Adele's Artwork

From Adele's parent teacher conference.  She received a great assessment from Mrs. Stanford.  So far, so good.

Secret Hideout

This is Adele & Winston's favorite place to play.  They love going out into the evergreen trees to hunt for poisonous berries.  They are always sneaking out little items to dig with.  Its fun to see them play so well together.  When they are in the secret hideout, they are best buddies...when they aren't, not so much.

Halloween at Petsmart

Veda, Winston & I took Otto to Petsmart in his Halloween costume (while Adele was at a birthday party with Kathy).  He was bouncing off the walls with all the dogs, treats and attention.  Wore the little guy out...

Little Tree Climber

Adele is our expert tree climber. Rain or shine, she is out there climbing up any tree where she can reach the bottom brand.

Dads & Donuts at Symmes

This was from Dads & Donuts (they do this a couple times per year at Symmes Elementary). Kathy volunteered, so the girls got to hand out donuts to the dads.

This is a picture of Adele & Veda putting makeup on the hamster at our house.  Winston is blowing the finger nail polish dry... 

This is a self portrait that Adele drew of herself after school one day.

Warrior Run 5k

We participated in the Warrior Run down in Mariemont.  I did the 1 mile with the kids and Kathy did the 5k with our neighbor Rick Holmes.  The kids were really excited until they figured out how far 1 mile is (after 5 blocks they were beat).  Next time we need to do a little training on pacing.

Didi and Papi

Kathy had a quick work trip, so mom and dad came out to help watch the kids for a couple days. Each kid got to stay home from school one day to hang out and get some one on one time.  Grandpa Gary did some pumpkin carving with the kids.  

Great Wolf Lodge

A little pre-Halloween fun at Great Wolf Lodge with our neighbors.  The kids got to spend the day at the water park and then go trick-or-treating around the lodge that night...pretty fun.  We are lucky to have great neighbors with a lot of kids the same age as ours.  To note, Veda was a Doctor, Adele a snow princess and Winston a hamster.

Guys Fishing Trip

On the Dos Hombres in Madeira Beach, FL.  We did a full day trip to catch amberjack and grouper. Tough day of fishing but we caught a couple nice black groupers and snappers to eat that night.

Watching Videos with Otto

Fall Fun

Fall is here and lots of fun to be had outside.  Winston was able to master his bike without training wheels (which wasn't really in doubt) - but just in case, he put on Adele's rollerblade kneepads and elbow pads.  We did have to put them back on as his legs aren't long enough the reach the ground, so the only way to stop was to crash into the grass.  He was pretty ticked that we put them back on...but it was that or follow him around all day, every day while he rides.

We also have lots of leaves to rake, which the kids love helping with.  They like raking and shoveling them into bags (and sometimes carrying those bags to the garage - although that is a team effort).

Halloween

Kathy as the shark (although Adele might have worn it better).  The kids costumes were all hand made by Grandma Sayre.  Adele as a flamingo, Veda as a Dragon Rider and Winston's Shark Boy.  I was supposed to be a surfer for those that were interested.  

Hiking at Big Bone Lick

A nice sunny Sunday, so headed down south about an hour to Boone County Kentucky.  The kids were troopers, hiking over 2 miles on a pretty rough & narrow trail.  The first mile was definitely fun, exploring nature, then Winston started wearing down...but the girls hung in there the full way.

Ed Sheeran Concert - Riverbend

September 17, 2015.  A couple pics with our friends (Steve & Jen McGhee + Jody & Megan Johnson) at the Ed Sheeran concert at Riverbend.  We did a full on picnic during the opening act (Christina Perri), which left our fellow movie goers quite jealous.

Veda's School Profile

This was Veda's project, to help her classmates get to know her.  Veda takes this stuff very seriously (took her over an hour to complete & color).  She loves school.

Air Jordans

Adele showing off her hand-me-down Air Jordan's (given to Veda by her friend Meiah from Los Angeles about 4 yrs ago). We've been hanging on to these for a while and now finally get to enjoy them.

Fun at the Cincinnati Zoo

September 7, 2105.  Just horsing around on the alligators at the zoo.

Reds Game & Ice Cream

September 5, 2015.
We tried to take the kids to a Reds game tonight, but got rained out in the first inning.  Rather than ride it out, we ventured back home and treated the kids to ice cream instead.

Popsicles with Mrs. Stanford's Class

September 4, 2105.
Adele's Kindergarten class with Mrs. Stanford.

Welcome Home Otto

August 23, 2015.
Day #1 for Otto was full of excitement. The kids just couldn't get enough of him.  We picked him up at McDonalds in Monroe near the Outlet Mall, where Otto's breeder met us.  The girls both sang him songs on his first morning so he would go to sleep (and both insisted on sleeping with him in his kennel).  Winston on the other hand, enjoyed popping bubble wrap with him (not sure who enjoyed it more).  Otto is going to be a good addition to our family.

Neighborhood Spy Party

In celebration of Veda's 7th and Ethan's 6th birthday party, we hosted a 'Spy' themed party.  Laser maze, neighborhood scavenger hunt, metal detector coin hunt and of course a big ole dynamite pinata.  Lots of fun had by all (almost 50 kids + adults in total).