5 Mile Relay

Andy did a lot of ruuning during the Mileage club at his school and was invited to participate in the Jackson County Rose Run. He wanted to do the 5 mile relay with his dad and me. Two runners ran 1.5 miles and the third ran 2. Andy ran 1.5 miles in about 13 minutes...yes, he is 7! He's an amazing runner. We ended up placing third.

It was Andy's first metal that he earned in an actual race. He's a natural runner. His goal is to be able to run a 5K by the end of the summer. We'll let you know how it comes out! Here are a few pics of Andy and us from the race.

Time for Fishing

Andy, Jessi, and I took up a new activity of fishing. My dad and I decided that my kids needed to learn how to fish. They both caught on quickly. We haven't tried the great lakes yet, but have been enjoying fishing at the near by lakes.

We have a lot of time to spend together with family and it's been a lot of fun. My nephews have gone fishing with a us a couple of times as well as my dad. It brings back so many childhood memories of when I was a kid. My dad and I used to fish a lot!

I currently am looking for employment and hoping to finally close on a house. We're trying to keep busy with the kids and side jobs for now. I swear looking for a job is a full time job! We know that everything will fall together like it always does, it's just not easy waiting. Sorry for not updating sooner. Now that I'm on summer break and have a little extra time, I can keep posting new pics and updates. Hope everyone's doing well. God Bless!

Baseball Season

Andy had a blast playing baseball this spring. He grew so much this season. It was his first time playing baseball on a team. He became quite the hitter, averaging over 500 for the season! The best part is how he had so much fun and made new friends.

Jessi even became a fan of batting. Here's a real short clip of her swinging the bat, but missing the ball. She's getting so big and wants to do everything that her big brother does.

Things are going good for us. Spring is over, so we're enjoying the water and having time together with the family and Uncle Eric and Becky's new baby, Brynlee Tava Swihart! She's so little:)

Halloween '08

Our little skeleton and clown girl!

Jessi picked out the smallest pumpkin in the orchard. It was interesting trying to carve it! We went to the local flavor fruit farm and walked through the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin. I think Jessi finally decided after having pick up and carry about a dozen. Jessi is our messy one while Andy is not so much!

Cheesing it after we found the perfect pumpkins at the fruit farm. It's really neat seeing how they make cider, all of the apple orchards, a hay ride, an elephant ride, corn maze, and freshly made donuts. You can't walk or drive near the place without buying a few!

Football Time!

Andy decided that he wanted to play football this year. Luckily, with his size, it was flag football. He was on the Olivet Comets Team. He learned so much and made a lot of new friends. All of the kids got to play on offense and defense and play a variety of positions. He was one of the few that actually tucked the ball away while he was running.

Even though his team didn't have a winning record, they all had fun. It's amazing how involved all of the community is here...I'd forgotten with being away for four years. He is attending school where Paul and I both graduated from.

It's really neat being back at home! Hopefully we'll be able to purchase one of those soon!! We're amazed how many of Andy's classmates are kids of our friends from school. It's nice reconnecting with old friends and making new ones!

Swim Lessons

Swim lessons were such a blast for both of the kids. They learned a ton about swimming and enjoyed swimming outdoors! Paul and I had fun helping Jessi with her lessons too. She even got to jump (be lifted) off of the diving board!

Andy was a true champ in the water. He jumped in the deep end without a life jacket or assistance with swimming to the end. We're so proud of our little swimmers. What's the next activity that they're going to get interested in??

Boating on Farwell Lake

Uncle Eric & Aunt Becky have a pontoon boat that is a lot of fun to ride and jump off into the lake. It's a great way to cool down from the humidity, even though the last few days have been nearly free of the humidity.

Riding on the water has always been so relaxing for me as a child and earlier this week I realized that it still is. We all went into the water, even Jessi. She's always a little nervous at the beginning, but gets used to is once she realizes that we aren't letting go!

Andy even got to have a couple of the neighbor kids join him on the boat. There aren't a lot of kids around where we are living right now, so it's really nice that Uncle Eric and Aunt Becky have several kids that play really well with Andy.