East Coast Visit

Our East Coast Trip started in Washington D.C. We got the opportunity to have a short visit with Mark and Sandy on our first night in. They have a nice condo in Maryland that backs up to a wooded area - you could see plenty of fireflies buzzing around - a sight we don't get in Northern California. The next night we paid an evening visit to the National Mall where we saw the Capitol at night, and Washington Monument from a distance. Andrew ended up getting sick, so I saw some sights with Maria and Adam on Saturday, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and Library of Congress . At the beautiful wedding of Valerie and Martin, it was fun to catch up with the Ringlein aunts and uncles that we don't see very often. Next we went to South Central Pennsylvania and stayed a couple of nights while Andrew recouped more from being sick. We visited with Jim and Sue and their kids Alex, Grace, and Veronica. Jim predicted that Hope would officially crawl on their enchanted carpet (three children had already learned to crawl in that very spot)...and some might venture to say she did just that. It was fun to learn a little more about the Amish on a buggy ride through the farmland. The last couple days of our trip we spent in North Carolina with the Bosleys. We mostly just relaxed, visited, and played games. It was a low-key way to end the trip. Hope really enjoyed the kids she saw on the trip, especially the entertaining antics of Will Bosley - she would giggle and giggle as he jumped up and down for her.Here are Maria and Adam in front of a reflecting pool with the Washington Monument in the background.

Andrew, Bob and Marcia Mayer, Joe and Janice Clements, Mark Ringlein, Angela and Hope, and Maria, the day after the wedding (during a brief window of Andrew feeling okay)

Hope and I tried out the swings for the first time (her first time, not mine)

Hope, Angela, Andrew, Grace, and Veronica in front of our Amish Buggy.

We made a brief stop to see the Washington D.C. temple on our way to North Carolina.

Hope enjoyed "crawling" around and playing with Ivy Bosley.

You can see more pictures from our trip at http://ringleins.shutterfly.com

A Midsummer Night's Dream

For Andrew's birthday, we had A Midsummer Night's Dream party. There was mixing as guests tried to guess the Fairytale name on their back. We played Imaginiff with Andrew, where guests decided what fit Andrew best (i.e. if Andrew were a dog would he be a 1)Dachsund 2)Golden Retriever 3)St. Bernard 4)Rottweiler) and if Andrew got it wrong, then he had to put a marshmallow in his mouth and keep it there. He was a good sport, holding a total of six marshmallows in his mouth at the end. Our finale of the evening was scenes from Shakespeare where guests could pick a scene from a Shakespeare play to improv and ham it up. Probably the most amusing scene was Andrew as Julius Caesar being murdered by a light-saber-holding Brutus.

Mr. Mom and more...

So I had a dentist appointment and asked Andrew to babysit. The picture below is what I came home to - Andrew's idea of babysitting.
We've also been getting swimming time in at the swim club. Hope has really been enjoying the water!
Hope just started eating solid food last week. So far it's rice cereal, but we'll be trying new things soon. I think the wide-eyed look is more from the camera flash than the experience of eating.
Happy Memorial Day - we joined some friends for a barbecue. Here's a sunny family picture.

May's Discoveries and More

I know, I know...we need to update this more frequently so we don't have to do one big long post.
This month, Hope went to her first concert - Vienna Teng, and then the next week went to another concert, Celtic Woman, with Grandma Linda (and mom and aunt) for Mother's Day. There's a picture at the latter concert - it was a little warm, so it's nice that as a baby, Hope can cool off.



We visited the Filoli estate for the Spring Floral Show which featured beautiful arrangements throughout the lovely home. Here's a picture of Katie and Hope on a stoop.







We visited our friend Becky, where we made backyard discoveries and enjoyed checking out the flowers and trees and here's a picture checking out the fountain.








We went to a Volunteer Tea at Grandma Dori's school, where Grandma Dori got to show off her newest granddaughter to co-workers and friends.





We had a Primary Campout in the Park one afternoon where the primary kids did some cleaning up, games, sang camp songs and even made s'mores.





And the final picture is our most fun discovery this month - feet. This month Hope has really enjoyed finding her feet, playing with them, bringing them to her mouth, trying to pick things up with them - she loves her feet!

Happy Easter

We had a delightful Easter dinner at Andrew's sister, Jessica's, home. Hope is a little young to enjoy the fruits of Easter, but she was still blessed with plenty of love from friends and family.

New Territory

Swimming - Last Thursday, Hope tested the waters for the first time. We went to the Silliman Center with Grandma and Aunt Jessica. Although at four months, Hope isn't quite at the "playing" in the water stage, she didn't cry at all, and seemed to enjoy the experience. At least Grandma, Auntie, and Mom did.

San Juan Bautista - Saturday, Angela and her friend, Katie, took Hope for a day outing to San Juan Bautista. It was the first time for everyone and it was interesting to learn about all the history of the small town. Settled by the Spanish who built the mission the town is famous for, the town was also home to Native Americans and even surviving members of the Donner Party.