Fire Station Visit

Quinten and I went to the fire station this past Monday. He had been asking repeatedly about going to the fire station. Monday he even gathered several fire trucks and plastic helmet to show the firemen. He was so excited when we got there he could hardly hold himself back. However, as we approached the station, his shy personality came out. He held my hand tightly and would barely talk with the firemen. They were awesome with him and let him climb up in the ambulance; hold a hose and get in the big truck. He refused to wear one of their hats telling me later "that was too big for me". They also said he could sound the horn and start the engine. The entire time he was in the fire truck he kept saying "mommy" and was almost crying. Before we went to the fire station, I told Quinten that I really wanted to get a picture. When I pulled out my camera, he smiled for a half second for the picture. When we were home, he could not stop talking about the fire station and his visit!

Mother's Day 2010

My "Bonus" Daughter!


Mother's Day antics

Mother's Day was a perfect blend of relaxation and time with my family. Lauren was with her mom most of the day but we saw her at the end of the day. Mark and Quinten fixed me a donut breakfast and let me read the paper. We went to church and had a simple lunch. Quinten gave me a new bike seat; Lauren gave me wonderful new garden tools and Mark gave me a dozen roses. As you can see from the photo above, pictures are getting harder to obtain!

Camping in May

Lauren was more interested in reading with her I-Pad than being in the water!



Jim came so we could celebrate his 71st birthday.



Mark and Quinten are looking for their ship to come in!


We took our first camping trip this year to Alum Creek State Park in mid-May. My mom teases Mark as our level of camping is not pure camping to say the least! Out of 5 meals during the outing, only one was cooked at the campsite. Mark packed us up and took care of many details. We camped two nights and had a wonderful full day on Saturday. The nights were pretty cool going in the low 50's. Lauren slept in the tent so she could have her own space. She stayed warm with her heavy duty sleeping bag. We love the fact that both kids enjoy camping and the outdoors. Next month we will "go on the road" to Salt Fork State Park.

Dad's 75th Birthday!

Dad with his birthday cake!


Dad and a few of his grandchildren-Cassidy, Claire and Megan.

My dear daddy turned 75 last Friday! My mom threw a surprise party where over 60 people attended. She took him to dinner along with dear friends-Dave and Carolyn Colborn and his brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Jean Gorman. While they finished dinner, family and friends gathered behind the restaurant in the high winds! The winds kept the temperature comfortable but prevented him from experiencing helicopter ride that mom gave as a gift. I am so happy to have him in good health and have such good friends to share this day with him.

Baseball Game

Cassidy in action!


Quinten's 1st piece of bubblegum.



Cousins enjoying the game. Actually, they enjoyed playing together much more than the game.




Silly cousins!

Quinten and I drove up to Hudson to see my nephew, Cassidy, play a double header. He has made the Varsity squad as a freshman and is starting! This was the 1st time I have driven a long distance with just Quinten and me. The drive was a breeze since he fell asleep before I even hit 71 north out of Columbus! The return trip was much of the same with him sleeping more than half of the way home. Quinten has been a great traveler but I was not sure how to entertain him while driving. He brought a drum set that got jammed in the seat and the cymbals kept making a noise with every bump in the road. At one point, it got stuck and the cymbals went off for over 10 minutes. Thankfully it finally stopped!


Quinten and Audrey had great fun playing together. They sang, danced during the inning changes and read a few books together. They even shared Audrey's umbrella during the game. I hope they can continue to enjoy each other for years to come.


Claire took the above pictures. She was quite helpful with Quinten and running errands for me. Her 12th birthday is in a week!