Swimming with the Cousins! (Nancy)

Tuesday night Colton, Kyle, Eric and Aunt Nancy headed over to the Ward's house to swim. We had all the cousins (minus Jack at football practice)! We had a ball!

A Family Picnic

Aunt Carol and Uncle Mike organized a family picnic this afternoon/evening. It was very hot but that didn't stop us from gathering and having a good time. The 6 little kids were a riot playing in the water from a fountain and pump. At one point Aunt Nancy was playing "Silver Dollar City" with them - pouring water on their heads as they went down the slide (like a ride)!

Here are 8 of the cousins - Colton was working.

Zoe was digging the cookies Aunt Nancy had made!

Luke was loving the fruit that Mark had cut up!

Playing on the slide - Uncle Marlin had the idea to dump the cooler of leftover ice and cold water down the slide - the kids loved it!

Take Us Out to the Ballgame . . . .

The Cardinals are struggling now but it is still fun to go to the ballgame.Nancy was given four tickets to the game on Wednesday night and since Colton was working and Kyle was at band camp JD, Carla, Eric and myself went to the game. The seats were down the 1st base line and ten rows off the field so that makes for a whole different perspective. It was a beautiful evening, good company but the Cardinals did lose the game . . . come on Cardinals!
Everybody was in on taking pictures!

Matt's Team Won the Championship - Lori

Here are some pictures of the National Tournament that Matt has played in
all week. He played , with his Champaign's Finest team , a total of 9 games in 3 days. It was a hard road to get to the championship game but they made it today and WON! The boys played the championship game against the Scarborough Blue Bantam Boys out of Ontario,
Canada. On the car ride home today I was thinking how nice it was to be
finished with basketball for a few months...and then Matt says can I get to
the gym sometime this weekend!! Lori

12 -8-Backward March - Dress Form - Slide

I am not sure what all those things mean but I know that Kyle does as we watched him at Band Camp tonight. Kyle left Sunday and will come home on Friday afternoon from SCW Marching Band Camp. They are grueling days of marching on a wide open field. As we watched tonight they practiced the same small segments over and over until they perfected that and then moved on. They started with stretching . . it takes a lot of discipline and dedication to be in Marching Band. Kyle we are very proud of you! They attend camp in St. Clair, MO. Tuesday is section "dress up " day. The trumpets went as crayons - can you guess what color Kyle was . . if you guessed White you would be correct!

- Kyle is in the all white stretching and warming up and then in the back row marching.

As seniors you get to stay under the dining hall area, a/c, and bathroom/shower across the hall.

And so begins another marching season . . .looking forward to lots of good times watching Ky-Man!

The Past Week in Photos

Celebrating Amber's High School Graduation at Miss Aimee Bee's Tea Room (7/12). Flo, Carolyn, DiAnn, Amber and Carla. What a fun place and yummy, too! Amber is heading to Baylor University.

Celebrating JD's Happy Birthday on July 14th!

The "Won by One" concert featuing the crowd favorite Matt Earnhart!

Check out these cute kiddos and Alissa at the concert . . . . .
Beautiful Girls - Isaac was in no mood for posing as he woke up at the concert!

Grace Ann "borrowed" my camera during the concert and she managed to take about 50 pictures of the ceiling, the floor, and the back of her Dad's head! It did help keep her entertained! At one point, Gracie, Kalista and Nancy were in the back of the auditorium and Gracie and Kalista were dancing the night away - they didn't understand why Nancy didn't want to dance with them!

Catching Up! - Nancy

It has been a busy week. Colton, Kyle and Eric worked with a group of kids from Maryland Heights and Ada,OK this past week conducting a VBS at North City church. They were there on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Sunday night we hosted a bbq for both groups at Maryland Heights. Tuesday evening some of us went to hear "Won by One". It was great to see Matt and get to hear them sing. Thursday night was Bunko night!
JD and Carla invited me to dinner on Friday night and then we went on an adventure . . .I had never been to a Goodwill store but we hit a couple of Friday evening. We were looking for china tea cups and saucers that they are going to use the girls week at camp. We were successful in locating a bunch at a very cheap price. JD and Carla hit a couple more this morning.
Big news on the employement front - Jake changed jobs from Pioneer to BASF - better job and more hours. The rain has really been hard on the farmers in central Illinois. Colton started work on Thursday evening at St. Andrews Cinema. He told us to wait a few months before we come to the show there! He is scheduled 40 hours his first week.
Kyle goes to band camp tomorrow so JD/Carla/Eric and myself will be making a trip down to see him on Tuesday evening.
Mom and Dad are on a trip through KY and TN. They have been to Churchhill Downs and tonight were at the Grand Old Opry. They are going to a retreat with Jerry Jones at Paris Landing on Monday-Thursday. They will end up at KY Lake where they went on their honeymoon 50 years ago :)
Matt played in a tournament with his Monticello team and won this weekend. He is finished with his Monticello team now until tryouts in October - think he will make the team!? He was excited to score a three pointer today. Now he is in Bloomington with his other team and playing Sun - Wed in a tournament. That will finish his season with Champaign's Finest.
Stay Cool!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY J.D.

