4 McIntosh Apples

We went camping with my parents the first weekend of August. It was Ella’s first camping trip and it has been awhile for Ean.

We enjoyed the nice break in the hot temperatures and it was a nice weekend. The hardest part was keeping Ella from playing around the fire at night, but we all had a great time with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Steve.

Here are some pictures of the weekend:

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

From Camping at Chain O Lakes

For the rest of the 82 pictures from the weekend, click the album link below.

Camping at Chain O Lakes

Today Ean started his first day of kindergarten and will be in school for a very long time! He was very nervous in the beginning but when the Mrs Kober came by to pick him up from the car riders, he was all calm and cool and waved bye to us.

No tears fell today as he started his educational career. However, when we got back to the car and put Ella in her car seat, she pointed at Ean’s side and said “Ean’s Chair” and sadness fell upon the car.

The poor guy was pooped when we picked him up. He pulled his normal routine of telling us he doesn’t remember what he did but we eventually work it out of him throughout the day.

Sounds like he had a good time and he is looking forward to going back tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of the major event today:

From Ean Kindergarten 2010

From Ean Kindergarten 2010

From Ean Kindergarten 2010

From Ean Kindergarten 2010

From Ean Kindergarten 2010

From Ean Kindergarten 2010

As the first day of school creeps closer for Ean to start kindergarten, April and I wanted to thank everyone that helped us get Ean ready for school this year. We appreciate the generosity of our family in helping us supply him with the things he needs for the upcoming school year.

Ean is very excited for school to begin more than likely because he is tired of hanging out with us all summer and he is ready to get back to his preschool friends as well as meeting new friends.

We will keep you updated how things go this year, but as parents we feel more comfortable getting ready for school knowing that everything he needs has already been taken care of and he can just concentrate on his schoolwork.

Once again, I would like to express our thanks to everyone that helped us get Ean ready for school this year!

It has been a busy summer for us so far. Lot’s of activity and things that we are fortunate to have a chance to do. My work had a raffle for a new program being started and the bank that is in my warehouse donated some Cincinnati Reds tickets. One of the supervisors won the tickets was unable to go so I bought the tickets off of her for $10. Not a bad price considering that the parking alone was $15 if we would have paid.

Other than it being really hot, the day was filled with fun and enjoyment and we are glad we had a chance to go. Ean just finishing up T-ball for his first was interested for awhile and really enjoyed that peanuts. I don’t think the folks sitting around us enjoyed Ean enjoying the peanuts though.

Here are some photos of the day and a short video clip that I took on our little camera.

From Reds Games

From Reds Games

From Reds Games

We took the kids to Lowes this morning and I forgot the camera so I had to use my phone for all of the pictures.

Ean was really into his project including putting on his apron and eye protection. Ella on the other hand didn’t want anything to do with the protection gear.

The kids project turned out very nicely and they are both enjoying playing with their new UFOs.

Next project is August 14th and it will be a bug box that Ean says he has to be there.

I’ve got good news and bad news.

Good news is that we are starting to have some vegetables ready and we are starting to get eat some of our hard work. I also canned my first jar of peppers and jalapeños.

Bad news is that we may have lost a good portion of our tomatoes. We had a large wind comes through and knock over all of the tomato plants. Steve came over and helped April get them back upright and put some extra large stakes in to hold them better, so most of them may be saved.

Here are some pictures of the latest updates”

From 4MA Garden

From 4MA Garden

From 4MA Garden

From 4MA Garden

From 4MA Garden

From 4MA Garden

In case you weren’t aware of what McIntosh Kid’s Day is, it is a family holiday that we created based on a comment by Ean after Father’s day was over a few years ago. We celebrated Mother’s Day, then Father’s day and then in his sweetest voice, Ean asked “When is it Kid’s day?”

So began our family’s tradition of Kids Day. This was our 3rd one even if it was a few weeks later than normal. Vacation and other conflicting schedules pushed the date back this year.

This year we had a picnic at the Markle Park and then we went swimming at the Markle Pool (really a private lake). It took awhile, but we got Ean to finally decide to go down the water slide and he loved it.

From Kids Day 2010

From Kids Day 2010

From Kids Day 2010

From Kids Day 2010

From Kids Day 2010

We’ve been pretty busy this summer with T-ball, swimming and the like that we haven’t made it to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo as much as we would have liked. We did make it to the zoo about a month ago. This was the first time that Ella wanted to ride a pony and she had a good time.

It was also the first time that we let Ella run around without her stroller and it was the first time that truly enjoyed being at the Zoo.

From Zoo Day

From Zoo Day

From Zoo Day

To see the full set of pictures, head to the photo album below.

Zoo Day

After a long drive home on Friday, we are back after our summer vacation in Big Canoe, Georgia. We met with the Florida family members in the resort and had several days of swimming, boating, and eating plenty of food.

The place that we stayed in was a tree topper cabin that was just right for us in size. We enjoyed the scenery, the animals (we saw plenty of wild deer and a variety of birds), and time with each other. The resort was really nice, if not a bit expensive – $6 per person per day worth of swimming and almost everything you could do you pay for.

From Summer Vacation 2010

From Summer Vacation 2010

From Summer Vacation 2010

From Summer Vacation 2010

In hindsight, I guess I should have gotten pictures of everyone, but the cameras just never came out when we were all together.

For pictures of our place and other various shots, check out the complete photo album by clicking on the album picture.

Summer Vacation 2010

America is another year older today. Jeez that makes me feel old for goodness sake. I still remember the bi-centennial quarter and that came out in 76.

Anyways, we spent last night at the Gerber’s for a day of sun, food and a very enjoyable spectacle of fireworks. The fireworks were a spectatular show and much better than alot of the smaller town fireworks that  I have a seen over the last few years. Thanks to Jerry and Heather for inviting us and Happy Birthday United States!