T-Ball

Because he had a broken arm and couldn't play spring soccer, we signed C up for T-Ball. He has loved every minute of it. He is not the most athletically inclined kid, but with T-ball, unlike soccer, he is really trying. He is running faster than he ever has, he is hitting the ball. In general, he is improving with every practice and every game. They haven't had too many games because of rain cancellations, but the few they have had, he has loved. These are pictures from his first game. It was about 60 degrees out and windy, so everyone is wearing long sleeves and pants. Yes, it was July, but that is the kind of weather we have been having lately.

Nice stop. Now, if we could get him to throw the ball harder, he might have a future in baseball...and being left-handed and all, it might just help out in the retirement area...We'll keep working on that one.

Summer Fun

This summer we have been trying to have as much fun as possible. C is going to start kindergarten in the fall and it will be all day. This really is his last chance to be home for most of the day every day. So we are trying to make it fun and memorable. We have been bowling a few times. The kids aren't great at it. They are still trying to learn how to hold the ball and that you have to throw it forward and not just down. But, they get better each time we go, and they love to do it, so we will keep trying.

We have had a lot of friends over to play : old and new. Our date night group gets together just about every week and the kids all get to play. There are 10 soon to be 11 kids in the group and all of them look forward to playing, eating, and having a good time together. Some of our friends had family in town and they needed someone to watch their kids for the evening, so we took in a few new friends one night. Its so neat to see your kids make friends with new kids and really have a good time in such a short amount of time. Thanks Jen for the fun night!

C, Sterling, Maley, K and Garrett watching a movie.

We have been trying to make it to the pool on a regular basis too. The pool on base is free to get in this summer, so we have been taking full advantage. K is a little timid in the water and E has his good days and bad days, but C is like a fish. I think he would live in the pool if we let him.

Speaking of the pool, the kids have been taking swimming lessons this summer and are really improving. K will actually let go of the teacher and try to swim on her own. A huge improvement from just a few months ago. C has been learning the proper technique for the strokes and even learning to dive. He told me this morning that he wants to be a professional swimmer when he gets older, just like Meredith! We still have a long ways to go, but he has talked about it all day, so we will see how long his enthusiasm lasts.

Its hard to tell, but this is C, underwater swimming.

K on the first day she let go of Miss Taylor. Yes, shes wearing a life jacket, but for her, this was success. The next day she was able to do it without the life jacket, so even more success. I am so proud of her and how hard she is working and trying at everything in the pool.

Drew's Birthday

At the beginning of July, Drew had a birthday. It was not a 'big' number or even a significant one, other than we get to celebrate him being around for another year. He didn't even want anything for his birthday except for a windshield for his motorcycle (which he just has to pick out and get...since Christmas) So, we decided to keep it rather low key. He wanted a peanut butter banana type cake. I found a recipe for a peanut butter cheesecake with Peanut butter oreos for the crust and made it. It was really rich, but really good. We went to Smoky Bones for dinner. And of course we got him a gift. But just one, since he said he really didn't want anything...
Yes, we got him a new TV for his birthday. It's something that he has wanted and will never buy for himself, so I thought what better time than a birthday. Needless to say, he spends Sunday afternoons LOVING the races now. What a difference a little bit bigger TV can make.

Happy Birthday Honey! We love you. Can't wait to celebrate with you again next year.

Personalities

I give you a break from my catching up, to tell you something that has happened twice in the last two days. I set up the inflatable pool in the back yard so the kids could enjoy a little bit of the sunshine we have been getting. K has wanted to play and swim. She has run from one side of hte yard, back to the pool, just to make a bigger splash. She has entertained herself for hours in the water. C, on the other hand, has wanted to sit outside with us, with a book. And not just any book, but the Childrens Illustrated Atlas. You know, so he can learn all about the people of the Cold regions wearing layers of clothes because its cold and the people in the Amazon wearing nothing because its so hot. I guess it just goes to show the difference in their personalities.

Fourth of July

We got up early on the fourth of July and headed over to Fairborn for their parade. The kids love parades and what a perfect opportunity to see bands, watch little and big cars, and have a great time.

My 3 happy kids ready to celebrate our country's birthday!

After the parade we went home for a quick rest and then headed to our ward's picnic. It was drizzly and rainy the entire time, but we were still able to enjoy the time and good food with our ward.

Late in the evening, we drove down to Kettering to watch the fireworks. Both K and C love to see the fireworks. It was a debate due to the rain, but we decided to do it anyway. It was a wonderful show and the rain didn't downpour until later in the night.

I personally could have done without the fireworks going off down the street all night long, but all in all it was a fabulous holiday.

