2 Years

Last Tues was the 2 year anniversary of our 'Referral Call'.
2 years have gone by since we first saw that sweet little face.

We had just dropped the boys off at scout camp, so we had to turn around and go find them to tell them.
Ironically they were at a camp again this year on that date.

We received (I think) 5 pictures that day.
I believe this is the one we actually saw first.

Maybe this one.
(I'm not sure I remember exactly - I was SO excited.)


From that to this.

What an amazing 2 years!

Nashville

While the boys were at Camp Electric, we did some site-seeing.
It was a bit too far to drop them off and come home, only to turn around and go get them - so we stayed too.

We drove over to Memphis one day.
We toured the famous 'Graceland'.
Some of it was more interesting than others.
I think was amazes me the most about it - the man's been dead for 33 years and yet the place is still crawling with visitors and bringing in a fortune each and every day.

In Front of the 'Mansion'


Elvis's Car Museum


We got to visit with a few of my cousins that live down there on another day.
It was good to see them, because we don't get to often enough.
A 'real' visit is better than 'computer time' anytime.

Mom, Dad & Phyllis

Leila & Reanna

We went to the 'Grand Ole Opry' another night.
That was nice.
Straight music - no fancy light, no gimmicks - just good music.
I didn't realize how many people perform there on a given night.
(I think there were 6 when we were there.)
And yet, the show is only around 2-2.5 hrs long.
They only do 3-4 songs each.
David liked Charlie Daniels the best.
Leila liked Montgomery Gentry. She was coping the one guy's movements and blowing him kisses even.

Charlie Daniels

Those were our highlights.
It was one of the least, activity-filled vacations, I think we've ever taken.

I have to say - I was sort of surprised with the city of Nashville though.
Never having been there before, I had this preconceived notion that it was a huge tourist spot.
Yes, I think it's THE place to go if you're trying to make it in the music business.
But for the 'regular' tourist - not so much.
It was much cleaner, safer, and friendlier than I anticipated though.

'Walking Down the Street'


'On One of the Streets'


'Worn Out'


Irregardless, it's ALWAYS good to come home.

Getting Ready to Come Home

Camp Electric

Both boys went to camp last week.
Not scout camp, like they've done in the past. Not another sports camp.
A music / praise & worship camp.
We found out about it last year from an 'adoption' friend whose son has been before.

It's held in Nashville, TN and is called "Camp Electric".
Contemporary Christian artists come to the camp.
Their band members teach music classes to the kids.
Then they put on concerts for them at night.
(Toby Mac runs it.)

Austin went for guitar. Darrell went for keyboard.
Honestly, we were a little worried about Darrell though. (He hasn't had a whole lot of experience yet.)
They didn't know anyone going (except each other). And they weren't rooming together anyway.

They both absolutely loved it!!!
We dropped them off on Sun afternoon, and by Sun evening - Darrell had already texted us and asked if he could come back next year.

Turns out - the emphasis wasn't as much on the music classes as it was on the praise and worship part.
They got to see around 2 concerts a day.
They saw Pillar, Disciple, of course Toby Mac and several others too.
And it wasn't like they were in huge concert halls with thousands of people either. They were never more than probably 10 yards from the stage. Sometimes they were even right up against it.

I would love to post some pictures of it, but I don't have much.
Darrell didn't take a whole lot, and Austin took mostly video.

And yes - we did do the pre-registration for next year too.

Bible School & 4th of July

We had a busy, busy week last week.

Bible school was Sun thru Thur.

Leila liked Bible school. There were 8-9 kids in her class.
Although I didn't actually sign up to help (I figured I'd never be able to get away from Leila long enough to do anything) - me and another guy ended up in charge of her class anyway.
Darrell helped out with crafts.
Austin helped out in different areas. He was supposed to be the photographer, but Darrell and I both took pictures too. He actually ended up doing whatever they needed - pictures, games, etc.





And then David's brothers came to visit for the weekend. One came from MD, and one came from GA.
David's mother completely enjoyed having all 3 of her boys together for the 1st time in a long time.
My brother also came from TN.
The kids went wakeboarding and tubing in the afternoon.
Even Leila went tubing this time.
I had 18 people here for a cookout on Sat evening.
Then we all went to the regatta and to the fireworks.
You would think that with getting home around 11:30 after such a full day, everyone would have been beat. Yeah, but not too tired to go for a midnight swim.

Pretty Dog

I sort of think we have too many dogs (3) some times.
I get very, very aggravated with the two bigger ones especially.
I get tired of giving Sable a bath every week.
I get tired of brushing off bags of hair and vacuuming and STILL having hair in the house and on the floor.
And yet - I still have to admit - they're pretty good with Leila and all she puts them thru at times.
Note the hair thing on Sable's head and the ponytail holder on her ear (and two others had already fallen off before I could get the camera).


Father's Day was pretty relaxing here.
We had gone to Charleston on Fri and spent the evening running around and went out to eat then.
The guys all went on a four-wheeler ride on Sat in Ritchie Co.
So Sun was spent pretty much as a normal day.
I thought I'd put a picture that has all my favorite guys though.


Sun night we took Austin to catch the bus to go to Kansas City.
So far, it sounds like he's having a really good time.
He'll be home sometime this weekend.
His teacher sent me a picture today that she must have taken during one of his competitions.


Darrell's been just a little bit lonely since Austin's been gone.
Not as much as he anticipated though.
He had a friend come to swim on Mon and Tues.
And he's been sick with a really bad ear infection since. Hard to miss someone when you feel bad.

Austin's Day

Last Tues (6/8) was Austin's 17th Birthday!
It was a pretty good day for him.
It was his birthday, and he won the birthday cake on the radio.
It was the last day of school.
We went out to eat to Mexican food.
And his WV State Champion Wrestling Ring came in. (And what a ring it is!)





I may get aggravated with him, but I do know that all in all - he's a pretty good kid.

Gymnastics

Leila started gymnastics last week.
The boys went for years and loved it.
Austin went more for upper body strength to stay in shape for wrestling. Darrell actually competed on the boys' team.
In reality, they both did more playing than anything though.
Although both boys would love to go back, they're not going to. Too much money and time.
I've been saying for months however, that I needed to call to see about taking Leila.
Well, I finally got around to making that call. She can go to the 'Mommy/Buddy and Me' class. It's for 2-3 year olds and only meets 1/2 hr each week.
When I called, Betty told me that at that point, they were full, but she'd let me know if/when a spot opened up. As luck would have it - a mere 2 days later, she called back. A child had dropped out, and she offered us the spot. Did we want to start that week?!
Leila's going to be starting preschool sometime in the fall. We thought that with that in mind, not only would she probably love gymnastics (once she gets used to it), but the socialization would be a good thing for her too to help prepare her for that.
We went. With her fear of new things, we really expected a 2-3 week adjustment period.
For about 10 minutes the first week, she wasn't too sure. She wanted to watch rather than do. After that, she start to join in. She even let the intructor (Amanda) pick her up, flip her, etc.
We went back last Thurs (the 2nd week). I was expecting that same 10 minute 'warm-up' period. Nope! Out on the floor she went!
She is taking to it and LOVING it!


The boys took her swimming this week too.
It's so strange.
Some of the most 'common' things scare her so much (using a different potty, touching sand, etc).
And yet, being thrown up 3-4 feet in the air and landing in the water or going completely under the water - great fun.

Although one of the dogs is missing from this picture - I liked this one.
(Obviously, animals certainly don't scare her either.)