The Great Geauga County Fair

Our Labor Day weekend tradition of the past several years continued as we were able to go to the Great Geauga County Fair. Joe and Joseph weren't with us--they spent the weekend driving back to VA to get the rest of our stuff. It was actually pretty cold that day! Welcome back to Ohio.

Katie and Shae

Lots of Amish go to the fair

Jacob met up with his friend Nick

Emma and I rode the ferris wheel

Dx Day

August 29 of every year is the anniversary of Katie's diabetes diagnosis. We celebrate the fact that she is still with us, and she decided she wanted us to go for ice cream each year. So we went to Coldstone Creamery. It makes it a fun day for us all.

Can't Stay Away from Ohio

I guess we were meant to be back in Ohio, and on August 10, Joe started his new job with Medina Supply Company. The kids and I arrived on August 23rd, just in time to start school on August 25th.

August 2010

So, all of a sudden, we found out we were about to move back to Ohio. We tried to squeeze in as much as we could in the time we had left. We had never been to Monticello, so we drove up there on a Saturday. I would have prefered to go when it wasn't so daggone hot, but we didn't have time to wait. I love Charlottesville!


Grammy took a day off of work, and the weather didn't cooperate for a beach day, but we still had fun--Cheese Shop for lunch and bowling. We went around town using up our free passes for things that the kids earned in the summer reading program.


Josh and Laura live on a beautiful farm with a magnolia tree that is great for climbing.

Lacey!

South Jersey

After our visit with Dan, Tracy, and Bergen, we headed a little bit further south to visit Joe's family. It had been quite a while since we had all been there together. We went to the boardwalk and played games with Mom Mom Boyd.

Brent loves to sing along with the kids.

Brent, the pit bull lap dog.

We went to the Jersey Shore for the first time as a family. We were there with thousands of other people, and Joe came up to me and said that his old high school swim coach was lifeguarding. Sure enough, it was him. They chatted for a bit--it had been 21 years. What a coincidence!

Baby Bergen

In July, we all drove up to New Jersey for a meet Baby Bergen party and his baptism. Bergen is our kids' first first cousin! It's a good thing he likes people, and doesn't mind strangers, because he was getting passed around all weekend. We tried to go to Carlo's Bakery, but decided it wasn't worth the three hour wait. Still, it was a fabulous time. Bergen was a great shopper with the girls.

Williamsburg

So, the further behind I get, the less I feel like updating, but I am going to attempt to do a bit of catching up here. We spent last summer in Williamsburg. We made the move June 26 to stay with my mom until Joe found a job, expecting that we would find something in that area. About a week and a half later, a recruiter contacted us while Joe was actually back in Ohio at scout camp with the boys. He had a job in....Ohio! So, just before school started, we hauled everything back to Ohio just in time for the kids to start school. Thanks to the help of many amazing friends and family, we were able to make the two moves in one summer. Here are a few pictures from the summer. We didn't take that many pictures because we thought we were gong to be there for a while...

Katie's friends who are twin sisters came to see us while their family was visiting their uncle in Richmond.

New Clothes

We have been volunteering at the local Republican Headquarters...everyone except Emma has been doing survey calls, while Emma creates elephant-themed artwork to decorate the walls there. Tonight, the director gave all the kids t shirts. The big debate is whether to wear them to school or not...I'm thinking not. But they sure are funny!

The B.O. Stinks shirt makes me laugh out loud!

Ho Mita Koda 2010

Katie was able to go to Camp Ho Mita Koda before we moved to Virginia. It was another great week, just like last year!

With Kirsty, her counselor from England.

5th Grade Graduation

All I have to say about fifth grade graduation is why did it have to last 2 1/2 hours? I mean, it's fifth grade! The funniest part was watching 50 white kids swaying and singing, "We Shall Be Free."

Cleveland Art Museum

Continuing our quest for free activities, we spent a Saturday afternoon in May at the Cleveland Art Museum. They have an amazing collection, and we had a great time!



The Thinker, damaged by anti-Vietnam war protesters. It inspired Emma to make her own version out of clay.

The Speller

Jacob competed in the spelling bee at Hambden. He wore his pink shirt for good luck. It was exciting, with Jacob misspelling a word but then everyone else misspelled their words too. He was so happy when he won! One of the boys in Emma's class said he is going to wear a pink shirt if he makes it into the spelling bee when he is old enough.

Our Artists

Katie had a piece of art chosen for the Geauga County art fair.


Both Katie and Emma had a piece of art chosen for the Hambden art show as well.


Katie wasn't there for the awards, but she won the school wide award. Emma went up to receive the award for her.


This was Katie's art piece at the Hambden event.

Track and Field

Joseph ran track in the spring. His primary events were shot put and discus, but he also ran the 4x100 relay. He really worked hard and had a great time.