and everything!!! We've been on a Thomas the Tank Engine ride through Amish country, and he's experienced his first big boy moonbounce, although he was too busy lecturing the other children to slide down the slide alone (we had to

get other children to push him down!). And besides growing veggies and picking tons of green tomatoes, he makes sure the worm population doesn't get out of control... poor worms! And today he learned how to wrestle with his friend Dominic! Even when G got accidentally kicked in the face, he just looked up and said "we are being funny!" I was about to grab him and cuddle him, but instead I was so proud that he was tough and having fun!

Clara is growing in leaps and bounds, and I am

amazed at how much she learns each day. She rolled over from her back to her tummy twice today! Her giggles and laughs are contagious, and she thinks her big brother is hilarious :). He still adores her, although he can still be a bit too rough. And she SLEEPS! Hooray!!!

Here are a bunch of fun pics for you. Enjoy!

Gabriel loves to make Clara laugh!

Thomas the Tank Engine!!!

Cranking the Cranky Cars all by himself

The Strasburg Railroad Steam Engine

Thomas made out of Leggos!!!

We are back in Maryland after a long weekend in Amarillo, and I'm already a bit homesick for Texas! Don't get me wrong; we really like Frederick and many things about the area. But Texas really knows how to do weather. It was hot and beautiful with a few big storms passing through, but then it was gorgeous and sunny again. Here in MD the cloudy, cold weather just seems to linger - such a bummer! It's good to be back home in our own beds, though.

The most fun part of our Amarillo trip was watching Gabriel. Not because we didn't enjoy the trip, but because he was hilarious!!! I loved hearing his conversations with Jake's family. Here is my favorite example:

Melanie (Jake's younger sister) had been playing with G, and he was super bossy about which toys/cars to play with. She started to tease him.

G: Please play with this one (as he hands her a car)
M: Please play with this one (as she hands him the car)
G: Please play with this one! (as he hands her the car)
M: Please play with this one! (as she hands him the car)
G: Please don't talk!

Although he was great at sleeping in his big boy bed throughout the trip, he wasn't keen on taking a nap when he knew Daddy and Pawpaw were out getting french fries for him (a rare treat!). He tried to stay in bed, but he couldn't stand it. I went to check on him, and he was standing just inside the bedroom door crying. He saw me and whined, "Sooooorry for not taking a naaaap!!!" I couldn't resist and said, "Oh, alright." He ran to me and said "Oh, alright!!!" and gave me a big hug. It was too sweet to pass up! And he did take a nap after the french fries arrived :).

Gabriel had a few firsts while in Amarillo: first time to jump on trampoline, first swim in a backyard kiddie pool, first trip to the Cadillac Ranch, and first ride on a motorcycle. He wasn't too fond of the motorcycle... he liked it only when it was far away! After watching Pawpaw ride fast in the field, he said to Pawpaw, "Pawpaw you went fast -- pweese get off!"

Clara has grown up so much lately! She can now stand up if you hold her hands and she loves baths in a big bathtub (she did not like her baby bathtub). She smiles all the time, and she has started laughing... I love it!!! She does not like to nap unless she is being held or we're on the move (car seat or stroller), but she sleeps great at night!!! Yea!!!

Finally, when we arrived in Baltimore, I decided to wait with Clara while the boys went to get the truck. As we were discussing the situation, our bus went by. Jake grabbed Gabriel and the carseat and went running! The bus came to the next stop and started to continue on. A few nice people stopped the bus when they saw Jake running after it. As the doors opened and the boys climbed on, everyone aboard was silent and looked to see who was causing the holdup. Gabriel looked around and then hollered, "This is a GREAT bus!!!" Everybody cracked up!