And another

I thought Ava's letter was so sweet. Well, here's Kael's letter [literally word for word might I add. And at the end, note for note]:

Dear Daddy,

            Present daddy. Give tape for daddy. Give a hand to daddy. This must be funny. I have no hands. Chair for daddy.

            I miss my daddy. I like to play with daddy and tag him. Give a foot to daddy. I have a big truck in my room. When daddy comes home I want to give pants to him.  Daddy is far away cutting trees right now. Sdipfndkjfv (I’ m helping you mom).     

            I love you daddy.

                                                                                    Love,

                                                                                    Kael

PS- Tongiiiight…we are young. So we set it on fire, grow brighter, there’s the sun….

Dear Daddy

Dear Daddy,

        To daddy. I like to go to the beach with you. And I love you. And I like to go to the splash pad with you. And I like to go to the beach with you, and John, and Kurtis, and mommy, and Kael, and me, and John, and daddy, and John’s girlfriend. And I like to go to the beach with you. I like daddy to go to school with me. I like daddy to take me to school. And I like mommy and daddy to take me to school. And I like daddy to drive, and I like to go to the beach with waves in there with daddy. He protects me. So the bad guys doesn’t get me. And he always writes me a name. I dream about daddy.

        Daddy is fighting bad guys. I like to fight bad guys with him. And I like to talk him in the computer. I like him to come home. I like Jesus to come home with daddy. And drive. And that’s all done.

I love you daddy. And I like to write papers with you. And I like to play cards with daddy. Daddy plays with us. Daddy likes to eat hot dogs, sandwiches, pepperoni, pepperoni pizzas. He likes to go to the pool with me. All done.

                                                                Love,

                                                                                                  Ava

4th of July

As usual, this post is way late. Oh well. We went to Williamsburg, VA for the 4th to visit with my aunt, uncle, and cousins! It was really fun and I'm glad we went. It was a very nice distraction from the day to day of being at home [and I got to go to trader joes]!

We went to the colonial part of town for the evening. My uncle Paul works down there so we went into his office building and had front row seats to the fireworks. It was awesome! Air conditioned rooms, snacks, clean bathrooms, and drinks all at our disposal. My aunt and I walked down earlier to see the fife and drums (my absolute favorite) and we made it just in time to see them walking off. It was sad but I got to hear a little bit and that totally made my day. Interesting Stephanie fact #1: I begged, literally begged my parents to let me learn to play the fife when I was younger. I got a big fat N-O but I really wanted to.

Then the Williamsburg or something or other symphony came and played the Star Spangled Banner and that was about all that the kids made it through. It was insanely hot and very humid.

The major drawback to this trip is that Ava had a really hard time and I think drove everyone a little crazy. She never got enough sleep because she was so excited, and she turned into the pickiest eater! So basically she was tired and hungry the whole time which equalled one ornery child.

About ready to do some yard work in the backyard

Play time!

Oh the thinks you can think if only you try!

Ava, Kael, & Colin

Running from Colin

Top secret boys only club meeting

Couldn't quite make it

What an awesome great aunt Kael has!

Just some common folk

The symphony

Running to see fireworks! Actually she was probably running towards cookies or something.

Independence day was sort of hard without Andre here, but I am so grateful for our military (past & present) who have fought for the things they believed in and were honorable soldiers. I try to be patriotic every day of the year not just the 4th of July although it is a good reminder! I feel truly blessed to have been born in this country.

Ava turns 4!

These are pictures from Ava's 4th birthday. She had her party at jungle rapids, the indoor kid's play area. She had some friends from school & some from church. It was fun!



What's up everyone? Yup, it's my party.



Playing in the bounce thing



He's so covert



They look a little old...



I'm pretty sure what's running through his head is "Did someone say cupcakes?"



Secret club



This is Ava's boyfriend from school- Oliver



Thank you gifts



I can't remember what it was but she had something really important to tell me

All the kids (I think?)

Ava's school friend Avery

Sweaty but very happy!



Giving Ryan a hug



Funny story- literally the first note of "Happy Birthday" and she blew the candles out!



They call me Mustachio

i love my daughter so much! I hope she had the best birthday.

Science

So John had lacrosse camp in Charlotte and we took him up on Wednesday and picked him up on Saturday. I didn't want to make the trip there & back in one day twice, so we stayed the night Friday night. I forgot just how nice it can be to have a change of pace just for one day. We checked into the hotel and then changed into our bathing suits and immediately went swimming. It was so relaxing just to be somewhere else for once and I think we should try and do it more often!

Anyway on Saturday I wanted to do something fun in Charlotte. There were lots of things to choose from but we decided to go to the Discovery Place since it was for adults and kids. It's sort of an interactive science museum. Anyway I got tickets for the museum and to see an i max movie since I haven't been to one since I was like 5, and I thought the kids would like it. Needless to say we were only at the museum for like 45 minutes before I realized that Ava had a fever. She was acting ok and then all of the sudden she seemed miserable and couldn't even walk. Then Kael decided he couldn't walk anywhere either. It was a disaster of a time. John was tired from lacrosse camp, and since Ava wasn't feeling so good everyone fell asleep within the first 5 minutes of the movie. I will not willingly go to another I MAX movie. Holy crap. I forgot how claustrophobic it is in those things and I was pretty much freaking out on the inside the whole time.

We finally got home and Ava's temperature was 103. She's feeling better now. She's been having massive ear problems and we go for a follow up visit on Tuesday. If she's not improving she'll have to go to the ENT.

In the front of the museum



The kids room-it was so cool!

And this wasn't the museum but we were on our way to the beach!



What good looking kids!