Spring 2017

Leila finished her 1st year doing competitive cheer with GC Starz.
She was on the 'Mini' team.
There were a few ups and downs, but overall, she really enjoyed it.

Most of their competitions were in OH, but their final one for the season took us to Hershey, PA.
They had a great performance, but they didn't place as well as they wanted. They were a little disappointed, but it was okay, and they'll be better for it.
All of our 'big kids' arranged their schedules and went with us that weekend, so we had a little mini vacation.
We got to go to Hershey World and Hershey Park.



I had some super chocolate.


And David, Leila and I made a short side trip on the way home to York, PA so David could tour the Harley Factory.


I'm grateful for times like this.

In Feb, David and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.
We were (really) surprised by a party at the church with family and friends.


The love and work that went into planning and pulling this off for us was wonderful.
And then to have so many people come and spend their evening with us, was amazing.
The last 25 years, have had a LOT of ups and downs, but we must be doing something right!
Here's to 25 more!

Easter is always nice.
We had beautiful weather.
We started with sunrise breakfast, church, and then dinner at home.




David FINALLY got his long awaited motorcycle in May.


The kids treated me to lunch at the Chinese restaurant for Mother's Day.
(They can be so sweet at times.)

Leila started biddy league volleyball.
She's the smallest one on the team (on all the teams actually).
She does pretty good hitting the ball, but serving is hard - that net is still a LONG way away.


Summer comes before we even realize it.
Leila has finished 3rd grade.
Darrell has finished his 2nd year of college.
Austin was hired on 'full-time' at Toyota.

A New Year - 2017

School started. (And gosh - it's now 1/2 over!)
Leila is in the 3rd grade.
She struggles with some of the work, but overall - she's doing SO much better than she was last year.

Darrell started his 2nd year at Marshall.
He's in an apartment this year with 3 other guys instead of in the dorm - which he likes better.
He has a full load of classes, AND he works 2 part-time jobs.
He still works at the rec center on campus, and he also works at the bank now.
He has a lot on his plate, but he seems to be handling it.


Austin and Casey decided to expand their family with a new dog.
They got a Bernese Mountain dog named Marshall.
He's a cutie, but he has LOTS of energy.
(Makes me realize just how 'done' I am with the puppy stage.)


We celebrated our 8th (!) Gotcha Day in Sept.
Can't believe we've been home with our girl for that long.
We went out for our annual dinner at the Chinese restaurant.
I'm so grateful our 'big kids' make the time in their busy schedules for things like this.


The end of Oct brought birthdays.
Leila turned 9, and Darrell turned 20.
We had a 'joint' birthday party at the skating rink.
We had 'kids' of all ages - which was a lot of fun.
I grew up going to the skating rink as a teenager, but the boys did not. I must admit, that I loved being better at something physical than them, for the 1st time since they learned to walk!


Darrell went on a Veterans Day hike in the mountains of NC in Nov.
This was a fundraiser for an organization called standwatch.org.
They raise money for medical care for veterans.
He said it was one of the hardest things (physically) that he's ever done.
They backpacked across mountains overnight in freezing weather.
I'm so proud of him for putting others ahead of his own comfort and well-being though.


Dec was full of ups and downs.

Mom lost her dog and constant shadow, Freckles.

One week later, we lost David's 'baby' - Sable. She was just a few weeks shy of 13 years old.


Christmas was the usual rush and flurry of activities.
Leila was in a parade with her cheer group.
We went to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Columbus - really amazing, btw.
School program, church decorating, and program.
Etc.

School Christmas Program


Leila's letter to Santa.
Don't you just absolutely love it?
And yes, Allie did get something from Santa too.


Christmas Eve Cookies for Santa


Christmas Morning


Austin MADE me this picture.
Isn't it pretty!?


Ready for Church



Leila had an expander put in her mouth in Dec.
This is in preparation for her bone graft surgery and for braces - both of which, I believe, will possibly be next summer.
She has actually done way better with this than I expected her to.

We had our New Year's Eve party.
Good food, good times, and good friends.
Always a great way to end the old year and start the new one.

Competition season has started for Leila's cheer group.
This is a new thing for us.
So far, Leila is loving it.
Of course, the fact that they won first place at their first meet probably has something to do with that too.


Now we're in the middle of winter - which hasn't actually been that cold or snowy (yet).
The school year is more than 1/2 over, and spring is just around the corner.

August 2016

Summer is almost over.
It's flown by way too fast.

Just as the 'kids' cooked lunch for me on Mother's Day, they also cooked for David on Father's Day.


We went on our annual 'Girls Trip' in June.
It was a little different this year.
Instead of a Beach Trip, we went to Colonial Williamsburg.
We had fun and learned some things, and although the most important part was being together - I think we all missed the beach a little.





In July, we went on our 'Family Trip'.
We went to the St. Louis area.
We ended up there due to the process of elimination in finding a place to stay in Mom's timeshare that met all of our requirements.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by all we found to do in the area.

Our resort was super nice.
We played putt-putt golf, went swimming, went fishing, and played 'real' golf.
Of course we went up in the famous Arch.
We went to the caverns that Jesse James used as a hide-out.
We went zip lining.
Grants Farm is the ancestral home of the Busch family. We spent a pleasant (and hot) day there. We saw animals, animal shows, rode a camel, sampled the wares, and saw the famous Clydesdale horses.
We went to Purina Farms and saw some amazing dogs.
The 'big kids' stopped at the Corvette Museum on the way, and then spent a day a Six Flags and toured the AB Brewery.
We went to Union Station - saw the light show on the ceiling, tested the 'Whispering Arches' and completed a scavenger hunt.
We spent some time at a park - played on the playground and strolled thru a museum there.
We had a great week, but we missed Ryan and Shondale.









However - I think the biggest surprise of all and one of the best days we had, was at the City Museum!
Now, the name 'museum' is VERY misleading in this instance.
It is NOT a museum in the way most people (myself included) normally imagine a museum.
It's in an old shoe factory and is a city block big and 10 stories high.
The best description I can give is - a huge, jungle gym / playground for all ages.
I've never seen (or imagined) anything like it.
If ever in the area - I highly recommend it.






We came home from vacation and went straight into Bible School.


We ended that week with a church trip to the Creation Museum.
It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was still a nice day with family and friends.
And Leila got to do a 'free fall' while we were there.


Summer is winding down.
The kids (Darrell and Leila) will soon be back in school.
I'm not ready for summer to be over.