A Late Night Visitor

So the Taylor police just left.

About 30 minutes earlier I was talking with Missy (I love having a friend who can call at 11:45 knowing I'm probably up) and Conner had walked into my room. I decided to walk him right back to his room as it seemed he was completely asleep. On our way to his room I went by the front door and saw it was wide open (by this time it's after midnight). Thank the Lord I was on the phone with Missy, but it did freak me out.

Conner gets up at night, but never has tried to go outside or open doors. Then, while still on the phone I wondered through the house opening doors, checking on the kids and turning on outdoor lights. That actually made me more nervous. I decided to call Mark and he wasn't overly concerned, but said if I was going to be up all night or worried about it to call the Taylor police department. I didn't really want to do that, so I just turned on more lights and laid in bed.

Then Mark called a few more times and said he had called the police for me and they were on their way. He kept reminding me that that is their job. He arrived and walked around the outside of the house first. Then he came in and I decided I would feel more comfortable if we walked through the house again. We went in and out of each room, under beds, in closets etc. He went in the basement for me and into the garage and looked in the car. When he was in the garage I heard a knock in the back of the house. THAT definitely freaked me out and I told him I heard a knock (what robber/evil doer knocks I realize..?) and I then saw that the Upland police officer was at the back door.

They were both very kind and didn't make me feel like an idiot. I'm hoping now that I can sleep well...it's 1:12 am. All this on the last night that Mark is away...isn't that ironic? Thanks for taking care of me hon...

Our Time at the Lake

We spent the first full week of July at the lake. As crazy as it can be (shoving six kids and 5 adults in a two bedroom, one bath place-my brother's family and parents were there) it is always such a great time. I love these memories.

The kids enjoyed fishing. Hayden caught a 15 inch bass (which is featured on my mom's camera) and this rock bass, which I'd never seen before. He just loves to fish and seems to have a knack for it.


Although in this picture, he was fairly sure he had a big one...



We had my ideal lake day on Friday...we headed to ski bay and Conner, Hayden and Addison tried ski. None of them was quite successful, but I was proud of them for trying. Then we headed to the sand bar to relax in the water and swim. Much people watching to do that is for sure (much milder than the weekend). I'd like to have some pics of the kids skiing, but my Mom was feeling technically challenged trying to video tape and I was in the lake helping.


What kid doesn't love to drive the boat? This was Millie's first time.

The kids have come a long way with their swimming this summer. Conner is very comfortable and I finally feel comfortable with him swimming without his lifejacket over his head. Hayden will now jump off the dock in water over his head and swim to where he can touch. I had no idea he'd do this and maybe I mentioned he wasn't allowed to fish off the dock without a lifejacket until he was able to swim in deep water. Oh the things that motivate our kids. He and Addison learned to dive because Brad said they could squirt him with a water gun if they did it right.

Conner's sand castle creation.

We can't wait to go back.

In One End and Out the Other

I had a fabulous dinner. I felt like I was eating at a fancy restaurant and it only had 5 ingredients. We ate dinner at the Ross' since our husbands were both gone tonight, so Carrie fixed dinner for the kids and then this fabulous dish for us. It consisted of penne pasta, olive oil, spinach, tomatoes, green onion and garlic herb feta cheese. It was wonderful. I had to take a picture.


So that is the 'in one end part'.

The 'out the other' part of the title is in reference to my attempt to get Millie to 'poopy on the potty'. She is doing very well with her potty training, telling me when she has to go and really not having any #1 accidents anymore. HOWEVER, she has not gone poopy on the potty since we started training. I totally can tell when she has to go, so I new today when we were at Taylor Lake that she had to go. Well, the only option is a port-a-potty. Yes, that's right. What was I supposed to do? I first tried to get her to squat near the woods-but that was not going to happen.

Beth and Carrie were with me and Beth happens to say, "at least it's a new port-a-potty. They just dropped it off today." It seems weird to say, but it really did make a difference. Then Millie seems to think the port-a-potty is a great place...picking up the urinal cake, climbing on and off the potty numerous times, wanting me to go away, insisting on opening the door herself.

About 15 minutes later, after running naked around the port-a-potties to try to 'run it out of her' I gave up and took us all home. I figured I'd let her take a bath (since I was totally grossed out from her experience in the port-a-potty) and I'd make her stay in until she went-surly I could get her to the potty in time.

No such luck. I ended the ordeal with poop in the bathtub. I was more than slightly irritated. Feel free to pass along poop potty training tips. I know we'll get passed it, but really.

The kids also enjoyed some trampoline time at the Ross's. Just threw in a photo for fun.

4th of July

We had a great time spending the holiday with my family at the lake. Thursday my parents took the kids to the lake so Mark and I could have a belated anniversary dinner. We had a great time and so did the kids.

We met up with them on Friday around noon and headed to the Angola parade since my brother was in it with several other state troopers. This is how my kids feel about the sirens of the firetrucks...


The measure of a great parade for the kids is how much candy they leave with. They had a great time collecting billions of tootsie rolls (why is that always the candy of choice? cheap and easy to throw?), suckers, fruit snacks, frisbies, and even an ice cream sandwich from zestos! Millie loved waving a the characters she saw-not Elmo and Big Bird, but a giant hand and a frog on top of a car...


My Grandparents came and brought KFC chicken with them. Here the kids are enjoying a chicken leg-thank goodness they can eat outside!


We took a family picture while my Grandparents were still there. It's hard to believe most everyone is looking at the camera. We stopped briefly-I think my kids still have their swimsuit bottoms on.



Late in the afternoon on Saturday we hit the water (rough water as there are always a ton of boats on the 4th) and the kids went tubing.

Later that evening it was time for sparklers (or sparkwers as Millie calls them).

My Mom bought some large sparklers that changed colors. After seeing my brother light them-all at the same time- only two of the kids would take them. Guess holding a large flame in their hand didn't seem appealing...?


The night ended with a great fireworks display. We headed out on the boat at about 9:30 with plenty of snacks and such and found a spot to drop anchor. Watching fireworks on the lake is amazing. They reflect off the water and everyone honks their boat horn for the great ones. The kids loved it and we were really close to the launch spot. Mark taped some of it, so I thought I'd post a short segment.

We Won!

The boys played on the same baseball team this year with coach Jim Spiegel. They played 16 games and really improved throughout the season.

Last Wednesday our team beat the best (and undefeated) team in coach pitch. We previously lost to them 4-12, 0-9, and 0-8. This time, everything came together and we beat them 14-8. It was an amazing night for the kids (OK, maybe Carrie and I were screaming from the sideline too). The kids were so excited and it was one of those moments where the underdog came through. They celebrated at Ivanhoe's for ice cream that night.

That took us to the championship game Monday night (yesterday). The kids played great and beat the Ivanhoe's team 12-4. Grandma and Grandpa AND Great Grandma and Great Grandpa came down to watch. YEAH!! Here's the kids receiving their trophies after the game.



Hayden couldn't stop smiling-he loves trophies and this is a big one.


Noah, Bailey, Conner and Hayden...




The whole team seemed to come together in the last 5 games or so. One game Hayden said, "I'm going to get a hit tonight" and sure enough he did (after striking out nearly every at bat the whole season). Since that game he has been a different player (almost catching a pop fly to left-center) and hitting the ball nearly every time-at least advancing runners if he didn't get on base. Conner went from batting 9th to batting 5th. I really enjoyed watching them play together on the same team this season.



Congrats Bud Brankle Construction!