Visiting Grandpa on the Fourth

 After running a 10K for the first time in probably a decade, Mister John rested for a few hours before heading eastward with Miss Jill and the two girls to visit his sister's house.  There Mary Jane and Betsy Jo got to spend some time with cousins Garrett, Trevor, and Manny (the eldest of the whole cousin brood).  There was also an Aunt Jo and Uncle Jose sighting which is good for Mary Jane as she quite the memory and it makes it all the easier for her to look at pictures and point at them with the proper names.

In this picture, it's Aunt Pat, Daddy, Betsy, and Aunt Jo.  Alas, Mary Jane was already in her car seat when this impromptu picture was taken.  Pat and Jo were talking about sibling rivalry and how sisters bicker about certain things... perfect to know before Mary Jane and Betsy Jo get older.  Then again Mommy also had an older sister so she knows all about that.

Family Visit for MJ and the Bunnies

Mary Jane was visited by Aunt Pat, Uncle Brent, Grampa, and her cousins Garrett and Trevor this evening. Nothing quite like the giggling bundle of energy that Mary Jane has become. She is soooo close to crawling. Right now it's more of a slow scoot followed by fits and starts to get in a particular direction. She's also close to sitting up by herself but she still needs a bit of help as the picture on the right can attest. Not to worry, Mary Jane will be quite strong soon enough to do all the sitting up and crawling that she needs. Of course that means that Mommy and Daddy will have to be on major alert for all of that.

The bunnies were also visited as Chip was quickly collected in the back yard and brought in for pictures. Garrett is holding Chip while Daddy (aka Mister John) holds Mary Jane. She was a tad bit grumpy but after the whole family took a walk around the block -- people must have thought we were a religious group -- Mary Jane calmed down a bit and was her typically cheery self. While MJ has seen Aunt Pat many times, it has been a while and that precious little girl is quite leery of anyone other than Mommy, Daddy, or the nanny Maggie from holding her.

Later on the family celebrated the evening with Tito's Tacos. Later on Garrett and Trevor fought over the hammock. Quite a typical occurrence as they seem to fight over everything. Alas, neither of them did their share in rounding up the rabbits this evening. Cherry Bugg was not amused by them. Then again not much amuses Cherry Bugg so that will be left alone.

Finally, Daddy aka Mister John had a picture taken with his father. It was a good head shot of the two of them and thus makes the blog post. Mary Jane fell asleep by 7pm and it's onto the next day.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My father (also known at school as The Original Mr. Erb) turned 78 today so we took him out for bowling this morning. As anyone who knows the family, bowling has been our connecting sport... even though Pat, Jay, and Mr. John have all played softball together many-a-time. While Dad only shot in the mid 130s this year, it still is to his credit as he had a really bad series of strokes almost 10 years ago. He has a difficult time seeing out of the corners of either eye so bowling does not come easy any more. That being said, he did roll well enough to beat almost everyone else there today.

Dakota shot a 100, according to her the highest score of her life (yay!). Garrett and Trevor... well... somewhere in the mid-70s for both of them. My brother Jay, pictured above, bowled for the first time in two years or so and finished with a game in the 160s.

Indeed... much like Bowling Club... that's how we roll.

Later the family came over to Chez Erb and check out the newest edition to the family: Mary Jane. My sister Jo as well as my brother Jay had not seen her in person yet (yes, all these lovely blog shots are great but as with all babies, one needs to see/hold them in person). All were amazed at her happiness and spirit. And then she fell asleep in anyone's arms.