Cousins having bonding time. Grandma Dana taking picture they say "cheese" but really just want to watch Shrek.
Logan chowed down on his popcorn. This was a fun new first experience to have at Grandma and Grandpas house.
This is what I call lounging after a fun filled day.
I couldn't resist this cute shot.
Tonight we did a test run on packing for Hawaii to make sure that we fit, and Logan decided that he didn't want to be left out so he hopped in. I still can't believe that the trip is already here, I have known about it for so long and have been waiting for so long that it feels like it shouldn't be here yet... I am looking forward to white beaches and postcard sunsets, but I sure am going to miss our little monster.
The morning of the 4th, the weather was perfect. We woke up early to make a delicious breakfast dish. It was so hard not to eat it as we cooked it, I am a big sucker for breakfast foods... We met up with the ward at Laurel Lake. We had never been before, but I am sure we will go again. The lake is a tad smaller than Elkhorn and there are apartments right on the water's edge. Just like every other park we've gone to, the play ground was amazing, and Logan and all of the ward kids had a blast playing. Logan is so funny when it comes to Ethan and Jeffy, the whole trip to the park he kept saying, Zefsy. He calls Ethan and Jeffy, Zefsy. Ethan is a great substitute older brother.
Down on the bank of the lake, there was a semi-gaggle of geese. (I have always wanted to type gaggle...) Okay there were only a hand full but still... Logan can't really distinguish between ducks and geese so when ever he sees one or the other, he starts quacking. He got a little too close to the white one though and it came after him. Logan put his arms out like he was going to give it a hug and thats when I grabbed him and ran away like a little girl. When the geese saw my running skills, they became intimidated by my "superior" size and abandoned their territory. Logan smiled and kept saying, "bye bye" as they waddled away.
Friday and Saturday we went to the ward camp out in the Patapsco State park. The ward got three campsites but in the end, most of us crammed into the middle one. There was a pretty good turn out and kids running free all around the site.
Near the camp site was a great big tire park. Logan loved to swing on the zip-line and slide down the tire slide. The park was filled with old tractor tires and the ground was covered in shredded tires so if you fell down, it was a soft landing.
The Garners came with us to the park. The boys met alot of new friends...
Ethan Turpin kept Logan busy while we packed up to come home. We were all so worn out after camping that we came home and slept for a few hours. It sure felt nice. That is what saturdays are all about!
The Turpins came over and we broke out duck hunt and pacman for the kids and it was fun to watch them get excited over these old games. 
We were pleasantly surprised one Sunday when it was announced that the Baltimore stakes were putting together a discount ticket for an Orioles game. The tickets ended up being $6 per seat and so we could not pass it up. Neither Amber or I had ever been to a game before so we were really excited.
$6 doesn't get you front row seats, but it was plenty close enough to see everything, and everyone within a 5 mile radius... It almost took my breath away to walk into the stadium, it was so big and there were so many people.
Logan did so well at the game. He loved the cheers and the organ playing. He loved to clap and scream, "yay!" He thought he was pretty cool wearing his sun glasses and we couldn't get them off of him even after the sun went down.
The Orioles were the worst team in the League at the time of the game, and after losing this game and the next one, the Orioles fired their manager. Even though they lost it was a fun atmosphere and experience. The Baltimore Missionaries took up an entire section and from where we were sitting you could see this big patch of white shirts and ties. Our section was mostly church members and it was funny to see the frustration in the face of the beer salesman. He kept saying, why won't anyone get a beer here?" The ice cream guy did well though...
Bern and Matthew came with us and he was so fun to watch. He wanted to stay for the entire game.
The Turpins came for a few innings and sat with us too. The weather was great and we sure had fun!! 
Logan has always been crazy about elephants. One of his first animal noises was that of an elephant, hand swinging and all, and when we went to the zoo we had to drag him away from the elephants, he would have stayed there all day if we had let him. Last time we were in Utah, Amber's mom got him an elephant bathroom towell set. We pulled it out and he had a blast pretending to be an elephant.
