Fun, busy week

It has been a great week that was full of activity. This sort of week is better summed up in pictures than in words, so without any further ado, here they are...

We went to the zoo on Monday and saw a lot of cool animals. Evelyn loved the monkeys as they ran around the cages, and would giggle out loud when one came close to her. We took a lot of really good pictures, but then I accidentally erased them (hint: don't press the "delete all" button on the camera).

I worked a lot for Habitat. It has been fun so far, and I am learning a lot. Up until now I have done every stage of construction on a house from the digging of the foundation to the completion of the framing to the plumbing and finish work. Here are pictures of houses I have worked on in various stages.

This is the Lake Erie Nature and Science center. It is a free place to go to, and features a Zoo, several fun exhibits, and learning activities for kids (and adults). There is also a great beach right next to it, which makes it easy to hit both in one trip.

This is Rachel's imitation of a Vulture.

...and here is Me and Ev in a giant garden pail!

Speaking of beaches, it has become one of our favorite activities to go to the beach and read Kelly's book. We have scoped out all of the beaches around here, and our favorites are:

• Edgewater State Park: There is a big area for frisbee and stuff, and a pretty big (but dirty) beach swimming area. There are also a lot of sailboats to watch as they come in and out of the marina.
• Cleveland Lakefront State Park: This is right at the top of MLK Blvd. While it doesn't have a swimming area, it is a great place for a picnic and is the closest to our home. It also has a cement fishing pier that is usually a nice private place to sit and watch the waves of Lake Erie.
• Headlands Beach State Park: Easily the best for swimming. The beaches and water are cleaner since it is away from the city, and there is more swimming area than anywhere else. The downside is that it takes time to get there.
• Cleveland Metro Park and Nature Center: This is the one by the Nature Center. It has a decent swim area, and beautiful views from the top of the "seaside" cliffs where there is a picnic area.
  

This is the West Side Market. It is a like a permanent farmer's market (apparently one of the best in the country) with a lot of cheap food and things that you can't buy elsewhere. We got some really good dried fruit and some awesome mangoes. Dried strawberries are so so good!


Our home stays very cool in the summer, but last night it became pretty hot. We found that standing in a bath of cold water while brushing our teeth really helps cool us off. Are we weird? I think that is undeniable. The point is, however, that we are not hot anymore.

Here's Evelyn helping with the laundry. She is as cute as ever. She has actually started a new game that she plays with herself. When we are in any public place she will select a "target" and stare at them until they look her way, at which time she flashes them the biggest Sesame Street smile ever. It never fails to get a smile back, and sometimes even a laugh. It is obvious that she makes a lot of people happy with her smiles. The things we can learn from a 4 month old child!

God Bless America

Here's a quick update, and then a lot of pictures from Texas. As mentioned in the last post, I came home on Tuesday while Rachel and Evelyn stayed in Houston. I spent my time working with Habitat for Humanity, tying up loose ends with my research, and working my job at the medical school. I also studied a lot for boards (which sort of freak me out).

Meanwhile, Rachel was having fun with Deanna and Dave and their kids. The highlight of the week for her was the Nature Museum, where they had all sorts of exhibits, a cool movie about the Galapagos Islands, and a "butterfly room" where there are thousands of butterflies that fly all around and land on you and stuff. It sounds pretty neat. She also went swimming a lot and watched movies in their theatre room which features a large projector screen and surround sound.

Rachel came home on Friday (the 4th of July), and after such a long flight was a little worn out (and Evelyn was really worn out) so we went home and had a relaxing night. On Saturday we celebrated Independence day. In the afternoon we went to the beach at Lake Erie and had grilled hamburgers, watermelon, and apple pie. Then we went to Crocker Park and watched a concert from the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and watched a firework show afterwords.

About the fireworks...The show was awesome. The fireworks were lower and closer than I have ever experienced- so close that some people got hit by the sparks. It was pretty exciting to say the least. Also, Evelyn loved it. We were a bit apprehensive to see how she would react, but she handled it great! She smiled and laughed through the entire show and was mesmerized by all of the lights in the sky. After the show, all the people around us mentioned how cute she was, some even mentioning that they had more fun watching Evelyn than the fireworks. The only sad thing about the entire thing was that we forgot to bring our camera.

Anyway, here are a lot of pictures...

Here we are getting ready for Eva's first swimming experience. The top picture is a classic Evelyn pose. She loves to have her hands clasped in front of her with an innocent expression on her face. She is proudly modeling the swimming suit from Grandma Hazard (Thanks Grandma)!

Evelyn didn't show much reaction to the water in the beginning, but as time went on she became more interested and really enjoyed kicking her feet.

Evelyn played hard and soon became tired. She almost fell asleep in the floaty, and she cuddled up in the soft warm towel.

As long as we were in Texas, we had to do something "cow-boyish." Here's me and Evelyn riding a bronze donkey (this is one of Rachel's favorite pictures).

Here is the Nature Center where Rachel went. The top picture is in the butterfly room, and the bottom one is Ashton and Savanna by a rock formation (God is a great artist, isn't he?)

Evelyn is becoming mobile. This video was shot a few weeks ago. Now she is all over the place. It is not uncommon to come into a room where we left her on the floor to find her hiding under a table, or stuck in a corner, or even in an entirely different room. It's funny to watch her move, because she doesn't use her arms at all. They sort of just hang there and she scoots along on her face using her legs to push.

Here's a cute video of Evelyn being happy. She was giggling just before the video was taken, but she became a little camera shy and resorted to happy shrieking (like a bird) instead.

Visiting The Lone Star State

Well, it has been quite the week for us. Everything was pretty much normal until Tuesday night. That was when Rachel packed her suitcases to get ready for the big RID conference she was going to (big conference for ASL interpreters). She’s been way excited about this conference for a long time, and the big day was finally here.

The next morning we left ridiculously early in the morning to get her to the airport on time. There, she said good-bye to me and Evelyn and she was off for an adventure. The conference was in Houston, and according to Rachel, it was fabulous. Every night she called me and told me about the new things she was learning.

One of the days she went to a day-long review session for the NIC test, which she is taking later this year. For those of you who don’t know, the NIC test is a multi-day test that will certify an interpreter at the highest level and allow them to interpret anywhere in the United States (it preempts any state certification requirements). It’s a serious test, but I think that Rach is feeling more confident about it after going to workshops like this. She also went to a workshop about interpreting in drug abuse and Alcoholics Anonymous settings which that taught her how to use profanity in sign language (among other things)!

If you want more details about the conference, you’ll have to talk to Rach.

Meanwhile, I was at home with Evelyn. Thanks to some friends who watched her for a couple of hours every morning, this was actually a lot more manageable than I was expecting. Actually, Eva and I had a lot of fun hanging out together. She is a really good baby.

On Saturday, Evelyn and I left the house again at an insanely early time. First we took a walk down to the train station and took the train to the airport. Then, we flew down to Houston to meet Rachel and Deanna and Dave’s family. The next couple of days were full of fun and relaxation as we hung out with them in their beautiful Houston home. Ashton and Savannah are awesome kids and there was never a dull moment for the whole time we were there.

Now it is Tuesday and I am back in the airport. Rachel and Evelyn will stay in Houston for the week while I go back to work. It was so fun to be able to visit Diana and Dave and we will definitively try to visit them more. Now it is time to recuperate and prepare for our next big trip to Colorado for the Hazard family reunion.

-Sorry, no pictures this week because Rachel still has the camera in Texas, and I have the computer here in Ohio. We'll make up for it next week.  Next week we will have an overload of pictures, and we will have that video we promised last week.