Randy's first HOLE IN ONE!!!

 

It's taken me a while to post this exciting event because I didn't have any pictures! A couple of weeks ago, all the John boys spent a weekend over in Branson, MO. I reminded Randy to take the camera, but the battery was out! Robert also took his camera but it ran out of battery too! Randy did buy a disposable camera and I just got the pictures back... so here we go! They began their weekend fishing at Dogwood Canyon. Randy isn't much of a fisherman, but he enjoyed catching the trout. He said they each caught between 5-10 trout... is that good?

 

They spent the rest of the weekend golfing. They played the Payne Stewart course and John Daly's Murder Rock course.

 

On the way up to Branson, Randy had mentioned to his Dad that this would be a perfect time to hit a hole-in-one. Well, I guess the golf gods were agreeing with Randy because while they were playing Murder Rock, on the 9th hole, Randy hit his first hole in one!!! He called me on the phone as he was walking up to his ball... I was so excited for him! He couldn't have picked a better time. Ricky, Ryan, Robert and Dad all signed his score card and we have his ball retired up on the golf shelf.

 

This is a picture of the 9th hole at Murder Rock. I'm so proud of you Randy! He had a great, but quick weekend. One more day with the boys would have been perfect! It's been a long time since just the boys hung out... hopefully it won't take as long for the next time!

Austin lost his first tooth! ...and 2nd, and 3rd, and 4th!!!

 

Wow! What a day. It started off like any other day. Then we get a phone call from Dr. Ahlert's office saying they had a cancellation and wanted to know if we would like to come in. Austin had a small cavity at his last appointment so we needed to get that taken care of. Austin has had a loose tooth for a long time, but his other tooth started growing in behind it, so I decided to ask Dr. Ahlert to pull it out. Next thing I know, we are pulling out four teeth!!

 

Dr. Ahlert had already told me Austin's teeth are so close together that he didn't think he would lose them by himself, so I was prepared for that, but I didn't think it would be so many at one time! Austin did AWESOME as usual. I actually gave him the option of having two done now and then two more taken out in a couple of months, but he decided he would rather not go through this twice. Hopefully now there will be room for his big teeth to come in... and he's pretty excited for the tooth fairy to drop a load of cash under his pillow!!

Injun Baseball

 

Randy bought a family pass to watch our local American Legion baseball team, the Injuns, play this summer. The kids have really enjoyed it!

 

Here is Avery and Addison Peck displaying their Injun cups! Avery was so excited because one night during the Winget Tournament (who is named after my great uncle, Glen Winget) she was going to stay at the fields with her dad and Austin until midnight. That was her goal! I can't remember if they made it til midnight but if they didn't it was pretty close!

 

Addie was so cute, she had to take one of Austin's hats with her because he was taking his hat to catch foul balls with. The fireworks are still fresh in Addie's mind, so when Austin told her he was going to catch foul balls, she thought he was saying "fire" balls and it really worried her. So now when she talks about foul balls she REALLY pronounces "FOUL" (in her hick accent). It's adorable.

 

Austin has really enjoyed watching the Injuns, especially since he just started playing t-ball. Of course he told us he already knows everything and could hop right on the field and play! He loves catching the foul balls and taking them to the concession stand in return for a popsicle. They are always really sweet and let Addie and Avery get one too! It's been a fun thing to do this summer and we will probably do it again next year.

Miniture Golf

 

One of the things our kids always ask to do during the summer is go miniture golf. In our small town, simplicity is key. And that goes for the miniture golf course as well! Luckily it doesn't take much to entertain our kids... at least not yet! We took along the kids' cousin, Tanner, and Aunt Julie and Uncle Derek to join in the fun.

 

The course is very simple, nothing spectacular. Here is Avery taking her first shot.

 

Good thing we didn't have to pay for Addie, she could barely hold the putter because it was too long for her little arms. Next time we will have to take her putter with us. Addison's favorite hole was the one with water... we need to teach her that she isn't supposed to aim for the water!

 

Randy's little golfers! Following their daddy's footsteps!

