The World I've Seen...

7%... that's it! I've only seen 7% of the World... There's so much more to see, so many more people to meet...

Hopefully, this summer I can add one more country to this list!


States I've Visited...




Countries I've Visited...

Happy Birthday Daddy...

Last week my dad celebrated his 60th birthday, and for months, we had planned a special trip. Mom was to bring him up to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on a vacation intended for just the two of them. What he didn't know was that Lisa, Karen, and I (and of course Brian and the kids too) would also be there to celebrate... We surprised him entirely!

We spent a lovely week visiting with each other, watching the kids play, walking around Gatlinburg, and celebrating Daddy!

Nana, Pawpaw, and the Keikis

A heated game of checkers!

Stay tuned for another post about the sidetrip Brian and I made to visit the Biltmore!

A Birthday Trip to Write Home About...

Mt. Rainier National Park

I celebrated my birthday last week, and as a rather significant part of my gift, my dear sweet husband gave me the chance to visit my friend, Bobbi, in Washington. I traveled alone for the first time since having kids, and the rest was much needed as was the visit with a God-appointed friend.

The Seattle area is an amazing place... a little bit for everyone! Big city, lots of water, mountains to hike, professional sports, and evergreens everywhere... beautiful! Oh --- and for Buckeye fans, a little bit of OSU football to make the deal sweeter! In fact, there were so many fans in Seattle on Friday that it felt more like being in Columbus on game day. Even the football team made their way to Pike Place Market to throw a few fish with the fishmongers.

I won't give a detailed account of the entire trip here, but I will provide a few collages to peak your interest in that part of the country if you have never been.

Tacoma

Pike Place Market

Safeco Field, Home of the Seattle Mariners
(another ballpark to add to my list)

From the Ferry to Bainbridge

Mt. Rainier National Park

Happy Birthday, Dylan!

He is officially 4 years old! As mentioned in a previous post, we took Dylan on a surprise birthday trip to Washington, DC to visit the Space Shuttle on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Dulles, VA. We all had a wonderful time, and it would take pages and pages to recount the trip in detail. I'll spare you the verbose description, and instead I'll let these picture collages speak for themselves. (click on the pictures to enlarge)

At the Capital

Space Shuttle Enterprise

Dylan in his Astronaut Suit

(thank you Auntie Cayenne... it was a wonderful gift)

Birthday Party in a Hotel

Can't Leave out Brooklyn

Washington, DC

Steelers vs. Redskins

Look Familiar, Mom & Dad?

Dylan's Top Ten...

On our way home from Dylan's Trip, we asked him what he liked best about his birthday. This is what he came up with...

Dylan's Top Ten Favorite Things About His Birthday

10. Drinking chocolate milk with my birthday cake.

9. Seeing the paddle boats in the Tidal Basin... although he didn't get to ride one

8. Standing in the line like Pawpaw at the FDR Memorial.

7. Seeing all the water fountains at the FDR Memorial.

6. Seeing the place where Daddy asked Mommy to marry him (the Thomas Jefferson Memorial).

5. Seeing the "Tower"... known to most as the Washington Monument

4. Seeing the fireworks... at the Redskins/Steelers pre-season game

3. Riding the Subway... his favorite was the Green Line, but we didn't have the heart to tell him that we never actually rode on the Green Line

2. Getting a Space Shuttle

1. Seeing the Space Shuttle

Two Men on a Lake...

You may be wondering why the increase in blog posts lately... the answer is very simple. Our A/C is out, and it's HOT!!! Normally, I spend the mornings doing my household chores and the afternoons out playing and exploring with the children, but the chores will have to wait. It is entirely too hot in this house to move a muscle. So, to feel productive (at least in my mind), I am catching up on posts that have been rumbling around in my mind all summer. Hopefully, the A/C will be fixed by the end of the day and my house can get a little attention tomorrow, but we'll see...

Last weekend, we went along with our Young Adult / College Ministry on their annual end-of-the-summer retreat. A couple in our church owns an amazing piece of property just outside of town that can perfectly accommodate our group. I went along with the primary function of cooking their meals, and Brian and Dylan went mainly to play and hang out. As we were packing up the cars that morning, we received a call that a medical emergency was going to prevent our leader's attendance, so Brian's duties increased slightly. We had a great weekend relaxing with friends and getting to know some of the college students before they head off to school.

