Independence Day 2015

Dear Gage, Gabe and Grant,

This year I had to work on the Fourth of July, so we celebrated the holiday the weekend prior. We always like to have a big celebration and this year was no exception. Daddy smoked a Boston Butt and a turkey and I prepared a variety of sides and desserts. Our company started to show up mid afternoon and you boys were excited to have some playmates.

Sarah finally meets Baby Grant

The traditional Flag Cake

Family shot, minus Sissy. She was away at GSP this year. We really missed her.

Mommy and Auntie Weesha - with a photo bomb by Kymber :)

And the award for "most festive couple" goes to Auntie Weesha and Chris

First 4th of Julys - Gage, 5 months, Gabe, 7 months and Grant, 3 months

I love you,
Mommy

Daddy's Special Days 2015

Dear Gage, Gabe and Grant,

This year, Father's Day and Daddy's birthday were just a day apart, and of course, as luck would have it, I worked that weekend. I feel like I'm always working on the days we have special occasions, but we always manage to celebrate in our own time. For Father's Day, Daddy got to spend his day being Daddy to you all while I worked and slept. Unfortunately, Sissy was out of town for GSP, so she wasn't able to be with us to celebrate, but she was with us in spirit. Daddy got to talk to her on the phone, so that was a positive.

Daddy's birthday was on Monday, so we celebrated both days then. I didn't have a chance to make Daddy's favorite cheesecake but was able to surprise him with his favorite ice cream cake. We had a nice dinner and then followed it with a birthday song and candles.

 

 

Playing "pirate" with Daddy

We had a really nice time celebrating Daddy's special days! We are so thankful to have such a wonderful,selfless and loving Daddy in our lives.

I love you,
Mommy

Visit to Indiana (9/14/15)

Dear Gage, Gabe and Grant,

On Monday, 9/14/15, we took a spur of the moment trip up to Snake Run to visit with Great Grandma. We arrived a little over 11am, and after feeding Grant and visiting for a few minutes, we went into Fort Branch for lunch at Dairy Queen. While we were there, I saw my birthday twin. Some friends of my Mom and Dad had their first son the very same day that I was born, and when we were young we always joked about being birthday twins. I hadn't seen him in probably 15 years, so it was neat to reconnect.

After lunch, we went to Aunt Peg and Uncle Steve's house for a visit. It was a beautiful day, so we played outside for quite a while. You big boys drew with chalk, played frisbee, played basketball and went for a walk with Peg. Grant, you played for a bit and then napped on a blanket in the grass.

Posing next to your body cut out, Gage.

We stopped by St Paul's Cemetery to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Leister and Cousin David on our way back to Great Grandma's house.

 

 

Gabe, you fell asleep on the way back, so you napped while I visited with Great-Grandma, and while Daddy played with you Gage down in the basement. Grandma has acquired boxes of photos from Great-Great Aunt Mary's house, so we looked through a few of the albums. I was, and still am, in awe of all the photos. She kept nice albums that are sorted and labeled! I'm a picture person, and I take your pictures everyday, so this was just awesome to see. I loved every minute looking through the pictures and hearing all the stories Great-Grandma had to tell about them.

We had such a great visit with Great-Grandma. We weren't able to visit Great-Grandpa on the trip, as he had been temporarily moved to a different nursing home facility to regulate his medications. We look forward to visiting again soon. 

I love you, 

Mommy

Visit to Chaney's Dairy Barn (5/30/15)

Dear Gage, Gabe and Grant,

During the spring and summer, Chaney's Dairy Barn hosts Ice Cream and a Moovie on Friday and Saturday night. We had never gone to Chaney's as a family before, so we decided to check it out. We got there in the late afternoon and immediately went to play. You boys had so much fun checking out all the neat activities.

There was a large pipe that can be rolled while the kiddos sit inside.

Sitting in the tube, rather than rolling

Grant snoozed during most of the fun

Watching Daddy push Jett and another boy in the tube

 Of course, there had to be a huge sand box with all sorts of fun things to play with!

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Hauling sand

Jett playing with the excavator

 There were two slides made out of this huge piping.

And of course, there were swings!

I thought the tractor was pretty cool. Gage, you agreed.

Gage, you and Jett looked so cute in the ice cream cut outs. Gabe, you would have nothing to do with them.

The sky was starting to look a little scary, so we decided to go inside to get some ice cream. By the time we came back out, the wind had picked up and it had started to rain. We ran over to one of the barns to enjoy our ice cream and then the storm really hit. The wind was howling and blowing so hard the rain was coming inside the barn. We stayed away from the doors and finished our ice cream. At that point, we decided to go on home. We didn't know when the rain would stop, and once it did, we didn't want to sit in the wet grass to watch the movie.

So we went home, ate some tacos and had a movie night of our own!

I love you,
Mommy

Witchcraft in Alvaton

Dear Gage, Gabe and Grant,

Monday night, Daddy had gone outside to get Penny. As he walked toward the building to lock it up for the night, he noticed a flickering light about 50 yards up the road at the beginning of Old Dearing Road. He had a flashlight with him so he decided to go investigate. As he approached, he noticed the flickering was coming from a lit tea candle and laying beside the candle was a coconut. He blew out the candle and picked up the coconut to get it out of the road. As he walked back, he thought, "What if this is a bomb?" and then decided to throw it on the ground. It broke apart and inside were a banana pepper, a jalepeno pepper, a habanero pepper, and two pieces of folded paper. He grabbed a box and collected the contents. Once inside, we examined the mysterious coconut and its contents. The two pieces of paper were unfolded and discovered to be an Ace of Spades playing card and a hand written note: Increase Psychic Abilities - Telekinesis & Telepathy.

 

 

This was so bizarre. I did some research online and found some information about witchcraft. Apparently coconuts and peppers are widely used in witchcraft and voodoo rituals.

 

So, our sincerest apologies to the person whose spell we ruined. Next time, don't leave your voodoo coconut in the middle of a public road.

 

Boys, there are interesting people in this world. Very interesting people.

 

I love you,

Mommy

Playing in the Fountains (6/11/15)

Dear Gage, Gabe and Grant,

Gage and Gabe, on June 11, we went to the downtown library for preschool story time. Gage, you were very excited and participated well in all the activities. Gabe, you were very shy and timid. It took a lot of coaxing to get you to even clap along, but when it came time for crafts, you were a go-getter. You just need some time to warm up to new places and new people. We sang some songs, listened to two stories, played two rounds of "Flip Flap Jack" and then made maracas out of plastic eggs, dried beans and two spoons. Quite creative, I might say.

Listening to story time

Flip Flap Jack - His legs were made of bacon, of bacon, of bacon.

Ready to make maracas!

Adding some cute décor to the maracas

After story time, we picked up Jett and then went back downtown to play in the fountains at Circus Square Park. We played there last year with E and Caroline, so you boys were excited about going back for a fun time. Gage, you and Jett went straight to playing, while you Gabe, played your shy card. You hung out with me on the bench and watched all the kids play. We at a little lunch while we spectated. Finally, toward the end of our visit, you decided to play in the water. 

Eating a PB&J

I don't quite understand this fascination, but every kid did this.
Gage, you clearly were no exception.

Stomping the fountain.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day. It was great to have a little time with my big boys!

I love you,
Mommy