We visitied New Hampshire!

We have all been excited to visit friends in New Hampshire. It has been 2 years since we were able to stay there. Doyle has gone with Matt to races, but we had not met each other's babies! We, of course, had a blast! The kids are roughly the same ages, so they had a lot of fun playing together.

We went to a Rockin Rib Fest the one night and there were lots of bouncy houses for the kids, balloon animals and a hot air balloon ride. There were also award winning ribs for sale...about 7 different vendors!

Relaxing at Raystown

This weekend we headed to Raystown with Pappy Tom and Nana. What a fun time we had! Mom and Dad, Christie and the girls, Melissa and the 5 of us were all there. Friday we had a good evening and got Clems for dinner...got set up and stayed up late visiting. It rained some, so we didn't get to build a fire. Malin and the brown-eyed boy stayed with Nana and Pappy Tom in the camper and we stayed in Pappy's big tent with the Holdermans on the other side. I guess Malin and Gavin kept Nana and Pappy Tom up late, but we didn't know! Thanks!

Saturday was more rain, game play, boat rides, ice cream, naps, and fish feeding.

The fun for us was that blue-eyed Darin boy took his first boat ride! (I had my first ride on the new boat!) He was so bored that he fell asleep! He actually loved it, I guess! He even took a dip in the lake.

The camera is not uploading pictures, but of course we took lots of pictures for you all to enjoy of him on the boat.

We even took extra, just for Matt! Yeah...We took pictures of everything and I am proud of it! I even took pictures of everyone on the way home today in the car!

Don't worry, Matt, next weekend I'll take pictures of you and your punks(term I learned from ThePioneerWoman...aggghhh...links not working!) And then, you can be a star on our blog.

Until then, we have a busy week...swimming lessons start (pool #5)!

Of course you will get to see lots and lots of pictures...if the camera uploads them!

By the way...Happy Father's Day! Hope you had a relaxing day and enjoyed watching Jr. win! We were headed to a picnic at Terry and Wanda's (pool #4) when the race was finishing, but thanks to WJUN, Doyle heard the ending.
Since I know Doyle will read this...for all you others you can quit reading here...

yes...quit reading unless you are Doyle.


why are you reading when you aren't Doyle?


Noisy people...


Doyle, hope you had a great Father's Day! You are the best father to my babies, even though you teach them about Star Wars! I love you!

Summer swimming...

Our kids love to swim. They are little fish. I would love to have a pool! Two of our neighbors have pools, a third one has a little blue blow up thing and the last neighbor is an old couple who I am sure could care less if they have a pool or not! I am a little bit jealous of the pools in the neighborhood.
But, I try not to pass on that jealousy to the kids.

We look for places where the kids can swim. They like ponds, rivers, and creeks, too. When we go away, the hotel must have a pool! The little blue-eyed boy even enjoys taking dips. Malin loves to swim and is working on transforming her belly-flop into a world class dive. I am sure by the end of the summer she will be earning 10s on her dives. Brown eyed-boy loves to wear his goggles and dive for toys. He is cautious when he goes off the diving board and wants to jump to the side, but he is getting more confident as well.

So far the kids have been in 3 different pools. I am sure by the end of the summer that number will be more like 10. I wish it was only 1, but they have fun!

Summer "Vacation"

Ahh...summer vacation!
How nice for the kids!

Malin and Gavin have been playing so nicely together...they even let Darin join in the fun! The other day we moved some furniture around. Darin crawled in before I could get it all back together...

Right now, they are wrecking their rooms, but they are having a great time playing! I don't even go upstairs to see the carnage. They have been to Florida and back several times visiting Mom-Mom and Pap-Pap, they have been camping, they have been to California, they visited the library and got new cards, they sang the National Anthem, they have been to the moon, too! They have been parents, kids, teachers, pilots, drivers, you name it! They have suitcases packed with who knows what! It is so fun to just hang back and listen to them as I sit with my feet up sipping my sweet tea! The sound of kids playing nicely together...sweetness to my ears!

The month of June is crazy busy.
Malin is going to Bible School each night this week.
We have haircuts scheduled.
Darin's dr appointment.
Dance open house...must get tap shoes and a purple leotard.
Camping this weekend.
Swimming lessons.
New Hampshire for the weekend.
Our Bible School and more swimming lessons.
More camping...

Somewhere in there I must get the computer room painted...it has been waiting since March!
Railroad ties need yanked up
Weeds need killed
Laundry needs put away
Kids need played with

It's fun to be busy in the summer, but it's times like this when the kids are playing together with their things, that are the best times of all!

Dance, Bee Sting, and Relay!

Yeah...all together...what a weekend!

Malin had her dance recital yesterday (2 of them!). So, we had stage practice on Thursday, Dress rehersal of Friday night and 2 recitals yesterday. Needless to say we were home no earlier than 10:30 on any of those nights, and up at our regular time! Can you say crazy!

Her recital was very nice. She danced to "All Through the Night"...the lullaby version. The slide show is from that.

Doyle had the boys while I attended the dance events. Friday night he went to Nana and Pappy Tom's to swim with the boys. He had blue-eyed boy and backed into the side of the pool where some flying, stinging object got him. He said it really hurt, so he got out, and took some benadryl. By the time he got home, and got the boys to bed, his armpit was swelling. Remember I am at night 2 of marathon dance stuff... When I get home, I just want to get to bed...long weekend ahead. Well...Doyle says..."Come here and look at my armpit...it's the size of a grapefruit." WHAT???!?!?!?!? Yeah...when I turn the light on...I see what he means...and his face/neck were also swelling. I called mom and she headed in. Then, we called the doctor...yeah...we know who to call first! Anyway, the dr on call said he would probably be ok, but we might want to go in and get checked out.

