We’ve had Nutmeg for almost 10 years.  We got her when we’d been married almost a year, just a few months before we bought our house.  Then we found out I’m allergic to cats…eventually we got rid of our other cat, Henry, but I couldn’t bear to part with Nutmeg.

However, when Amelia and I returned from Baltimore, I had a severe allergic reaction.  All along my doctor has been saying, if you have anything in your home that is aggravating your inflammation issues, why keep it?  Ben decided it was time for Nutmeg to go.

Nutmeg now lives with our good friend Miki, at Grandma Sharon’s house!  This worked out perfectly as we still get to see her about once a week when we’re over there.

In June we visited the Buffalo Zoo, which we like to go to once a year as it’s much better than our local zoo.

The baby giraffe we saw last time has grown up some!

Breeze and I outside IKEA–for the second time!!

Autumn shared her room with Amelia–they had fun reading together and telling stories at night.

Isaac’s gymnastics class:

Sprinkler time in Breeze’s front yard.

Poster at IKEA:

Our last day in Maryland, we met my friend Shannon at IKEA.  We all had breakfast together there, and then said goodbye to Breeze.  Amelia and I spent the day with Shannon, and then she returned us to the airport.  Shannon took us to a petting zoo/farm that has acquired and restored many pieces from an amusement park that shut down.  The former park was called Enchanted Forest and it seemed to have a Fairy Tale theme.

Of course, the fallen log that was not part of any official exhibit was the highlight!

Shannon has a …special interest in Cinderella!

Apparently they put all of their “Robins” in one exhibit!

We also spent some time visiting with CJ (Shannon’s husband) at their home, and had our second visit to Chick-Fil-A.

Being in the air less than an hour is definitely the way to travel to and from Baltimore, as opposed to the 6.5-hr drive!  We had a great time with my college friends and hope it won’t be six years between visits again!

Amelia and I at the top of a long, steep hike.  There’s a gorge behind us and a view of Maryland farm land behind Amelia.

A bee who enjoyed our picnic with us at Rocks State Park, a short and worthwhile drive from Breeze’s.

After the hike, we drove further into the park to a place where there’s a great playground and wading in the creek!

We changed and had a snack before heading home for dinner.

After dinner they took us to a dairy farm where they make their own ice cream.  It was fabulous.  And I don’t even like ice cream usually!  The sun was setting over the barn, silos, and corn fields while we sat at long homemade picnic tables licking away…it was very picturesque.  You’ll have to trust me on that as I neglected to take my camera along!  Next Up:  The rest of our time in Baltimore.

Amelia and I went to visit my good friend Breeze and her family.  Here are her children with Amelia outside the National Aquarium.

Jellyfish from the new exhibit at the aquarium.

Ben and I had visited this aquarium with Amelia when she was an infant.  I think she got more out of it this time!

Waiting for the dolphin show to begin:

We had a picnic lunch at the Inner Harbor.

Then we went back in the aquarium for the rest of the afternoon.  It was a great day!

Our second day in Baltimore, Amelia and I had our first trip to Chick-Fil-A.

Then we got to go to IKEA.  I’m in love.  Here the kids are enjoying a chair in the children’s section.

After that we got to observe Autumn’s gymnastics class.

It was another great day in Baltimore!  Next Up:  Rocks State Park, Maryland…

Amelia loves go-karts (I don’t think Ben minds them either!).  Once again Ben took her to celebrate the end of the school year.

We had a Memorial Day picnic!  Here are some of the guests:

Amelia loves a chance to play with her friend Faith.

Ben decided it was time to teach Amelia to ride a bike.

We also began our sidewalk project.  We have a slate sidewalk running through our backyard.  It’s original to the house and over time has sunk, especially in the middle.  When it rains, 8 of the slates (16 feet of the path) become completely submerged and we in effect have a canal in our yard!

3 young men from our chapel came over to help.  One by one we lifted the slates, added gravel, dirt, and sand, then put them back.

Day 2 of Bike Lessons:

Aunt Nanette, Uncle Chad, Samantha & Jacob:

My maternal grandparents:

Amelia with a wedding favor:  chocolate-drizzled pretzels.

Aunt Ellie & Heather (Uncle Greg couldn’t get away from his new job in North Carolina.  Same story for Kari, and Kurt is teaching in South Korea).

Erin & Jeremy were amused by the best man’s toast!

