Taekwondo Tournament!

Alex recently got his second brown belt (getting closer to that black!). He also got to move up in his age division at tournaments. Instead of being the oldest and biggest in the 12-14 age bracket he is now the youngest in the 14-16 division. He was still the tallest but there were more experienced boys in that group. He did well and learned a few tips too. He won one sparring match but lost the second. As always, we were very proud watching him compete and trying his best.

This guy was good! A State Champ and Red Belt too! Alex held his own though!

Mia Turns 4!!!

I just can't believe that our little baby Mia is now 4!!! She has grown into quite the talker these days and loves school, playing with her babies and chasing her big sister around.

Happy Birthday Mia!

Derek & Alison's Wedding!

We all traveled to St. Louis for Derek (Joe's son) & Alison's wedding! It was so great to be a part of the celebration. Alison made such a beautiful bride! And Derek was very handsome!

Me and my boys!
Derek and David especially enjoyed teasing Alex. I'm sure they are sharing something inappropriate in this picture....
We all had so much fun at the reception! My dance with Derek...I can't believe he is now a married man!
Alison has an identical twin sister, Amy.
Olivia and Mia sure enjoyed seeing their cousins and dancing at the reception.
Derek looks so much like Joe! I hope we will be getting to see more of Alison and Derek ...maybe we'll even get another grandbaby soon :-) !!!!

Camping at Suttle Lake

It's been a while since we've been camping...I forgot how much I love it. It's so nice to just get away - no TV, no computers (although, I did update my FaceBook status from my phone!) Hmmm...where to next weekend? The coast maybe?

My Mountain Man! The view from our camp spot. I love Suttle Lake because the spots are so large - you don't feel crammed in with everyone right on top of each other. The lake is so peaceful in the morning...

Fun at the Fair!

Olivia, Mia and I went to the Marion County Fair with our good buddies Tracy and Jake. We had a lot of fun riding the rides, enjoying fair food (well, we never did get that Elephant Ear, Dang It!) and seeing the animals.

The kids got to go in a fire truck, ambulance and complete the fire fighters challenge. Mia was so proud of herself!
I just love my girls! We all loved the Ferris wheel!

Thanks for the fun day, Tracy and Jake!

4th of July!

We had a great family-filled weekend this 4th. Derek and his bride-to-be, Alison, came out from St. Louis for a quick visit. It was wonderful to meet Alison before the wedding (which we will be going to in August!). What a beautiful, smart, and charming daughter-in-law we are going to have! Derek looks so much like Joe it kinda freaks me out! The weather was so nice we were outside all day. The boys all had fun shooting targets. It was great to see Joe with all his boys and Alex with his brothers...

Olivia FINALLY got to go up in the tree house (she's been itching to get up there for a long time). Mia got some help from her Daddy and got to go up too.

The girls love to catch salamanders! Mia was even brave enough to hold him!

Our little Sweetie, Mia.

David resurrected his old tree swing that he made when he was 16. He even climbed up the tree and jumped off the branch like he used to when he was a kid! The water is only about 7 ft or so there is not much room for error! Yes, I made sure Kelli had plenty of life insurance in place!

We finished off with fireworks in the evening. What a great weekend!

July Ya Ya's - Our 9th Anniversary!

Wow, the month went quick! Why does summer always fly by? We celebrated our 9th anniversay last night. I am so blessed to have this amazing group of women in my life! I can't wait to see what the next nine years have in store for us!

Love you all! XOXOXO