CrAzY Cullen

Cullen woke up in the early morning and crawled into our bed. Nick was a little confused since Cullen hardly does this (Geremu on the other hand-that's another story) so he asked him if he felt good, needed a drink, etc. After a few questions Cullen said, "Dad do you think I could just get some privacy so I can sleep?"

Hey kid, how about going to your own bed if you want some privacy?

We are headed up north for a bit... So I'm not sure how much this blog will get updated.

Hail Damage

We received lots hail damage last summer thus resulting in some major home improvements this summer. This is a pre-fixed house picture...

This is a mostly finished house picture...

Nick (with some help from the neighbor, his brothers and my father) has been working his tail off this summer replacing the roof, fascia, soffit, siding, windows and garage doors.
Some work still needs to get done like painting the porch and replace the screens (should be done by the end of the summer). We are still waiting on one window that had to be special ordered and gutters that should be installed next week. I'd also like to add some white shutters to the house and replace the front door. For now I'm just happy to have the major outside work is completed.

Bay Beach

Cullen asked Maddie to turn him into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle...

Unfortunately the paint didn't wash off that well, leaving Cullen with a pinkish color around his eyes.

I decided to take the kids to Bay Beach to check out the new roller coaster. Maddie was the only kid tall enough to ride. Cullen is close but he wasn't really interested in riding it so I wasn't going to push it. I wish I had brought a friend for Maddie to ride with but she really didn't seem to mind going by herself. She went on it 8 times and LOVED it.

The kids kept cool and busy on the rides...
I wanted to go on the coaster so badly... So I bought the kids snow cones and sat them in the shade by the coaster and asked Maddie to keep an eye on them.

There was NO line for the coaster (really there was no line for anything), I hoped right into the back car and went for my two minute ride. I loved every minute of it! At one point I could be seen going up a huge hill turned around screaming and waving to the kids. LOVED IT!

After the rides the kids spent a little time swimming....

Before we headed to the bird sanctuary...

The goose whisper...

Overall a very fun day!

Family Reunion Time!

Yesterday we attended a family reunion for my Mom's side of the family. It was HOT outside so the kids cooled off with water balloons and a swim in the pond.

We visited with some cousins...
And annoyed others...
G'pa Bob was sweating it out with us!
It was nice to see so many people we often don't get a chance to see!

New Beds!

The boys were busy playing with frogs and Maddy today. This was the scene in my back seat on our way to the park this morning...

Looking for frogs...
Below is a picture of Geremu crawling out after falling in.
In Gere's defense he did jump out onto a rock however he didn't really anticipate the momentum the jump would cause. When he thought he was going in forward he over compensated and instead went backwards. Of course Cullen thought this was a hoot.
After they each found a frog they brought them home and created an obstacle course that included boat rides for the frogs to enjoy. Since Nick has been working on the house the kids have been busy creating houses and villages with all the boxes the siding came in. Tonight they asked to have a sleep over because "everyone can have their own bed." Who knew the boxes also double as beds? I really could have saved myself some money when we bought beds!

Enjoying Friends

The day after the Mehaber we got the opportunity to hang out with our Chilly Ethiopian Friends & Maureen and her kids. We had a wonderful day (that the boys are still talking about) at a beach that Tony grew-up enjoying. The kids had fun playing together... And the adults enjoyed watching Tony suprising the kids...

What a difference a year makes, Hanna is getting so big.

Tony took us for a little walk/swim to a rock pile...

Cullen and Fantaye insisted on swim to the rocks holding hands... I thought they were going to take each other down.

Here the kids are posing on the rocks...

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

We left the beach and Maureen headed to her friends house for Hanna's nap. The rest of us headed to a restaurant on the lake that provided entertainment in the form of carp and geese that love french fries...

I had just a great time talking with Tony, Julie and Maureen. I certainly hope we are able to get together again!

Swimming with the Cousins

After the Mehaber we went back to my sisters.

Geremu and Kyle spent a little time together...

Then we headed to a lake to cool the kids down before bed. When the bugs came out and Charlie had finished his 3rd water bottle. We decided to call it a night.

What a wonderful day!

Mehaber Fun!

Last night we let the kids play outside so they were good and tired when it was time for bed. They went to bed early so they could get up to party with their Ethiopian friends. Prior to the Mehaber we meet at a park with some friends. The kids got a chance to play together.

Below is Hana, she is Abinet's sister. Last year on this day I was on a flight back from Ethiopia with her mother bringing her home!
Here are some of the kids we met with at the park...

Mulanesh was a little uncertain of all the boys...

My sister Megan made these cute shirts for Abinet and Hana.
The kids had fun on all the inflatables...

The boys were pretty pooped out from all the playing and dancing.

We hope to be back again next year!