Melissa's visit

Today Melissa and her family came down for a visit. We have been friends since middle school and were even college roomates but she moved to California in '99 and we have all missed her! She and her hubs have moved to Indiana and we are thrilled. She has a brand new baby, Jackson,  who I got to snuggle with all day!!  Love that little 3 month old baby talk. I could eat him up!

Sweet baby boy! Love his hair!

Melissa, Brandon and Jackson :)

We'd like to think we look just like we did in high school. Hee hee!!! :)

We tried to get a picture with our boys...Ethan wasn't feeling it. I love how he's still peeking in the background. ha!

Last Friday night we planned an adult only dinner cruise on the river.  We had 7 couples on Nick and Jenn's boat. Love boating with my boys but going all adult sure is fun too!  There were some serious storms during the night so we had to hurry to Tumbleweed to eat and dodge the rain but it was fun, fun!

Columbus Commons

Last Wednesday I met Michelle in Columbus for a little playdate. It's perfect because it's the halfway point for us to drive and the kids can play together.  I love this little free place in Columbus and would love to have one here. :)

Ethan crawled all the way to the top several times but then would get stuck and yell for me. ha! Thankfully some big boy kept helping him down.

Michelle and her cuties craweled up too.

Braden's week

Last week was a busy week for Braden. He had kindergarten registration and his MRI was scheduled.  Since March Braden has been suffereing from migranes that end in vomitting.  It's been so scary for me because of course I thought something terrible could be wrong (darn Google searches). So we decided to do a MRI to rule anything really bad out. Praise God that his results were normal so now we'll just go back to monitoring and trying to figure out triggers and go from there.

Kindergarten registration night-this display was in the library. He was a little excited!

Waiting to get started for his MRI-he as pretty comfy just lounging and watching cartoons

After his IV got put in he pretended he was Spiderman and could release his webs. ha!

Poor buddy...it took him over an hour to come out of anesthesia and then he was sooooo groggy and loopy. Eventually he was his chatty self and all was good.

Boating fun

Here are some pictures from last weekend's boating trips

Check out Ethan's booty watching the tubers. ha!

Braden & Judd laughing it up

Amber and I tried some double skiing for the first time. We were pretty good. I think we'll start entering some competitions. ha!

What are these cuties doing?

Big messes! ha

Braden tried wakeboarding for the first time. I was super nervous but at least he had a helmet on. :)  He got up twice like this but didn't get his board turned so went over the top in a few seconds but I was SO proud that he tried.

Lately...

Lately we've been doing a ton of boating and playing with friends. :)  Summer is sadly creeping away. It's been a super fun summer but why does it have to end so soon?

Braden loves to push the limit on the tube and try new "tricks." Crack me up!

Braden had his first sleepover...Jackson stayed with us. They played and played so when it was time for bed, they both crashed. Such big boys!

Kate invited us over for a fun Friday night tonight. The weather was perfecto! The kids had a blast in the bouncer and on the waterslide.  What a group of cuties!

This was their silly face. :)

And last but not least....a little painting session with my cutie pies.

Chic-fil-a Day

Last Friday was Chic-fil-a's dress like a cow day to get a free meal :)  We didn't do the full cow outfit this year but I did have these hats I had saved from months ago.  It was supposed to get us free sandwiches but they actually gave us all free meals. Jackpot!  This was Braden's special day too because we went school shopping and got him his kindergarten supplies, backpack and lunch box (sniff sniff). He picked out Batman for his lunch box.  SOOOOO big!!!

Holiday World

Last week was our annual summer trip to Holiday World.  This was by far the best trip in the books! The weather was perfect and it wasn't crowded at all!! We totally lucked out. :)  We got there when it opened and left when it closed....and the boys were the best little boys the whole day. :)  Such a perfect day!

 Ethan's little smile on the rides was priceless! They saw the pictures on the blog from last year's trip and wanted to ride this first. :)

 I think it's hilarious how little Braden looks here...especially by Chris.

 The annual picture with Santa...it's fun to look back on these and see how our family has grown.

 Swim time! This year we went to the water park right when it opened and Braden and I ran like a couple of teenagers holding hands to get on the mammoth, the newest big waterslide. We only had to wait about 10 minutes. It was awesome! (thanks for the good idea Alicia!). 

 A couple of cuties. I love that with Ethan getting older they can sort of play and do things together now (inbetween their fighting. ha!).

