Hi! As always, it's been a while since I've updated . . . now the summer's almost over. We've had a lot of fun and have been really busy!! Here's what's been going on in the last two months!


Middletown Fair


















Trip to Texas

beach





















Wicked!














River boat tour






















sleeping after the beach




















Mexican restaurants with the whole Ellsworth family!














Game of Blokus with the girlies
















Getting to see old friends





and old friends' new baby, who isn't so new anymore!!















trying to keep Annie entertained on the long plane ride


















Steve and Carolyn (Brant's brother and sis-in-law) coming to visit!!

We went to Gettysburg . . .






and Amish country . . .

















and hiked the Appalachian trail (3 1/2 miles of it)


























































We went to Harrisburg

















and toured the Capitol--this place is really, really cool!



















walked over the Susquehanna to City Island



went to DC!








































Annie saw her first episode of Howdy Doody at the National Archives















stopped by the temple with our little family






































ate lots of corn on the cob this summer



















played at the park with Memph and the Ellingsons










I got to see Maggie after many years (!!) We met in Gettysburg and walked around her alma mater













hung out at home :)





























I made a rug!




















Visited Katie in good ol' Carroll County!!






























went to the Lititz Craft fair--this was a BIG affair--I got lots of inspiration for stuff to make





















had so many game nights--Annie got to hang out with one of her favorite people in the entire world






canned peaches at Grandma's house!
































played ball with Memph























ward picnic with another of Annie's favorite people






















swung on swings a lot







The weather's turned a little colder, which I LOVE. I can't wait for fall! There's a lot happening in September, not to mention Annie's first birthday, which is TOMORROW!

I'll leave you with some pictures to remind us all what we Ellsworths were doing 364 days ago today . . .

My "Leg Lamp"

With my brother and sister-in-law in town, Cors and I found an excuse to finally get around to seeing all the local sights that we had been putting off for the past year. We spent a day amongst the Amish of Lancaster and stop by an antique store. It was there in a cramped basement aisle that I came face-to-face with my newest prized possession--Don Quixote!



It seems that an appreciation for this painting is an acquired taste--as I have yet met someone as enthralled about this picture as me! Only $10! When I brought the painting upstairs to buy it, the store owner smiled and said he thought no one would ever buy it! Awesome!

Trip to Lancaster

Hi! On Monday morning we traveled with the rush-hour commuters into Lancaster to go to the library book sale there. It was being held at Franklin and Marshall, and it was HUGE. Much bigger than Middletown Public Library's. We found some great books for Annie (there were so many to choose from!), and Brant found some nice hardcover copies of books he's really been wanting to read. Annie slept in her jogging stroller for most of the perusing, but she woke up at the end as we were sorting . . .










































Then we drove over to Long's Park, which is a great place! We'd never been there before. Annie was pretty tuckered out, and Brant and I were both starving and wanting to get back to Middletown. But we used it as a diaper-change-and-quick-breakfast area for Annie. Of course we took a turn on the swings, too.





You can see her tooth in this picture if you look closely! (Bottom center)

































































She was all tuckered out and cuddly on Brant's shoulder, but then she noticed that I was taking pictures of her . . .


















and she got really smiley and giggly!



What a fun day!