It takes a real man to strip down to your "little swimmers" and jump on the back of your Tonka truck and parade around the house... This is what it's all about!
Monkeys and elephants are a few of Logan's favorite things. We had not taken him to the DC Zoo since we moved out here so we thought it would be fun, and since it is part of the Smithsonian, it was free!
We called up the Turpins and they decided to come along. We had a blast watching the boys get excited over the animals.
Logan can hardly contain himself upon seeing a real elephant.
Logan sure loves babies. Sometimes we have a hard time keeping his hands off of the little ones. I think he will make a great big brother some day...
I got home from work one day and it was really windy so Amber said we ought to take the kite out for another spin. We went to Elkhorn lake because there is a big field with plenty of space... at least I thought there was...
The First time we went flying, the wind was strong but all going in the same direction. This time the wind was all over the place. I was having a hard time keeping it up in the air, and sometimes the wind would stop all together and the kited would tumble towards the ground until another gust brought it back to life. On one occasion, the wind failed to pick the kite back up again, the slack in the line caused the kite to fall uncontrollably into a patch of jungle to the east of us... What began as a pleasant day in the park ended in me risking life and limb to recover a $5 dollar nylon shark from the grasp of nature.
I finally came up with a plan, I snapped one of the adjacent trees (which was dead) and controlled its fall so that it would pull down the kite. It worked but we lost the streamers on one side. It will take a little bit of repairing before jaws will fly again but, at least we won't have to buy a new kite. 
Logan has been such a good boy lately. He is growing up so fast and every day he amazes us. At the same time, he seems to be starting the "terrible two" phase a little early which can be crazy... The past couple of weeks, Amber has started to potty train Logan. We have a little system down that has shown a some success. Today he did really good.
When I was dating Amber she always told me how much she loved rain and thunder storms in Maryland. We have been having a pretty dry spring so when the clouds rolled in and dumped on us on Monday, it was really fun. We opened up the patio door and Logan kept trying to go out to play in it. The rain was falling so hard that it was bouncing up on the screen and we eventually had to put down a towel to soak up the water.
last Saturday I woke up with a really bad headache so I took some pills and my blanket and went out to sleep on the couch. Logan was not about to let me take a nap. First he took all of his toy cars and piled them up on my head. Next he climbed up on the couch and started jumping on my face. Stuff like this works wonders on headaches... I got up.
Logan has been really funny when it comes to the pool. Everytime we walk by the pool he says, "bubbles." We have been trying to go every couple of days. When we go, he gets in for a couple of minutes and then he acts like he is all done. Sometimes he makes a mad dash for the exit or he goes and lays out on the lounge chairs and eats his gold fish. The second we start cleaning up to go back to the apartment, he runs to the stair to the pool and starts to get in. Last time we went I finally got him to stay in for a while by throwing him up into the air. He got a face full of water everytime but he loves it so much he just keeps saying, "more, more." He is pretty comfortable in the water, he likes to blow bubbles and kick his legs.
Here he is flying through the air...
Bern and Eric brought the boys over to join us. It was a ton of fun. I am excited to do it again soon.
After a long swim the boys shared fish and layed out for a while.
First you got to craw inside the dryer so that you can get a proper grip on the filter...
Pull up then out being extra careful not to get any lint on self...
Finally, reinsert the filter and close door to make sure that it works.
Josh and Logan chill out before taking a dip in the pool. We sure had fun...
Last week we got the bikes out again and went for a ride down a trail from Lake Elkhorn to Savage park. It was really a lot of fun. The trail was paved for most of the way and it wove in and out of the woods. The shade was nice because it was so hot.
As we went down the trail we came upon this turtle that was crossing the path. I picked him up out of the trail so that he wouldn't get squashed and we went on.
We crossed this bridge that looked like it had been made out of an erector set. I think it used to carry a train across the river.
At one point the trail led us under the Inter-State, it was so tall from where we were.
By the end of the ride, Amber and I were completely worn out and Logan had fallen asleep in his seat. His poor head was just swaying around as we went over bumps and up and down hills. What a trooper.