 Ethan was big enough to go on the little roller coaster this year. We tried to ride with our arms up the whole time. He loved it!! "again, again!"

 I tried to catch Chris and the boys going down the log ride but boy were they fast! :)

 Braden begged to play games ALL day! Of course they're expensive and most of them he couldn't win anything and then he'd just want to play again and again, so of course I kept dodging it. Finally at the end, the two of them played this game where one of them had to win! Braden won this smurf and he was beyond proud!!!  I mean SO proud! It was priceless and well worth the $3.00.  He has toted him around at home for days and talked to him like he was his new friend.  Just a reminder of how little he still is (even though kindergarten is in 3 weeks....sniff, sniff).

Last picture of the day....Braden had to have his smurf in it. Yay for a perfect family day!

California

Please excuse the picture overload but not sure how to go on a fabulous trip and not include all of the pictures. :)  Last week my dad, brother Jim and his two kids Alissa & Dylan and my family flew to California for "Toadfest 2012" (my family calls themselves the toads....just an old funny story but it stuck). My aunt hosts a 4th of July family reunion each year and this year we finally got to join all the California folk. :)  It was a fabulous trip full of fun and memories. I hope we get to go again soon rather than later. :) Thanks to ALL my family for such a fun, fun trip and for putting up with us Indiana hillbillies. :)

In our Indianapolis hotel the morning of our flight-they were excited!

 They loved watching the planes

 They got pretty good at pulling their own suitcases too....good thing becasue we were out of hands!

 Here we go! Braden's 2nd flight (although he doesn't remember and Ethan's first).

 A little of this....

 and thankfully a little of this :)

 We got to my aunt's house late the first night so these are pics on day 2.  My aunt just built a beautiful house on their lake and property.  It was seriously breathtaking!!!

 We cruised around on the gator to check out the land

 They own a huge walnut farm on their property-pretty neat to see. :)

 Their lake

 Her new house....I could live here!! :)

 The beach area was perfect for the boys...lots of swimming, flipping on rafts and playing with the dogs. AND it wasn't 105 degrees! :)

 The house from the water....so pretty!

 Handsome boys

 Us Indiana toads had zero water sport skills compared to all the California cousins, and uncles....sheesh! It was embarrasing. ha!  But we did give it our best shot.  Here is my brother trying surfing for the first time-he did great!

 My dad with his brother, Barry

 Uncle Barry showing us all up on the wakeboard

My cousin Brooks

My cousin Kathleen-seriously...everyone was good!

 Dad and Ethan getting some cuddle time :)

 My cousin Alyce-the girls were unbelievable!

 Alissa, Kathleen and Brooks

 Eric is amazing on the wakeboard...I could watch his "tricks" all day

 Hanging on the beach

 Braden was in Heaven with all the pets.  He wore them out! He and Gracie had some good swims.

 The whole family...minus just a couple cousins that couldn't make it

My Dad with his siblings-they are all so fun!

 Dad and his siblings with their kids...if that makes sense.

 Alyce playing with Ethan....He loved showing off

 Now for a few Indiana potential wakeboarders...ha! Like I said, just embarrasing compared to everyone else. ha! But it was fun!  Here's me and Chris

 For the last two days we made our way back down south to see San Francisco and Napa Valley.  The sea lions were few and far between at Pier 39 compared to previous years.

 Braden was intrigued with Alcatrez learning that it was a jail long ago. :)

 Dylan rode the big carousel with the boys at the Pier.

 The guys on the street in San Francisco trying to make a buck were cracking me up! Any act you could think of works...this guy just danced a little and probably makes more money than we do. ha!

 We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.  The boys loved seeing all the animals...but this one gave them a bit of a scare.

We had to get some chocolate at Ghiradelli Square. Yum!

 On our last full day, my aunt Jeannie was sweet enough to watch the boys so we could hit Napa Valley by ourselves.  What a great way to end the trip.  Thanks Jeannie!!!!!

 We went to a castle, Castello di Amorosa for our wine tasting.  It was beeaauutiiful!!!  So fun!

 Yummy!

 The views were spectatculor...these pictures don't do it justice.  Just to see the vineyards, the castle and the mountains all around...wowie wow!  You don't see that in Indiana. :)

 Last morning before we left for the aiport...some wrestling with Papa Scott and a few more hugs for the dogs. :) 

We love you California family and can't wait to come back (if you'll take us). :)