The Long-Promised Haircut Picture

As you can see this isn't a great photo, which is why I didn't ever end up posting any pics of their hair cuts. They were so busy reading, and who reads sitting still? Not David! But by request, here they are fresh from the clippers. Such trim and handsome fellas!

Down by the Station

Another Jonalee beautiful photo.

Guess what? It's almost fall down by the station. It's in the air...

More pictures of the kiddos

I should let you all know that Jonalee has posted more of her photos of the boys on her blog. Click on the EarlesFam link to the right if you would like to see them.

The Boys in Olde Towne Gaithersburg

My friend Jonalee graciously offered to take pictures of Joshua and David for me so that she could hone her photography skills. And she is definitely skilled! She did a fabulous job! I was so impressed at the way she calmly kept snapping away while all of our children flew wildly around her every which way. I think we saw seven or eight trains during the photo shoot, so it doubled as a premier train watching experience and made for some good live action shots. Here are a few samples:




Train coming!!

Auto cars.

Rear brakeman David.




Joshua's personality just bubbled over. He was loving every moment!

Earles family, thanks again for this gift! We love the photos!

Sentimental Strands

I cut David's hair today. I cut Joshua's too, but that wasn't emotional. As I swept away the strands of hair, I felt like I was sweeping away my baby. Trimming the hair revealed what I already knew in my heart but wasn't yet willing to acknowledge: that underneath that sunshiny mop, David had grown from a baby to a boy. Now he looks the part! Here's my interpretation of the experience in verse. When the camera batteries are ready to cooperate, I'll post a picture.

Haircut

Big blue eyes
Dancing bright

Fly away curls
Wisps of light

Full red lips
Kissable cheeks

Laughing grin
Sharp shiny teeth

Bundle of joy
Cloaked in white

Clippers drone
Strands of babyhood
Cut. Gone.

Where is my little one?
You are a big boy!

Branson, We Made It!

On the way into town the weather was milder
and in Mansfield we stopped for lunch,
Where is the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Which we toured and enjoyed a bunch!

Rocky Ridge Farm:



First with our fam some time we spent
Then we wandered around downtown;
It was to Branson's Landing we went
And saw this fountain shooting up and down.

The boys thought the fountain was fun
But the next sight was the real show;
We heard a whistle and took off at a run
To watch this diesel go!

Branson Trip, Day 4

We left on a Thursday night
For a West Virginia Super 8
Where we welcomed the morning light
With happy thoughts, the motel was great!
(Believe it or not - I read the internet reviews carefully and it worked!)

Then we spent two nights in Indy
As the previous posts have shown;
Sunday was rainy and windy
But by St. Louis the time had flown!

Viewed from the car:

Now what tricks did we have up our sleeve
To keep the boys happy for miles?
Well you would not believe
What surprise tractors can do for some smiles!

Indiana, Part II

En route to Branson, we stopped at an oasis in the desert of interstate highway for a mini-reunion. We stayed with my dad's cousin Ed and his wife Karen. They were wonderfully hospitable! They organized a fabulous cookout for the day we were there with almost all the fam. We met and/or reconnected with about 15 relatives plus my parents and grandma had driven out for the occasion as well. It has been a highlight of my summer to be getting to know my Indiana family again. I didn't get pictures of everyone, but here are a few:


Ed and Mason

Karen and Maddie

Elmer and Marianne (my grandma's older sister)

Quite a crew!

Thanks again, Ed and Karen!

Aboard LST-325

We had the unique opportunity to tour a real WWII naval vessel while visiting family in Evansville on the way to Branson. It was an extensive tour and Joshua actually got sick from the musty air inside, but he recovered quickly. They had operable gun turrets on deck, but unfortunately no more tanks below decks. They did have a forklift the boys enjoyed "driving" and an Army ambulance. Joshua decided the sleeping quarters were not quite spacious enough, but the capacious helmet he tried on dwarfed his wee head.


LST-325 berthed in Evansville

And Cousin Ed says these bunks are like the Ritz compared to his submarine!

Loving the forklift.

Not a sight I ever expected to see - looking out from the belly of a warship. Imagine getting ready to roll out your artillery and supplies into the jungle of New Guinea or the beaches of Normandy while under fire. This was actually pretty interesting to me since I have been reading the history of the U.S. Navy in WWII series (over the past four years - I think I just passed the halfway point). I'm not exactly sure what good it does me other than to better appreciate what the war was really like, to understand the roles of the navy, and to gain insight into the leadership inherent to successful military campaigns, which could be applicable to much of life.