Zoo

We went to the zoo finally! I have never taken my kids to the zoo. Now, don't get me wrong, if you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you will know that they are not deprived of fun and wonderful experiences (Busch Gardens, Disney World, the beach, etc.). But, we had never been to the zoo. Friday before the 4th of July, we went to the Columbus zoo. I was really looking forward to seeing the animals, as were the kids. I was a little disappointed that a lot of the animals were more on the exotic side than the normal side. There were no hippos or giraffes, but we did get to see bats, and lots of snakes. C said his favorite thing at the zoo was the petting zoo. (they had goats that you could pet, feed, comb their hair, walk around with, etc) K's favorite thing was the monkeys. That is her favorite animal and there were a lot of different types of them there. Drew enjoyed the monkeys with the painted faces as well as the tiger. I liked the baby elephant and the bats (I have never seen a bat in real life) They were asleep and really looked almost fake. Kinda cool.
K petting the goat at the Petting zoo.

Both kids insisted on a picture with the orangutan statue.

This one is for you Nonnie, yes those are flamingos. Lots of them!

Tattoo

No, no one in our family got a tattoo, something completely different. Every year, here at the base, they have what is called a military tattoo. Its kind of like an airshow, but different. They usually have fly overs, musical guests, lots of food, fireworks, etc. We went a couple of years ago, and had a chance to go again this year. What a blast. First, I cannot say enough about how much they have improved since the last time we went. The parking was easy in and out, like no traffic at all. The musical entertainment was fabulous. They had Aaron Tippin come and play. The aircraft flyovers were amazing. C and K were so excited to actually see a B2 Bomber. They couldn't stop talking about it all night. And of course, a 30 minute fireworks show that was awesome. The worst part of the evening: I dropped my cell phone in the field that we parked in and had to go back to try to find it in the dark. Luckily we parked in a rather prominent spot, so it was fairly easy to find.

K just waiting for some of the fun to start.

The infamous B2 Bomber flying over the skies of OH.

Waiting for the fireworks.

Busch Gardens

I promise, this will be my last post from our short trip to Virginia (It was only a week). We seemed to cram a lot into that short week. But I digress, I will move on to other things from this summer.... after Busch Gardens.
Every year for the past several years The Anheuser Busch family of theme parks has done a Salute to Heroes. In order to recognize and thank the servicemen and women of our country, they have allowed each one, along with their dependents into a park for free. We have taken advantage of this several times and have been to Sea World in Orlando, Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Since we were going to be close, we decided to stay in Virginia for an extra day and do Busch Gardens again.
It was a wonderful day to spend at a theme park. It was in the 70s and overcast all day. In fact it was too chilly to do the getting wet rides so we saved those for the last thing righ before we left. This year was a lot of fun. The kids were old enough and tall enough to ride several rides. They have added another little kids section with a lot more rides. We had so much fun.
Watching a 4D movie. The kids aren't juge fans of this. We thought we would give it another try. It has been a year since DIsney and thought they could handle it. Maybe we will try again in another year or two.

Riding one of the new rides in the Sesame Street section. K said this one was her favorite.

The kids got to meet Bert and Ernie, as well as a bunch of other characters.

K holding a real Lorakeet. C didn't want to do it, but K begged to be able to and did wonderful.

Drew hanging out with E while he napped. The kids and I were riding some of the kid rides in the Dinosaur kids section.

This is the only ride in the kids section that adults can ride with the kids.

C and Drew riding on the big bumper cars. They both got to ride the smaller ones by themselves. Its a good thing we have a while before they get behind the wheel of a real car.

We had a wonderful time at Busch Gardens and hope to be able to go back another time.

Fishing

While we were in Virginia for the wedding, we had the chance to do a few other things too. One, that the kids looked forward to as much as the wedding was going down to Grandads place at the river. They love being able to go out on the boat and even fishing from the dock. We didn't get a chance to take the boat out this trip. It was rainy most of the morning, so the older two went with Grandad, Drew and Nonnie down to the dock to fish while E got a much needed, very long nap.

The first trip to the dock. There was a lot of sitting on the dock and waiting. Not a lot of biting from the fish.
K was able to catch some crab from what I hear. She was the lucky one in the morning.
After E woke up, and we had lunch, we went to the Appich's house and to their dock for a little bit more fishing. Grandad and Nonnie had put the crab pots out the night before, so we also went to see if there was anything that we could cook for dinner.

K loved the one on one time with Grandad. She told him all about Lumpy and what he was doing while she was fishing.

C caught his very first fish all by himself. In the past he has had help with either casting or reeling, but this one he did all on his own. It was croaker: nothing fancy, but perfect for him.
K caught one too, with the help of Grandad.

We checked the crab pots, had enough to take home and headed home ourselves. Grandad showed C how to filet his fish. He cooked up the small pieces and C and K had them for dinner in addition to the fresh crab and all the other fixings. It was a wonderful day to just relax and enjoy the company of family. Thanks Grandad and Nonnie for such a fun time!

