Erie Zoo!

This is Samantha the Gorilla.  She peered at us like she was as bored as could be.  And who could blame her?  She needs a buddy to keep her company.

We were thankful for the sprayers since it was a hot and sunny day.

Delaney and Emma got drenched!

I enjoyed the flowers at the zoo more than the animals.  It was beautiful.

Hannah on the "mountain".

More spray!

Typical of the Benson girls:

Emma is trying to pet the goat,

Hannah is keeping a cautious distance,

and Delaney is nowhere in sight!

The otters were really entertaining.

Papa and Nana on the train.

Emma Hope, our silly baby girl

Last week I attempted to get Emma's portrait taken.  The photographer did everything short of standing on her head--for an hour--to get try to get Emma to smile.  Do you think she cracked even the teeniest grin?  Nope.  But tonight at dinner she turned into a ham the second I pulled out my camera.  Silly Emma!

The Coolest Block in Philly!

Bryan's company, Dow Chemical, sponsored a contest that was open to the entire city.  It was called "the Coolest Block in Philly", and people could nominate their street to win an energy-efficient "make-over" of all the homes on the block that would ultimately help to lower their utility costs. 

The 1200 block of Wolf Street in South Philly was chosen as the winner.

Dow is going to use their products to air seal and insulate these older  homes, as well as apply a special white, cool-roof coating that will help to cool the homes in summer.

Dow held a party to congratulate the homeowners, and we were invited!

Some of the day's highlights included a delicious meal, a face/arm painter, a live band, Rita's water ice (Bryan's and Hannah's favorite... and they even had mango!)...

games for the kids...

a swimming pool...

and a visit from the Mayor of Philadelphia, Mr. Michael Nutter.

Emma admiring her new body art.

Delaney liked hers, too!

The Mayor was extremely cordial and took time to meet and speak with everyone.

Here he is saying hello to Emma and Delaney.

Bouncing Around!

There was a bouncy house at the party today... all five of us went in although mommy and daddy pretty much just supervised, and of course took movies!

Silly Emma

Emma has this funny little habit of "jumping". But it's not really jumping; she just thinks that she is. She kind of throws her head back and grunts simultaneously, and it cracks us up every time. She knows that it makes us laugh, so sometimes she gets a little crazy. In this video, she does her little jumps and then goes into a fancy attempt at a somersault (which, by the way, she has successfully done... just not on film!!).

All Smiles

When Hannah was younger we practically had to stand on our heads to get her to even crack a smile for a photo. My, how times have changed. Not only does she love the camera now, but she asks me to take pictures of her! Of course, I happily oblige!
Love you, pretty girl.

Little Girls

What are little girls made of? sugar and spiceand everything nicethat's what little girlsare made of.

love.

This is how I found the girls when I got out of the shower yesterday. They were not posing; just watching Curious George and enjoying one another's company. Remember this post? Delaney sure loves her baby sister.

Our Annual Summer Kick-Off at the Pool!

Our town "aquatics center" opens every year on Memorial Day. This year marks the third year in a row that the Bensons have been there to ring in summertime (click here and here to see pictures from the two previous years)! We are thankful that we have such a wonderful place to take our children to swim and have fun.

Emma LOVES the fountains. She especially LOVES to stand with the water hitting her, well, in the diaper area. What a hoot!... I'll spare you the pictures of that!

Ariel, Hannah, and Lily (special friends from her class)And one of the best things about the pool...

you can nap there!

Photo shoot at the garden center.

What is Delaney cheering for?! Our girls.Another of Hannah's shots. She's pretty good with Daddy's Blackberry!!!"word!"cuteness.