Football

First Day of School

Luke - 5th grade and Brooke - 2nd grade.
Brooke is so excited that Kate is in kindergarten and can ride the bus with her now.

Luke with all the girls. He wasn't crazy about being the only boy at the bus stop.

Andrew - 6th grade. First year of middle school!!

Andrew and Dominic. I am so glad he has a friend at the bus stop!

The kids had a great first day of school and they are all having a great school year so far. I can't believe I have a middle schooler! So far so good and he comes home happy every day telling me everything that happened throughout the day. I am so blessed to have a son who shares everything with me. I hope that never changes. Andrew gets home 30 minutes earlier than the other two so on days I am not working we get a quiet time to sit and talk.

I have found that Luke and Brooke have gotten closer as a result of having more time with just the two of them in the mornings. The years keep moving faster and faster and I want to slow down time and make this year last a long time. It is nice to have the kids past the first year of being new again (even though Andrew was new to middle school so was everyone else) and knowing that everyone is happy!!

Cedar Point

In front of our cabin.
The exciting view of Top Thrill Dragster from our cabin! Isn't it beautiful?

The tranquil and peaceful view of Lake Erie from our cabin.

Which view do you think the kids liked better??

In keeping with tradition Andrew wanted to go to Cedar Point for his birthday. Over the past two years we have learned the best strategy to conquering Cedar Point without the long lines is going at the end of August when most of the kids have gone back to school but we haven't yet. So even though it was a month before his birthday it is really the best time to go. This year we decided to stay overnight and let Andrew choose a friend to bring. He chose Ryan and we had a fabulous time! We stayed in a cabin on the property and we were able to get into the park an hour early which was really a sham because they only had 5 rides opened. But we were able to ride Maverick with only a 30 minute wait which is unheard of. The weather was perfect and the longest line was 45 minutes for Millennium Force. Brooke got to go on just about everything and loved it!! The girl has no fear!!! I am so thankful my kids love roller coasters!! Andrew went on Top Thrill for the first time and thought it was the best ride ever. I thought I was going to die on the new ride Windseeker. You sit in a swing that then takes you up in the air for what seems like eternity while you gently spin around. I can do any thrill ride on earth, but if you take me up at great heights slowly I become paralyzed with fear. Unfortunately, I was sitting next to Luke which did not help my situation because he kept talking to me the whole time telling me over and over to "open my eyes and enjoy the view of "the sea!" "The sea" is really Lake Erie and I would have clocked him had I been able to let go of the bar I was holding onto for dear life. I basically fell into Matt's arms when I got off praising God that I was still alive!! It took me a long time to recover from that one!! In the end, No cell phones were lost and fun was had by all! Two days was plenty though and we were all whipped by the end of the 2nd day. I think I heard the sound of screaming in my head for two days.

Harry Potter summer

4011 Pages!!
Their favorite summer past time.

Matt and the boys reached a very important milestone this summer. They completed the Harry Potter series. THAT IS 4100 PAGES OF HARRY!!!!! Andrew read the first two back when he was in 2nd grade and then two years ago Matt began reading them the books as read alouds. He started with the first one and would take breaks in between each one - sometimes even months. After finishing each book, they would then watch the movie. (This meant Brooke and I had girl movie night watching something horribly awful like "Barbie Fairy Secret" garbage) They had to rent them all because they were never on the same book that was in the theaters, so they were determined to see the final movie in the theater. That meant Matt had to read the sixth and seventh book this summer. Which meant that this took place at night when the kids should have been going to sleep. Our summer schedule began to revolve around Harry Potter! I wonder if Matt and I are the only couple that almost ended up in marriage counseling over too much reading going on - HA! I told him I fully supported this feat as long as they got in done by the time school started. They did and with two weeks to spare. Which ended up being kind of a bad thing because then the three of them moped around the house wondering how they were going to be able to go on without Harry in their life each night. They took a week to mourn the loss and I quickly got Andrew engaged in another series. But they will always have Harry - Summer 2011.

Innsbrook and St. Louis 2011

I never get tired of going to the Arch!
Annual summer ride on the Rhino with the cousins.

