After vacation

After we got back from vacation on Friday night, Derek packed up all of his camping stuff so that him and Ethan could go camping. They went to Vantage with my sister and a couple of her friends and swam, hiked camped and climbed. They had a blast. Meanwhile I stayed home with Addie and unpacked from our vacation, plus I watched a few chick flicks while the house was empty.

White Water Rafting

So, as I mentioned before we got to go white water rafting while we were in Tennessee on the Nolichucky River. We had some people that Debby knew watch the kids and off we went for the day. I have never been. I guess the water was really low so the ride wasn't as bumpy as they were used to but it was a blast. While we were there we found out that they were looking for trainees as river guides, so Ashley has decided to go for it. I am now motivated to find someplace around here and drag my dad and sister along with us to do it again.

While we were there we were told of a story of the town of Erwin and how they hung an elephant for killing somebody. The crazy things they do in the south. Here's a website with the story: http://www.blueridgecountry.com/elephant/elephant.html

I don't think I mentioned before how much we loved the south. The people there are so nice. It was like being in another country down there. The people sound different, the food is different and like I said everyone is so nice. If it weren't for the summers I think I wouldn't mind living down there.

Trip to Georgia

So, we also went to Georgia as I mentioned to see some of Derek's family. I wanted to include some fun pictures of that trip too. We went to the aquarium in Chattanooga, which Ethan loved and then afterward we went and got some ice cream, as you can see. I am glad that we were able to get down there to see Derek's family. It was an added bonus that Derek's parents were able to visit at the same time.

Our trip to Tennessee!!

Here are some pictures from graduation...

We have had a great trip. It was great taking a 9 day vacation. We got to see some of our best friends, meet some new ones and visit with family. Our number one reason for our trip was to see Ashley graduate. We are so proud of her. We've known her and her mom, Debby since she was 10 or 11 when we were all stationed in Italy. So we saw her graduate and then the next day we went down to Chickamauga, Georgia to see Derek's grandparents and his parents. We visited and played in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After that we went back to Debby and Ashley's and got to go white water rafting, which I had never done. I'll put pictures of that up later today or tomorrow. So, now we are home and I have a couple of days to relax and get ready for work. I have to work on Memorial Day so I just get the short weekend, but that's fine with me. Derek and Ethan ran off to go camping with my sister. I'm sure they'll have a blast. They love camping.

Here are some other pictures from our trip...

Going on a trip

So, we are headed to Tennessee tomorrow. I probably won't be adding anything until we get back, unless something way cool happens and I can't wait to share it. I wanted to share these pictures while I was at it. The one of Addie is what she gave me for Mother's Day. I think it is such a sweet picture of her. I believe Laura's sister took it. The other one has them in Tie-dye shirts that Ethan and Laura made last week. They came out really cool. Well, I hope all of you have a great rest of your week and enjoy your Memorial Day (even if it is a week and a half away).

So, Ethan had his first run-in with fame today. We went to Salty's for Mother's Day brunch today and right as we were getting to leave we saw his sister getting food at the buffet on our side of the restaurant. My dad decided we should leave the direction that she came from and low and behold there was Sanjaya sitting at a table with his own Mama. So, we left and then asked Ethan is he saw him. Ethan hasn't encountered any reason why we would explain to him that not everything on TV is not real so he was confused and thought we meant we saw a statue of him. So, Alisha took Ethan back to meet him. Sanjaya told Ethan his mohawk looked cool and my son, who usually will never shut up would not speak or even look at him, much less get a picture. Too bad. It was a funny little experience.

Ethan's first T-ball game

Ethan had his very first T-ball game today. I had him skip his first game because he wasn't ready yet. So, now we thought he was ready. It was a very interesting game. They have all the players on the team in the field, so they make up positions. So Ethan was in between third base and the shortstop. No matter where the ball was hit to Ethan ran to get the ball. It was really amusing. Everyone else would stay in their positions but Ethan was a crazy person all over the field. It was pretty funny. Then he went to bat. I just don't know what to say about that. Let's just say he was a little confused as to what he was supposed to do. Watch the video "Hitting the ball" and see for yourself. These little kids sports are hilarious. I thought for sure Ethan would just be bored, but he stayed pretty occupied. A few lapses in concentration but overall things went pretty well. Go Crocs!!!

Addie is Crawling

So, Addie has started crawling. We have to bribe her with toys and stuff but she's taking a few steps. I am putting a video up so check it out. She looks funny crawling because she's too little and her whole body is in this little ball trying to crawl around but she's managing. She usually falls over in the process but its cute and exciting. Anyway, I just thought I'd share this with all of you. Have a great weekend. Ethan has his first T-ball game on saturday. That should be fun. I'll put up pics of that and probably some video too so keep an eye out for it. Ciao.

Mommy's Eyes

So, its looking like we get to keep blue eyes with Addie. The color is very similar to mine.

I swear she gets cuter everyday!! This weekend my grandma was amazed at how good she is. She'll just lay on the floor entertaining herself for hours. Playing with her feet or these days getting on her hands and knees and thinking about crawling. She is just such a happy baby. We have really been blessed with such wonderful kids. Ethan was an easy baby too, although now he likes all the attention.

First Days of Summer

Ethan is such a crazy, silly boy and we love it. Here's some "first days of summer" pics!!

Our Sleepy Girl

She'll sleep pretty much anywhere, but she loves to be upside down awake or asleep!!

Nice Weekend

So, we just got back from visiting my grandma. We left Derek at home which he didn't mind. He got to ride his motorcycle anywhere he wanted, which he's been wanting to do since he got it. I'll have to post some pictures of him with his bike later this week. It was nice spending some time with my grandma. I haven't seen her in quite a while. Hopefully she'll be able to head in our direction since she hasn't seen our house yet. We'll see. Hopefully soon. I was a total idiot and forgot to take my camera. Addie was trying hard to crawl. Anyday now I'm sure. She gets up onto her kness but can't quite coordinate anything yet. Soon.

Welcome to our blog

Hey everyone. I just gave all of you the website for this. So I just wanted to say to feel free to check it as often as you'd like and definately feel free to leave comments. Its always fun to hear from everybody. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will try and keep new pictures up here pretty regularly, provided I've taken any. I hope evrybody has a great weekend.

Ethan

Here's our silly boy.

Addie wanted to use the phone

Addie got ahold of my phone yesterday and seemed to be pretty sure she should make some calls.

Ethan

I can't forget to include a picture of Ethan so here it is...

Hey Guys! Laura told me I should start a blog to keep everyone updated on our family. It seems easy enough so I thought I'd try it. Plus I can add things easier and more regulary than on myspace. We'll see how it works. I think its easier to view for people without myspace accounts too. We'll see. Hopefully I won't overload everyone with this stuff while I'm figuring it out. Here's some pictures I hope you like.