Before~After

I tried to talk her out of it, but Madison decided she wanted bangs. She looks cute no matter what!

Stop #2 on our Stadium Tour

Turner Field in Atlanta, GA was a really nice stadium to visit. We were part of the biggest crowd they had there all season. The number was somewhere around 51,000. I was happy our seats were in the shade because it was super hot that day.

I liked being a brave fan for a day. They unfortunately lost the game...but since it wasn't the Cubs I guess I didn't really care too much.

There was a free concert right after the game that we stayed for. All American Rejects aren't exactly a family friendly group, so we didn't stay for the whole concert. Madi kept asking me why that guy was so weird.

More Fun

We stayed in Kissimmee for a few days when we first arrived in Florida. It's a very tourist type town with tons of stuff for families to do. Our hotel was right next door to a big carnival. So we spent one night there riding go carts and riding the rides. I even enjoyed a funnel cake or two...or three....I don't know, I think I lost count. It was too tempting when it was right outside your hotel door. My friend Karen met us there one night since she lives in the Orlando area.

The go kart tracks were pretty cool.

We spent one day at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Look closely behind the kids and you will see the sight of one of the launch pads located there.

I learned a lot that day about our history in space. Pretty cool stuff!

Weekend Getaway

Awhile ago I saw that Rascal Flatts was coming in to concert in Chicago at Wrigley Field. We were both pretty excited about it until we realized that the day they were in Chicago was the exact day we were leaving town for our road trip. We eventually figured out that they would be in concert in West Palm Beach while we were in Florida. Brian's mom and sister offered to watch the kids for us so we could have a weekend getaway.

It was an outdoor theater so we were hot...but had SO MUCH FUN!

The concert was better than I expected. Rascal Flatts is, by far, my favorite country group. Darius Rucker opened for them and we liked him a lot too. Didn't realize how many of his songs I actually knew.

The next morning we packed up and went to the beach for some snorkeling. I'm not the best swimmer and have a bit of a fear of deep ocean water. Brian held my hand to get me out to the snorkeling area. WOW...it was AMAZING! Some of the best snorkeling I've ever done. I just felt like I was in a different world when I was under the water.

Air Boat Ride

The boat went faster than I was expecting! It was so much fun! There were tons of tropical birds and a few gators to look at. I was in awe of the beauty of that area. We would drive through tall grass of the swamp area and just enjoy the scenery.

The kids spotted a giant gator. We were sneaking on him to get a better look.

This gator was 3 years old. His mouth was taped shut so we could hold him.

Don't let my smile fool you, I was a little intimidated to be holding him.

Beach Day

We had so much fun with our beautiful niece Kylee. We've finally got to the point where we don't have to reintroduce ourselves to her when we visit. She knows who her Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Brian and cousins are now.

Grandma bought all of the kids matching shirts to wear to the beach that day!

Family

Of course it's always nice to get away for vacation. It's even better when you get to take your vacation visiting family. I'm always sad to say goodbye. We had such a good time with everyone the past 2 weeks!
We celebrated Cassandra's birthday by having dinner at Benihana. It's the type of restaurant where the chef comes to your table and entertains you by cooking the food in front of you. The restaurant was right on the water, and we had a beautiful view of dolphins swimming and the sunset. Not to mention the food was FABULOUS!!! Cassy and Chris are expecting their first baby together in November. We are so excited for them!

We got to play Rock Band at Mike and Nora's one night. It was lots of fun and we decided we should hit the road with our act because we weren't too bad. Madi and Kylee were the background singers/dancers.

Grandma and Grandpa with their 3 grandkids. This place was so beautiful where we were waiting to take our airboat ride.

Aunt Nora and Uncle Michael are expecting their second baby together in just a few short months. It's hard to believe next time we see our family in Florida that we will have 2 new nieces to meet.

Beach Bums!

Miles could have filled his sand bucket and dumped it out forever that day. He's such a good boy and I love being a part of his life!
Jenny and me!

Jen and Austin playing cornhole.

Brian and the kids!

Henry and Traci!

Friends

This is my friend, Melinda, with her 2 adorable children. We've known each other since high school and have been through so much together. Mel lives in Indy so we get to have weekend visits with each other from time to time.
I also got to visit with another friend from high school while Melinda was in town, but forgot to take a picture of her. Sorry Sumera! But here are all of our kids together!

I'm always excited when my friend Jenny gets to come in town to visit. She lives in Missouri now and I miss hanging out with her as much as we use to when she lived here. We had a girls trip to Chicago before she flew back home. (see our reflection in the bean?)

This is looking down from the glass balcony at the top of the Sears Tower. Technically it's called the Willis Tower now...but I don't see that catching on anytime soon.

I feel so blessed to have so many close friends in my life!

Grandpa Jerry- June 30, 2009

Grandpa Jerry went to be with the Lord yesterday. We are sad to be without him here, but are happy to know that he is in Heaven. The kids were wondering yesterday if Grandpa Jerry was already telling Jesus jokes. You see, Jerry always had a joke or two to share every time we got together with him. In fact, before the kids started calling him Grandpa Jerry, they would call him the funny grandpa. He always made us laugh and smile.

He will truly be missed!