Christmas 2007

Christmas is a favorite time of the year for our family. We celebrate Christmas at 4 or 5 different family events, and really enjoy seeing everyone and spending some relaxing time with them.


This year we had Christmas at Kristie's best friend Tracey and Steve's house..

Christmas at Kristie's mom's house:

Christmas at Kristie's Aunt Toni and Uncle John:

Christmas at home!

and finally Christmas/New Year's at Bob's family's house:

December 2007 - Snow and Pain

December this year brought us a good snow and ice storm. The boys were able to get out and really enjoy the snow, playing tackle football and general horsing around.



Unfortunately for Bob, for the 2nd year in a row, he had to undergo surgery. Last winter it was back surgery, this year it's a torn achilles tendon. Kristie believes this is all a diabolical plot to avoid shoveling snow! Behold, the boot!

Unleash the Inner Artists!

With the boys playing sports non-stop year-round, it is a real treat for them to be able to do some non-sport creative activities once in a while. Plus, who doesn't like fingerpainting!!??

Mom was working on setup for a big school function (Santa Shop '07) so dad was left to mind the kids. Normally having 4 boys without any female supervision is a recipe for disaster, but luckily the boys were able to reign in dad's short attention span with some paints.


The artists, (L to R): Aaron "Van Gogh", Jacob "Renoit" and Derek "Picasso"


The final results (all available for sale by the way!).
Jacob's fingerpaints on the left. Derek's 3, including "Apple Core".
Aaron's 3, including "Desert Sunrise" and finally Dad's 3 including
"Mountains with pine tree, cactus, and oak doesn't make any sense"

Trick or Treat!!

We all had great Halloween fun this year! We decided to trick or treat in downtown Pendleton, and spent the evening walking along the brick-lined Broadway Ave. in town. It was really a throwback to my old trick or treating days in LaPorte -- lots of little ghouls and goblins walking around, nicely decorated homes with people sitting out on their porches handing out the treats, and everyone having a great time.
Aaron went as "the eyeclops". Derek reprised last year's role as the Star Wars Clone Trooper. And little Jacob went as his favorite, a pirate "Arrr Baby!"

Fall Break in Gatlinburg (Part 3)

We spent a lot of time hiking and driving through the park. There is a beautiful 11-mile driving loop (Cades Cove), and we also did an on-foot hike to see Laurel Falls. The kids had such a great time finding "walking sticks" and climbing around the rocks.

Fall Break in Gatlinburg (Part 2)

After wandering around downtown Gatlinburg for a while, we took an aerial tram up to "Ober Gatlinburg". On top of the mountain, there were some delicious little food stands and a few activities for the kids. Their favorite was the "alpine slide" (which was really fun for the adults too!!)

Fall Break in Gatlinburg (Part 1)

For the kids' Fall Break, we visited Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Tennessee for the first time. I'm not really much for shopping, but the town was pretty cool. Waaaaay too crowded on Saturday, so we avoided it completely and just went hiking. Our good friends Chris and Shelley Padgett and their daughter Emily went along with us, and Chris was able to locate a really nice rental cabin for our stay.


Here's a look at downtown Gatlinburg -- the heart of the shopping! These views are all from the top of the Gatlinburg "space needle"





Although Gatlinburg is way commercialized, it is nestled beautifully in the heart of the Smoky Mountain National Park

First Day of School 2007

Aaron and Derek are off to East Elementary for another year! Aaron will be in the 4th grade this year (Mrs. Simerly) and Derek will be in 1st grade (Mrs. Rauh)

Summer Virginia Vacation (Part 1)

We wanted to have a great family summer vacation this year, and finally decided to go to the Williamsburg/Virginia Beach area. What a great decision! There are so many things there to do, and we were lucky with some great weather.
We rented a 2 bedroom condo for a week in Williamsburg and decided to go to a neighboring water park (Splash Country USA) on day 1.


Aaron and Derek brave the Wave Pool



Jacob has fun on the kid's area snake and crocodile



Aaron relaxing back at the condo's living room

Invaders!!

One sunny Saturday, I sent the three boys outside to play. Soon, Derek came running in and said "there's BEES out there!!". I went out and sure enough, in our backyard, there were literally hundreds of these huge monsters buzzing around low to the ground.

After sending the boys inside, I decided to go back out there, but to take along a fly swatter this time (yes, I have some not-so-bright moments, but I've always liked battling these things from the days back on the farm). I was able to swat a couple of them, and noticed that although they were flying all around me, they didn't seem to be aggressive at all.

After uploading these photos, my mom was able to identify these things as "Cicada-killing Wasps". They are usually completely harmless to humans, they burrow in the ground and they hunt the cicadas that are all over this year.

After that, we just didn't worry about them and left them alone. Sure enough, they all disappeared again around mid-August. I expect we'll see them again next summer, or maybe not depending on the cicadas.

4th of July

Here's the Patriotic trio getting ready to go watch the 4th of July Fireworks in Summitville.

Partying with the Cousins!

Summertime means festivals! We went to the church festival at Queen of All Saints in Michigan City, and the boys had lots of fun with their cousins Noah, Hayden and Nathan.


The boys decide to take a rest in the cool shade. Noah is 4,
Nathan (front) and Hayden (back) are 10 months old, Aaron is 9,
and Derek is 6. Jacob decided to nap rather than participate
in this photo shoot!


Cousin Noah and Derek relish the chance to ride this
dragon at breakneck speeds around the curves and bumps
of the rollercoaster.


Jacob finally woke up and took a few turns on the
favorite ride for him and Kristie.

Jacob turns Two!

Jacob's 2nd birthday party (and dad's too) was a very small celebration after a full day of baseball games. Bob and Jacob both share the same birthday (June 20, how cool is that!?).


The Birthday Boy takes a mighty puff and blows out
his candle!


Kristie and Derek show Jacob the handmade
card from Aaron and Derek


The guest of honor with his riches!

Hot Summer Days!!

When you're in Central Indiana and it gets hot and humid in the middle of the summer, what better way for the kids to cool off than a sprinkler out on the driveway?! The water is ice cold, and the boys had a great time running from the spray of the sprinkler.

Dale Hollow - one of the most beautiful places!!

Dale Hollow Lake, located on the Kentucky/Tennessee border, is the best camping and boating place we've ever found. Most of this huge lake is surrounded by trees coming right down to the water line. There are a few marinas and homes way up on top of the hills overlooking the lake, but for the most part it is just a beautiful place.

With our boat in the shop, we decided to camp over Memorial Day weekend and just rent a pontoon boat from one of the local marinas. The kids had a great time with their friends Mason and Devin, and they really enjoyed the slide from the top deck of the pontoon.


There's our family tent in the background. Starting to get a bit crowded with 5 people sharing it now!!


Dad and Derek captaining the pontoon. Check out that huge yacht in the background!


Aaron, Derek and their buddy Devin having fun while tubing