Ohio Trip 2011

We went to visit Chad's family in Ohio a few weeks ago. We didn't stay to long but we had fun, in spite of the weather. Timmy got to ride a John Deere tractor, something he had been looking forward to since the last time we visited.

Mr. John Deere himself.

I think perhaps she is getting a bit too big for this pony.

Great Grandpa still has the ponies and they provided endless fun for the kids.

One of their favorite things to do is lead the ponies around. I guess it's because they are their size?

We spent a lot of time riding 4 wheelers and golf carts. Not just tractors. Nora is getting really good at golf cart. I can't wait till she can mow the yard!

Fishing turned out to be Nathaniel's favorite thing to do on this trip. He even gave up 4 wheeling with me to fish with grandpa.

He is smiling, I don't know why it looks like he isn't.

This picture shows the weather while we were there. It rained a lot. The farm in this picture is Chad's Grandpa's farm. He raises crops and milks cows.

On the way home we stopped at the St. Louis Zoo. It makes a good stop, both for lunch and to stretch our legs. Oh, and it's free too! Can't beat that!

A Hail of a Hike

As is our habit this time of year we invited our friends the "T's" over for a cookout and hike last Friday. As far as anyone knew the weather was forcasted to be nice. So nice that we had been wearing shorts that day. After dinner we headed out for the woods. We could hear thunder, but thought the storm was passing to the south. Being unable to see the clouds very well through the trees we hiked to the beach to get a better view of the sky. Once we got there we thought we just might have enough time to build a fire and make the s'mores we brought. Then Chad pointed down river. While where we were at was nice and calm we could see the wind coming up the river and picking up the sand from the sandbars. We quickly started packing when the wind slammed into us. I do mean slammed! It was like being sand blasted! We ran for the woods picking up backpacks and kids on the way. Even though the wind had picked up rain didn't seem too threatening, but we headed home anyway. About a quarter of mile from home the hail started. Our group was spread out and I didn't know if we should head back into the trees for sprint the rest of the way home in the open. The group in front clearly was headed for home as fast as they could, so we picked up the pace as best as we could hauling backpacks and little kids. The hail wasn't too bad, it was spread out enough that no one was complaining about being hurt. When we reach our back gate the big stuff started to fall. Once we were under cover on the porch the kids started pointing out the biggest hail stones they could see and then running out and bringing them back. Here are some of them.

Ok, now watch Tim in the following pictures (Nathaniel's face is pretty funny too).

The following pictures take place before the one above. In order to get the one above I asked the kids to hold their hail stones in their hands. So, keep that in mind as what Tim has just heard...

Only a boy!

We did not suffer any damage but the "T's" who live 10 miles away lost a skylight in their house and damage to their vehicles.

Festival of Fun

Our local Military Base has an annual Festival that our friends the "B's" invite us to every year. The local businesses pay for the whole thing to thank the soldiers for the job they do. It's an awful lot of fun!

Pete thought he needed some night cream cause his skin was too dry to be seen in public. Or, maybe that's sunscreen he is putting on. One never knows.

The first stop we made was to ride the fire truck.

Maggy sat in front so she could work the siren.

Being that it was on a military base they had some big guns sitting out. We told Tim to make a mean face. He looks like he belongs behind one of these.

No matter how hard we tried, Nathaniel just would not look over the gun. He kept thinking it was a camera. And he likes to play soldier with his friend Titus. I'm not so sure the military is in his future.

Then we went to the petting zoo.

And the pony rides.

Nathaniel had only one thing in mind the whole time...food, of course! He had been asking for Cotton Candy from the time we arrived.

Then we went to the face painting station. Unfortunately one artist was really good and the other, not so much. She made a John Deere for Tim and a horse for Nathaniel, but they look really bad. Clearly Nora and Maggy got the good artist.

After a free lunch we went into the gym for the inflatable bouncy castles. Maggy is climbing the one above.

Tim on the "fire truck".

Nora climbed up about 10 feet and then wanted to come down. While I wasn't surprised because she isn't fond of heights I was really mad when Maria pointed out that the guy on belay wasn't helping her like he did all the other kids.

After that we were tired of the crowds and noise and went home to take naps. I wish we could do it next year but the "B's" are moving.

Nora's Plane Ride

Matt works for a local plane company and to celebrate his 5 year anniversary they gave him a plane ride with 2 other passengers of his choice. He choose to take Nora and Ella. I was so excited for her and I wish I could have gone with them.

My little aviator!

Taxiing to the runway.

Matt took these picture in the plane. They flew over our neighborhood and got some great pictures.

The red oval is our house and the yellow on is my dad's place.

Here is our house.

Thankfully she had a great time and didn't get sick. I think I had more fun than she did by vicariously living through her.