My awesomely fun parents who make our Innsbrook trip so special each year.

Anneke, Marielle, and Brooke being entertained with water.

A joyride on the pontoon boat.

Andrew, Luke, and CJ showing off for me.

Brooke and Anneke digging tunnels.

We had yet another fun (HOT!) week of summer at Innsbrook with the fam. This year I talked Lauren into coming out with the girls. I was so glad they did! We did our usual of playing and swimming at the lake, swimming at the pool, going out on the pontoon boat, eating, laughing, taking morning walks. Our friends, the McGurks came up from Jefferson City for a day as well, which was a nice bonus. This year I added some excitement by getting into an little accident. I hit a tree stump while going only 10 -15 mph, but hit it hard enough to uproot the stump, land in a ditch and cause body and mechanincal damage to the van. Unfortunately, Anneke was riding with me and will now be forever traumatized by "the bump." That might be the last time she ever rides with her Aunt Camille!

Luckily, I have the most understanding and forgiving husband in the world. Most husbands would be irritated that we had to have the van towed, rent a car, and borrow his mom's van to get us back to Columbus while our van stayed in the shop in St. Louis for 3 weeks, which resulted in Matt having to drive back to St. Louis and pick it up. And of course the trip was topped off with Luke barfing for most of the way home as soon as we left St. Louis. Can we not ever have a vacation that does not include vomiting and drama???!!!!

Summer sports

Andrew swimming breast stroke. I decided this is the only stroke that you can ever see thier faces to photograph.

4th place triathlon win for me. Made me realize I need to work harder!


Both boys were chosen for the All-Star game on July 4th. Luke thought they were giving out hats. Oops.

Andrew always ready for the ball.

Luke pitching during his All-Star game. I told him to bring his hat!!

Luke leading the pack in breaststroke.

Luke participating in some pre-race meditation.

Brooke speeding out of the transition area to finish strong on the run.

Luke racing to the transisition area from the pool.

Andrew running his 2 mile race to the finish.

Congratulations on another great triathlon!!

We were very busy this summer with sports. Both boys played baseball on separate teams. In the past we have been very fortunate to have had the boys on the same team, but since they split the teams by grades this year they were on separate teams. Which meant twice as many baseball games! This did not go over very well with Brooke. It really never occurs to her that she can actually watch her brothers play, so there she sits with her backpack packed with paper, crayons, dolls, etc. to tide her over for the 2 1/2 hour games several times a week. In addition to baseball, all three kids did swim team. This meant that they had three separate morning practice times! 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30! Come mid-July I was one wiped out sports mom!!! Did I mention that we also we fortunate enough to play baseball games on two National Holidays - Memorial Day and 4th of July!! (note sarcasm).

Andrew loved baseball and as he does with all sports, puts everything he has into it. Luke, on the other hand, decided about two games in that he was done with baseball. I think he missed playing with his brother this year. He has played since Matt started coaching him in tball, so this makes me a little sad, but it is nice that the kids are beginning to narrow down what they really want to play.

The kids all did great with swim team. It was Brooke's first year and she loved it! She had the best attitude as she does with everything and had fun with it. Swimming isn't Andrew's favorite sport and he didn't like practice but he loved the meets. Which makes sense since he is Mr. Competitive! Luke is my little Michael Phelps (he is shaped just like a swimmer) and did a great job of getting faster and faster as the season went on.

This year we only managed to squeeze in one triathlon. Boo! I hate that we are too busy to do more. The kids were very pumped and I love that they are feeling more and more confident with each race they do. And to think I didn't start dsoing them until I was 21!! They did great this year with Andrew moving up to the 11-14 yr old division, finishing 23 out of 46, and was 4th out of the 11 year olds. Luke was 5th out of 107 7-10 yr olds, and was the 5th 10 year old. And Brooke finished 60 out of 107 7-10 year olds, and was the 3rd 7 year old girl!! Awesome job!!!

