v-e-r-y quiet week...

It's been a little while, so I need to catch up. Braden's baseball season started a couple of weeks ago. He seems a little more interested this year, but baseball really isn't his thing. He thinks it's boring (I have to agree:). So here are a few pictures of that.

Braden and his friend Tyler...


Batting...


Getting ready to head to 2nd... :)


On Monday morning, Ringo's mom and our friend Candy from NJ flew in to pick up Braden and Bella. They left back out for the airport on Tuesday morning at 4:30, and were back in NJ at 8:30! The plan is for them to fly back on Sunday afternoon. They are doing lots of fun stuff and I am sure, being spoiled rotten! :o) Yesterday they went to the county fair, so I didn't get to talk to them at all (I was also at work). The other nights we have been able to video-chat with them, so we can talk about what they've been doing and pray with them before bed. It helps me a lot to be able to see their faces each night.

So that's why it's been SO quiet around here this week. We miss Braden and Bella a lot, but wow...the laundry, the ironing, everything. My house is still clean since they left! Evan and I have been having a fun week together. I was planning to take him and do some fun stuff with him, but we decided to get him a "personal-sized" pool; so we've pretty much been home all week playing in the water. For me, it's been very relaxing and for Evan it's been a blast. He seems to be really enjoying his time alone with Daddy and Mommy.

If you think of it, please pray for the kids. They are having fun, but they seem very tired. If we get any pictures from NJ, I'll post some. Until next time...

before cancun...

As part of our trip to Cancun, we flew out of Atlanta, so we were able to stop by and spend some time with some dear and precious OLD friends who happen to live there. :)



When my parents dropped me off at Crown College, I didn't know a soul. Julie and I met at registration that very first day of the very first year in 1991. We were taking all the same classes, so we kept running into each other. I was supposed to be in a certain room in the dorm, but another girl (Kristy) that I had also just met, asked permission to see if I could be in her room. So this room just happened to be the same room Julie was assigned to. I remember the heartsickness of watching my parents drive down the street, leaving me behind in a whole new world. Thinking about it now, it was the weirdest thing how the moment they were out of sight, Julie and I became fast friends and it was like we'd known each other forever. We were inseparable all through college and she has been the dearest friend a girl could want.

After we both got married, we still spent a lot of time together, making sure we got to see each other at least once a year. We still did a pretty good job of staying in touch after having two children...but when that third child came along, that's a different story. It was five YEARS ago that we last saw each other. Not sure how we let that much time get away, but it sure did.

So...we made plans to have dinner and spend the evening with them the night before we flew out of Atlanta. We had a great time; it was so good to catch up and we enjoyed spending time with them just like we always have. We did an impromptu photo shoot with the girls...they quickly changed clothes and we spent about 10 minutes shooting. Also, since we missed our early morning flight and didn't get to leave til the next day, we were able to have dinner with them again the next evening. The kids hit it off right away, so they had a blast too. Anyway, here are a couple of those pictures and some of the kids together. Okay, enjoy...

Three beautiful little blondes...


Lauren, Natalie, and Sarah...


Here's one of Julie and me...we're older, but better. :D
Actually, Julie hasn't changed a bit since the last time I saw her.


We gave birth to all three of our children within three months of each other, so we had to get a picture of each set. ;)

Braden and Sarah, both 9...can you tell they were embarrassed to have to sit together?? Haha
(Braden is three months older)


The 6-year olds, Bella and Lauren, hit it off and became fast friends...
(Bella is three months older)


Natalie and Evan, age 4...can you say third-child syndrome???
(Natalie is 6 weeks older)


Ringo said I've written a book...I hope you enjoyed it. I should dig out a picture of Julie and me back in the day. Now that would be funny! Thanks for visiting.

cancun - part 5...

Dad with his kids...


Dad with his grandkids...


We were all snapping away...


My sister's family...


Mike & Alarra...


Ashlyn & Kyler...


We didn't try very hard to get one of us because it had already gotten so dark...so grainy. :( We should have just turned on the flash.


I'm not sure if I will post any more pictures. I'll probably just email the rest to the family. I did get some shots from the snorkeling site, but I didn't get any from the parasailing trip (which was amazing by the way.) I can't believe we didn't get any pictures of all of us in the water.

Not sure I want to ever ride a jet ski head-on across the waves of the ocean again, but seeing the world from up that high was still worth the jet ski ride to get there. So glad we got to do it. One time snorkeling is probably enough for me, but that was also an amazing experience. (I'm not so in tune with nature that I like being that close to it.:) My favorite thing to do was just riding the waves, but I never even took my camera down to the beach. I was afraid sand would get in it. :D Surprisingly, I didn't even take all that many pictures...I was too busy having fun.

Really the best part is that we were able to experience all these fun things with family. We have never gotten to spend that much time with all of us together; it was a blast. Despite the travel woes and missing a day of our once-in-a-lifetime vacation, it was GREAT! I still can't believe the water is really that color though...

cancun - part 4...

I know I'm posting a lot of pictures, but I'm trying not to bore you by posting all of them. :) Here are some more of the family pictures we tried to get...

Kyler (8), Will (9), and Braden (9)...


Braden wanted to take a picture of Daddy and Mommy :-)...


Clan, Stephanie, and Will...




Clan & Steff...


Will...


This was my one and only attempt at getting a shot of my kids together. We had already had to step inside the building because it started sprinklling, then we were running out of daylight...so I gave up with this one.


More to come later...

cancun - part 3...

Ashlyn and Kyler riding on top of the snorkeling boat...


These next two pictures were taken from inside the sightseeing submarine boat which tours the coral reef...


I didn't get many pictures of sea creatures (I was on the verge of puking:), but we also saw a lot of colorful fish, sting rays, and Ringo saw a barracuda. (He and Evan were on a different sub, so the rest of us didn't see it.)


Alarra and Mike on the way to the snorkeling site...


Kyler saying hi from the sundeck of the boat...


Me with my brother and sister (I'm the poor middle child:)...

cancun - part 2...

Here are a few more pics from the trip...enjoy!

Had to get a shot of this McDonald's/Subway/Avis... :D
They have a Walmart Supercenter too, but we didn't have time for that.


We rode the city bus to the marina...


The boys "driving" the snorkeling boat...




It really looks like this...


My very favorite picture from the trip (my new screensaver too:)...


More to come soon!

cancun 2008...

Wow...we had a FABULOUS time in Cancun!!! Unbelievably beautiful!!! I will post a lot more pictures later, but I thought I'd put up a few for now. Here's one of my dad (who made this entire trip possible), and one of the whole group. There's a lot more to come, I just have too much laundry to wash right now!!!! :) It's back to the grindstone, ya know?

L-R: Me, my SIL Stephanie, my brother Clan, and their son Will; Bella and Evan are in front of my dad; my sis Alarra with her hubby Mike and their kids Ashlyn and Kyler; Braden and Ringo


Dad...


Okay, I have to add a glimpse of the view we had. I never did put the zoom lens on my camera, so I'll have to get some pics from someone else's camera so you can see the whole thing.


And this is from the plane...I didn't even realize it when I took the picture (actually not until just now) that our resort is in the picture. It's the L-shaped building with the orange-colored roof. :)


That's all for now. Thank you to so many of you who were praying for us. We had a great time, and I will share more about it in a few days.

so much better...