Face Painting

At Dahlia's birthday party, Rory was able to sit for a face painting session.
Rory wanted to harness the power of the butterfly, and she was quite pleased with the end product.
One happy hippie!
A close-up of Rory's butterfly tattoo.

Summer Scenes 2010

Great balls of fire! Aven is learning how to bang the ivories with style ...
Here she is putting on quite a rockin performance.
Mommy and Aven take the train at the Fairfax county fair.
Rory and Aven take a short nap on their way home from the Fairfax county fair.
So far this summer, we've enjoyed birthday parties, playgrounds, parks, BBQs, and plenty of other outside activities.
Of course, we can't go anywhere unless we go in style!
And we try not to go anywhere unless Aven is in a good mood.
It has been hard to beat the heat, but our octopus sprinkler has helped.
Rory has enjoyed her time in the water, but she was still feeling like she needed a way to keep cool ...

... and there is nothing like a new, short, cute hair cut to do the trick.

Lollipop Tree

While we were at Wintergreen, Rory took her first "real" hike (powered by her own two feet as opposed to riding on Daddy's back).
The object of Rory's quest was the illusive Lollipop Tree, an arbor first discovered by Pops when he was hiking with his daughters.
Our brave hiker ventured forth, with only a map and her wits to guide her.
Here, captured on film for the first time, is the fruit of the Lollipop Tree.
Our hiker discovers her tree and picks the fruits of her labor.
Rory shows the camera the fresh lollipops that she has harvested and will enjoy when her hike is finished.
The family poses in front of the beautiful Blue Ridge skyline.

Wintergreen shots

In what is becoming a bit of a tradition, we ventured down to Wintergreen to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend.
We enjoyed fun meals and several trips to the pool.
Rory impressed us with a symmetrical representation of the Disney princess castle and then declaring that she will grow up to become an architect of great renown. Must be the mountain air.

Strawberries

Recently, we went strawberry picking with our friends, and we returned with a mountain of berries. Sarah industriously canned her first-ever (and quite tasty) strawberry preserves, and Rory helped her make a batch of strawberry fruit roll-ups!

Smiles and Silliness

Why is this little lady smiling?
Oh, silly Daddy!

Sun and Rain

Yeah, Daddy picnics with his girls like this every Saturday in the summer while Mommy goes shopping!
Perhaps the most adorable all-weather girls that I've ever seen!