Earl and Vivian's Trip

While Earl and Vivian were visiting in May we decided to do something we hadn't done in St. Louis yet and that was taking a tour of Anheuser Busch. It was interesting to see their processing plant and all the different beers they make. It was also fun to see the clydesdale horses.

During their visit they were also able to see Jacob play baseball. 

Jacob was so happy to have them there since it's not every day our kids have someone 

cheering them on besides mom and dad.

Jacob got a batters helmet from Grandma Vivi and Pop Pop as an early birthday present. 

I think he might have worn it to bed that night he liked it so much.

Magic House with Grandma Vivi

Doug's mom came out to visit us for a week in March. It was a great spending time together. She joined us for homeschooling and the kids loved showing off all they knew. Then, on Saturday we went to the Magic House in St. Louis. It had been awhile since we'd been there so it was a lot of fun for everyone.

They had a section set up with imaginary play from the Magic Tree House books. Since we've read a lot of their books they really enjoyed it.

Their favorite part of the Magic House is the Lewis and Clark trail. We've been studying US history this year, so they understood a lot about the things that were there.

 Grandma Vivi and Audrey had a great week together. They were like two peas in a pod.

Christmas 2011

We opened presents at home on Friday, December 22nd!

Jacob and Ethan got the entire collection of baseball cards for 2011!

Jacob looks like he is the happiest one in this picture, but Ethan loves them just as much and is constantly making different lists of his favorite teams and players.

Audrey got her first American Girl doll and named her Audrey! So cute!

Road Trip

It took us 16 hours to drive from St. Louis to New Jersey, but the only thing uncomfortable about the trip is Doug didn't put the bubble on the top of the car so we were packed in like sardines.

Since we would be gone for a whole week, we didn't want to leave our guinea pig, Bucky, at home. The kids have become very attached to him and he is definitely part of the family. He also proved to be a very good traveler like the kids. When we stayed the night in a hotel, we put him in this small cage, but we had a bigger cage for him in the car.

These Yankee sweatshirts were a big hit with the boys! 

Pop Pop and Ethan

Vivi and Audrey

After we spent Christmas at Dan and Kim's we headed to Milford, PA to spend a few days with Doug's parents. Earl had a chance to take the kids to his work and one of his favorite diners in town. Doug also has great memories of going to his office and the diner as a kid. So, it was great for the kids to learn about that part of their lives.

The big gift for the year was from Pop Pop and Vivi. After the kids studied Astronomy last year they developed a love for the solar system, so their grandparents decided to invest in an amazing telescope for them. We were all extremely grateful, and it will be something we will use for many, many years. 

Thanks Pop Pop and Vivi!!

Visiting the Arch

I wasn't able to go because of my foot, but Doug took Jeanne, Vivian and the kids to the St. Louis Arch. They weather was gorgeous and they had a great time. 

 Ethan loves astronomy, so this picture is so perfect!

Doug got a little artistic with taking pictures of the

 arch.

Updates

Since I haven't been blogging much lately I've missed announcing and updating a few things. For those of you who haven't heard....

Doug was picked up to be the next Squadron Commander of the 906th Air Refueling Squadron here at Scott AFB. He will be assuming command in April or May after spending four months in Altus, OK for requal training to fly the KC-135. This means he will be gone from January through April, but we will be at Scott AFB until the spring of 2013.

Doug's mom's recovery from open heart surgery is going well. It's been four weeks since her surgery, so she has two to four more weeks until she's fully recovered. We're very happy that things have gone well and that the surgery and recovery have gone fairly smoothly.

My sister is preparing for her open heart surgery in December for an aortic aneurysm and leaky valve. She found a doctor she is very happy with and she has decided to go tissue instead of mechanical which seemed like an impossible decision for her to make until recently. It was definitely an answer to prayer since that decision was weighing heavily on her mind. Through my sister's situation, we've learned that there might be a genetic link to arotic aneurysms and leaky valves. Our uncle also has an arotic aneurysm and leaky valve that doesn't require operation yet and my father has a leaky valve. I am having a ecochardiogram at the end of the month. My older sister had one on Wednesday and they now want to do a CT Scan next week. I haven't spoken to my brother about it yet so I'm not sure where he is at in the process. The problem with an aortic aneurysm is that if it burst it would result in instant death so this is definitely not something our family is taking lightly.

Open Heart Surgeries

Doug flew home on Thursday to be there for his mom's open heart surgery this morning. The doctor said everything went well and she should be awake tomorrow. My younger sister told me yesterday that she will be having open heart surgery on December 6th, so my family is preparing to face the same challenge Doug's family is facing right now. However, we know that God is in control of all things. He uses every trial in our lives to try and bring us closer to Him and it is only when we realize that trusting in ourselves is not enough that we are able to see God standing there waiting for us to put our trust in Him.

Our Trip to the East Coast

We flew out to New Jersey on July 2nd to celebrate Jillian's and Kaelyn's birthdays. The kids spent three days in the pool and had a blast.

Jeanne and Vivian

Vivian, Jeanne, Chris, Elena, Doug, Audrey

Ethan, Kaelyn

Kim, Jillian, Jacob

Chis and Elena

Jeanne and Audrey

4th of July

The Arch

Going up in The Arch was very interesting. We rode in an egg shaped capsule that had 5 seats crammed together. If you have any issues with claustrophobia it would be a bit difficult to handle. Once we got to the top it was very cramped and there were very small windows to look out of.

Celebrating Our Anniversary

Our friend, Dawn, offered to watch our kids so we could go out to dinner. Doug's parents decided they wanted to treat us to an anniversary dinner at Andria's Restaurant.We had a great time and the food was excellent.

Doug turns 39!!

I made one of Doug's favorite meals, chicken tacos and corn tomatillio, and invited some of our friends over for ice cream cake from Cold Stone. Yummy!