This was the year I was going to do at least 4 triathlons, but only ended up doing one. It is kind of hard to do them when you are gone for 3 weeks of the season. So I managed to get one in and came in a lousy 4th!!! It is OK - I needed it! It just gives me incentive to work harder. I did win a gift card to Roll, however!! Yeah! Next year - at least 4 triathlons and nothing but 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer Vacation - Nashville, TN and Sandestin, FL

The beautiful Emerald Coast.
Enjoying one of our nightly walks on the beach. I love my sweet and fun husband!!

Our Cuckoo kiddos!

All three doing a ropes course.

They have no fear!

Tearing up the mini-golf course.

Our daily sandcastle building.

A guy who was near us as we canoed told us he spotted a shark. We didn't tell the kids!

Handstand competition.

Doesn't she look like she is running out of the water at the Hawaii Ironman?

I love these kids!

And I love this one!

This is how Luke spent 80% of his time at the beach. Face down in the water searching for fish and crabs!

My boogie boarder!Some friends introduced us to Kilwin's candy store and ice cream in Michigan so we were excited to find one in FL. Such yummy fudge!

Matt has two colors - white and red! Hence, the swim shirt after only one day.

Dinner at a place with great atmosphere and horrible food!

Luke doing his best Tim McGraw.

On Music Row. We wanted to be songwriters for a day since none of us can sing (except Luke).

Matt and I enjoying a quiet moment at Centennial Park.

A replica of the Parthenon at Centennial Park.

The Grand Ole Opry!

Getting ready for the show.

This is how my kids pose for pictures 98% of the time.

This is how they pose the other 2% of times after many threats. I actually prefer the silly ones most of the time.

Brooke LOVES her brother!

Our BEAUTIFUL Hotel Gaylord.

I really couldn't stop taking pictures. It was so lovely and relaxing!

Our family loves going new places. Although we love to go back to familiar vacation spots, some of our favorite trips are when we explore new places. Matt and I have been to Memphis, but had never been to Nashville so we chose to stop there on our way down to Florida since it was halfway. Our whole family loves country music so we got tickets to the Grand Ole Opry the first night we were there. We were a little worried about the kids liking it, but the show was so much fun that they loved it! Andrew especially loved Little Jimmy Dickens and his corny jokes. He has actually been using these jokes all summer. We stayed at the Gaylord Hotel which was a great decision. It was so beautiful and I couldn't stop taking pictures. The kids absolutely LOVED it!! It was so relaxing and there was so much to do. I highly recommend it! We will definitely be going back there someday. We also went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Centennial Park. I loved being south and I couldn't get enough of the Magnolia trees and Crepe Myrtle trees - which are just two things I miss about living in Ohio. Matt and I both decided that Nashville seemed like a place we would enjoy living. Whenever we travel to a new city we rate whether or not we could love there. Since the way we move around you just never know!! We gave it a thumbs up.

We had so much fun in Nashville that we didn't want to leave even though we were excited to get to the beach. We are really not beach people (especially Matt) so I was a little nervous as to how the week would go. Our family does much better with sightseeing and being active. We really don't relax very well. Although we are trying to do better! It had been a few years since we had been to the beach with the kids and I was hoping that it would be a success. By the time we arrived at our condo in Sandestin it was already dark so we were pleased when we awoke and saw how beautiful the view was from our place. The beaches truly were beautiful and I honestly thought they were just as pretty as the beaches in Cancun. And I didn't get sick so next time we can skip Mexico. Too bad that it isn't that warm here in February:( We ended up having a great time and the kids LOVED it. Every morning we would begin at the beach and then finish at the pool. We would go out for dinner at night and then find some activity to do. Then, Matt and I would wrap up the night by reading Harry Potter to the boys while Brooke and I read our own books. My beach reading was Bound South and One Day. I enjoyed both- especially One Day.

We had perfect weather the whole time, it only rained one morning and then cleared up. The last day we were there was the most beautiful day. The water was perfect! Then around 2:00 pm algae began to come up on shore and by the end of the day there was so much algae you didn't even want to be in the water. We later found out that from friends who went there the week after we did that the algae blooms in late June and stays until early August. Well, we picked the perfect time to go! We had such a nice time and none of us wanted to go home and go back to schedules and reality. There is definitely something special about summer vacation!!