Happy Birthday to J.D. (John Dean)! He was born on July 14, 1964 at St. Mary's Hospital in Clayton, MO. He arrived at 11:24 a.m. J.D. weighed in at 10 lbs 14 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches long! J.D. we appreciate you and love you! Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday!

Lori and Matt Come to Town!

Sunday evening - Lori and Matt arrive in St. Louis. Eric is at our house and spending the next three nights.

Monday - Carolyn, Lori, Colton, Kyle, Eric and Matt spend the day at Aquaport. Dinner that night was Domino's followed up a couple hours later with Oberweis ice cream.

Tuesday - Marlin, Carolyn, Lori and guys spend a chunk of the day at the Science Center. They made a stop at Jilly's on the way home for super cupcakes :)

Tuesday eve - Marlin, JD and guys go to the Rascals game

Tuesday eve - the ladies, Carolyn, Nancy, Carla and Lori head to K'wood for some shopping and dinner at Canyon Cafe - the guys ate at White Castle

Wednesday - Grandma, Matt and Eric always have to eat at Steak and Shake. Lori and Matt headed back to Monticello after lunch. That afternoon JD and Carla went with me to camp to stock the canteen, pay bills, etc - thanks!

It was a whirlwind visit but oh so much fun. Matt and Eric usually get a week of Camp Grandma but this year they were only able to squeeze in a few days!

Check out Carla!

Carla is probably the least competitive person of our whole family so I guess that is why these two pics of her on the 4th cracked me up - she is really getting into the spirit of the games! Lesson - she wasn't worried about winning just about having fun! Nancy

4th of July Family Fun

We gathered at our house the afternoon of the 4th. Dad organized a washer tournament and then a "baseball" game! He drew names for our teams - Colton was not very happy that Aunt Nancy was his washers partner! Thanks Dad for the QT giftcards as prizes :) Kyle and Grandpa were the winners in the washers tourney. After a yummy dinner (Aunt Carol made a scrumptious peach cobbler) we then went out to the Bridgeton fireworks. It is always fun to see so many friends. What a beautiful day!

Happy 4th of July!

Nothing starts the 4th of July off like a great parade! This morning Kyle marched with the St. Charles West Marching Warriors in the St. Charles 4th of July parade. Marlin and I watched from in front of St. Charles High - JD, Carla, Colton and Eric were down on Main Street. Carolyn was working the Bridgeton Parade! Kyle was our favorite in the parade!

Oh, What a Night! - Nancy

This is the ball that David Wright, Mets, hit as a foul ball into section 246 that Aunt Nancy "caught"! I can't say that I really caught it - a more accurate description was that it hit the upper left portion of my chest and I grabbed it with my right hand and held it aloft. Colton, Kyle and Eric didn't really consider it catching a foul ball but the bottom line is I came up with the baseball and the crowd cheered for me!

A last minute snafu for my friend, Lisa ended up with me having 4 tickets in the Redbird Club so the three guys and I headed out to the game. Kyle and I had originally planned to go and sit in a different section. There was a 47 minute rain delay so it was great to be just under the overhang!

The guys in the Redbird Club.

It was a very late game but the result was well worth the length. The Cardinals won with a walk off homer by Troy Glaus. The Cardinals beat the Mets 8 -7! We saw 4 Cardinal home runs.

Cardinals beat Mets - JD

Last night the boys and I went to the Cardinals game - I had been given four seats 11 rows off left field. It was awesome. We saw the return of Mark Mulder - the crowd gave his a standing ovation upon his return! What great fans!