Howdy Partner

Libawry (in Henry speak)

Henry loves to go to the library and I love that he loves it. It is one of our favorite outings and we try to get there once a week. Again this summer, he got a reading trophy for listening to 20 books, which we counted as 20 new books.

I also included the picture from last year with the trophy. And no it isn't the exact same shirt!

Oh won't you take me to the Vineyard in the summer...

I'm quoting the lyric to a favorite song, but also reflecting on our Franke family vacation in June. We headed to Saratoga Springs, NY to see Mark's cousin Sara graduate high school and then the immediate family of six headed to Martha's Vineyard for some fun in the sun.

I have attached my photos here, but see more at Mark's sisters blog: http://frankebell.tumblr.com/ Look for posts dated July 24/25.







And one of the small joys of our vacation was this sight right here. Nothing beats the smell of air dried clothes!

SeaWorld

Earlier this month, Team Franke ventured to San Antonio to take in SeaWorld. We arrived on a Thursday and stayed at a Hilton resort with a lazy river which was very kid friendly and Henry loved it! On Friday, we got to SeaWorld early in order to have breakfast with Elmo and all of his friends. What a treat and Henry was beaming with excitement. He had no fear of anyone but Cookie Monster and only seemed bothered that he didn't have a cookie with him.

We then spent the better part of the day exploring everything in the park. Henry was fascinated with watching the 'train' (aka rollercoaster) and I even took a ride so that he could see me. We saw a sea lion show, viewed the fish in the aquarium, explored Sesame Street Bay of Play, and cooled off in the kiddie pool, but by far the high light was the Shamu show. A great time was had by all!

Towers

One of Henry's most favorite activities is building towers. And he is getting pretty good! Here you will see his handy work complete with the victory dance that accompanies a particularly tall tower.

Thomas saves the day

A couple of weeks ago, we took Henry to a live Thomas the Train show and what an experience that was - so much to take in; he was definitely on sensory overload. But why does there have to be drama in a live train show? Sure enough, right before intermission (another must??), a train got stuck in a mine. This did not make Henry happy and tightened the grip around my neck. And yes - SPOILER ALERT - Thomas does save the day and all is well in the end.

Visit with Keisha

The week before Easter, we got to visit with Keisha, Henry's nanny. It was so good to see her and Henry definitely recognized her. She was in town for a play that she wrote, directed and starred in for Easter at her old church.