Summer 2010

Jon's birthday in Baltimore

Jon and I drove down for a Reds game, and Jack & Eric were there, too!

Ocean City

In the neighbor's hot tub.... :)

Spending a couple days with GUF & Aunt Linda...little did we know he would have open heart surgery a short time later!

Anna's 14th birthday...Daddy was traveling, so he sent these beautiful flowers.

Yes, we got TP'd!

We took a couple of days at the end of the summer and had a little getaway with just the 4 of us to Indianapolis. (Thanks, Traci, for all the great suggestions!) It was a great time! One of our stops was the zoo...

We walked from the zoo back along the canal in the city and to our hotel...very pretty!

We spent the evenings down at the "circle". This is the monument that stands in the center.

Late night dessert on the patio....

We went to the Children's Museum (yes, we realize we have teenagers now, but thought it would still be fun) and had a great time! The girls really enjoyed the Barbie exhibit--here's Abby giving Ken a kiss... :)

All good things must come to an end.... We started school on the 24th. So far, so good, but can't believe we have a Junior and an 8th grader! We are so blessed and thankful!

Could she be 16 already?

Happy 16th Birthday, Abigail!!

Yes, the dog ate the cake. We were able to salvage about half and still get 16 candles on it. :)

Some fun pics from the family party...

Everyone was huddled in the office trying to get a peek at Calais through Skype. :)

Abby & Audrey (We missed Uncle E and Nora!)

Great Fun, Bummer Outcome

Jon and I were fortunate to be able to get tickets to last Saturday night's 

Penn St. vs. Ohio State game.  We met Dad, Scott & Heather, and Brady.  We sat in 3 separate places, but were able to spend a couple of hours together before the game.  Even though the outcome of the game wasn't what we had hoped, we had a great time 

being a part of the "Scarlet Fever".

Pictured below is Coach Tressel talking to the university president, E. Gordon Gee.  We had good seats--about 20 rows up from the field in the corner of the endzone.

Lebron James made a showing at the game, too.  He doesn't stand out, now, does he?

Fun Times in Chicago

Picking apples a couple of weeks ago...

Some cousin fun....

Happy Birthday, Brady & Avery!

Pausing for a picture with Mama-mit :)

We had a great time--thanks for hosting, Scott & Heather!

Me & My Shadow

As we alluded to in the last post, yes, we do indeed have a puppy. We brought him home over a week ago on July 14th. He was a birthday gift for Anna, but is a family dog. After much deliberation, he was affectionately named "Shadow", partly for his dark color, and partly because he is constantly on our heels. :) (Sorry, Dad, but the names Stonewall and Pickett were not in the running.) He really is a good little thing. We're all enjoying him......

We try to wear him out during the day so he will sleep well at night (just like a baby, huh?).

Grandmom loves her new little grandbaby!

Jonah and Lydia enjoyed meeting Shadow, too, when we were in Bluffton last Saturday.
Uh-oh! He found Granddad's shoe....

Shadow's first trip to Graeter's

Anna's 12th Birthday

I know...I know...It's a shocker that I'm posting again. I thought I would show you a few pictures from Anna's 12th birthday. Where has the time gone? We almost have 2 teenagers!

Anna enjoyed a day with her friends, Emily and Devon, at the Groveport pool, then they came back here to hang out and spend the night. They enjoyed time on the trampoline, sprayed each other with Silly String, and spent most of the evening trying to come up with a name for our little Nameless Wonder. We are going out for her birthday dinner tonight at Genji, a Japanese steakhouse. Thanks for all of your calls/cards/gifts.

The Party's Over :(

We have thoroughly enjoyed our 2-week Christmas vacation! We have spent time with many members of our family (looking forward to seeing the Geneva Smiths in a couple of weeks!), gone to the movies, stayed up late, watched football, played games, enjoyed some one-on-one mom/daughter time, and slept in!!!! But.....tomorrow it's back to school! We are thankful for each one of you and pray that 2008 is a wonderful year for all of you! Enjoy some pictures of our precious time with family.....