OK -- there is a farm implement toy showroom just down the road from us -- literally, a 30 second walk. They had a grand opening celebration this week, and we kept seeing these "tractor rides" so we went to check it out! Joshua was a bit too young to actually ride this, but we had fun checking everything else out. We kept saying, "Wouldn't my (Lisa's) family just love this!!!!"

Joshua posing on the pedal tractor -- he was more interested in the other surroundings than the camera!

These last two pics are for Steve -- are you sure you don't want to fit in a trip to Lititz this summer????

A close-up of one of the John Deere sections . . .

This past week, Bryan, Joshua and I flew to WI to see family -- and we got to see his brother Mark and his wife, Ayuna, who we haven't seen since their wedding in June of 2003. They had never seen Joshua before, but he warmed up to them right away! Can you tell where Joshua gets his blond hair?

Aunt Ayuna and Joshua -- yeah, haven't quite got the whole "lookin' at the camera" thing figured out!

One of the biggest highlights of this trip was an indoor water park about 15 minutes from Mom and Dad's. It was really loud inside, and at first, Joshua wasn't so keen on it! The big bucket of water would dump every 5 minutes or so -- and it scared him to death! But, eventually, he got used to it, and by the end of the day, he wanted to be everywhere. It was a fun way to spend the day with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents!

There were probably 20 or so basketballs in this water area -- and Joshua kept pointing/saying "ball, ball, ball" until we'd take him back into the water! He loved it!

Mommy and Joshua

Daddy trying to convince Joshua that this is fun!

Joshua taking it all in!

Ayuna and Abigale -- just completing one of the tube runs.

Connected to the indoor water park was an arcade, and Bryan and Mark decided to give DDR a try -- very comical to say the least!

They also got dad to give it a try -- Looks like Bryan was "gettin' down!"

Grandma Nelson and Joshua -- checking out the arcade.

We went to the park several times -- and the slides were definetely the favorite activity!

Yep -- all by himself!

Whee!

On the way back from the park, Joshua decided that he would must rather PUSH his stroller, rather than RIDE in his stroller! He just doesn't sit still very often!

What a look!

Joshua enjoyed swatting the ping pong paddles in the basement -- anything that involves a ball is right down his alley!

My wonderful husband "humored" me and built "the wall" down in the basement. Basically, the point was the create a storage area (behind the wall) and make the basement more "play-friendly." Above the tables to the left will be shelves -- eventually!

Another view -- yes, Joshua was quite inquisitive about learning how to operate the CD player! Behind "the wall" is a bunch of storage -- that is COMPLETELY OUT OF VIEW!

For Mom Varner and Rebecca who were bugging -- I mean "asking" me for a profile picture -- here it is! 19 weeks --on week shy of half way!

Last night, we went to a Lancaster Barnstormes baseball game -- a minor league stadium in Lancaster. One of the groups from church sang the National Anthemm and we had a great time. Joshua really did well -- I think the many distractions really helped out in that way! We made it until the 6th inning, and then Joshua was beginning to get fussy, and we took off. He was asleep in the van about 20 seconds after week took off! It was a really fun evening!

This is "Cylo" -- the mascot for the Barnstormers. Yeah -- getting Joshua to look at the camera is definetely a challenge right now!

Not the greatest picture, but thought I'd put it in anyway. You can tell the Bryan is definetely a much better photographer than yours truly!

Before we went to the game, we stopped at BK -- thought the picture was too funny not to post!

These are the guys from our church, "One Voice" that sang the National Anthem. They really sounded good!

Bryan went flying with his remote-control plane for the first this season, and we decided to make it a family affair! Joshua is REALLY into airplanes right now, so he enjoyed watching the planes in the air.

I took some bubbles with us to the field, and that always proves to keep him occupied for a while!