the fourth

Very late, I know, but I thought the grandparents would want to see Fern on her very first ferris wheel! We went to the carnival, had some delicious Vietnamese street food made by a co-worker's mom, and then played some games like 'pick a duck out of a pond and you get some junk!' Some junk was smaller or bigger than other junk, but it was all big fun and I would do it again a million times over because Fern loved it. (Most of it as you shall see) She emptied our wallets with ride ticket purchases. I would have never guessed that she would go on these rides with Ska, without me, but she did. I was definitely more afraid than she was. And then... the tantrum. She threw the biggest tantrum ever. I rode with Ska on the Octopus (which left me spinning and nauseated) and she wanted to go, and couldn't understand that she was too small and felt betrayed that I would ride with Ska and not her. I could hear her through all of the screaming on the ride. In the end though, Ska was beaming, so it was worth it. At 9:15 or so, we watched an AMAZING fireworks display. A couple of times I said 'this must be the finale!' and it wasn't, so it was much better than I thought it would be. Fern called them 'flowers' in the sky and said a whole lot of 'whoa's' and 'oh man's!' and 'boom's'. Pretty funny indeed. And I got to catch up with a friend to boot. It was a good evening, that's for sure.

watermelon by day

carnival ride by night

day at the beach

Fai Fai...one of our favorite places to go.

Determined to go to the car to retrieve her 'milko'.

bricktown

First, we had dinner at Abuelo's to celebrate abuela Hambrick's 70th birthday! Then we took a walk along the riverwalk and Fern saw her very first ducks.

all I could get

Fern loved her cousin Lukas. She seems to look up to bigger boys. But the only chance I had of getting a photo of my super sweet nephew Lukas was when he wasn't paying attention, or when I was really far from him...

Once he was on to me, I got things like this....(holding a fenceboard in front of his face).

I have a feeling Fern might be the same way in a few years, so I am snapping away while I can! She is already starting to give me those sarcastic smiles when I ask her for a smile. Or she will just completely ignore me. It's a nice reminder to put down the camera sometimes. :)

twinkle star

When Fern began to say her first words, she called stars 'twinkles'...I suppose because we sang 'Twinkle twinkle little star' to her every night as we laid her down to sleep. She eventually began to call them 'twinkle stars', and now she just calls them stars most likely because we unintentionally correct her by calling them stars ourselves. But when I asked her what this was in the picture, she said it was a twinkle and it made me so happy.

And here are a few more from the other day. This is what I get when I ask her to smile at me:

And another lovely smile:

Trying to open the water bottle with all of her might and then some... she already knows how to exaggerate. uh-oh, we're in for it! ;)

adore

I adore this face. Last night the dog sneezed and Fern said 'Bless you Samuel'.

the Hambricks

A couple of Mimi and Papa from our trip. For those that didn't know... Al's dad is a baptist minister, and this is his cute little church.

Happy Father's Day

Dear Al,

It's sad to think that you probably don't know how much you are appreciated. I should tell you more often. Thanks for being the best dad you can possibly be. Fern is one lucky kiddo and I can tell from these photos that she agrees. :) From the bottom of my heart, Ginger

the duck pond

When I was little, I would go feed the ducks with my musical kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Strobel. She really liked mushrooms and owls. They were all over her house. I have a feeling that we would have much in common these days now that I am all grown up. I was only three when I knew her, but she has left somewhat of a lasting impression with me. I think it has something to do with nature's impact. It is so powerful for little ones. And absolutely necessary I think. I don't know how many times I went with her to feed the ducks, but I remember it like we had been hundreds of times. Maybe we had.

There are no ducks in Guam, that you can feed anyway, so I was really looking forward to taking her to the Duck Pond in Norman while we were there. And we got to go with Aunt Greta to boot. Most of the ducks have been replaced by geese, so I'm sure they have left an impression on Fern. (They could be a tad intimidating to a 2 foot tall person.) If not, she'll have this video to remember them by. And the bazillions of photographs of course. :)

spreading seed

Another picture at the farm. Blowing dandelions. This particular one wasn't quite ready and she was having a pretty difficult time getting those seeds to disperse. :)

the farm

Wow, I am slowly getting through more pictures of our trip to the mainland. I was hoping to post about the trip while we were still there, but we are already back and I am still going to be posting about the trip a few more times. Anyway, here is a sneak peek from our visit to the farm to see Uncle Kenny, amongst others. Sadly, it was raining most of the time we were there, so I didn't even take that many pictures. I think our farm is one of the most beautiful places, EVER. Every time I go back, I am astonished by the beauty found there. I think it must come from living in the tropics and never ever seeing big oak trees. In fact, most of the trees in Guam are quite puny, due to the typhoons. I am totally going to freak out when we go back to the northwest someday...at least to visit. Those are some big trees. I can almost smell them just thinking about it.

Calling the cows with Grandpa. Her first real live cows!

Oh, and here is the watermark for my new logo. so exciting! Isn't it cute?

back yard fishin' and long walks

I love that this is my parents back yard now.

Earthworms!!!


Reeling in the line!

Fishing with dad.

Lukas caught a fish!!!! 1 of 3.

A little bluegill...not a good one to eat... he was released.

Walk in the woods.

Exploring Grandpa's property

Grandpa looks so tiny on this big hill!

So handsome.
My parents new place with Grandma on the deck

Pretty little butterfly

Going on a walk with Grandma and Grandpa, enjoying the perfect weather.

Arkansas

Two mamas on Mother's Day

Securing the boys while they clean the gutters from the rooftop

Hotubbing with cousin Lukas!

Tired baby after a swim