Labor Day weekend

It never fails - when everyone gets together - Aaron's brother Kim brings out his guns. Justin thought it was way cool to shoot the AR and pose for a picture holding this gun.

Aaron's aunt, uncle, and cousin from Texas were all in Ohio visiting, as well as an aunt from Idaho. It was so nice to see them, as well as family in Ohio!

Mama (Aaron's Mom) gave our girls and their cousin, Sam, a ride in the wagon while she mowed the lawn. They must have been in here for close to an hour. They loved it!

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day with a bit of a breeze. The boys found a few kites and pulled them out. They really had fun flying them. Could this picture be anymore perfect? We were sitting out on the deck that goes out over the pond, surrounded by cornfields. Yep, we're in the midwest.

Monday morning we went to the county fair for a couple of hours. The kids loved seeing the animals. Well, almost loved them. Madelyn was pretty scared of most animals, but the rest of the kids loved them. Naomi was just amazed by everything.

Daddy Time

We started the tradition a couple of years ago that each of the kids get to have their one on one time with Aaron on Sundays. They get to choose the activity and he will play it with them - even crafts with Elizabeth! The kids love this special time they have to spend with them. It doesn't happen every Sunday, but usually a couple of times a month. This Sunday Aaron spent a couple hours of good, quality time with the kids. Here he is cuddling the girls after their naps.

He helped Bruce put together his racetrack and helped him race it.

Justin and Will were busy playing remote control cars together. There's nothing quite like a relaxing Sunday afternoon to start the week off right.

Pigtails

The girls were so cute this morning playing Polly's together - I just had to take a picture! They are starting to play together and are so fun to watch! Gotta love 'em!

First Day of School

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Last night we went to school for Open House so that the kids could meet their teachers. Will's teacher is Ms. Van Voorhis. He was so excited after meeting her that he wanted to start first grade right then!

Bruce will have the same teacher Will had last year: Mrs. Snyder (yeah!) His buddy Carson also has her, but in the afternoon.

Elizabeth and Ms. Ashton

Justin had Mr. Graney last year for Student Council so he was excited to get him for a teacher this year. This will be his last year of elementary school. We were so impressed with all of the teachers last night and look forward to a great year!

First day of school - all smiles!

Our house seemed so quiet this morning after the kids left for school (not once Bruce came home - lol). The two girls played so cute and then we met our friends at the park for some fun. I'm going to love this time with just the two little girls!

Justin's pics

Justin just downloaded a few (386 to be exact) pictures off his camera and had several (hundred?) from our vacation that weren't on our camera. The last few years when we've gone to Idaho, Justin has spent a few days with his good buddy Jackson who we knew in Ohio, but now lives in Idaho. We always meet them at Craters of the Moon in Arco to switch back. Aaron took Will and Bruce this year to meet them and they spent a few hours exploring the lava rocks and caves. They had a great time!

They look so small in this picture!

Another fun adventure we always look forward to is visiting with our friends the Heimerdingers in Idaho. They have lots of pets and this year have a new addition that we hadn't tried before: a zip line. Our boys tried to rig one in our backyard this summer with a few hangers and some string, but I think this one is a little safer.

You can look for future postings next year of our very own zip line. Aaron, Will, and Justin all tried out this one and had a great time. They are planning to put one in our backyard next summer.

Lake fun

Our friends from church invited us again to go boating with them. They live right on the lake and have such a beautiful place. This has to be one of the highlights of our summer - we all love it! Madelyn was pretty terrified of the water and didn't want to get out of the boat. Naomi, however, got on the tube with Mom and Dad and loved it! We went very slow, but she was so fun to watch. Our friends told us she is the youngest one they have pulled on the tube.

All of the boys on the tube. Justin was more interested in posing for the camera than hanging on. Last year Gary couldn't flip him off the tube, but he got him this year!

Mom and Elizabeth

Justin trying his luck with water skiing. He did a lot better this year than last.

This has to be my favorite picture. Have you ever seen such determination? Love it!

Go Bruce - still pretty shaky!

Aaron had to show us all how it's done! What a fun evening we had!

Cousins, cousins

Last week Will and Bruce spent a few days with their cousins and Elizabeth had her cousin Joy stay with us. This summer our kids have been able to spend a lot of time with their cousins and they have loved it! There are 29 grandkids on my side and 25 on Aaron's side (#26 is on the way) so there is no shortage of cousins to play with. Holidays and summers are always so fun for the kids!

Naomi didn't indulge in any smores, but she did have a few marshmallows - whole!