Who had the most fun today?

While I was getting my wisdom teeth out this morning, Miriam got spend the day with Grandma. I hear she got to play with play dough. She even got to go swimming at the pool. I think Miriam had the most fun today.

(Photos "stolen" from Grandma's IPhone)

Bishop Family Pictures

While Michael's family was here we were also able to get family pictures taken. Jen Anderson did an amazing job. We have the pictures now and I am so excited to print them out and hang them on the wall. I just have to let you know that you are about to witness pictures of the cutest kids ever! I want to post them all, but I will chose just a few.









After looking through all of the pictures I can't help but laugh. Having kids sure makes family pictures more interesting. It seems like you can never get all of them to look and smile at the same time, no matter how many shots you take. I guess you are just capturing the real moments.

Braswell Family Pictures

One of the greatest parts of having everyone together is taking family pictures. Here are some pictures from our family photo shoot. I chose the best ones of each family.

Dad and Mom

Trevor, Robyn, Carson, Paige, Garrett (and baby girl)

Michael, Vanessa, Miriam, and Simon

Ryan, Natalie, and Carter

Laura

Ashley

Lance

Eric

Devon

Grandma, Grandpa, and all six grandkids


Braswell Family - July 2011

Even though we shot these by ourselves, it was great fun. I think they turned out pretty nice. I know I am not where I want to be yet with my photography skills, but I hope to improve this year. I need to learn more about our camera. Maybe I can take a class...

Simon's Blessing

While my family was here we were able to bless Simon. It was great to have my whole family here for this occasion. It was also great that Michael's parents and two sisters are close and could attend. We only have a group picture from the actual day. I wish I would have taken more time to take some pictures. We finally got some more pictures of Simon in his blessing outfit. My wonderful sister Ashley made it for him. I think it turned out so cute!

Downtown Days Three and Four...

...and the rest of the "vacation". Oh, you thought I was done after days one and two. You were wrong. I still have plenty more to post about our trip downtown. On day three we headed to the Air and Space Museum. I had to feed Simon as soon as we got there and so someone took our stroller for me. Therefore, I didn't get very many pictures because Michael had Miriam and someone else had our camera. After lunch we went to the National Archives. No pictures allowed there! It was really neat seeing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I think it was the first time in a long time that they were all displayed in their entirety.

On day four we decided to take a break from downtown and stay closer to home. We slept in a bit and hung around our house all morning before heading out for a late lunch. After eating we went to the other Air and Space Museum located over by the Dulles Airport. There is free parking after 4:00 pm so we waited until we didn't have to pay. I didn't take any pictures... I guess after a week of picture after picture I gave up on this day.

The last day my family was in town we decided we better head downtown one last time. We went to the Holocaust Museum (No pictures allowed). It was a sad reminder of what these people went through. We kind of booked it through most of it because our kids had about had it with museums by this point. We then went to have lunch in the Ronald Reagan Building before heading over the Old Post Office. There we went up the tower and saw the sights of downtown from a different perspective. There was a nice breeze and I think the kids enjoyed playing around.

Miriam flying an airplane

I think Miriam was a little bit afraid of the edge

Miriam and Mom

Miriam loved her cousin Paige.
She still prays for her to get home safely on the airplane.

Miriam is getting good a smiling for the camera, however she always closes her eyes.


Views from the Post Office Tower

We will miss having everyone here. Miriam sure misses all her cousins. It was a great vacation. Even though we live in the DC area we never get a chance to go downtown. It was fun having family as an excuse to go see all the sights again. I hope everyone had a great time!

Downtown Day Two

The second day we headed out was the longest day we had. We saw the American History Museum, the Natural History Museum, The White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. Although it was really hot and humid we tried to make the best of our time. The kids were really great troopers. In order to post all the pictures I want to show I am going to make some collages. (You can click on them to view the pictures larger.)

Miriam loved the statues at the American History Museum.
She is signing "friend" to the statue.

Having more fun at the American History Museum

Miriam absolutely loved the bees at the Natural History Museum.
She cried when I made her leave.

The White House (just in case you needed a caption)

WWII memorial

Lincoln Memorial

I love how these pictures show how tired we were at the end of the day.
Simon was on his third outfit (but no clean pants left).
Miriam wouldn't even look toward the camera.
Michael and I have the best fake smiles.
However; we went, conquered, and got the pictures to prove it.

Downtown Day One

We had such a great time while my family was here visiting. We were able to go to downtown Washington DC and visit a lot of the sights. I cherished the time they were here because having the whole family together is a great blessing. Being the one that moved away from everyone else it is hard knowing I only get to see them once a year. I am already looking forward to heading west next summer.

Here are some pictures from the first day of our sightseeing "vacation":

Arlington National Cemetery

Washington Monument

Scenes from Arlington and the Washington Monument

First time in a pool

I guess you can say we have deprived our children. It is my fault because I am not much of a swimmer. We took Miriam and Simon swimming for the first time while my family was here visiting. We all hopped in the pool at their hotel. I think the kids both liked it and I survived.

three months

Simon at three months...




...what a joy!

Birthday Celebration

Are you ready for picture overload? I love wearing red, white, and blue on the Fourth of July. I dressed Miriam and Simon up and spent the day trying to get good pictures. At the end of the day I wasn't sure what we got. Now I can't chose just a couple to post, so I am posting a bunch.


Monday was also my birthday. I love celebrating with the rest of the nation. I have always thought that my birthday was pretty great. Here are a couple of pictures from the birthday celebration.