Friends

On the way home from Niagara Falls we stopped for a very quick stop to see this sweet family. They just moved to Winchester this winter so when I was mapping the way home I saw we drove right through Winchester! I sent Abby a quick text seeing if they were free since they were literally two minutes off the interstate. It was a fun but quick visit.

The kids used to fight over who got to hold baby Caroline and now they fight over who gets to sit by her and get tickled by her. 

It was a great time to let the kids get out and run off some energy before heading home.  We wish we couldve stayed longer with them.

Eight is Great!

This boy turned 8 a few weeks ago.  Life has been busy so I'm just now sitting down to write this.

He has been so excited for his birthday for months. 

He kept going back and forth with what he wanted.  He originally wanted a big party with a lot of friends but then at the end he said he just wanted to go go Cloud 9 and Pungo Pizza with Nathan and Noah. 

It was the perfect day! These boys have been friends since birth and I couldn't pick better friends for our boys.  We are sad they are moving this summer.  The kids and I are in complete denial that they will leave.  So it was perfect to have a day for the boys to all spend together. 

We picked up the boys and took them to Cloud 9 (an indoor trampoline place) and then went and spent the rest of the afternoon at Pungo Pizza eating pizza and playing in the arcade.  We gave each kid a big bag of quarters and it was fun to watch how they spent it.  Colin and Noah saved theirs for the bigger games, Joel and Norah didn't play a single game - they used them to get those quarter toys and Nathan was a mix of both games and toys. 

It was the perfect day for our Joel and he loved that he got to do it all on his actual birthday. 

The day before his birthday Ma-Ma-Maa and Grandpa came over to watch the kids swim meet and to celebrate Joels birthday.  I was working the swim meet getting kids lined up and they were all at the other end and some how WE ALL MISSED COLIN SWIM breaststroke.  He made sure after that that we ALL knew when he was walking to his lane. 

We had a cookie cake that Joel had picked out and then Joel opened presents. 

Happy Birthday Joel!

Sometimes to be honest I'm not sure what to do with you. You are passionate and strong-willed and so demanding at times.  Yet you are the most sensitive and sweet boy at other times.  Your personality can do a complete 180 in a matter of minutes.  You have always kept us on our toes.

You are so creative that I can't wait to see where that takes you.  I love watching you get out all the craft supplies and spend hours making something.  What you come up with is amazing.  Sometimes your stories and drawings have so much detail that its no wonder you have a hard time sleeping at night.  It must be hard to turn that brain off sometimes.

Ever since your surgery you have gone back to rubbing our pretty ears.  ALL THE TIME.  It has been a long time since our pretty ears were rubbed so much.  I think you still have a lot of anxiety from the surgery so we are working through that.  You were terrified to go back to see the doctor a week ago because they would cut you open but thankfully they didn't (they did freeze off some warts so there's another thing for you to worry about)

You are a very hard worker in school but seem to think that at home anything that requires you to lift a finger should not be done.  Lately that's when you start to tell me your incision hurts.  I didn't believe you until last week at the doctors they said that you do indeed still have internal stitches that have not dissolved yet.  So at that you were telling the truth.  It was just always a coincidence it would always hurt when it was time to clean.

Colin got a new to us bookshelf from Grandpa and Ma-Ma-Maa so we moved his into your room.  I told you to remove all the books off your old smaller bookshelf so we could put the bigger one in its place. You grumbled and complained and took forever but finally did it.  Then when it was time to put everything back on the shelves you started ranting and raving "but YOU told me to take everything off. and YOU made my room messy (I did rearrange some things in there) so YOU should clean my room for me not ME!"  I mean you did have a point.  If I hadn't moved your desk around then all the toys shoved under it wouldn't need to be cleaned up. But it is your room so you had to clean it up and it took all day but you eventually did it.   You always find a loophole for everything.

