Turning in His Papers . . .

So, my baby brother Cody, is preparing to turn in his mission papers. One of the last things he has to do to finish them up is to submit a photo (in mission attire, and with mission hair (i.e., a part)), and my Mom sent him over to my house this morning to get this last little detail taken care of. So, we took a few pictures of Cody against a plain wall, resized 'em and will be uploading them to the website today. And then he's done. We'll all just sit back and take bets (but not real monetary ones, of course) on where they send him.

Our little missionary wannabe . . .

We also got some pictures of Cody with the girls (who'd both just gotten out of the tub).

I love Annie's cheesy smile here.

All piled on Uncle Doh-doh. (Ellie changed his name from Cody to "Doh Doh", something that amuses us all greatly. She also calls him "tar-et" (which translates to "Target", since when we shoot him with Nerf guns, he's the target.)

Cody insisted on taking some pictures of me and the girls, since I'd captured so many of him with closed eyes and crooked smiles, he was trying to get revenge. Too bad for him I photograph beautifully every time! :-)

Unrelated, I have some pictures from when we went to Thankgiving Point for the Tulip Festival (again) with our friends Jason and Sarah and their baby. (Thanks again for inviting us!) The kids had a ton of fun, and Annie remembered to bring along her magnifying glass this time, so she could truly "investigate the flowers."

Ellie happily posing outside the secret garden (she'd watched some couple pose here for pictures, and soon as they left, she ran up to the door and turned to me and yelled "Cheese!")

Annie playing in the fountains in the Secret Garden. This area was up there with the amphitheater as favorite spots!

Asher and Ellie in front of the fountain. Ellie was so happy to have someone her sized around (even if he is actually like 9 months younger than her), and she happily followed him around, calling out, "Ash, Ash!" the whole time.

Leaving the Secret Garden.

Not happy about leaving the Secret Garden.