Brian and Dylan had a wonderful little canoe trip on one of the lakes. Dylan even jumped out of the canoe by himself to go swimming, but I don't think it lasted very long --- not with enormous fish swimming just beneath the mirky surface.

So, once the A/C is working again, the posts may very well subside a little, but until then, I hope you've enjoyed getting a little caught up with our family. It's been a fun summer around here, and one of the trips which will be a highlight of the summer comes around next week.

Dayton Airshow 2007...

A couple of weekends ago, we attended the Dayton Airshow. One of the main attractions was to be the Thunderbirds which Dylan was really excited to see. Unfortunately, due to a tragedy we'll never forget, the Thunderbirds didn't fly that day, but we made the best of the day. The children had a lot of fun, Brian got a terrible sunburn, and the B-2 bomber flew a rare flyby which was terrific highlight of the day.

Dylan sitting inside of the engine of a Delta 7-something-7

Thunderbirds during the engine test (this was LOUD!!)

David (Brian's dad)

Dylan at the USAF Museum

Brooklyn, who lost one of her shoes 10 minutes after we got to the Airshow

David & Mary (Brian's parents)

Jim Leroy's Bulldog

(This picture was taken only a couple of hours before he crashed.)

Detour through Durham...

On our way home from Passion, Brian and I took a minor detour through Durham, NC to visit Brian's brother and his family. It's been a while since we last saw them, and we had a great visit --- short, but lots of fun!

Scott, Sarah, & Nathan --- Thanks for hosting us!! Hope to see you our way in a month or so.

Discovering Ohio...

It's really hard to believe that we've been up here for almost two years. We've taken a few trips around the state, but this weekend we finally ventured northeast of Columbus into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Our trip was mainly for Dylan... each Memorial Day weekend, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway hosts a visit by Thomas the Tank Engine, and for Dylan, there couldn't be anything more exciting than a ride on a real train (especially Thomas). Since Canton is so close, we decided to pair the train ride with a trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We had a wonderful, but very quick, trip.

This picture was taken from our hotel in Cuyahoga Falls. The Cuyahoga River runs just below the hotel, and it was quite a view from the suite.




This is another view of the Cuyahoga River from the hotel.









Dylan waited for his train ride very eagerly and, for the most part, very patiently... he made sure he brought his own Thomas the Tank Engine blanket and pillow to sleep with at the hotel, and after enjoying dinner at Swenson's, a local drive-in diner, and a late night swim in the hotel pool (well, late night for him at least!), he nestled down with dreams of riding the rails the next day with Thomas!

Now, this is a bonus picture of Brooklyn. I couldn't resist including it because she had such a cute expression on her face. This was her first official road trip, and she proved herself to be a great traveler. Despite the heat and not-so-ideal conditions for a tiny one, she hung in there with us and complained very little.

The first stop on the trip was the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The exhibits are very well done, and I have to say that I learned a great deal about the history of the sport... like Columbus once had a team and there once was a team called the Brooklyn Dodgers. I also saw Refrigerator Perry's Super Bowl ring, and I'm pretty sure it could have fit on Brooklyn's arm --- it was a size 23 (or something really big like that)!

Now, Day Out With Thomas was the real highlight of the trip. We went to the Boston Mills station of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway along with what seemed like thousands of other toddlers and their families, and Dylan and Brian boarded the train. They rode the train for about half an hour before returning to the station.

Dylan is on board the train in this photo... holding out his ticket!




Following the train ride, Dylan posed for a picture with the train's engineer and brakeman.

He also visited with Sir Topham Hatt, Chairman of the Railway on Sodor Island. All week he talked about giving Sir Topham Hatt a high five, and when his turn came, he did just that!

On our way back home we drove through some of Ohio's Amish Country, and we saw some interesting sights like... a group of Amish ordering from a drive-in diner on foot... and an Amish woman with her horse and buggy parked at a gas station! We also stopped at Lehman's, a hardware store (of sorts) that carries all kinds of household goods designed for the "simple life." They have lots of old-fashioned and non-electric appliances and a kitchen and houseware section that made me want to linger all day. It's definitely a place I'm going back too... as is this entire region of Ohio! I think this trip is only first of many that we'll take in this area!

And a great big THANK YOU to our neighbors, Joe & Judi, who took care of Riley while we were gone. They have been two of God's greatest blessings to us since moving to Ohio!!