New addition coming in April 2010!!!

If you haven't heard our news yet, we are excited to announce that we are expecting a new baby due April 13th, 2010! I don't think Alex quite grasps how his world will change in a few short months, but we're trying to start making some changes now. He is already potty-trained (which is HUGE), sleeping in a big boy bed, and making some improvements with his speech and attention-span. Anyway, I've been feeling pretty good for the most part. I've had a few more 1st trimester symptoms than I had with Alex, but all is good for the most part.




Here are a few other pictures of Alex playing with Papa when we went home just last weekend.

New Nephew- Eli Robert

When we got back from Williamsburg, I headed immediately home to watch my niece while my sister delivered her second baby! Sunday morning we all headed up to the hospital to meet Eli Robert Francis! He's perfect in my book. :) I'm excited to have another nephew. We got some great pictures of little Eli as well as big sister, Claire.









And a video of Claire meeting her little brother....

Williamsburg Vacation

We have had a busy month in August. Last week we boarded an airplane and headed down to Williamsburg, VA to spend about 5 days with all of Kent's family! It was good to see all of them since it is very rare that we can get everybody together. God definitely blessed the trip as the only time it rained was either while we were driving to/from the beach or while most people were resting/napping. With 25 people, and over half of those being kids, that was a HUGE blessing! We spent most of the time just hanging out at the timeshare and swimming in the pool. Friday we ventured to Virginia Beach. It ended up being a lot of fun even though the weather didn't seem like it was going to cooperate. The trip back from the beach however was not so much fun. It should have only taken an hour, but it ended up taking most of us at least 2 1/2 hours (or longer). I came to the realization that people from Virginia must not be able to drive in the rain. (Just kidding) but serious, there were more accidents on the way home than I thought possible!

Alex was great on the way there and back home. He did great in his seat on the airplane!



Here are a few videos and pictures from our trip.

A Tree Chair!


These were the biggest popsicles you've ever seen! And they were only $.50


It's hard to get a family pictures on the paddle boats.


We took a morning and everyone headed to a local park. The paddle boats were a lot of fun. Surprisingly, Alex actually sat pretty still and enjoyed the ride. :)


Alex's first time at the ocean! He loved it!


Another video of the ocean fun


Sweet Kezi


Playing in the sand


Building sandcastles


What fun!


Oh the fun of the ocean!


The In-Laws! :)


Kent and his siblings


Our family


All the grandkids, (well, minus 2, but almost all of them)

The Fair and then End of a Small School

A few weekends ago we headed to the Iroquois County Fair. Alex had so much more fun than last year. So much changes in just one year. Tears were free-flowing a year ago as he rode the merry-go-round with my mom. This year, he LOVED the rides. We went on the Merry-go-round, the elephant/dumbo ride, the big slide, the super fast racecars, the caterpillar roller coaster, and a tilt-a-world kind of ride. :) We weren't sure if he was enjoying the racecars or the roller coaster, but we found out he was saying "No all done" not "all done." We saw some animals, ate some fair food, and of course had to play on the John Deere tractors! Those were definitely the highlight of Alex's day at the fair.

The weekend started with a ride on Claire's glider


Waiting in line for the Merry-Go-Round


The Big Slide with Papa


Racecars with Claire (by the end of the ride, Alex was on top of Claire's lap)


Gotta watch this video to see how fast these racecars went. :)


Caterpillar Rollarcoaster with Nana


Elephants with Mommy


Looking at the animals


Playing on the tractors




Enjoying an Elephant Ear



This past weekend we headed home again for the C-I High celebration since this was the last year it was open. We weren't able to stay as long as we hoped, but we were able to at least do our own tour of the high school (Kent had never been to my high school) We were able to see Rachel and at least take a picture in front of our old lockers. We actually had to sneak into the school. As Rachel said, "Only in a small town can you sneak into a school and not worry about getting in trouble."

Golden Eagles


Our Old Lockers


Playing the Bass Drum


Playing at the park