LOL

Tickers

The boys and I had fun creating these tickers together. They each picked out there favorite one.

Guess who?

Clue #1: They chose a character from a book. Clue #2: No, they are not from the same book or series.

Clue #3: Think Tolkien.

Clue #4: Think C.S. Lewis.

"WonderWorks - an amusement park for the mind"

We recently went to Pigeon Forge, TN with some of our friends for a fieldtrip. We had a great time hanging out together, exploring, discovering, and learning new things!Sean is on a bed of nails, and yes they are quite SHARP!!!
Drew is rock climbing for the first time and loving it.

And who could this handsome astronaut be?

August 3rd, 2006

It's party time!!!!Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday

DEAR DREW,

happy birthday to you!!!!!!!!!(((APPLAUSE)))

I love it!!!!

Sean's Lego Creations

Sean made these a couple of weeks ago for Nana to see, and I am just now getting them posted. Hope you enjoy them!!!

Flowers

These are the flowers sitting by my front door, thanks to Maria. Everytime I walk outside I am greeted by their beauty. I have been meaning to include them here for awhile. In fact, this is the second time they have bloomed. What a wonderful surprise!!!

Hard-boiled Egg

Aidan wanted an egg, so I told him to go peel it by the trash can. This is what he returned with.

Swim Conference - July 29th

Here is a collection of photos from the final race of the season (all of the teams compete against each other). Each race serves two purposes. First, to finish in the top twelve and second to win points for your team. Our team won by almost a thousand points!!!! Here is Sean warming up for one of his races. He got a PB in all four races. Way to go SEAN!!!!
Aidan is patiently waiting for his turn. We were just so pleased he actually swam.
Maria and Patrick hanging out between events. Drew patiently whilin' away the time in the miserable heat:)

Swim Party

At the end of swim season, is the final party. The boys always have a great time playing in the water with the other Piranhas!!! Aidan, is showing off for Mommy and Nana,
Sean's in action, Drew's posing.And Grandad, well I think it requires no explanation.

BEWARE!!!

Crocs are on the loose.

Humpty Dumpty Together Again

Before

During

After

Once again, he was excited about this new experience, but it did not turn out to be exciting for him at all. Within five minutes, he wanted his cast back on. He kept complaining of a cough, more and more as time passed by. I realized that something was odd, but assured him that he did not have a cough. Suddenly, it occured to me, he is going to be SICK!!! I touched his forehead and discovered he had broken out in a cold sweat. We quickly laid him down, placing a cold cloth on his forehead. After about 10 minutes and armed with a splint, we were able to leave. The splint is just for the next few days, giving him time to adjust and to stretch his stiff muscles. I am also making him wear it at church and anytime there is rough play. Already today, he is asking to take it off!!!!

The Amazing Turkey

The turkey I had selected was one of two. The other one was quite large, mine was perfect. Unfortunately, I was to discover that mine was lacking the price tag.
This story begins in the checkout line at Walmarts. A meat counter employee was paged. She arrived and left with my perfect turkey:( supposedly to print a new tag. Waiting..... 10 min..... STILL WAITING... Eventually, a kind manager walks to the back of the store and rescues my turkey, giving it to me for FREE because of the inconvenience:) Next, I triumphantly carried it home and set it to thaw in the fridge!!!
Well, by Tuesday morning it was completely thawed, however we decided last minute to spend July 4th with my sister and brother-in-law in Ohio. Not wanting the turkey to rot ( I am very particular about my meats), we opted to take it with us and eat it at my sister's place. Of course, we felt lazy, went shopping and then out to eat. Oops.
Not wanting to throw it out, Patrick convinced me to bring it home and cook it. We finally had a delicious turkey dinner Friday night. The next day, we had turkey melts for lunch and turkey leftovers for supper. Each day, I was tossing everything into a large pot - leftover spinach, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, butternut squash, turkey bones and meat, etc. On Monday and Tuesday, we had a wonderful turkey soup.
To recap : The turkey travelled around Walmarts, to Ohio and back, and then into our stomachs for five different meals. Now that is truly an amazing turkey!!! THE END

Cousins

I just had to include this one. Isn't he so CUTE!!!Drew and Thomas
Aidan, Alex, Sean, Genna, and Calvin
They always have such a grand time playing together!

Birthday Boy!

Aidan's 4th birthday.He had alot of fun opening his presents - they are so easy to please at this age:)

Sean swam his first 100IM (fly, back, breast, free) and did super well!!!!!

This reminds me so much of Aidan's picture below, minus the fins and streamline position - how CUTE!!

Accidents

Drew will not be competing this year, even though he has trained hard all spring. He will be in a splint/cast for six weeks most likely - five weeks to go:( He lost control of his scooter, breaking his radius and dislocating his ulna (Galeazzi fracture). On Tuesday, he underwent general anesthesia to repair the damage. In his own words, "Mommy, I am really excited to see how they put me to sleep." He was accompanied home by "Liam" - his new teddy bear. He was a real trooper and is no longer in pain!!!
Prior to this accident, he knocked three teeth loose and split his chin wide open at swim practice. In the last month, we have visited the ER twice, an oral surgeon, and an orthopedist. Between these two events, Aidan also sliced his head open. We were so pleased to discover after rinsing him off that the cut was small enough to warrant NO trips to the ER.
Praise God that in each of these events the injuries were rather mild and for his protection every day.

Piranhas

As you can see, it is that time of year again - SWIM TEAM. This is Aidan's first year to compete and his first race!! The only help he needed was getting on his back, and he was able to swim the full length of the pool. Daddy, Mommy, brothers, and coaches were so proud; and he was absolutely thrilled to receive two ribbons (second and third place).
Sean is also competing this year in the 9-10 age group. He takes his swimming very seriously and really enjoys the 2 hr. practices, 4 hr. clinics, and competitions. Hopefully, I will learn how to use our new camera and post a good picture of him after tomorrow's meet.

Aidan (3), Drew (7), and Sean (8)