ALOHA!!

We have made it back to the mainland... I will get to work on a more detailed post soon (and include pictures) but I am still trying to get everything else back to "normal." But in any case, we had a great time! We left on Wednesday, the 8th to fly to Honolulu, then inter-island flight on Saturday, the 11. We spent the week in an adorable cottage before leaving to fly home on Saturday the 18th. It was Sunday, noon before we walked in the door.

Like I said, there will be more to come...

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday!

How exactly do we tell you thank you for just being you? My friend, my husband and a daddy. The best kind! You put us above everything else. I love that you always have a smile. I love that you always call to tell the kids "love you and goodnight" when you are out of town. I love that you don't mind helping with housework or giving the kids their bath. I love that you put the kids to bed at night. They love it too.

There is so much more that I could put here, but how to find just the right words? But I guess more than any other,

We love you!

Getting Ready

We are getting ready for...

...the laundry to be done
...Daddy's BIRTHDAY tomorrow
...the dog to go on "vacation" to Tina's
...the kids suitcases to be packed
...our suitcases to get packed
...the kids to spend lots and lots of days at Grandma and Grandpa's (I hope they are ready!)
...our VACATION!
...time just for us
...our 10th Anniversary

But I think right now, we better go get ready for dinner!

Camping

This weekend the kiddos have been camping with Grandma and Grandpa. Actually, that would be all of their immediate family (on daddy's side)... Uncle M and Aunt R, Uncle A, Aunt S and baby Ray. Only mommy and daddy weren't there. Although we did go to meet them Saturday afternoon and spent the evening with them. We left when it was getting close to the kiddos bedtime. We would have partaken of the fun, but daddy had to work Saturday morning and also had to leave on Sunday (early) morning to go out of town for a few days.
They had a blast! Not only has the weather been perfect for camping- sunny days and cool evenings-but the kiddos get lots of together time with some of their favorite people! Weinie roasts, s'mores, and hikes thru the woods, so many great memories.

September...

Lots of pictures with this one! I think that summing the month as a whole will be a lot quicker than individual posting. Jess is now in full swing at school and loves it. She has also started gymnastics (getting her first blister and breaking it last week). Girl Scouts has also started with their bi-weekly meetings. The troop has already taken a fieldtrip to the circus. Brandon gets to hang out with me while Jess is at school. He also has started taking gymnastics. He has a blast! He works up a good sweat while having fun at the same time.

We have been to a wedding, a birthday party, football games, and a pig roast. It has been pretty busy around here. Let's throw in homework and gymnastics for both kiddos just for fun!

Here are a "few" pictures for this month...


The family dressed up for a wedding.

Just after the wedding
At the reception
The center piece
yes, it is the napkin...
The happy couple
After the wedding, we were off to Anthony's birthday party. The "annual birthday pic."

Molly, Jess, Anthony, Brandon, Christopher (oldest to youngest)

Brandon catching bugs. Season opener in the new stadium

Silly kiddos

We made carmel apples.

YUMMMM!

We did an impromptu cookout in the park with Tina and Anthony. The kids love getting together and had so much fun.

Brandon on the web climbing thingy.

Jess' turn.

Just because

All three

different view of the fountain

Baby Ray came over for a little visit. Jess is working on "First Words" flashcards.

Choo-choo!

Trying so hard to crawl

(must eat cards Jess is holding...)

We didn't take the camera with us to the pig roast this past weekend. Everything was delicious! Thanks to Max and Carol for having us!

Whew!

2nd Grade

This is Jess...the second grader! It sure is hard to believe that she is old enough for this! She had been looking forward to the start of school. We had all her supplies. We had found her classroom and met her teacher. She even set her alarm clock to get up on her own. And she did!

So here is to another school year!
Her shirt by the way says "semi-pro coaster rider." We took a few days and went to Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN. (yes, there really is) Everyone had a great time, but Jess was over the top! She was now tall enough to ride EVERYTHING! And riding everything is what she did.
http://www.holidayworld.com/

It's A Dog's Day

It's a birthday today! Duchess is 8 years old. The first "baby" of the family. What a good dog she has been. She watches over the kids when they are playing outside and gets right in the middle of us "ruff"-housing. We can count on her to announce when daddy comes home with her high pitch puppy bark because she is so excited to see him.

For her birthday the kids sang Happy Birthday to her and gave her presents. Jess picked out a new rawhide bone and Brandon picked out bone shaped biscuits with frosting and sprinkles.

Happy Birthday Duchess!