Memaw

Jon's grandmother, Memaw, passed away this morning at the age of 93 after suffering a broken wrist and hip a few weeks ago. These pictures were taken in June when we were privileged to spend some time with her on our way home from the beach. We will miss her sense of humor, her forthright way of saying what was on her mind, and the way she could always put a smile on our faces. You were a blessing to us, Memaw!

A Memorable 18 Hours

Picture this...

Abby was being diligent and doing her conditioning exercises for volleyball, Anna was playing her DS in the family room, I was outside picking bagworms off our pine trees, and Jon was at a meeting at church when I hear very loudly, "MOM, ABBY'S HURT!" Needless to say, I dropped my bag of bagworms and ran into the house. Abby had scraped her shin bone pretty badly on the edge of a chair and was visibly upset. It was one of those tough calls: stitches or no stitches? After consulting a couple of people, I followed my motherly gut instinct and headed to Children's Hospital, where we spent the next four hours. Sure enough, Abby had to get 5 stitches in her leg. (I guess we made the right call.) Finally, at 1:30 AM we pulled into the driveway. Here's a lovely picture of her cut:

THEN....as if that wasn't enough of an ordeal (the shots of anesthesia were quite painful!), she had her braces put on this afternoon. She's being a trooper through it all. I'm sure she'd appreciate your prayers!

Birthday Fun

It was a fun-filled day of Mexican food, birthday cake, and great fellowship!

The July Birthday Gang

Anna and PaPa enjoying a moment together

Lydia digging in

Cake time!

Miscellaneous

Hanging out with friends Devon & Lauren











Jon's 40th Birthday

Kid's Day at "Super Suppers", where Anna and her friends made a Ratatouille-shaped pizza.























Enjoying Columbus's fireworks show, "Red, White, & Boom" with our friends, Brian, Julie, & Brandon.

Catching Up

We're back! We're going to attempt to get caught up again, beginning with our annual beach trip to Ocean City, MD. Below are some fun pictures of our time with the Souzis/Negron families. Stay tuned for more posts as we get you caught up on our lives!

Spring Break Road Trip

We had a pretty packed Spring Break!

From Columbus....to Bluffton...

...to Chicago...We had lunch at the famous Chicago-style pizza place: Giordano's.
We walked along Michigan Avenue: a little shopping, a pose by the Chicago River, (we actually walked right by Jesse Jackson), and a stop at the Hershey's store!

We ended our trip downtown with a visit to the Field Museum.

(There were some pretty frightening bugs there!)

We also enjoyed some great cousin time.

We went to lunch at Portillo's for some more Chicago-style food, to Chuck E. Cheese, and enjoyed watching one of our favorite shows--"American Idol"--together.

And you've heard of "tennis elbow"? Uncle Scott and Uncle Jon played so many games of pool that I think they are being treated for "billiard elbow".

Now onto Indiana....

for some more great cousin fun!

Aunt Brittany gave Abby some personal volleyball lessons, Uncle "E" took us all to the gym to shoot some hoops and run on the track, and most of all we just enjoyed hanging out. We were also thrilled to have some time with our friends Jeff & Lisa and their family.

So...it was a packed trip, but a blast to spend time with family.

Thanks to everyone who hosted us! We love you!

A Domestic Day

It was so nice to have a day where we had NOTHING we had to do. So, what better way to spend it than doing a little sewing & cooking? Abby & Anna both did some sewing, and Abby made us a delicious dinner of chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice, and cheesy biscuits. Yum!