Fall Break

It is hard to believe that we have been back to school for over a week! We love our long fall break! We packed as much in as possible-in Arizona and Ohio. Before we left for our trip we had soccer games, softball games, play dates, sleepovers, workouts...we made the most of having no school! We even got to visit with Andy Karhu and his parents! We met up with Andy at his timeshare and the kids had fun swimming. Andrew was so cute...as we were driving home he said "I'm going to miss him."

Then off to Ohio...the plane ride went pretty good. Of course, Andrew asked if we were there yet before we even left the ground! He also studied the emergency card for most of the flight. If there was anyone fearful of flying, Andrew made it worse....his questions about the pictures on the card were hilarious.

Once we landed in Ohio, we headed over to Yearys. We were greeted by the Yearys and the Huff kids. It was so great to be able to visit. It was amazing to see how much all the kids had grown. We had been back since last July, so all the kids were much taller! The kids had a blast. We could tell by their screaming! (It was all happy screams.) The adults sat out by the fire pit until the rain started. Saturday morning we headed to a flag football game-Andrew seemed right at home standing on the sideline with the big boys. Next, we went to watch Danielle play soccer. The day was still young, so we changed and headed to a race at Maize Valley. The kids had fun. They got to run a fun run and then there was tons of stuff for them to do. A train ride, petting zoo, corn maze, pumpkins, this huge hay bale that they could climb up and slide down-and of course, a hay ride! Maggie was pretty insistent that we do that. They even got a free pie pumpkin for running the race. I got to see a lot of my running friends. After a long day, we headed back to Yearys for more visiting. It is nice to have friends where we always feel welcome. It was so sweet to find all the kids piled on Jeff and Lisa's bed watching TV. I would've snapped a picture, but I didn't want to disturb the silence. These pictures are all courtesy of Christine and Danielle.

Abbey

Maggie and James on the basement swing.

Andrew and Sammy.

Danielle and Christine.

Sunday we headed down to Gambier. Christine rode shotgun and Andrew and Maggie ended up out cold in the back seat. We were excited to see the Orrs. We also knew that the Staats were going to be there for a turkey dinner-yum! We got there and the kids were quite for about 10-15 minutes. After that they were off playing and getting along perfectly fine. We had an awesome meal courtesy of Tom and some help from Gabe. The girls went to spend the night with the Staats, while Andrew and I hung out with Tom and Donna. We got to take a nice walk around the property on Monday. My favorite picture is at the top-our little man walking with his stick on the path. He even found a "woolly bear". It was great to see everyone. Poor Todd got a glimpse of what traveling with Maggie is like-she didn't quite make it back to Gambier without getting sick. He was able to pull over in time though.

Monday night we were off to Ashtabula. We were in our rental car a lot! We were greeted by Angelina and Isabelle-the cousins were so excited to see each other. It was close to 8 so they couldn't stay too long. Angelina was upset about leaving her cousins so soon, but we promised we would pick her up at school the next day. We went to the longest covered wooden bridge in the US the next day and then played at Lake Shore Park. Of course, a trip to Ashtabula wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Squire Shoppe for some iced sugar cookies. Their cookies are so yummy! It was nice to be able enjoy some nice fall days. (And a great pasta meal!) After we picked up Angelina from school and had dinner, we were able to go for a walk with all the kids. They found a buckeye tree. We now have our personal collection of buckeyes. Of course, the next day it rained all day-so we headed to the mall!

After another day in Canton, we headed to Virginia on Friday for David's wedding. It was at the coolest place-Spring Grove Farm. It was out in the middle of nowhere, but definitely worth the drive. It is amazing what the place looked like when they bought it compared to what it looks like now. The kids enjoyed seeing all their aunts and uncles. They had so much fun attacking Uncle Ray in the pool. There was lots of room for them to run around at the farm, so they were happy. The wedding was nice. The bride looked stunning.

Andrew walked down the aisle. It was somewhat comical once he got up on the "altar" and was chatting with one of the groomsmen. Andrew really wanted to give those pretend rings to someone. He did turn the correct way to watch Natalie come down the aisle and then I motioned for him to come sit with me. Andrew still had many questions for me and was not exactly using his library voice. Covering his mouth back-fired on me, because then he said very loudly "Stop covering my mouth." Luckily, I had some candy bars from our goodie bag to keep him quiet for the rest of the ceremony. He was very happy to follow the flower girl everywhere she went.

