What did you do this summer?

This is going to be a long one...



We started off the summer by picking up my Mom and my Aunt from the airport. We all spent a few days around the town going for walks and to the beach. Then, Grandma, Aunt Clarice, Anna, Jaden, Luke, Leo (the dog) and myself started the long drive "to Grandma's house". We didn't even get out of the neighborhood before Chris called because he thought we locked him out of the house (false alarm) and we realized we forgot to pick some limes for Uncle Richie.



Then, we were off! Because we were traveling with little kids and a dog rest stops became our friends. It was great to let everyone get out, stretch their legs, and burn off some energy. That made our time in the van much more tolerable for everyone. The kids did great!

I was so glad that I brought this exersaucer with us. It was a life saver!
Because we had Leo with us and it was very late when we decided to stop for the night we took whatever lodging was available. Believe me it wasn't pretty but it got the job done. Here's the "boys" side (well, me and Jaden's):
And the girls'. A little close for comfort (esp. with Anna in the mix - she's a wild sleeper) but definitely something we'll laugh about for years to come.


Shots from the van:

Aunt Clarice at the wheel

Grandma says "hello"
Luke resting comfortably
Anna hanging out
Jaden relaxing

Me...exhausted!!!!

These are some pictures Anna took of herself while we were driving...

That's all that I can show...some others included a naked barbie hanging upside down from the handle thing on the ceiling...

We actually made it to my Mom's house in two days. It wasn't a bad drive at all. Yes, it was long but everyone did so well and everything went very smoothly. Thank you, God!

Luke and Grandma - just some time with together.

No, I didn't take Jaden to see an Ice Cube movie. This was just a trailer before "Kung Fu Panda". I took Jaden to see his first movie at the theater on his birthday. He seemed to like it. I thought the movie was great - I actually can't wait for it to come out on DVD.

We got to cool off at the pool where I used to work as a lifeguard during high school and college. There were 4 adults for my two kids. My friends Rich (another former lifeguard) and his wife Angie joined me and my sister. Anna had one person with her - Jaden needed 3! He was sooo excited and had no concept of the fact that you could get really hurt if you went under in water when you don't know how to swim. I was worn out!






We got to visit the Pittsburgh Zoo with my friend Jill and her two boys. The Pittsburgh Zoo is such a great zoo. I always love going there.

This is the new polar bear exhibit. There is a clear tunnel that lets you go underneath their tank. It was very cool to see them swimming above you.

This is the new baby elephant that was very recently born at the zoo. Isn't it cute? It looks like a toy!

Landin, Kian, and Anna



We were able to attend a wedding of one of my cousins. I didn't get to see much of the wedding because I was chasing Jaden in the back of the church. And we didn't last long at the reception either. We were just finishing up dinner when Jaden fell from his chair. He was so upset. I just had this feeling that I needed to take him out of there (he's got a history of throwing up when he gets really upset) so, I grabbed him and made a bee line for the door. I didn't even realize until I was outside and was able to stop that I was covered from my hair to my newly pressed pretty white pants. It was awful! I obviously didn't make it back inside to say good-bye. We even missed the DJ shout out to us (they were seated at our table but left before Jaden's show) - they played "Play that funky music white boy" in our honor. That is so funny to me.

This is a picture Anna took of Uncle Richie next to the wedding cake. She thought it was beautiful.

Here is her pose next to the cake...
Anna and Lisa... Today we found out the good news that Lisa is expecting!!!
Jaden...

The next day we were able to meet up briefly with my good friend, Sandi and her son Austin. They lived just a street over from us and the kids went to the same preschool. It was so nice to see them - it wasn't long enough!

Our visit with Grandma Peg. Peg is my Uncle Richie's mother. It was her birthday. We never miss an opportunity for birthday cake! She was laughing because Luke felt her up. She said it had been a long time since she had that kind of action!

This is a little baby turkey. A mother and several little baby turkeys were crossing the street in front of Peg's house.
Jaden off and running. It was nice that Peg had such a wide open space for him to run but it is next to the road. Fortunately, Eric was quick enough to keep up with him. I need all the help I can get!

Luke was baptized. He was able to wear the christening outfit that was Jaden's - but just barely. He was about to bust out of it. If we had put it off any longer he definitely would have had his own. But, I'm glad that he was able to wear it. I like the idea of tradition. I hope more little ones will be blessed in it :)
My brother and his little boy, Hayden. It was so cute. Kicky's tie matched Hayden's little vest. He was the best dressed kid in the church!

Luke's GodParents. My brother and my cousin Lisa graciously agreed to be his Godparents. He is a very blessed little boy to have such wonderful people in his life to love him and show him how to be a good Christian.

After the baptism we were back on the road again heading south to North Carolina. Chris' family lives there. We were able to spend some time with Uncle Scott, Aunt Evonka, Evie and Cooper. Unfortunately, we had to visit Nana in the hospital! Thankfully she is doing fine now.

While we were there we got to go to a very cool petting zoo and drive through animal exhibit. The kids had so much fun! While we were driving through the animals in Uncle Scott's truck (Chris and the kids were in the back - Scott, Evonka, Me and the babies were inside the truck) it started to rain! They were such good sports and had fun anyway.

Scott and Evonka had these really big fake spiders. Jaden screamed and scurried every time eh saw one. He was sort of mesmerized. He wanted to run but at the same time he was very curious and wanted to get closer. Poor guy was tortured! It was so funny!
Our final visit was in South Carolina to my friend Dana's house. She and her family moved to S. Carolina in May from WV. That is where we met (we were both transplants - she is from Alabama). It was such a good thing to have the kids playing together again, talking, hanging out, and getting ice cream from Brusters (I'm so jealous you have a Brusters! I think God knows I can't handle it which is why he keeps moving me away from them). I was also able to get a family picture for her. It's so hard to get a picture with everyone together especially when you are the one who usually is in charge of the photography. I'm thankful it turned out okay and she was happy with it. It was sort of quick and painless. Little ones don't have much of an attention span and you have to act quick!

Leo saw the opportunity ("Hey, they're taking pictures and they look like a nice family") and thought he would get in the piture. That's a big "NO, Leo".
All in all we were gone 5 weeks. It was a whirlwind. But, it was so nice to be back in familar territory and surrounded by friends and family. We can't wait to visit again next year!