Casey spent all of June (literally, 16 hour days) getting our new house all painted and ready for move in day. We finally got everything moved over at the end of June. It was exhausting and I'm eternally grateful for all of Casey's hard work. Here's Luke & Emma at breakfast time - ready to start their day in their new house!
Emma was terribly sad that we had to leave our old house and frequently reminded us that "I never wanted to move." That wasn't exactly comforting to hear in the midst of painting and moving boxes. Fortunately, no one was harmed in this exhausting process!
Karla and Papa invited us to the annual Pipefitters Picnic at Stricker's Grove and we had a blast! So many aunts, uncles and cousins were there and the kids (me included!) had a great time riding the rides!
Emma, Luke and Mamaw enjoy a relaxing carousel ride!
Emma begged Casey to take her on the "big" rollercoaster at the park. She was just tall enough to ride and loved it. Casey said that the look on her face when they dropped over the first hill was priceless - she was terrified! However, after that, she loved every minute of it. What a big girl!
Here are the kids riding the boats (L-R: Shane, Jack, Emma & Kinsey). They had a great time on the rides - especially the "tilt-a-whirl!"
Listen closely, kids... this is what happens when you don't listen to your mommy and daddy!
It was raining one evening, so I had taken the cushions from the porch furniture and stacked them in tall piles against the cabinets in the kitchen. Luke and Emma discovered the cushion piles and started jumping off the top of them. So, I ask, "Luke, Em - please stop jumping off the cushions. Someone is going to get hurt." They, of course, continue. Again, I say, "Luke, Emma, please stop jumping on the cushions." Ignored a second time. So, I lean down to grab the cushions to relocate them and at the exact same time, Emma bends down and jump... right into my face! CRACK! Immediately, my eye starts swelling and I run upstairs to the bedroom (because at that point, I was light-headed). So, Casey comes in and sees the ginormous ping-pong sized ball forming on my eyebrow bone. Meanwhile, Emma is crying and writhing around on the floor, shouting, 'no one is taking care of me!" That is point is when I asked her to leave my room. Needless to say, there was tons of swelling and lots of color. In all of my years in sports, I've never received such a horrible black eye! Even Casey agreed that HE hadn't gotten one that bad either. My work friends had a great time re-telling the story and labeled me "Rocky." Here I am the following day - much better!
In August, we headed to Norris Lake to celebrate Casey's birthday with the Lytle family and Julie and Petey. We had beautiful weather and enjoyed spending each day on the water!
Emma and Wylie playing with poker chips in the A-Frame before bedtime.
Luke and Scout (birthday buddies!) enjoy a dip in the pontoon pool with their juice boxes.
The first day we walked down to the cove, there were a patch of butterflies flying EVERYWHERE in the cove! It was just absolutely beautiful! We were able to get close to them and take pictures. This one was my favorite because the rest of them were black and yellow. This one really stood out! These butterflies were with us the entire trip! It was a comforting feeling knowing that Fort was there to enjoy the festivities!
After we left the A-frame, we drove to Oak Ridge where we stayed for a few days. We enjoyed visiting the Oak Ridge Children's Museum (by the way, NOTHING like the Chesapeake Children's Museum!) which explained Oak Ridge's involvement during the Manhattan Project. It was fascinating! We had a great time staying in a hotel room and the kids were great travelers back home to Ohio. With the chaos of packing and moving, this was a very relaxing vacation! We got home just in time to enjoy the weekend!
HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, LUKEY THE MAN!
Lukey turned 2 on August 15 and we held a family birthday celebration for him. When the cake was placed in front of him and we all started singing, he got extremely embarassed and started staring intently at his fork rather than enjoying the music. It was hilarious! We were happy to have Papaw-Great join us for the party!
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
This year, Emma AND Luke got to join Daddy on the way to school. Emma started Pre-K III this year and Luke joined Ms. Bertsch and Mrs. B at the Early Childhood House. Both enjoyed their first day but were worn out and ready for bed. Yea for school!!!!
OSU vs. OU - Go Bobcats!
A group of us met up at Ohio Stadium to tailgate for the OSU vs. OU game on September 18th. We tailgated at the parking garage directly across from the stadium. We got there super early (8 am! - Fort would be proud). Of course, since it wasn't a big game, we had our pick of parking spaces AND tailgating spaces. We ever saw Rufus the Bobcat assalt Brutus the Buckeye! Good times!
HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, EMMA KATE!
Emma celebrated her 5th birthday by hosting a birthday party for her school friends, Hannah, Simon and Sigourney. We made stepping stones. opened presents and ate pizza and cake. It was a beautiful day and we had a great party with her friends!
And to top it all off - a brand new nephew!Welcome to world, William Matthew!
On final picture - Emma and Luke at the pumpkin patch. Emma just got glasses last month and I have to say - she looks adorable!
Happy Fall!
