Remembering When

The day I said "I do", I meant it.

I mean it even more today.

Dale, I love you, I love you, I love you!

A blessed little visit

My 13 year old brother, Joel, visited us for just over three weeks this summer. We had such a sweet time with him. We celebrated the 4th of July, caught lightening bugs, roasted s'mores, went to the movies, fishing, washed cars, attended VBS, made a trip to Washington DC and created wonderful memories. He, Kya & Autumn all caught their first fish, rode the metro for the first time and had their first slumber party staying up late in pj's and watching movies even after mom and dad were asleep. It's hard to say goodbye, but we enjoyed our visit and look forward to next summer.

Here are the photos from our last fishing trip to celebrate Joel's 14th birthday.

Happy 3rd Birthday Son

Aaron Gabriel ~ son of my heart. He fills my day with laughter, my arms with hugs, my house with pitter patters and dinosaur growls. He loves Thomas the Train, McDonald's French Fries and Chuck E Cheese as if they were the main thing the universe evolved around. At the age of 3 he knows his ABC's, colors, shapes and can count to 13 and even 18 by skipping 14 of course. :-) He loves to read to himself but not be read to. He loves music and his guitar but can't sit still in a music class. He spends mass amounts of time digging through books and playing his guitar and using anything he can for railroad tracks. Some days he naps and other days he turns his room upside down but he always sleeps through the night. He's always happy to see me. He loves his bath and thankfully because he literally rolls (and I mean rolls) in the dirt and mud. He is all boy. He is my boy and I am blessed.

Gone Fishing

The weather has been unbearable. The temps have been in the 100's (102-120) in the afternoons. We had planned to go to the beach on Monday, July 5th but thought better of it. Instead Dale took the kids to Wally-World (Walmart) for new fishing poles & supplies. (I found live worms in my fridge later...yuck!). That night when it dropped into the 90's, we headed out for a picnic and fishing (and no the worms were not our picnic dinner.) :-)

4th of July 2010

We have not seen fireworks in a few years. A couple of the kids are sensitive to the sound. This year they were ready for the fun though. We did keep our distance by staying in the mall parking lot, across the street from the main event but the time together was still sweet and the display was really pretty.

Down on the Farm 2010

We made our second trip to Clark Eliok Farm. Last year we went for Lily's birthday, this year for Aaron's birthday/4th of July weekend. My little brother Joel is visiting and was able to go with us. Lily & Aaron rode their first pony and we were able to enjoy the hayride this year. You don't want to miss the picture of Lily kissing the goat!