Birthday party for Pearl, Seth and Grace..

This year we did a triple birthday at the Korte Rec Center in Highland for Seth, Pearl, and Grace! The kids just love the place and the slide is awesome!! Lots of kids and lots of family and fun!!

Kenzlie Alayna...

Ok, so this is how it goes around here...have been home in Florida for 3 months and finally finishing my posts from July!!

Another reason we went home for the summer was because my best friend was having a baby!! Kenzlie Alayna Ott was born on July 14, 2011. We are super excited to have another girl around. Grace has adopted Kenzlie has her sister. :) We can't wait to see her and the family again in Feb for Monster Jam!!

Happy 8th Birthday!!

We came home from the reunion on Sunday and on Monday my baby turned 8!! What the heck is going on with these kids, growing up WAY too fast...He requested round baseball cakes, so you ask and you shall recieve!! After dinner and desert we headed to Troy park with Luke, Tiffani and the kids for some fireworks!! The party was later in July to be celebrated with Grace and Pearl!!

Family Reunion...

Another reason we went home for the summer was for a family reunion. 4th of July weekend we drove to Rockford, IL for some family fun. So, this is how it starts. We arrive at the hotel on Friday night, check in...We drive to my great Aunt Pat's house for a BBQ, that she was hosting for the out of town guests. There were a couple of dogs around, but we don't worry about them because we have one of our own. We are all scattered around the yard and the next thing I hear is Seth crying (my kids don't cry unless something is wrong and there was definite pain going on.) I turn around and see him holding his eye. The oldest of the dogs decided she didn't like being pinned in the corner and jumped up and bit him in the eye. So we ended up in the ER that night for the remainder of the BBQ. He is fine and has a small scar under his eye. The dog is fine too...

Saturday was the reunion!! It was great seeing everyone again and meeting some new faces!!

Skiing...

Anytime we go home for a vacation during the summer, we can't pass up a chance to do a little skiing...LOL Well the kids anyway!! Last year was the first time either of them had ever even entertained the idea and they did great. Seth was ready for the long rope when we moved down here, but hasn't been skiing since, so he tried the long rope again and did great. Grace wanted to try the long rope also, but with Tina. But she couldn't keep her knees bent in order to lift up when the boat took off, so she opted to stand of Tina's skis instead!!

Baby Shower!!!

A week after getting to Illinois we had a Baby Shower to hold. I have some terrific friends that helped pull this off. I think everyone had a great time and we all couldn't wait to meet the little girl!! Aimee was due on July 16, so I spent alot of time in Illinois helping her prepare the house for the new arrival.

My friend Linda made these cupcakes and watermelon carriage for the shower. We did and pink and brown theme and they turned out gorgeous (although I never doubted her). She did an excellent job!! And they were sooooo yummy!!

Zoo with the Kittsteins...

So now we have reached June...Mom flew down to Florida a couple of days before the kids got out of school and helped me get the house and trailer ready for the big drive. Since Richie is gone we decided to go home for the summer. 2 months in Illinois, so we boarded up the house and loaded up the trailer. We were able to see all of our friends and family without feeling rushed!! We went to the zoo with the Kittstiens (this was our first time meeting their new addition to the family, Anthony) for the day and then to lunch at a great pizza joint in downtown STL. I wish I could remember the name, but it was really good.

Orange Belt Testing...Dragon Kata

In June (2 days after school got out), Seth had his next belt graduation for Karate. He is now an orange belt and has also entered the Black Belt Training program. This program allows him to practice sparring and weapons. He is really enjoying Karate and goes 3 times a week straight from school!!

Splatter Painting...

Grace has discovered Fancy Nancy and loves the books. I think we are only missing 4-5 books from the collection..haha!! One of the books is about being and artist and talks about an artist named Jackson Pollock. He would put canvas on the ground and splatter paint all over the place. Sooooo...me and my brilliant ideas...LOL...I went out and bought 4 18x20 canvases and then to Lowe's for some paint. I bought 7 primary color paints in the trial size. We took everything home and laid it out on the lawn. Kids put on crummy clothes and aprons (not that the aprons helped one iota..LOL)

The kids got to work and by the time they were done, they probably had more paint on themselves than on the canvas, but it had a blast watching them. After everyone was cleaned up, Seth read Grace's bedtime book to her. I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!!! It was very appropriate for the day!!