New England Aquarium

Yes, just like at Valleyfair, they take your picture when you enter, and then charge you a ridiculous amount to purchase it when you leave. And I bought it! I figured it was my only chance to actually be in a picture on this trip. :)

Here are the girls each posing in front of the sand tiger shark measuring thing.

Above: the touch and feel tank took some getting used to, but eventually they each touched a starfish, and Miss O. also touched a hermit crab.

Above: There was a fun play area in the aquarium as well. Miss O. discovered how to throw the magnet pieces to the wall and get them to stick, as her arms were too short to reach. She's so resourceful!

More whale watching

Here we have Miss O. watching as the boat docks after the whale watching tour is complete.

To get the girls to pose for this picture in front of the boat, I had to bribe them with going to the New England Aquarium (which we were going to do anyway, but don't tell them that!).

And that completes our whale watching trip! Even though they seemed a bit squirmy and impatient waiting for the whales, they have both shown a much greater interest in marine life in general since this trip. :)

Whale Watching

On our first full day in Boston, the girls and I went whale watching!

Below: A view of downtown Boston from the boat as we went to sea.

Below: Miss I. on the bow of the boat

Below: I really loved watching the whales, and the girls thought it was fine. But the highlight of the trip for them was that there was a dog on the boat with us! - $30 well spent! :)

Above is the only picture of a whale I took that is anywhere close to decent. Unfortunately, trying to keep both Miss I. and Miss O. interested in watching for whales, while also trying to run a camera, didn't go too well for me. The girls won out, and I didn't get the best pictures.

Plane #3

These are pictures from plane #3, which took us from somewhere in Pennsylvania to Boston. This was the fastest plane we were on.

Home from Boston!

Above: Inside plane #1 with headsets on!

Below: Outside plane #1 with the pilot!

This pilot took us from Rochester, MN to Chicago.

Above: Miss O. inside of plane #2

Below: Miss I. inside of plane #2

Below: Outside of plane #2 with the pilot and co-pilot

These terrific men took us from Chicago to somewhere in Pennsylvania.

We are home from Boston! The trip to get home was a trip in itself. - I'll spend the next couple of days posting pictures and stories about our last week. Here are the first pictures of the week - the planes we took to get out there.

Adventure!

We're in Boston! We (the girls and I) recieved a LifeLine Pilots flight to come out for the 1p36 deletion conference! Mike flew out on a commercial airline, because he scheduled a work trip to happen when we were here for the conference. It actually starts tomorrow, so today the girls and I had time to do some tourist things while Mike worked. We went on a Whale Watch! Then to the New England Aquarium for the rest of the day! The girls and I are TIRED! Tomorrow we have some time before conference stuff starts. Don't know yet if we'll find something else in Boston to do, or maybe just hang out at the hotel and use the pool. We'll see how we're feeling. Thanks for your prayers! This is such a fun trip! It took 3 small planes to get us here, and the girls both did really great! I will post more about everything when we're home.

Bike

We got Miss I. a bike that has hardly been used at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago. She's taken to it really well!

Post surgery

Not so perky anymore. :(

Miss O. was great while visiting - she was really quite patient.

Miss I. had so much pain that she wasn't drinking, so she and I had to stay overnight in the short stay unit. - By the way, a gernie is not a comfortable place to spend the night! It's good we were there though, because at about midnight they had to give her morphine for the pain. Poor baby!

This picture is just before leaving the hospital. Miss O. brought her a stuffed elephant and a balloon. I'm happy to say that just today she is FINALLY feeling better! It's been over a week, and we finally didn't have to give her any Tylenol with Codine today. :)

Tonsils and adnoids

Here we see a perky Miss I., awaiting surgery. She feels pretty special to be alone at the hospital with mommy and daddy. Look at those massive tonsils! They were so big that her Dr. couldn't see the adnoids until he took the tonsils out - which is when he decided to take her adnoids out, too.

First day of school!

Kindergarten

Preschool

Yesterday was our first "official" day of school. We are finally fairly well organized, and have reserved mornings (for the most part) for school. So far the girls are doing great!

Toilet Paper

A couple of weeks ago, I thought Miss I. was taking WAY too long in the bathroom - which usually spells trouble! So I went barging in to find out what was taking so long. She looked at me with a very proud face, and told me she used the last of the T.P., so had to replace it! :) I guess I shouldn't be so quick to judge.

Dressed up

The girls are getting more creative with dress-up play! Here you see Miss O. sporting a skirt as a strapless dress, and then we have Miss I. wearing 2 princess dresses, lamb ears, and using a megaphone (not that she needs it).

Summer over?

Miss I. finished swimming lessons today! She'll probably start up again in the winter, when we need some indoor exercise!

Miss O. swimming in the pool

I. swimming

I. has become much more brave lately in the water! Here she is jumping into the pool without me catching her!

Boating pictures

Good times!

Well, this weekend and so far this week we have been pretty busy having fun! Some church friends took us out on the lake in their boat on Saturday, and the girls both went tubing! I. didn't like it so much - but O. grinned from ear to ear the whole time, and never fell off! Then yesterday some other church friends graciously allowed us to invade their pool. The girls are doing so well with their swimming! Both of them can be independent in the water with their floaties on. O. had no fear jumping off the diving board and going down the water slide. She even told me to stop catching her! I can't believe how much my girls are growing up!

We have found a group of parents on-line whose children have the same chromosome deletion as O. - 1p36. There is a conference in Boston in September, and we're hoping to take both the girls. Mike will fly out early in the week for work purposes. We are praying for a flight from Lifeline Pilots for the girls and I, as we can't afford for all of us to fly out on a plane. Please pray for that to go through, as it would be really great to learn more about the deletion, and meet other families. there is even a special activity planned to thank siblings, which would really be spectacular for I. We'll keep you updated.

VBS video

Well, it's hard to hear the little kids in this video because I was so close to the speakers when I taped it, but it gives you an idea of the program anyway. Enjoy!

VBS program

The VBS program was so much fun! It worked great to have it outside on the hill! It was like a natural amphitheater! The girls did great! O. sang and did motions through the whole program, and I., well, she stayed there for the whole program. :)

O. singing in the chorus

This is I. bent over looking for a stick under the risers. :)

I. after the program.

O. after the program.

We made it!

It was a long week, but we made it, and had a lot of fun along the way! This week at VBS the kids learned, among other things, that God calls, changes, and loves each one of us forever! Here are a few shots from the week. We will dot the musical tonight at church, and then I can sleep! :)

I. eating lunch

O. in arts and crafts

Group lunch every day!

Group picture Friday morning!