Turkey feathers in the bouquets:

The Archer cousins with the bride.  We’re missing 4 of the 9:  Johnah lives in Hawaii, Kelsey lives in California, Kari lives in North Carolina, and Kurt is living in South Korea.  I’d say they all had good excuses!  None of the Wheeler cousins made it–4 live in California, 3 live in Nevada, and 3 live in Florida–so they’re excused too!

The couple with Aunt Ellie & Aunt Nanny:

My brother Jeremy got married Memorial Day weekend!

My cousin Samantha is a professional hairdresser.  She did my hair and Amelia’s for the wedding.  She also did the bride’s hair, some of the bridal party, her mom, my grandma Wheeler, her own…Samantha had a busy day!

My aunt Nanny took these pictures (Samantha’s mom).

My brother and I before the ceremony:

(My brother Jeremy should not be confused with Ben’s brother Jeremy, who has been married for eight years.  Amelia is blessed with two uncles Jeremy!)

Amelia was asked to hand out the programs!  She took her job very seriously.

Waiting.

My parents watching Erin come down the aisle.  I think this is a great picture of my mom!

The wedding colors were purple and orange for my brother’s alma mater, Hobart College.  He was on the football team there, as were three of his groomsmen.

The couple with our paternal grandparents.  We weren’t quick enough to catch the one with our maternal grandparents!

The couple with my parents.

Next Up:  Jeremy & Erin’s Wedding Reception…

The first picture was a cake that Ben’s mom and Amelia made him!  The second picture was a pie that I made.

Ben chose Red Robin for his birthday dinner.

At home for dessert:

You may remember that I dropped our camera in the ocean while in Hawaii!  I bought a cheap camera there to finish out the trip.  Once home, Ben was able to return that one and get one that we’re both happy with.  This post is using the new camera, and I am much happier with the quality!  The Lilac Fest pics were still with the cheap camera and weren’t to my satisfaction!

Wegmans had some big strawberries!  There were only 8 in this container!

Nearly as big as an apple!

Sadly, they did not taste any different from normal-sized strawberries.

Getting used to the new camera…

I’ve been really happy with the 20x zoom.  There is one feature that can take 10 pictures in one second.

The anti-blur setting is the best we’ve had yet.

Baby cardinal in one of our front bushes!

Amelia was playing “yard sale.”  She spread out her outdoor toys and sat in her lawn chair waiting for customers!

Next Up:  Pictures of my brother’s May 29 wedding!

Waiting for the parade to begin:

Fried Dough:

Storm Troopers: (!!!)

RIT–Ben’s alma mater, and a friend from my hometown was driving the truck!

After recently enjoying the movie “Whip It” (twice), we were pleased to see roller derby girls in the parade!

Crowds:

Petting Zoo:

Pansy Bed:

I had a birthday.

Amelia gets very excited about birthdays.  We came down in the morning and she said “Should we have Daddy go get doughnuts for breakfast since it’s your birthday?”  I told her that Daddy was at work.  You should have seen the shock on her face!  I told her it’s a Friday and Daddy works on Fridays.  She said, “Well couldn’t he have taken the day off?”

The two of us went out to lunch and then to Target to spend some birthday money and get a few things for our upcoming trip.

That night Ben and I went to see Wicked!  Amelia likes to take pictures of us and tell us what to do!  In the above one, she said “Okay, now look at each other.”

Wicked!  was amazing.  I wanted to go back the next night…but I couldn’t afford it!  We’ve been going around singing “Defying Gravity” ever since, and Amelia is really sick of it!

Amelia spent the night at Grandma Sharon’s while we were at the show.  When we went to pick her up, she was sewing!

I waited to open this gift from my parents until Amelia was back because she was almost in tears at the thought of not getting to watch me open it!

Sunday we went out to lunch to celebrate my birthday and Amelia’s half-birthday (she’s now six and a half!).

This time Ben was playing around posing Amelia…”Now tilt your head down…now tilt your chin up…”

Ben has worn the same pair of boots every day for four years.  He bought them for his trip to India and liked them so well, he’s been wearing them everywhere ever since…to work, to church, to camp…everywhere!  He takes them in to the Red Wing store once a month to get them oiled and the laces replaced (free) and they have done other free repairs on them as well.  When he went to the chiropractor this month, Dr. Mike took one look at the boots and said “You need new shoes!”

They still had the same model…I could not believe they were the same boots!   They have four original models that have never changed and this is one of them.  They are pricey boots, but when you wear them every day for four years and they have that kind of service, it’s worth it!  We’ll see if he gets just as long out of this pair…

Amelia and I enjoy going to play with these friends!