Anna and Amelia

Anna was really excited to see Amelia and they immediately took to each other. I took so many pictures of the two of them, I decided they need their own post.

Watersliding in Ben and Sarah's backyard.

Playing dress up.

Playing on the grass at Fort McHenry.

Playing on the Metro.

Exploring at River Farm Garden.

Silly posing at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

Lunching at Prince William Parkway.



Dressing up for Elsa first birthday luau.

Making medallions at the Children's Museum at National Harbor.



The National Botanical Gardens.



Keeping occupied during graduation.

I loved watching these two together. They definitely had a few moments, but overall they loved being together and playing together. Three cheers for cousins!

I Found My Camera!

WARNING!

Prepare yourself for copious amounts of blog postings over the next few days...

Visiting Friends

One of the best things about visiting VA was seeing our friends. It was wonderful to reconnect with so many people that we love and miss.

Me, Rachel, Lissa, Rebecca, and Christen. I miss these girls!

Our beauty shot.

Anna, Avery, and Skye.

The Millburn Family: Mike, Christen, and Larkin (missing Skye)

Rebecca and I with our new babies (plus Hayden).

Us with the babies. Hard to believe that when we first met our girls were only a couple of months old. Now we have SEVEN kids between the three of us.

Isaac and Lydia playing in the backyard.

Dress up at the Sherman's house.

Anna and Avery


Classic "backyard" picture. Oh how we miss walking out our back door to this huge grassy area.

Another classic photo. When we lived here, this sight was at least a weekly occurrence. Jeff and Nate standing on one of our front porches chatting about one of two things: fishing or school. The only thing to make this scene more complete would be if Nate were in scrubs and Jeff was wearing a suit and tie.

Funniest shot (thanks Christen for emailing it). We've enlisted the men for yet another photo shoot.

Lastly, I didn't take any pictures to document, but I spend a lovely late night sitting up and talking to my dear friend Stacie. Her husband was also graduating (from dental school) so the only time we could find to see each other was late night. So worth it.

Graduation Celebration

After graduation the Sollis/Black families headed out to one of our favorite spots in the area, Crab Louie's. Good seafood and lots of fun. I attempted a toast to congratulate Jeff and thank our families for being here to honor Jeff's accomplishment. We were so grateful that both our parents could make the trip as well as Cynthia and the Black family.

2009 Virginia Commonwealth University Master of Health Administation

What an accomplishment! Graduating from the number four program in the nation with honors is no small feat. Jeff has been dedicated, hard working, and passionate about his schooling and profession. I couldn't be prouder.

General Commencement

Isaac was generally not a fan of the two hour program.

Outside the Richmond Coliseum. Anna stayed with Gma and Gpa.

Documenting our presence at commencement.

School of Allied Health Graduation

MHA Class of 2009

Back Row: Barry Scohfield, Brent Higgins, Zach Reed, Kenny Ewani, Jason Whinham, Steven Bloomquist, Brett Butler, Alan Keesee, Jeff Sollis, AJ Brooks, Brian Arkright, Omar Chughtai

Front Row: Kari O'Rear, Libbie Skiles, Jen Murphy, Monique Lowe, Megan Durning, Stephanie Varner, Jessica Lowder, Virginia Fisher, Brigette Booth

The processional

Best classmates: Omar, Jeff, Jason (with daughter Breanne), and AJ (Anna and Isaac's Godfather)

Apparently the darker you are, the less the camera flash reflects off your skin.

Jeff and Omar.

Jeff with his mom and dad and sister, Cynthia.

My mom and dad, my brother Ben, Sarah, Amelia, Elsa, Anna, and Isaac.

Apparently my photo perma-grim was starting to wear off.

Jeff's graduation cap now has a permanent spot in Anna's dress up basket.

So Much To Talk About

Jeff graduated from VCU with his Masters in Health Administration. We saw great friends in Virginia. I missed my flight home and spent five extra days in DC. Cousin Amelia and Anna became inseparable frienimes. I ran the Boulder Boulder 10k with 50,000 other runners. (Or in my case joggers.) Family into town. Seven days of Colorado fun with cousins and grandparents. Isaac gets his first haircut. Five tornadoes touch down in Colorado. It's cold here! Where is my sun-warmed June?

And finally, anyone seen my camera where all my pictures from the last month are stored? I'm starting to worry.

In the meantime, here are are some old photos to satiate my need to blog.

At the feet of early morning ironing. Isaac is thrilled to have a little attention from Anna, even if it is a choke hold.

Not to be outdone by the rolly polly boy, Anna insisted on taking a bath in the kitchen sink. I must admit, it was lovely to see her in the morning light coming through the window. What a beauty!