Work It

The girls were little models again for our photographer friend Jen Anderson http://www.photographybyjennifer.net/. Here is a sampling of the pictures she took. She is amazing! These two baby pictures are of Bailey. Unfortunately, Lilly was not cooperating.

Half Marathon

I finished my first half Marathon yesterday. I was part of a 4-person marathon relay team, each person taking a quarter. I started with the first leg and continued on the second leg with one of my teammates. I finished in 1hr 50 something-minutes. There were around 20,000 runners on this day. Here are some pictures to prove that it actually happened!

Here's a shot of the crowd

Here we are passing mile 10-ish. At this point I had finished the first leg and was about halfway through the second leg.

There were a couple of crazy people (A relative term) who ran the marathon. Another ran in a farmer's outfit and another juggled 6 balls while running the marathon.

After the first half of the marathon, we hung out until the others were getting close to the finish line. Then we jumped in and crossed together.

The four of us after the race.

Auntie Aubrey Helps Out

Auntie Aubrey came to visit and help me while Steve was away on business. She brought along her cute little Charlotte. Not only did she help me with the girls, but she also was my personal organizer. Our master closet and desk look a ton better. I threw out three bags of trash and donated four huge bags to Good will. I will take the before and after pictures for all of you. Thank you Aubrey- we love you!!
Aubs and Charlotte

Mom came for a short visit in September. We had so much fun with her.


Bailey and Lilly with cousin Charlotte in the crib.



Here's a video of the Twins playing with the screen door.

School Begins

Our garden this summer was not the greatest in harvesting tomatoes that we had planted, but Alison's sunflower did grow beautifully tall.
Alison's first day of first grade. We walked her to the bus stop. She is loving school.

Alison looking cute.

Bailey and our little photo shoot.

Lilly with her bright blue eyes.

On The Run

This weekend we all decided to run the Brunswick Potomac Street Mile. This was Alison's second mile race and it was Lauren's first. We all had a great time. Here are some pictures from the day.

Our family before the race



Lauren and Tracy at the starting line

Alsion and some of her friends at the starting line. Notice one of her friends has her own I-Pod!

Alison finished the mile in about 9:20

Lauren and Tracy coming down the home stretch.

Lauren finsihed in about 12:00

My goal was to finish in less than 6:00. I haven't run a mile in less than 6:00 since BYU. My official time... 5:55!

Art Project

I worked on a little art project for the girl's room. I found this idea from a magazine and thought- I could totally make that! I spray painted canvases and made paper flowers. I used my friend's Cricket machine to cut out some of the shapes like the bird and the scollop edging. Ok, I LOVE the Cricket machine- it was so easy and you can do every shape imaginable. I painted the tree branch, and painted the cardboard letters. I loved doing this project. The girls like having bunk beds in their room now and I love it because it gives them more room and room for wall art.

Bailey wanted to put a barrett in her hair the other day. They are getting so big!

The girls and I at Edgartown Lighthouse.
Bailey and Lilly got such a kick spending some time with their cousin baby Charlotte.

Steve and Lauren

Alison and Lauren- beach buddies!

Auntie Trisha was so fun to hang out with one the island. She was so helpful to me while Steve was away for a few weeks. What would we have done if she wasn't there?

We had a great visit with our friends the Shipley's this summer on the Vineyard. We had a great time showing them the towns, going to the beach, fishing and boating with them. They are a great family!
Lindsay and Tracy at a gingerbread house in Oak Bluffs.

Kevin and Lindsay made us some great meals!

Lilly just kills me when she wears this sun hat.

What is summer without icecream? We had a blast spending time with Grandma and Papa!

More MV pictures

Papa and the girls go for a boat ride. Lauren is holding her doll, Emily Elisabeth. This doll went everywhere with us this summer.
Christy Jones and her girls came for a visit for a couple of days. We had a great time with them.
This summer we had to say 'good-bye' to our family dog, Maddie. She spent her last days on the island with us, and we buried her on the property. Now, when we take walks down the lane we put flowers on her grave. We miss her, she was a great dog.

All of us on the beach.

We spent a lot of fun time with Aunt Aubrey and baby Charlotte. Aubrey is such a great mother and Charlotte is such a happy, content baby. All the girls loved being around her.

Hiers Reunion

The last part of our MV trip was a Family Reunion on the Hiers side. Here are some pictures...
Here are the six of us sporting the Cobb's Hill Family Reunion shirts.

What a great looking crowd. All of the cousins had a great time playing and running around.

We had a talent show one night. Despite all of my efforts of destroying all photographic evidence of the skits I was involved it, this picture made it through the cracks. Man did this bring back memories...

The horseshoe tournament. Tracy and I were on a team and we got crushed. Last year I came in second to Mama Jean! I'll be ready for next year!

Here is a picture of a game we played. Stuart threw water balloons up in the air and you had to work as a team to catch them with your towel. Alison was my team mate and we had a lot of fun.

What would a reunion be without eating? What do you think Lilly is thinking in the bottom right corner?