There is no one who makes Colin laugh harder than you.  You can make Colin laugh big belly laughs and your whole face lights up when he can't stop laughing at something you've said.  There is also no one who encourages you like Colin.  I hope you always stay close.  You and Norah have a love/hate thing going on right now - you love to play together but have very different ways of playing at times and get annoyed very quickly at each other.  Yet when I tell you to go to your own separate rooms you refuse and want to be together.  

I hope you know how much we love you.  Life wouldn't be the same without you.  We are so thankful God sent you to us.  You are such a gift to us.  Happy Birthday Joely Bean! We love you!

Niagara Falls

 We have been wanting to come visit Kaitlin and Aaron for years and it finally all worked out to go this past weekend. The fact that they live 30 minutes from Niagara Falls was extra bonus.  It was amazing and the kids have said was well worth all the driving.  We went to their wedding in Pennsylvania when Colin was 6 and when we were driving into New York Colin started asking where we were going.  He said this isn't where the wedding was.  His memory is remarkable. 

 Apparently the 4th of July weekend is also Canada's independence as well and because of that we picked the biggest weekend out of the year to visit the falls. We just picked that weekend because it was the easiest for Brent to take off from work. So not the best timing but it was still amazing.

 
 Its amazing people have gone over the falls in barrels and lived!

   
  
  We waited in line for over two hours to go see the cave of the winds.  Usually they said the wait is much much less but the kids all agreed it was well worth the wait.  You go down an elevator and then walk through this cave and out to a walkway and decks.  It puts you out under the falls.  So much fun!

 This sweet little family is such a blessing to us! They feel like family to us.  It is always so encouraging to spend time with them. We've been spoiled because we saw them at spring break and now this summer.   We wish we could've stayed longer. 

 They take down the wooden decks and walkways each winter and then rebuild it all over again in the spring.  I found that fact really interesting. 

He liked the fact that he was looking at Canada!

  Pictures don't do it justice. 

  
 Everyone got sandals before you went out to the walkway.  Joel loves his and has worn them ever sense.

 I just love this girl!  She is such a gift from God and I'm very thankful for her friendship.   I'm so glad we've kept in touch all these years and its really fun that our kids are growing up together.  I had to laugh thinking about how she would babysit for MOPS when Colin was 6 months old so I would pick her up on campus and drive to MOPS.  Colin would scream his head off in the car and this weekend she heard Norah's screaming in the car! haha almost like we've come full circle! ha!

 

Niagara Falls was breathtaking and such a fun experience but I think our favorite times this weekend was just hanging out playing at their house together.

Gettysburg

 We just got back from a visit to New York to see our friends Kaitlin, Aaron and Ethan.  We left Friday and planned on driving as far as we could that night then drive the rest of the way Saturday.  One our way we realized we drove right through Gettysburg.  I've always wanted to go to Gettysburg and Colin was super excited when we mentioned it to him. 

 We called my dad and asked what we could do in Gettysburg for two hours and of course Dad said two hours was not enough time.  We agreed but it was fun to spend a few hours getting a feel for the battle.  We timed it well because the next day the big reenactment took place so I think people were either coming the next day or staying away from the crowds. It was pretty empty when we were there.  One day I'd love to go back during the reenactment.  Dad and James went several years as reenactors and Colin wants Grandpa to be his own personal tour guide. 

 Dad suggested the visitor center but when we got there Colin said if he just had a few hours he would rather be out on the field and seeing where everything took place. So we bought the auto cd and drove around listening to the narration and got out a different points. 

 Colin and I really wanted to see Little Round Top and to be honest it was a lot smaller than I thought.  Also the entire battle took place on a smaller area than I thought.  Its hard to tell from the map and movie but its really not that big of an area for that many people to have died. 

 Standing where Picketts charge started.  

 

 Colin - "Its amazing that so many men died right where we are standing"

 

 Joel -  "I would've just hidden here until it was all over"

 They really liked playing in Devils Den

 Devils Den is really not that far from Little Round Top

  Joel said it was like God was shinning down on the battlefield.

It was a really fun stop and not long enough.  Now we want to watch the movie again that we have been there in person.