Labor Day weekend and the Fulton County Fair

Back in September, while I was still on maternity leave, we took the weekend of Labor Day to make a trip home to see my parents and sister and enjoy some family time while we could. John got to take his first trip to Ohio, and we all went to the Fulton County Fair together. :) What fun! I used to go to this fair when I was a kid, and we just had a great time walking around and looking at animals with the kids. Danika was in heaven...John just rode around and slept in the baby snugli the whole time. To top off this exciting night, Papa treated for the kids to get pony rides and then some seriously delicious milkshakes. It was GREAT. :)



It may be hard to tell, but that is John in the snugli - he was momentarily removed from riding around with me so that I could help Danika on her pony ride. Nana never complains when she gets to hold him. :)



Me and my dad. :)
Danika's pony ride - she screamed "Giddy-up" most of the time she was on that poor thing! :)

Good ole fashioned Ohio fun. Gotta love it.

Update on Papa Jerry

It's a bad boo-boo.

That's Danika's verdict.

I'm sorry to leave you all hanging on what's up with my Dad. He was able to be treated at the Melanoma Research Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They had his second surgery there on August 21st and they were able to remove all the melanoma. The prognosis is VERY good, but the doctor told him to thank his daughters for torturing him to have it looked at. According to the doc, that saved his life.

I think he owes us big for this, right Joanie? :)

Here's a picture of his poor little head - they had to remove such a large portion of skin that it was a tight squeeze to put it back together without a graft. We have been teasing him that this is NOT the way to go about getting a face lift. :)



Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement...it has been a huge help.

"Mother's Day" in Ohio

The weekend before Mother's Day, we made a trip home to Ohio to celebrate with my parents and sister. It was such a wonderful, wonderful visit. We enjoyed wonderful time with each other...got to celebrate by eating at a FANTASTIC restaurant, and we laughed a lot. :) We even squeezed in a picnic and "photo-shoot" for the 3 grandkids as a gift to my Mom. Good times had by almost all. :) (Just dont ask the kids about how they liked getting pictures taken...)

I just can't express how much fun I had that weekend...it was just great. :)

Mom - Happy Mother's Day! I love you so much!

Here are some pics from the weekend....

Danika taking care of her "baby" - Bernis the Bunny


Brock in his "superhero" costume...
The photo-shoot....looks like fun, doesn't it???



The ONE AND ONLY good picture from the 30 we took.....

It was worth it! :)

Other Christmas Celebrations....

We actually had several other Christmas celebrations.

We went home to Ohio the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with my Mom, Dad, and sister's family. It was a GREAT weekend. We got to see lots of extended family, catch up with each other, see my sister's new house in Toledo, and let the kids play together. It was just great.

Danika got a new "kitchen" for Christmas from my Mom and Dad. My Mom made Dad put it all together the day before we came home so Danika could open it and play immediately. My Dad is STILL complaining about that job! :) All he kept mumbling through the three hours of assembly was something about this being DOUG's job.... :)

Here we are at "Christmas" at my parent's house.

We also had a major celebration with Doug's Mom's side of the family (the Andrews) on the 28th of December. It was a major celebration because it was the first time in years we were all together. And to add to the fun, we had 4 two year olds, 2 babies, and a 5 yr old in the house! Talk about chaos! This is Grandma with all the great grand-kids. (Believe me...this was the best picture out of ten....it is really hard to get that many kids to sit still!)

And here is the whole clan:

It was a great Christmas....we love you all!

Trains, Fish and a really bad cold...

So...Doug left today to catch really big fish. :) Doug is going on a salmon fishing trip to Michigan with my Dad, Uncle Aaron, and several other random relatives/friends/strangers. I have no doubt he will have a great time...I just hope my Dad brings him home in one piece.

Following the fishing trip, Doug and my Dad are spending next week tearing the roof off my parents house and putting a new one on. Dad says he has additional help coming from friends and fellow church members, and for both Doug and Dad's sakes I hope that is true. :) Either way, since my husband is going to be at my parent's house all week, Danika and I wanted to go too. However, I couldn't get off work until the weekend. So the two of us are riding the Amtrak train out to join Doug. I am actually quite excited about this little adventure. I will definitely let you know how it goes.

And just because I want to whine, I need to let you know I have a TERRIBLE cold! I believe my daughter may have given this to me...or maybe it was my husband...or maybe a grocery cart or a door at Wal-mart. Wherever I got it, I am miserable! So I hope I get better soon because I want to enjoy my week of socializing and not working! :)

Father's Day Humor :)

Okay...just because I had so much fun sending this card, I wanted to share the joy. :)
This is the Father's Day card I sent to my Dad. I still laugh when I see it. :)


You know you think it is funny! :)