Reception

Fair Warning: This post contains a lot of pictures. Don't say I didn't tell you. :)

After the wedding we headed over to Meadowbrook Country Club for the reception. It was amazing. It seemed like the entire town of Chester was there that night. How wonderful it is to know that so many people love and support Dale and Meredith.
The music started and the dancing began shortly after that. Everyone danced all night long. The food was amazing. I heard the shrimp and grits were pretty good (I prefer just the plain shrimp without the grits personally).
The kids had an absolutely wonderful time. From about 6 until 10 they just kept going. It was like the Energizer Bunny. Neither one of them sat long enough to eat a decent meal that night. They were having too much fun dancing and enjoying all of the family and friends.

K, Mere, and C pausing for a moment on the dance floor for a picture.

K, Nonnie and Layne dancing.

We stopped dancing for a few minutes for toasts and cutting the cake.

Lillie and Drew

Drew and K enjoying a bit of father/daughter time.

C bustin' a move.

Even E had a good time.

C, yet again, dancing. This time keeping some of the younger adults entertained.
Drew didn't know I took this picture. He claims he wasn't drinking that night, but every picture I have of him he has a drink in his hand. (Coke of course)

Rachael and K dancing. The little girls had the best time. They danced together all night long.

By the end of the night all of our kids were worn out. C was begging to be held, so Carla held onto him for a few songs.

K was also begging to be held, and as soon as Drew picked her up, she put her head down. It wasn't up the rest of the night. Drew said his arm just about fell off. But, the poor girl had danced so much and had so much fun, she was just plain worn out.

At about 9:00 we brought the stroller in and put E in the back of it with his blanket. Even with all of the noise of about 400 people and the music up extremely loud, he fell asleep and didn't wake up until the next morning.

And now for the highlight of the evening: C is a dancing machine. He was going absolutely crazy. At one point, the entire group of people made a circle around him as he danced. I am not sure where he gets his moves, he just loves to move hs body. He really has no rhythm, but he sure does have a great time.

Wedding

The wedding was on Saturday. It was a beautiful day. Drew and C left with Grandad early to go meet the rest of the boys in the Bridal party. They were able to get ready at Merediths dad's office, which is almost next door to the church. They then walked over to the church. K, Nonnie, E and I met them at the church.

C looked so handsome in his tux. I can't believe how much he looks like Drew in this picture.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was so wonderful to see the love that Dale and Meredith share. From Meredith walking down the aisle through the entire ceremony, they were both wiping tears.

C and Layne did a wonderful job as the ring bearer and flower girl.

Here is a picture of C and K after the ceremony.

C, Layne, Meredith and Dale after the ceremony posing for pictures.
Here is the whole family.

It was a beautiful ceremony and we were so lucky to be able to witness it.

After the ceremony, and pictures it was time to party. C, because he was part of the bridal party got to ride in the limo with the rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. He was thrilled. I wish I had a picture of he and Layne buckled into their seat drinking their bottled water. So cute!

Rehearsal and Dinner

In June, Drew's brother, Dale married his long-time sweetheart, Meredith. C was asked to be the ring bearer for the wedding. He was more than thrilled with the prospect of getting to be a part of something so big and important. He couldn't wait to get his tux, in fact he was very anxious the day we went to get measured, thinking that he might actually get to bring it home that night and keep it forever. So, we made the trek to Virginia for the wedding. The rehearsal was on Friday night. C and Layne, his cousin, did a wonderful job. It looked like they had been practicing forever and had been thouroughly prepared for the event. I'm sure that Layne knew exactly what was happening, I, on the other hand, hadn't told C much of what was going on. None the less, he took it like a pro.C and Layne at the rehearsal practicing their parts.

After the rehearsal, we headed over to Tracie and Greg's (Drew's aunt and uncle) for a good old-fashioned pig pickin'. There had been a pig smoking all day. It smelled wonderful. There was potatoes, and cucumber salad, and sandwiches, and green beans, and hush puppies, and you get the idea...there was a lot of food. We all had a wonderful time and left late at night with full bellies and wonderful memories of time spent with friends and family.

E trying to stand with Nonnie while Drew and I as well as extended family looks on.

K and cousins, Layne, Rachael and Ella

We had a wonderful time. Thanks to everyone who helped, and especially to Tracie and Greg for their hospitality. And thanks for the pictures Tracie! (I didn't take any at your house that night)

Pictures of the kids

I have a few pictures of the kids that I wanted to share.

C wanted me to take a picture of him riding Tati like a horse. That poor dog, she puts up with more than any other dog I know. We are glad she is so tolerant.

One day E climbed up into the table and had a hard time getting down. He cried until someone came to get him.

E loves to play with the magnets on the refrigerator. I just love this smile.

This is one of E's favorite games to play. Drew happened to catch it on video one day.