For 2 1/2 weeks in late June through mid-July, Mark went with the church choir on their tour of Spain and France, maintaining an online journal so folks Stateside could see what the group was up to. Back home, Cheryl and Lura had some fun too! Cheryl's sister Gail came by in early July, but we didn't get a good photo to post; sorry, Auntie Gail! After she returned to Hawaii, on July 10th Cheryl and Lura went to the Huntington Gardens, where Lura always enjoys splashing in the fountains in the kids' garden.
In contrast with some of her earlier visits, she also enjoyed excavating the dirt around the plants and on the path. This is the same girl who walked carefully from the beginning, because she didn't like to have to touch the ground to catch herself if she fell!
The next day Lura and some friends went to Adventure City. Lura always enjoys riding on the little narrow-gauge trains that you'll find in zoos, parks, or malls!
She also enjoys the animals (and the animal sounds--baa, moo, cluck, oink) in a petting zoo. Here she keeps a discreet distance from the chickens scratching in the shade.
Thirsty work! Afterward Lura and Cheryl went to Ivy's house, and the girls found some cans of Sprite to drink. It would've been more refreshing if they'd been able to open them, but their mommies probably would have intervened.
Cheryl's mom also came by towards the end of Mark's absence. Here Lura (with her cool shades) enjoys a picnic with Mommy and Grandma in the park.
On July 12th, they went with Gracie and her mom Carolina to welcome the choir back from Europe. Gracie and her parents had made a sign to welcome back John & Nancy Jo Doughty, and they made one for Lura too.
Mark had missed Cheryl and Lura greatly while he was across the sea, though broadband Internet connections in some of the hotels and a pair of Apple iSight cameras (borrowed from the Aerospace Mac Users' Group) had allowed him to video-chat with them a few times. It was wonderful to come home to them after his long absence!
To
Next Page of Photo Album
Back
to Index of Pages from Late 2005
Back
to Photo Albumnew 28 January 2006