The Ellis Family

Fun at Aunt Paula's

In addition to meeting her cousin Izzie for the first time, Olivia also met Uncle Jeremy while she was in NY. Olivia and Uncle Jeremy hit it off well. He even had a stuffed monkey for her when we met him at the airport. Olivia loved playing with Uncle Jeremy, and he even watched Sesame Street with her. On the day that Uncle Jeremy flew in, we all went to Aunt Paula's house for dinner. There was lots of fun to be had there. Between playing with Hannah and Miranda, swimming in the pool, and jumping on the trampoline, Olivia was plum tired by the time we left. Take a look at the fun we had!
Here is Uncle Jeremy being squirted by Miranda, and Mike laughing in the background:

Good dive Hannah:

Miranda does a cannon ball:

Olivia just likes to float:

Daddy likes to float too:

Grandma and Olivia resting for a minute:

Daddy makes big splashes:

Aunt Dandy trains to be a super model:

Daddy and Miranda splash each other:

And Daddy likes to float some more:

Nana likes the sun:

Olivia likes to throw toys into the pool for others to swim and get:

Olivia likes to play soccer with cousin Hannah. She kicks the ball well. Maybe she'll grow up to be a soccer player?

She really likes the ball:

Daddy and Aunt Dandy like to jump. Note: Right after this shot, Mike came down and bounced Aunt Dandy right off of the trampoline. Don't worry, she was fine.

She just got up and jumped some more:

And Olivia did too:

See? I told you it was a fun day!

The Clark Museum: Dove/O'Keeffe

One particular Friday, we decided to The Clark Museum in Massachusetts. In doing so, we managed to reach the Rendezvous' capacity: 3 laughing sisters, 2 babies complete with carseats, 1 Jenna, and two strollers stuffed here and there. Take a look at how we all crammed into the car:

Jenna got the way back...with a stroller sitting next to her. Note: When all seats are up in the Rendezvous, it doesn't really have "trunk space."

So Anyway, The Clark is a pretty nice museum not too far from Albany. Part of their permanent collection includes Degas, Monet, and Renoir. And many others too. This summer they had an exhibit featuring Georgia O'Keeffe (the oversized flowers lady) along with Dove, another artist and inspiration to O'Keeffe. I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the Dove/O'Keeffe collection, since it wasn't a part of their permanent collection. Actually, we weren't really allowed to do much. I don't think the museum people were too thrilled to have all of us there, pushing two loud babies around...And I got yelled at once for "leaning" on a table...but I wasn't leaning, I was just turning in a certain way so I could get a nice picture. The museum guards had no sense of humor. Oh well. We had fun regardless!

Olivia and Aunt Dandy coming down looking at all the paintings:

Betsy taking a break and taking in a painting:

My favorite- The Dancing Lesson:

Another Favorite- The Little Dancer:

I'm pretending to be the little dancer:

Jenna's favorite - Tiger:

Outside, the grounds of The Clark are beautiful. So I used it as an opportunity to more pictures, of course!
Dandy on the fence:

Lily pad pond:

She had Olivia duty:

I Like these family shots- My sister and my two nieces:

Mommy and Olivia's turn:

Somebody taught her to say "cheese"...

This is what happens when she has had enough of the pictures:

My cutie:

Miss Sweet Face:

She liked this pose:

Some artsy shots:

Aunt Dandy is copying the copy-cat:

Click on this picture to see the Blue Herring. Quick before he flies away!

We'll end with Mommy and Me:

Central Park: Rose Garden

Well, we are back in Okinawa after a month long "vacation" in New York. I say "vacation" only in the sense that we were away from Okinawa. Usually, people relax on vacations. Not us. We used every second we had to do stuff. Not a dull moment while we were in NY, unless you count while we were sleeping. It was a wonderful trip, we enjoyed our time, and I took lots of pictures. I'll catch you up to speed with a post of just about everything we did...So try to pay attention and keep checking back with us, as I cannot possibly do it all in one day. It will be my project for this week. Before we get to the pictures, let me share the latest news... First, we sold our house in Georgia! We are glad to not have that concern anymore. Second, I am officially a License Professional Counselor! I was finally awarded my full licensure on August 19th. I am considering going back to work if the right position comes along. Until then, I plan to start volunteering to network (and help others, of course). Meanwhile, I'll fill my time posting pictures to the blog :)

Back to this post now. Before Daddy joined us on our trip, Olivia and I went to Central Park (in Schenectady, not NYC), to see the Rose Garden. We went with Aunt Betsy and my niece Izzie (whom I met for the first time while I was home and is absolutely adorable!). Aunt Betsy, Izzie, and Olivia all played while I took some pictures of the beautiful scenery. Take a look:

A bee flew in just as I snapped this one:

Miss Izzie!

This is the only time she looked at the camera that day:

The Rose Garden:

So sweet, Mommy and Baby:

Going in to smell the roses:

She loved running around. But she was pretty quick, and kept trying to leave the garden. I kept having to tell her she wasn't in Okinawa anymore and had to be more careful...