Fall 2011

The day started out sad but ended up being okay. We had to put our terrier Huey down this morning. He is 17 years old and has kidney failure. He was having so many accidents around the house and was blind from cataracts and could not hear. It was sad seeing him go but it was the right thing to do. I gave him a bowl full of treats for breakfast this morning.

This afternoon I needed a thought diversion so we decided to carve pumpkins out on the deck since the weather was so nice and sunny. Julia had fun with the yucky insides and seeds. Evan tried to find s unique design for his

Our neighbor Evan who is one year older than Julia came over and asked Julia to go jump in the leaf pile that his dad made. They had so much fun laughing and jumping and screaming and burying each other.

Happy Birthday Evan August 7th 2011

Well today is the day that I can say that we have a teenager in the house....eeeeeek!
I really can not believe that my baby turned 13 today. He stands about the same height as me and I think he grows inches in his sleep. We had a large party with family yesterday to combine Evan and Julias birthdays since they are so close together. Julia wanted a dragon cake and Evan wanted an ice cream cake so I went to work! I always enjoy making cakes for the kids birthdays!

Wish us luck with the raging hormones of a teenager and the no's and why's of a four year old! Ohhh they have so much to learn even though they think they have it all figured out!

More Sanibel Pictures 2011/vacation

More Sanibel Pictures 2011

Vacationing on Sanibel Island 2011

We had a wonderful time on Sanibel Island and found it hard to say goodbye. Julia and Evan had a great time finding all kinds of shells along the beach. Julia enjoyed making sand castles. Our family got to go kayaking for the first time and found it to be very enjoyable. John paddled Julia around and I was with Evan. We did get to see Mannatees coming up to our kayaks and dolphins and fish flopping around. It was funny watching these large fish jumping out of the water almost hitting John in the head. It was so relaxing just getting away. John and Evan got to go fishing with another group and Evan did catch a small fish but did not get to spend all that much time out on the boat. The beaches were so nice with very white sand. There were so many biking trails to explore with free bikes to use from our resort. We did get to celebrate Julias birthday out at a restaurant and she felt like queen for the day. I think she is convinced that her birthday is every day this week since we have not gotten together with family to celebrate as of yet.

More Fourth Pictures 2011

Here are some home Fireworks Pictures

Happy Fourth of July 2011

A Special Thank You to those who have served our country and for our freedom! Happy Fourth of July!

Had a wonderful time celebrating with family and our neighbors. Had our yearly barbecue and went to the fireworks twice this year! Went to a parade on the 3rd. There were several kids around us at the parade and a lot of competition for parade candy. Julia did get tackled a few times and got frustrated so she ended up running up to the floats and insisting on candy instead of trying to catch it which was pretty funny. One lady next to me said she will have no problem at all with the competition this year.
Julia made her own teeshirt design in preschool. She got to stamp her shirt with stars and the teachers helped write Proud to Be an American on the back. It is a little big but was the smallest that they had.

Of course John and Evan had to light their share of fireworks this year as well. Julia actually liked holding the sparklers this year which was a surprise!
Hope everyone had a great Fourth!