Simon Says...

So here we go. Another Drew story. Friday night we decided to have a s'mores party to burn up some of our already dead wood from the storm. The kids start playing Simon Says..there are 5 girls and 2 boys. One of the boys is only 2 years old and the other is Drew. On Drew's turn to be Simon and he stands up nice and tall in front of the row of girls and says.... SIMON SAYS LIFT UP YOUR SHIRTS!!!
By the way only one girl lifted up her shirt. The 4 year old that lives around the corner..we as parents have decided that when they get older they are not allowed to go to parties!!!
Sweet youthful innocence :)

Meg Turns 5

Wow it's hard to believe that Meg is 5!!! Okay, I know if Drew is 5 then Meg is already 5!!!! But it just seems like yesterday that me and my Sister were pregnant with Drew and Meg!!!
Everyone had a blast at her swimming party!!! What a relief to know that the Rec. Center had power!!!

Nothing beats having a cousin that's only 3 months younger than you!!!! Drew and Meg best of buddies!

Fun with Cousins!

As a result of Worthington being hit pretty hard during Wind Storm 2008 Meg and Sabrina came to Emma and Drew's house!!! Even though everyone still had to pitch in to help clean up we still had time for playing and pictures!!!!

The Tree

Well as result of the wind storm we lost about half of our tree next to the clubhouse!

Luckily, when there are sticks all over the yard we can turn them into letters.
Boy am I glad that I bought the grill with the side burner!!! Here's Breakfast..omelettes on the grill!!! Did I mention that we are also glad that our chainsaw is gas powered not electric...I think the neighbors are a little thankful for that also.
The kids thought it was neat having the tree down in the yard!
I think Dennis is trying to decide where to start.

Here the kids are going for one last swing on the tire!!!

Clean up was definitely a family effort!!
The Tree Sprite lost his smile. We haven't determined if he will lose his tree :(
Overall, I can say that we are lucky!! No major damage and lots of fun family time!!

JUST IN TIME...

For school pictures!!!!
After lots of wiggling the front tooth finally came out on Sunday!!!

Stay Tuned!!!

Wow what a busy week we had last week!!! It's a good thing we went to the Zoo on Saturday to meet Jack Hanna!! Because on Sunday it all went down hill!! As result of WIND STORM 2008 we did lose electricity for about 30 hours~ so that's not too bad given the condition of the rest of Central Ohio ( Trina's neighbor had no electricity for 1 week)!!! The kids were out of school for only 2 days~ again not too bad.. many school districts did not have school all week!!! We lost half of one of our big trees! Meg and Sabrina came over to play because Worthington had no electricity. We had no Internet or Cable for 5 days....and that is why you need to stay tuned. I have lots of pictures from our past week adventures that I will be posting in the next couple days!!!

At the Zoo

We headed off to the Columbus Zoo on Saturday! The zoo is celebrating Jack Hanna's 30 year anniversary!! Jack Hanna is one of Emma's heroes! Whenever we go to the zoo or watch his TV shows we talk about him and all of the great things he has done. It was a GREAT day!!
Even the Koala Bears were awake for the celebration!
So just imagine her excitement when I told her he was going to be at the zoo!!! He showed the audience some his favorite animal friends, signed books, and posed for pictures.
Emma now has a lifetime keepsake of the day she met Jack Hanna. He autographed his autobiography for her as well as her Columbus Zoo Safari hat and wished her a great future filled with animals!! Just look at the smile on her face...talk about being happy!!!
Thank you Jungle Jack Hanna for being such an inspiration for Emma!!!!

Gymnastics

Well after a long summer of no gymnastic lessons, Emma was very eager to jump back into the swing of things. Sorry for the blurry picture but her leap from the low bar to the high bar was a little quicker than I anticipated!! Especially for being her first attempt!!

When her class was over and they were setting up for the younger kids, she spent the time practicing her backbends.
And perfecting her kick over!

Mr. Busy

So yesterday after soccer practice Drew decided that it was time to give the Skateboard a try. So while I was watching him I was wondering that with all of his new talents how long until we have our first broken bone. But then when I was looking at the pictures of him skateboarding I realized that I shouldn't be concerned about the bones as much as maybe him biting off his tongue!!! Every picture that tongue is sticking out!!

Anyways, he did pretty well for his first real attempt outdoors!! Then it was time to hop on the bikes and go for the daily 2 mile bike ride.

50 Years!!

Congratulations to Cliff and Mabel for Celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary!!!
The party was great with a lot of good friends and family! Great food too!!

They look so happy! Cliff even says that the past 50 years went by so fast. I hope Dennis feels that way in 43 more years. :)

Brenda the Bullfrog

Well, it's official..we successfully raised a frog. Today, Brenda the Bullfrog came out of the water and onto her floating rock for some air!!! Isn't that exciting?

More Breaking News!!!

DREW CAN RIDE HIS BIKE!!!!!!
Wow that was easy!
And there they go! Two kids, two bikes, two weeks, and no training wheels!!!!

Drewism

Okay, for those of you who are catching up with us through this blog let me give you a quick briefing on Drew.
Drew has his own sort of language. It is very practical and useful...if you know what he is talking about. He uses English words and is completely understandable but unique. So here is a quick reference...
"The candy in the golden trash" = York Peppermint Patty
In Baseball there are "batters" and then there are the "glovers"
"Turn on the wind" = Turn on the fan
"Cold Heat" = Air Conditioning
"Hot Air" = Heat
"Take off the trash" = The "trash" is the packaging that things come in
"The payer" = cashier
"Uncold it" =put it in the microwave
A "stirler" or "stirrer" = A large mixing spoon
"Push the elephant" = beep the horn...I drive a Dodge so there is a ram on the steering wheel apparently he thinks it's an elephant
Okay so those are just a few of his Drewisms. Today there is a new one. :) Here is the story:

We are in the dressing room and I was trying on a new top and Drew says (of course in a loud voice) "Mommy what about the hooker...Can I hold the hooker" I tell him yes. So then he says "Look Mommy I'm a hooker...Do you want to be a hooker?"

HOOKER=HANGER

Yes, he was wearing the hanger on his head and I opted out of being a "hooker". I nicely told him "No thank you, not today."

Last Game at The Coop. :(

Monday was the last Columbus Clippers Game at Cooper Stadium!!! I remember as a child every summer going to watch the Clippers play and we have been taking the kids to baseball games ever since Drew could walk!! So needless to say it is pretty bittersweet to see them move to a new stadium. I can say that all of the times I have been to Clippers baseball I have never seen a sold out crowd! What an amazing view for Cooper Stadium!
The night was a great night. The weather was perfect and it was nice to see all of the old photos on the scoreboard as well as the commemorative signs honoring the night.

After game festivities were memorable! They had a nice fireworks display that the kids enjoyed. Then the Two Men and a Truck moving van pulled into the stadium.. They lifted home plate, passed it down the row of former Columbus players and Board of Directors, and then loaded it into the moving van to go to the new Huntington Park. This received a 50/50 mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd.

Everyone got to run the bases!!!
Then people were allowed to play catch in the outfield! This picture really captures the difference between the kids. Can you guess who plays Baseball and who does Gymnastics???
Alas, a family photo on the field!!! We had a wonderful night at The Coop!!!
COLUMBUS CLIPPERS RING YOUR BELL!!!!!!