Our day of travel to get back to Phoenix went well. The kids were troopers. We did have a funny moment going through security in Richmond. We had tons of stuff to go through the x-ray machines. All our backpacks, shoes, and jackets. Christine had asked me if I thought the bubbles from the wedding were more than 3.3 ounces. I didn't think there would be any problem with them. Well, her backpack was pulled off the conveyor belt and the security guard told me they would have to go through it. I had to stand with him and was told that I could not touch anything when they opened the bag. (Got it.) He asked me if there was anything sharp or harmful in the bag. (Nada.) So, he opens it up and pulls out .......

Christine's free pumpkin from the race! They must have thought it was an x-large grenade. The guy showed it to the x-ray tech. And here I was worried about the bubbles. Luckily, you're not required to go through security at every airport...it would have definitely become comical.

So, now we are back to school and our regular routine! We sure do miss everyone though!

Those Boys!

Aren't they handsome?! Can you believe that "little" David got married?
We made it home-back to chilly Arizona! High of 77 today-we brought the East Coast temperatures with us!
I'm not really ready to post about our trip, but I had to put this picture on. As I was driving to the airport Sunday I was thinking of my many memories of David Lee-and what is in store for me with Andrew! I just have to share a funny memory about David. Myrtle Beach-not sure of the year. Steve and I were married, but no kids. We were enjoying our favorite past time-sitting on the beach catching some rays right on the ocean. David was continually running by splashing tons of water on us. Steve wanted to kill him and I, in my infinite wisdom, just told Steve to ignore him. He was maybe 8 or 9-maybe 10 and would eventually go away-right? Wrong! A few minutes later David came by and dumped wet sand all over me. After a big gasp of surprise, I looked at Steve and calmly said "You can kill him now". I always think back to that and still laugh-scary thing is I can so see Andrew doing that same thing!

Lucky Guy

Well I'm back. No it's not Angie, it's her "Better Half"..er I mean "Other Half". I thought I'd give this blog thing a try. Not sure about you, dear readers, but I truly enjoy reading this blog whenever Angie posts. It makes a lousy day at work so much better when I can read about things like "Mrs. Elaneous". So, while this may not be quite as entertaining as Angie's posts, just suck it up because you're stuck with me for now.

So Angie and the kids left last Friday for their eight day Ohio tour...God bless her! She's a saint. From talking to her, it sounds like they're having a great trip. Then it was on to Virginia for David and Natalie's wedding, which was today. Congratulations & best wishes David & Natalie! And also congratulations to David & Joan! I really wish I was there. Not to take anything away from the bride & groom, but I'm pretty bummed that I didn't get to see my big boy walk down the aisle as the ring bearer. I got a text from Angie a little while ago saying that he did it. I thought he would, but just for insurance we threw a little bribe at him....the Fisher-Price Bat Cave....who wouldn't walk down the aisle in a tux for that?

Ok, back to me. I get to live the bachelor life back here in Arizona. How great is that?!? Well, let me tell you it was great!....for about a day (ok, maybe two). I think I'm more than ready for Angie and the kids to come home. It's not the fact that I'm out of underwear and I've never used our new washer and dryer (I know, pathetic). It's not the fact that I had to dig my stinky softball shirt out of the dirty clothes and wear it again for my game last night (again, I know, pathetic). It's not even the fact that I got a large Papa John's pizza on Tuesday and ate it for dinner three nights in a row. I sure hate pizza right about now. Anyway, I'm trying to put my finger on it...maybe it's Andrew running to the door yelling "Daddy!" as soon as I walk in from work, or Maggie providing every detail about her day at the dinner table, or Christine's newfound teenage attitude. Or, maybe it's that I get to come home to my best friend every night. Or just look at the picture - what else can I say. Whatever it is, I'M ONE LUCKY GUY & I can't wait to get them at the airport tomorrow.


Ok dear reader, you'll be relieved to know that my blogging career is now over. I type much too slow for this. I need to go find dinner - it won't be pizza. Good day.