And shaggy Big D from behind.
The comb dodge.
Dominic getting his hair cut alongside Mama.
It was really quite long.
In the back of this picture, you can see how long Ella's hair was.
Here's the front.
And here's the back.
And here's the short bob Ella.
The first order of business with Eric and Rebecca - playing Lego Star Wars, of course!
He's such a ham.
Next, we went on a hike in the Shenandoah National Park.
A stop by some lovely rocks.
Nate and Dom examine the lichens.
Good ole stick-tree whacking.
A picnic lunch.
Carrying a long stick on the hike was important to Ella - which was all Eric needed to know.
Ella and Dominic went crazy when we reached a wide-open space in the sun for running.
Eric teaches Ella to roll down the hill.
Ella can't hold back the excitement about rolling down the hill.
And away she goes.
While Ella rolled down the hill, Dom played on the drain at the top of the hill.
And Dom was content to put rocks down the drain.
Ella loved throwing the frisbee.
Eventually, Rebecca convinced him to check out the nature center.
The tongue-of-concentration always helps on a catch.
The warm weather made for early morning bubble blowing.
Ella on the Einstein statue.
As if the shirt didn't indicate trouble enough. The look on his face says it all.
Being so close to science greatness makes Rebecca happy.
Walking inside the drained reflecting pool to the WWII Memorial.
This little girl couldn't get enough of Dom.
No matter how much he ran away, he couldn't turn off the charm.
Enjoying the setting sun.
Bocce ball and sticks - what more do you need?
Ride 'em cowboy in the basement.
Showing off their manatee t-shirts from Nana and Papa.
What starts out as lounging on the couch ...
gets a little goofy ...
veers toward possible wrestling and hair pulling ...
and ends up in a good ole game of squish your brother!
Dom sporting his new summer hat.
Ella's skeptical, whatever it is.
Dom was very proud of himself for putting on the party hat all by himself.
Ella did a hat trick to entertain the birthday girl.
Dom is thoroughly covered in sweat, dirt, and watermelon juice - signs of a successful picnic!
nothing like baths, milk, PJs, and daddy's lap after a long day
Ella and Dom enjoying Free Comic Book Day
Ella and Nate enjoying their amusements (comics and Ipod Touch). No doubt whose daughter she is!
Dom and Ella play with Legos.
During her last Coop Kid Day, Ella brought a toy fire engine in for sharing and placed it by the “Visitor” tag during snack time.
Ella and Dom play with boxes in the frontyard. Ella prides herself in strategically blocking picture opportunities.
Ella sat at the edge of the stage. She was definitely not enthused about being in the spotlight. When prompted to receive her diploma, she merely reached her hand up from her chair.
After the graduation, the kids served us treats that they made. Here Ella distributes cucumber sandwiches. She kept us hooked up with plenty of food.
Ella and Nana read the diploma.
Suanna and her tired bumpkins who stayed up way past their bedtime. Dom asked to go to bed around 10, and Ella stayed up until 11.
A great birthday party, indeed.
Ella is very into pictures with her “favorite little buddy” right now.
Ella, Dom, and Suanna attended a birthday party of a friend of Ella's at a bowling alley. At first, there was watching the other kids. When it was Ella's turn, she didn't want to do it at first, but she quickly changed her mind when she saw how eager Dom was to try.
Ella encouraging Dom.
At first, Dom tried rolling the ball himself. When it only made it part way down the lane, we decided to switch to the ramp.
The ramp worked much better for both of them.
Ella was bowling on her own by the end of the party, however.
On our recent trip to Michigan, Nate and Clara play Wii while the other kids watch.
Ella and Caleb play lightsabers.
Mom reads the kids bedtime books. Dom slept on this bed that was made with the table and benches.
Ella and Dom had a great time playing with Caleb in his cabin.
Dom had a great time playing with the cousins in the bouncy car.
Dom plays with Clara on the playground.
Double trouble in the bunk above the motor home cab - where Ella and I slept.
Ella, Dom, and Caleb ride on the wagon.
Dom's words were, “Brush, brush, brush ... brush MarMar's hair.”
Gumpa reads to Ella and Dom.
Dom and Lydia color in the motor home.
The kids had great fun playing together.
The highlight of the trip for Dev was seeing all the things in his Washington DC picture book, which we gave him for his birthday. We saw a remarkbly lot of things in a short time.
Theressa and Neesha and in the background are Dom, Ella, and Dev.
The weather was so warm we dipped our feet in the fountain.
The Canadians visit Abe.
Here is Benoy and Dev infront of Obama's house - Dev's most sought-after destination.
Ella loved baby Neesha.
No kids-trip can be complete without a visit to the zoo.
Ella is so excited on her first day of school, I can barely keep her feet on the ground.
She rigged up her backpack hook-up for her lunch box all by herself.
The quintessential goofy shot
We all headed off for school together.
Time to say goodbye.
The kids enjoyed doing yoga with Sarah.
bathtime buddies
After bath, bedtime buddies
clowning around
Dominic uses the computer for the first time.
Dominic loves pulling books off his shelf to read.
On the steps with Mama.
Dominic coloring the Owly coloring book. Ella did such a good job on some of the pages that Nate had her show it to the artist at the Small Press Expo.
Making chocolate-chip cookies was a favorite part of Nana and Papa's visit. Ella had just made cookies at school, so she was eager to learn from the pro.
We also recreated the pancakes Ella made at school. Notice Dom's now-famous “cheese” grin.
We also went apple-picking.
and took a hay ride
and chose a pumpkin
Aren't Nanas great?
and Papas, too
Ella and Dom in their Halloween costumes - Ella wearing a Darth Vader cape and Dom as a bat.
Ella loves this picture.
Ella makes a scarey Darth Vader face.
Dom tosses a bean bag into a cauldron.
