Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

John's good friend Gary married Heather last month. Here is Elisabeth getting ready to be a bride, and us at the wedding. Elisabeth stayed for about half of it. John was best man.

After our long weekend in the Adirondacks we headed back south (just a bit) to Saratoga Springs. Felt like we were back in the city compared to where we’d been. But it was still beautiful. While John attended a conference Elisabeth and I explored some museums. She loved the National Museum of Dance because of its children’s area. She got to dress up to her heart’s content and dance on her very own stage. We also visited the Children’s Museum and the National Museum of Horse Racing. Elisabeth at the hotel: she looked great with all the business men. On the last day I had to get back to the mountains again, so for Elisabeth’s nap we took a 3 hour drive along Lake George. Oh it was beyond words. I tried to get Elisabeth to pose with me for a picture, but she was in a post-nap bad mood and the wind was too much for her (she dislikes even a light breeze sometimes).

It was 2 months ago, but Elisabeth did turn 3 on Sept. 24th. Boy was she excited about this celebration! Because of her new love for music we had a “Musical Jamboree.” She was very excited about her drum cake, which she fortunately recognized as such, although other guests did not. My favorite is the one of her dancing—only John and Elisabeth danced. The other kids (Douwe, Ricky, Timothy and Anneloes) just watched wide-eyed. The most fun was had with the “find the drum” game—we hid a noisy drum in the yard and the kids had to find it. I loved it when Douwe hid it and then showed the kids where it was. Such a nice calm sense of competition! Two months later Elisabeth is still talking about her drum cake. The red tricycle she received that day from Grandma and Grandpa was being used inside until just yesterday. I knew it was time to take it outside when she started knocking the paint off walls. Just a few weeks ago Elisabeth had begun riding a smaller tricycle to the park. Jo...