Day at King's Dominion

Em and I went down to Richmond the other weekend to see Darla and her kiddos. We spent Saturday at King's Dominion, one of the big amusement parks around town.


Needless to say, it was a prime spot for people-watching and we couldn't believe how many folks blow their money on these huge stuffed animals and then walk them around all day. So we snapped some photos of these super-tough looking guys carrying around soft, squishy stuffed animals.

Cousin Darla has more photos on her blog.

Time With Tiana

A few weeks back (on Memorial Day) I got to spend the day with Tiana and her charming family. We managed to snap a couple of pictures together before calling it a day. It's so fun to think we've been friends since 1st grade and somehow we both ended up on the East Coast together at this time in our lives.

Her nearly three-year-old son, Ches, gave me a kiss good-bye.

Oh, and check out this "vegetarian" tiger we saw while at the National Zoo -- he's gnawing on a cabbage.

For more zoo pics, head over to Tiana's blog.

Another Nephew on the Way: Gilbert Jr.

Most of you have heard by now that my sister, Chelsea and her husband, Justin are expecting their first in November. And just this week they found out that little Gilbert junior is a little boy.

This is nephew number five for Shane and I, so no nieces yet on either side. Which is kind of fun to think about, actually. Now I'm wondering if he'll be a cute tow-head blonde like the rest (especially if he takes after his mother). Check them out, all blondes thus far:

Haidean and Wyatt with Shane at our wedding reception

Dustin, all geared up and ready to ride

Tayson climbing along with Grandma Larsen's help

And, of course, the littlest Sellers sibling is about as blonde as they get:


Tannerman, the cutest uncle-to-be ever

Flashback:Ivy's 26th Birthday

Not sure I should be admitting I turned 26 this year but oh well. I wanted to write about the day, but just barely got this photo off of Shane's phone.

My birthday was on a Sunday and it was the weekend before Shane's law school finals so I have to say I wasn't expecting too much. I told Shane I didn't want him to worry about celebrating till the weekend after. But, somehow, after church in the morning and then counting tithing and attending a review session at school and then going home teaching, Shane showed up at our door at dinnertime with a chocolate cake in his hands! So while I put the finishing touches on dinner he whipped up some frosting. He also had a whole pile of gifts he'd hidden away from me. I couldn't believe my eyes. Just because I had insisted several times that he really didn't need to do anything that weekend.

So all in all it was a special day. And my sweet parents followed up with some gorgeous flowers (ProFlowers.com churns out gorgeous, long-lasting arrangements).

Many thanks to my wonderful husband and family and friends who made my birthday a special day -- whether with a card or call or surprise. Also, many thanks to Shane's cake bakers -- our neighbors and friends, the Castors -- the cake was one of the best I've ever had.

Excuses, Excuses

I know, I know -- we haven't been very good bloggers lately. My excuses:

1) My laptop decided to crash last month and I still can't get it to load WindowsXP -- and with Shane and his computer across the country I have no access to the blog when I get home at night.

2) When blogging is part of your job description it's hard to get excited about writing for your own blog after working on the senator's all day. The last thing my eyeballs want to see when I get home is another computer screen. I must be getting old.

But, alas, I will try to step it up. Hopefully I can get my computer back on track within the week. (As for Shane, he's living, eating and breathing chemistry and physics 24/7 this summer so he's off the hook.)

Ivy Meets the Ben Stein

Guess who I met last week?

The one and only, Ben Stein.

He was funny, sarcastic and even knew where Folsom, Calif. was.

He offered me some of his popcorn, and called out my name and waved good-bye to me from his limo. Totally nice guy. Totally down to earth. And totally brilliant.

All the way down to his suit and Airwalk sneakers. ;)

He was in town promoting his new movie, "Expelled."

Just a random highlight in my week.

I'm going to post another few pictures -- all taken while he was talking (and without the flash so as not blind him) to prove he was snacking on popcorn during the Q&A session with bloggers and reporters.

Cherry Blossoms in the District

Spring has official arrived -- or so it appeared, for a time. The cherry blossoms popped up over a week ago, all around the Washington, D.C. area. Shane and I made a trip to see them around the tidal basin near the Jefferson Memorial in all their glory last Saturday. Simply gorgeous. Shane brought his camera and just kept snapping. The sun hasn't been back out much this past week but the blossoms are hanging in there, so hopefully I can snap a few more shots myself before they disappear for another year.

looking out into the Potomac River

Ah ha! I conned Shane into taking a shot of me
eating my breakfast...or, wait, did he con me?

more pretty, pretty blossoms

tada! imagine that, more blossoms

I guess the cameraman's a bit camera shy (as
he hides behind is wife's sunglasses)

Lunch Downtown With Samantha

Samantha Hall was in town for work last week and we got a chance to catch up over lunch near her office building. Seeing friends from home is always such a treat. Samantha was my sister Chelsea's bridesmaid and through the years has become good friends with the entire family.

Yes, you can say it -- my bangs are looking pretty funky in this picture. I'll blame it on the wind. It was pretty bad that day. Samantha's lookin' fine though, as usual.

Easter Sunday Gathering

Well, I, Ivy, attempted to make an Easter Sunday dinner just like my mother would make if she had been back East for the occasion. Was I successful? Well, that's another story. The best part was probably the orange rolls and then the peach trifle we had for dessert (which was a group effort anyway).

Below are pictures of the dinner crew, which consisted of Miss Emily Gerratt, a treasured friend, and the Gilbert's -- my sister, Chelsea, and her husband, Justin (who recently found out they are expecting the first Glen and Amy Sellers' grandchild).

Em and I smile for the camera

the beaming parents-to be

cute Emily and her curls

Shane cracking me up as he refuses
to give a "real" smile for the camera

Baby-Naming Wizard

I should probably preface this post by saying: No, we are NOT expecting. This is a site Shane pointed out to me a while back and I was having fun playing around on it earlier this evening. I figure it's worth linking to because so many of our friends and family are in their child-bearing years. And besides, this is just plain entertaining!

Here's the website: http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html

It's a great tool to help you figure out how popular a certain name is now a days (in case you are like me and don't want your kid to be known as "so-and-so" plus their last initial throughout elementary school.)

Now get to it. You know you want to.