Kalahari--Fall 2010

We recently made our 5th annual trip with Joel's family to the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. The kids have been talking about it for months. In fact, for awhile we would laugh every time Ryan would say the prayer at dinner time as it usually went something like this: "God, thank you for our food, and we hope we have a good time at Kalahari. Amen." Joel and I would try so hard not to laugh because he was so serious every time.

Well, the Lord answered his prayers because we DID have a great time at Kalahari!

Grandpa Doug with Reid
Ryan got a fake tattoo that read "Mom." ;)

I'll pull out this picture in 10 years when he won't talk to me anymore.

The cousins had so much fun playing together!

As always, Riley was a huge help with Reid.

Quinn, Owen, and Riley with Reid.

Reid tring out the swing in the waterpark.

Ryan was a total goofball...

Ryan and Owen had fun running around together...

...they are like two peas in a pod!

Having fun in the swing!

Reese gets more and more adventurous every time we go. Years ago, we couldn't get her to go down any kind of slide. This time she went down some of the biggest slides there!

We celebrated Amy's birthday while we were all together. Don't count the candles--she was turning 25. ;)

This is one of my favorite pictures of Ryan, taken at Kalahari when he was the exact same age as Reid--6 months. Of course it was taken in the outdoor waterpark, which was closed, but I thought I would try to recreate it indoors.

Reid didn't agree with us. First of all, the lifeguards were really strict about having a lifejacket on him, so we had to find a time when they weren't looking to try this. Then when we took off the lens cap, the entire lens fogged up since it is so humid inside. Reid had absolutely no time to get comfortable with the water. We just set him down and snapped a picture. Poor kid! I still think it's funny to see the differences in the two boys in their suits. :)

This was after I swooped in and picked him up from the failed photoshoot.

I tried to fix this picture, but it didn't turn out too well. It was so foggy at this point! Still, it was the only picture I had with all 3 kids.

Reid finally gave in and took his morning nap with Grandma Marsh. :)

Precious!!!

The kid is osbsessed with fans. We can always distract him at home by turning on our ceiling fan. Here I was trying to take his picture, and he kept looking up.

Sure enough, there was a fan that caught his attention!

The whole family! It's almost perfect, except Reid is looking at the ceiling fan. ;)

Same here.

Our party of five.

Brad and Amy's crew.

The boys--I think Ryan wanted this picture of boys only.

Doug and Marsha with the grandkids.

The girls

I have a few more pictures to add in another post. :)

Backyard Fun with Reid

I took advantage of one of the gorgeous fall days to have a little backyard fun with Reid.

Reid enjoyed a little time in the swing.

Then he just had fun sitting in the grass and letting me snap a few pictures.

Love those lips!

He then discovered some leaves. I was just waiting for him to put these in his mouth, but he was a good boy!

What a happy little guy!

Stonycreek Farm--Fall 2010

We made our annual trip to Stonycreek Farm this past weekend with Aunt Holly and cousins, Grace and Clare. It was really Holly's idea to take all of her nieces and nephews, but we realized it was a great opportunity for our family to go. Plus, we all wanted a little kettle corn. :)

The five cousins: Ryan, Reese, Reid, Clare, and Grace.
Holly with the girls and Reid. Ryan was done with our photography shoot...

The bouncing pillow was a hit as usual!

Aunt Holly and Reid

Me with Reid

Holly snapped this picture of Joel and I with Reid. We don't have too many pictures of the two of us with Reid...we need to change that! I don't want him to look through our photo albums someday when he needs a picture of himself and realize that they are all with his brothers and sisters!

We were wild and let Ryan have kettle corn, even though we found out he is allergic to corn. It's not like his wheat or peanut allergy and doesn't actually hurt him...it just makes him cough a ton. But it was worth it! He l-o-v-e-s kettle corn!

Reese couldn't get enough as well!

Holly took this picture of our family...I love it! (Mainly because everyone is looking at the camera.)

Thanks for a fun visit to the pumpkin patch!

Brown County State Park--Fall 2010

We headed to Nashville, Indiana, last week to visit Brown County State Park. It is one of our favorite road trips as the scenery is usually so beautiful. I was worried that the fall colors would not look as pretty since the end of the summer was so dry, but it really wasn't that bad.

We chose a new trail this time...one that started off as a moderate hike and then ended with a rugged section. It was fun to explore a new section of the park.

I love this picture of Ryan either jumping on a stump or tripping over it...something like that. :)
Reid was all set to go on the hike! He l-o-v-e-d being in the carrier!

Hey, baby!

The kids stopped to take a much-deserved break.

Reid was hysterical--he kept grabbing the map every time Joel took it out to read it!

"Don't worry! I'll show you which way to go!"

Joel with the kids

A view across one of the lakes.

One of my favorite parts of hiking is having uninterrupted time to talk to the kids one-on-one. Usually I will take one of the kids and either walk ahead of or behind Joel and the other kiddo. We have the best conversations about everything: friends, nature, school, etc. I'll have to remember that in the future when my kids don't want to talk to me. If I want to know what's going on in their lives, I've got to take them hiking!

"Um, Dad...I think we were supposed to go that way."

After our hike we headed into town for lunch, then stopped to buy some of our favorite waffle cones and kettle corn. We were going to walk around and spend more time shopping, but it was actually the perfect time to leave and let Reid nap on the way home. After all, it was hard work for him--having to navigate us through the woods!