Swimming Lessons

 

We took swimming lessons this summer for 4 weeks... and I forgot my camera every day!! So I decided to post pictures of us swimming and talk about swimming lessons! The first 2 weeks we just put Austin and Addie into swimming lessons. Austin has been a Lionfish for I don't know how long! It's been forever! The poor boy cannot float!! Randy was getting so frustated because Austin is a great swimmer and Randy never could float either. The first session Austin did not pass Lionfish... once again. I decided to try one more time and this time he FINALLY floated on his back long enough to pass! He was so excited... he is now a Dolphin!

 

I wasn't sure if they would let Addie take swimming lessons or not. You are supposed to be 3 (which Addie will turn this summer), but they let her in! I was so happy... and I never had any problems with her going to class. She loved it! They stood on platforms in the middle of the pool and sang songs. Her only problem now is that she always wants her feet on the ground. When we take her swimming she hangs out on the stairs and sings her songs. Her favorite is "the kids on the bus go up and down" and she will go under the water when she says "down". At least she will go under on her own! She will still be a Starfish next year, but I was very proud of her!

 

After the first two weeks, we began to feel bad for Avery. She was getting bored just watching Austin and Addie, so we signed her up for Sharks. She really enjoyed it and it gave her great exercise. She has been a Shark for a long time but needed to work on her endurance... and I could really tell a difference in her this year. She was by far the smallest in her class but would lap some of the other swimmers. Avery passed Sharks and is now a Tiger Shark, which is the highest you can go.

 

So I could watch each of the kids, I signed them up at different intervals which meant the first two weeks we were there for an hour and the last 2 weeks we were there for 1 1/2 hrs. I liked it because it took up our whole morning, but I didn't like it because it ran into Ashton's nap time. She did really good though. The first week she just sat on my lap the whole time! But after that she became familiar with the place and started roaming off a little bit more. I took a huge bag every day with lots of food and toys to keep the kids happy and I think they all did great. Avery was my big helper with both Ashton and Addie. She would walk Ashton around everywhere and she would always take Addie down to her class. And Austin is great with Addie- she's his shadow and he doesn't mind. We had a lot of fun with swimming lessons this summer!

Happy 4th of July!

 

I was so looking forward to the 4th! I think this is one of my favorite holidays. I came from a very patriotic family and am very proud to have been born in the USA. We spent Friday evening with my mom, grandma, uncle and aunt and cousins. It was a lot of fun and my mom made some great strawberry shortcake- yum! Saturday night we had plans to spend the evening with our friends, the Springers, and grill out then head out to the big firework show at the Vaclaws farm which we anticipate every year. Well, fourth of July morning I woke up with a sore throat and pounding headache that lasted all day and night. I was really nervous because I was supposed to give the lesson that Sunday. I ended up staying home all night... so these are all the pictures I got of the kids! They had a great day swimming with the Murphy's and went out to the firework show with my mom (Randy was already out there, he helps light the fireworks so of course this is one of his favorite holidays as well!!). I kept Addie and Ashton home with me. Addie is so funny, she puts on a tough front but she is terrified of the fireworks! We watched them on TV instead- and that was even a little frightening at first for her. The kids took glowsticks out to the farm and left one at home so I gave that to Addison and she wouldn't even hold it because she thought it was a firework! Hopefully I won't be sick next year and she won't be afraid so we can have a better fourth of July! I made it to church to do my lesson but came home and crashed afterwards! I'm thinking its a summer cold, and I will be back on my feet soon!

OPEN HOUSE!! SUN, JUNE 28th

Well, we have outgrown our home! The time has come to move on, but the house must sell first! It's really hard to leave this house- it has some really great features and our neighborhood and neighbors are amazing. We have even had contractors out to see how we could add a bedroom and bath on just so we could stay! But in the end, we have decided to sell, and we are having an open house this Sunday (June 28th) from 2pm-4pm. We are trying to spread the word anyway we can, so if you live in Bartlesville or know anyone who does and are looking for a great house- send them our way! They can even check our our other blog for more details and pictures: www.4514limestone.blogspot.com