Malin was all concerened and asked Doyle what stung him. He mumbled something to her along the lines of "I don't know, I couldn't see him." She heard "a cam sam." So, she told everyone that a "cam sam" stung him. Remember...she had been up 3 hours past her normal bed time for the second night in a row and Doyle was in some sort of allergic reaction state. I was mad because I just wanted a nice soft pillow and instead I had to drive to the ER!

We were actually in and out rather quickly. Doyle was given a shot (I was a little bit disappointed in the size of the needle...it didn't even really qualify as a needle) and some benadryl. They observed him for awhile and sent us on our way. We were home by 1AM. He will the be proud carrier of an epi-pen now, too. I heard those suckers hurt...I hope I am around to give it to him if he ever gets stung again...but, lets hope that doesn't happen. In case you were wondering, I am trained to give them...I had a class on them when I taught at Willow Hill. I may even have a certificate to prove it!

Early to rise on Saturday...we headed to Lewistown for Relay for Life. It was stinking hot...like Georgia hot...like 102 and humid hot! I walked 2 laps and called it a day. I bought a snowcone and watched the others walk! It was so hot that I think attendance was way down. But, they still raised a good bit of money to fund the fight against cancer. It makes you think just how much impact cancer has...we walked on the team that was started by Deb Tabb in memory of her husband, George, who died of cancer. We love to participate in this event. I hope the kids are understanding what this is for...they love to see the activities and play the games people have, and eat the food that is for sale! We hope they never have to realize first hand what it is all about, but we do hope they demonstrate caring for others and help others fight their battles.

Lake Tobias - Take 2 for Mommy

Gavin went to Lake Tobias a few days after Malin did...I got to go along again! This time we drove and took Mam-Maw and Darin along. Mom had not been there since I was little and she went with the Brownies! So, a lot had changed for her...not much for me except a baby goat was born in the last week! :)

Gavin enjoyed the animals a lot! I am sure he won't mind going there for the next few years on his school trips!

Enjoy round 2 of the Lake Tobias pictures!

Lake Tobias...Take 1 for Mommy

Malin took a field trip to Lake Tobias...third straight year she has been there! Not much has changed, but they do have lions, tigers, and bears now! Oh My!

I went along as a chaperone. The bus was quite full and many had to sit 3 to a seat. The weather was nice...no rain, but it had rained the night before. It was windy, so it was a bit chilly at times. When we got there we headed to the petting zoo. Of course since it was first thing in the morning, they were quite hungry. A goat chewed a hole in Malin's new Fermanagh shirt.
From there we headed to the bus ride. It was fun! Lots of hungry animals in the fields today, too. We fed them more rye crisps! The kids tasted them, too. Not too bad they said.
Then it was off to see the reptiles...not sure why they call it the reptile show...it includes birds, a three-toed sloth, and a porcupine along with the snakes and crocodile.

Malin's got the SPIRIT and Gavin is a STRAW PIG...

I know they really should each have their own post because this is just such a big deal for both kids, but hey...at least I am blogging about it within a day of it happening! Both kids have finished up their year end activities and school is officially over! Gavin will be going to preschool 3 mornings a week next year and Malin will be in first grade. Both had great times in school this year and are already looking forward to what next year will hold.

Malin had an awards ceremony yesterday. She got the SPIRIT Award! She was sooo excited, she could hardly contain herself! She is super excited to have her picture in the paper, too. So, look for it in the Juniata Sentinel!



She also had fun day. I was able to help...she here is a picture.




Gavin was the straw pig in one of his plays. We were concerned that he wouldn't do it, but he was awesome! He really spoke his lines well! Then they danced to a few songs and did the limbo for us. Pure entertainment!

Eyes and Such

What am I going to do when he starts making more demands on me? Just look at that face! Those eyes...oh my...what is a mother to do?

Everyone always comments on the kids' eyelashes. They all got them...long, curly eye lashes. Doyle and I both have long eyelashes, so I guess we can both claim them. But, the color of those eyes...I have brown eyes...no mistake about that. Doyle's change between light green to hazel to army green...depending on the color of shirt he is wearing or his mood. But, somewhere along the lines our littlest one got the blue eyes. My mom has blue eyes, but they much lighter. I think this will be one way to distinguish the boys..."Hey, brown-eyed boy...hey, blue-eyed boy" I think it will work better than calling them by their names...it will be less confussing to me I think. Because the name thing has already started. I don't have a Gavin and a Darin...I have Garin and Davin and a you name it. But, their eyes will always be brown and blue...just a thought...I get back to you as to how it works.

Sorry for the ramblings...it has been a long day. I moved the house around a bit today...and I just wanted to blog since it has been quite a long time and lots of field trips later.

School is winding down and both kids have activities tomorrow... :)
Brown eyed boy is the straw pig in the Three Little Pigs tomorrow at preschool. He should be great! He requested the pretzel/Hershey kiss/M&M thingies for his treat. They are cooling.

Malin has fun day tomorrow and I will be helping with that...rain or shine! Pray for shine!

Blue-eyed boy will be tagging along to the fun activities of his older siblings. Fun for him!