June Highlights III

The last two weeks of June were filled with camps. First we all participated in Music and Arts Camp at church. The kids played hand chimes, made paper mache popcorn bowls, played in a bucket band, made candy, saw a chalk-drawing presentation and presentations on the oboe, bassoon, tuba and cello. This made a big impression on Meredith, who has decided to take oboe lessons this fall.

The second camp was for Jeremy, baseball camp. He'd never played before, but was so excited to learn. He went every day for 6 hours and had a great time. He's looking forward to getting on a team next spring.

June Hightlights II

We decided to get a small wading pool for the kids to play in this summer. Even though they're really too big for it, it was still a good way to cool off.


We took our first trip of the summer to the beach at Delaware Seashore State Park. We never got down to the beach last summer, so the kids were really happy to spend the day there. They all loved trying out the new boogie board and digging holes in the sand.


Another favorite activity: climbing the tree in the front yard.

June Highlights I

Meredith's class put on a play, "Charlotte's Web." They all did such a fabulous job, came up with some cute costumes and memorized all their lines. Meredith was the "fair announcer."



My brother, Kurt, graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, with his Ph.D in neuroscience. Our parents and I drove up to New York City for the day to see the ceremony.



Meredith participated in her second Girls on the Run 5k. Her running buddy this time was Uncle Kurt. It was a very hot day, but they made it through, and finished the race in about 45 minutes.

One of the last events of the school year was field day. Another extremely hot day, with no shade on the field.

May Highlights

By May, I was finally getting around again and back into my routine. It really was a long recovery. Activities at school were picking up, so I needed to get moving.

The 3rd grade put on a musical, "The Granny Awards"

North Star Elementary had their first Art Show



On Memorial Day, we spent a lovely afternoon with friends in their pool.

April Highlights

April brought Easter, a trip for the kids to the Adventure Aquarium with Uncle Kurt & Aunt Jen, and Jeremy's 8th birthday. The boys also started playing baseball in the yard.

March Highlights

March brought some warmer weather and finally melted all that snow. The kids were able to get outside on their bikes. The big news was that Jason learned to ride a two-wheeler!

February Highlights

There were two big highlights of the month: I came home from the hospital, and lots and lots of snow. There were quite a few snow days for the kids. I watched them play from the couch by the window.

January Highlights

January was a busy month. My parents helped us with some home organization projects. We also moved Jeremy to his own bedroom. We took a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. January 29 was my major surgery - total proctocolectomy. I now live with an ileostomy, but have none of the terrible pain and other symptoms from Crohn's Disease. I was in the hospital for 11 days and took a few months to recover.

Here are a few pictures from the month:

celebrating Aunt Jen's (and Uncle Kurt's) birthdays at Don Pablos

visiting with the penguins at the zoo