Max continues losing teeth

He's practically all gums:


It's really hard to get a decent picture of him with the missing teeth, but at least this gives you a general idea of his gummy grin...

Max's Birthday: The Lost Pictures

Just found these from April '07, Max's sixth birthday party. Our good friend Jeff the Magician came by and did a card trick with Mom:

He also turned Max into a magician! Watch, as this seemingly normal child:


...is magically transformed into a magician! (Seriously, he wants to be Jeff's apprentice. Luckily, Jeff lives down the street...)

Jordan the ballerina (from April 2007)

Did I mention I finally replaced the batteries in our camera and that they were dead since April? Well, here's a few pics from Jordan's ballet recital in April '07:

The Great Outdoors

Several weeks ago we signed up for a camping trip with the local YMCA. We drove out to Camp Pa-Wa-Pi on Friday night only to experience an UNUSUALLY cold late summer night (low predicted to be 39 degrees). Even with the cold, we had a lot of fun.

We started out with a hike through the woods. We took a break here to work on the low ropes:


Next week moved on to the rope swing. Max was a natural, and Jordan was so happy to do it all by herself!


After that, we cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the campfire then settled in for a rest--the ground was hard, but the kids didn't care. In the morning we had campfire sausage and scrambled eggs.

We ended the morning with archery and rock climbing. The fresh air did us all good, although I appreciated my bed on Saturday night.

First day of school!

Max and Jordan went back to school this week. Max had a great week as a first-grader (!), and Jordan is excited to be one of the "bigger kids" who helps the little ones learn the school rules.

Here's a picture of Max's first grade class. His teacher is the woman in the back row on the right (Ms. Christine). The other adult (on the left) is the classroom helper, Miss Kathy.

Here they are posing with Tree Buddy on the first day.

Cousins or sisters?

From Schwitzer Family Vacation. We discovered they have the exact same shade of hair. I like to call this picture "bookends".

Jordan and her favorite books

I'm really not crazy about Sarah Ferguson's "Little Red" books. Jordan, however, loves them due to their "super-cutesyness". Here's proof:


(Thanks to Aunt Beri, Uncle Joel, Mira & Zoe for "Little Red's Summer Adventure".)

Max's Quote of the Day

We've been giving Max allowance for the past couple of months ($3/week). Last night, Stephen didn't have $3, so he gave him a $10 and let him figure out the change. After he got it right, he took $7 from his piggy bank and gave it to his dad.

Max placed the $7 down next to Stephen and said, "Here's your revenge."

Neither Stephen nor I blinked because we both thought we had misheard him, and that he had said "change". However, a few seconds later he piped up with "Revenge is the same as payback."

Ah.... needless to say, Stephen and I laughed heartily.

Max loses another tooth, Jordan smiles for the camera

Max has lost another tooth (his third), this time one of the top front teeth! There's no missing this gap (note he's also wearing the sweater Bubbie made for him BEFORE JORDAN WAS BORN! This might be his last wearing--it's getting short in the sleeves, but he still loves it.):


While we were taking pictures, Jordan wanted some of her. Here's the best (those eyes!):