Silliness

Jim likes the silliness - here are our kids borrowing Pop's boots, and I have no idea what is in Hayden's hand. Gun powder horn? I don't know.

Pirate's Cove

This place was ah-mazing! Unfortunately, being just with Jen and all the kiddos, I was very busy while in the water and never got any pictures. I was shocked when Hayden just went right in and walked (shock #1 - he is tall enough to touch the bottom) to the HUGE structure of slides/stairs/fountains (shock #2 - brave boy), slid down, and continued this for a few hours. I am still taken aback by how big he is now. Katie is so happy for me to just hold her in the water, so that was fun, too to just cuddle with my girl while we watched Hayden and cheered him on!

After lunch, the kids played in the sand area. Another very fun part of the park. We are definitely going again, and next time I will get pics of the kids in the water!

Jim, you owe Amy $38

Here is a video of Amy coaching Hayden on jump-roping:

Deep Creek Houghton Reunion

Friends of Jim's (and mine now!) from college had a mini-reunion in Deep Creek Lake while we were there visiting Grammy and Grampy. It was wonderful to see the Baker's, Veenema's, Jackson's, Kurt, and Timmy! We all really missed Jim, though. All of the kids got along wonderfully. It was so fun to watch the next generation of Houghtonites!

Loving the ice cream on the first night:


Fun at Deep Creek Lake:



Fun at Grammy and Grampy's house:

Grandma's Farm

While we were visiting Grammy and Grampy in Deep Creek Lake, we went to a place called "Grandma's Farm". It is the home of a couple who are retired Army, and they finally bought their home in the country. They have all sorts of animals to see, pet, and feed - and the best part is that since it's their home, it's not crowded! We got a solo tour of the farm. Here are a few pictures...

Katie loved the goose:

Lots of tiny days-old bunnies:


TONS of bunnies:


A cool rooster named "Elvis":


A few goats:

But what did my children LOVE the most??? The cats. They LOVE cats!! Too bad I am highly allergic and we will never have one. So, my kids go to the farm to play with the cats. They were the highlights!

Cute Katie at DCL

Just some cute pictures of Katie when we went to visit Grammy and Grampy a few weeks ago! Enjoy!

DCL Videos for Daddy and Cute Hayden

Just a few cute pictures of Hayden enjoying his visit at Grammy and Grampy's!





One is Hayden on the scooter, the other is Hayden kicking a ball but doing a funny waggle beforehand. We miss you honey!

Alyssa's Sweet 16

The kids and I were able to help surprise Alyssa with a party for her 16th birthday! She came to the park to see Hayden and Katie, who gave her balloons - then her friends came around the corner with more for her! We all went back to the house to eat and had a great time. I am still in shock that my niece is 16...

Random New (Old) Pics I Stole from Liz

But since we are related - she is Jim's cousin's wife - I think I am allowed. Remember how Liz and Sydney came to Deep Creek last time we were out there? She has a much better camera than me and got some really cute shots of Hayden and Katie. So I stole them! There are also a few shots where you can see Katie's cut while it was still glued.

Happy Fourth of July!

Feeling a bit patriotic over here! Thank you to my husband who serves in the Air Force and sacrifices time with his children for our country!

Last night, we watched the fireworks put on by the Springfield Golf and Country Club. It was a great show - this was the first year that our sound-sensitive Hayden has been able to watch. They are always way too loud. But he must be growing up - he loved the lights (so did Katie) and was really brave. I love being here with my sisters so we can go do stuff like this together!






Our day was great - had some play time around the house, went to the pool in the afternoon, had a great BBQ with the family and sparklers to end the night. Of course, we had to add some Ulrich excitement to the evening so Katie decided to grab her sparkler after it burnt out on the way to the water bucket. She burned her thumb, pointer, and middle finger. She loves the Dora band-aids though, so that is good, but can not suck her usual thumb (but is trying out the other one). Not so good. The other one apparently tastes better. No pictures after the trauma, but we had a great time before!