Our New Addition...

In two days MGM landscaping was able to put in this beautiful walkway, build the firepit to the left of it, and the retaining wall. We decided this would be our one and only project for awhile. So we look forward to having many good memories with our friends and family around the warmth of the fire!!

View of retaining wall and the back of our house. It was only two days of dust, noise, and chaos. This was a nice result for very little interruption in our every day life. Now we just have to work on growing the grass back, but I'm glad we have a sprinkler system!! Ahhh...the wonders of modern convenience. I thank the Lord for such things!

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY, LUKE!!

Our Mother's Day baby, Luke, is now 9!! He had a great time celebrating his birthday all month!! We had to spread out the parties because of Mother's Day and schedules. So, we had a friend party, a real-day party, and then a family party. For the family party I made this cake for Luke. It had lemon icing and white cake inside. It was so good that there was not a crumb left!!

More of Washington, D.C.

Washington monument at sunset....

Bundled up and ready to go visit our new house...we took a little break to capture our excitement at our new purchase.:) Last year I jokingly sent a pic of the White House to my mom while we were looking for homes in the D.C. area, and I said, "We found a house..." and I sent a shot of the White House.

All of us together helped to hold up the Washington monument. I know the authorities were glad we were there to help.

Great pic of all of us, I think. Little Hayden is tucked in between all of us so nicely. It was a little chilly again, but still we made the best of it.

Following this we headed to the Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and finally the always moving Vietnam Memorial. It never ceases to touch me to see so many lives etched in stone. We should never forget their sacrifice.

Washington, D.C. trip

In April we headed to D.C. to see Jeff every day and see some sites. It was a great continuous field trip for American history!!

On the right is Hayden, Luke, and Blake by the WWII Memorial.

This is me at the Arlington Cemetery. My mom took this by this beautiful, blossoming tree. This is right before you enter the "eternal flame" for JFK. It was a cold, rainy day; somewhat appropriate for this visit. I've seen Arlington several times, and I'm always at a loss of words when I look over the masses and masses of stones.

My mom had never been to Arlington so it was a very special and emotional experience. We were able to see the changing of the guards as well.

Sportnastics--Gymnastics for boys

In the fall of 08 Blake and Luke tried a new thing--Sportsnastics. It was a homeschool-offered class. Hunter decided to try

it out in Feb. and March 2009.

Luke shows his hulk strength pushing a ton of foam. Luke showed great skill and precision in all he attempted in class.

Hunter takes a break from the obstacle course of jumping, flipping, hopping, etc. Blake above LOVED when is was Sportsnastics day. He loved to do flips, and he always wanted to wear his black and white camouflage pants!! I could always count on some exhaustion from the boys on the days we went to Sportsnastics.

Resurrection of the blog...February Kalahari

Kalahari in Sandusky was a blast in early February 2009. We went there during the week to get a super-discounted, homeschool rate. We had a complete stranger take a pic of all of us in front of this petrified rhino who happened to be staying at the hotel as well!!

Above Hunter and Jeff enjoy the "non-violent" Rambo game in the Kalahari game room (great bonding time!). Middle, Luke and Hayden catch a wave in the kids' area. Right, Blake and Hayden get close taking a break from the water.