Summer Fun!

I love summer vacation! Honestly, I can't imagine having any other job in the world because if I did, it would mean giving up my summer vacation. I love the fact that Chris and I are both teachers so we can both be home with our kids during the summer (well...at least on most days). This summer our schedule has been a little different with Becca in the hospital, but we've still managed to squeeze in sometime to enjoy ourselves. So, in celebration of summer, here is my top ten things I love about summer list.

1. Ice cream - especially at Rocky Top or the Creamery - my favorite is Moose Tracks, but lately I've become addicted to cherry and vanilla swirl soft serve at Rocky Top - YUMMY!

2. Cream slushes at Sonic or Rocky Top - I recommend an orange cream slush at Sonic or a red pop cream slush at Rocky Top

3. Swimming!! We are so fortunate to have a very generous neighbor who shares his pool with us. It's so nice to walk next door and use the pool for a few hours....especially since Van Wert doesn't have a community pool.

4. Staying up late and sleeping in - I love staying up late watching mindless TV, reading, scrapbooking, or playing on the computer...and then sleeping in the next morning. During the school year I am in bed early and up early...so it's nice to change my schedule a little.

5. Lots of photo opportunities!!! (see below)

6. Fun summer music - There's nothing better than driving around with the windows down and fun summer music playing on the radio. OH....and I'm on the hunt for some more fun summer tunes to add to our i Tunes collection. Suggestions please (c'mon Lori...I know you'll have some!!)!!

7. Our newly remodeled patio! We have a great patio area that Chris has been working to improve...he took down the lattice, making it an open patio. We added a porch swing. He took down the yucky plastic roof (which gave it a feel similar to a greenhouse - LOTS of fun on hot summer days) and replaced it with a shingled roof. The last step is to install a ceiling fan. My job is to make maragaritas for Chris to enjoy on his "new" patio once the work is finished. :)

8. Grilling!! I love food on the grill - burgers, brats, chicken, steak. We also discovered a really easy and yummy recipe for chicken fajitas on the grill, which has become one of our new favorites!!

9. FLIP FLOPS! I know they are probably a fashion "don't"...especially for a 37 (YIKES) year old....but I still love them and wear them daily!

10. Family vacations!! Only 10 days until we leave for Florida...and only 12 days until we are at DISNEYWORLD!!!!! I think I am as excited as Jacob and Jenna!!

No blog entry would be complete without a few photos from me. These were taken last week on a day when we weren't allowed to use the neighbor's pool. It was really hot, so we had to get creative....swinging while the sprinkler was going. We also filled a tub with water so Jacob and Jenna could fill squirt guns...but Jenna decided it was the perfect mini-pool.

Stayin' cool....

I just realized I never posted these photos from Jill's visit. We got the sprinkler out one day and let the kids play in it. They had a ball....especially Luke!

Luke & Mia

I had an idea for photos of Luke and Mia...and Jill agreed to let me experiment with her kids. It took quite a bit of persuading to get Luke to pose like this for us, but he did a great job. I love these....especially in black and white.

Don't forget to scroll down and take a peek at all the previous posts. I've been adding lots of photos lately! And...where are all my blog commenters? Leave me some blog love, PLEASE!!

Tournament time...

Jacob's baseball team played in the tournament championship tonite. They ended up losing, but played a really good game. Jacob started off playing shortstop, then pitched for 3 innings, and ended up catching. He had one hit, one walk, and got hit in the helmet with the ball...so got on base. YIKES! Regular season baseball is over...but Jacob was chosen to play on the all-star team, so his season will continue.

Don't miss out.....

I have been posting LOTS of photos over the last few days. Be sure to scroll down and check all of them out....I wouldn't want you to miss any. :)

Mia...3 months

Mia is at such a fun age to take photos of. Her expression was changing constantly...and of course I wanted to capture ALL of them while she was visiting. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Happy Father's Day

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Enjoy your day!!!

Luke- 4 years old

I really wanted to take Luke to my favorite photo spot and take some 4 year photos of him while he was visiting...so on Saturday Jill, Luke, Jenna and I went to "the spot" to see what we could get. Jenna was really into having her photo taken...Luke wasn't quite into it. He was tired and just wasn't sure he wanted to sit still while Aunt Amy aiming the camera at him. Jill and I persisted though and I actually managed to capture some good photos of Luke. My favorite thing about these is that they really show Luke's 4 year old personality.

Jill - thanks for letting me borrow your little model and his "soulful eyes". Luke - thanks for letting Aunt Amy take pictures of you AGAIN....and HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY!!

What does Amy need??

I've been spending a lot of time on the computer lately getting caught up on photos, checking blogs, and just plain fooling around. Today I found this fun "game" on another photography friend's blog. Go to Google and type in your name + needs in quotes (ex: "Amy needs") and then search. You are supposed to share the top 10 things Google thinks you need. Some of them made me laugh out loud. I swear people sit around and think these things up just because they know I will participate!! :)



So....here is what Amy needs (according to Google):

• Amy needs to either wake up or start getting some extra will-power.


• Amy needs to find a home where she can spend her golden years and be a cherished member of the family.


• Amy needs help so plz HEEELLPPP MMEE!!!!


• Amy needs a flu shot - like really really needs a flu shot.


• Amy needs a Crash Pad. Anyone got an apartment to rent out to my friend Amy next month?


• Amy needs a family environment with high levels of beliefs and respect.


• Amy needs a drug-dealer’s testimony to free a teenager wrongfully accused.


• Amy needs your help to win Miss Student 2006!


• Amy needs to mend her ways and be more of a team player.


• Amy needs to marry Dan for ninety days in order to fulfill her grandfather's will.

Come on....you know you want to play along too. I'm not the only one who loves these silly little internet/blog games! Just be sure to leave me your list in the comments section OR let me know if you put it on your own blog so I can laugh along with you. You may have to look through a couple pages of responses to get your top ten list. Some of mine were not appropriate needs. YIKES!

Chocolate bubbles!!!!!!

Last week, during Jill's visit, we had the "Lehman" side of the family over to eat and visit with Jill's family. Jenna (almost 6), Luke (4...today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY), and Rylee (3) had lots of fun playing together outside. They started out playing on the swings. At one point, I asked if anyone wanted to go out front and play with chalk and bubbles. Rylee said "YEA! Chocolate bubbles!!". I think chocolate bubbles might have been a little less messy!! They started out playing with bubbles, and then moved on to chalk. Somewhere in the middle, Rylee tried to pour bubbles from a gallon jug and poured them all down our driveway. Immediately all three were stomping in the bubbles.....and then they decided it would be fun to color in the bubble mess with chalk!! By the end, the three of them AND our driveway were colored with bright blue bubble chalk!!

Look who came to visit....

Jill, Marc, Luke and Mia arrived at our house last Tuesday afternoon and left this morning. We loved having them stay with us. Jacob and Jenna loved having Luke and Mia here. It was so fun to have a baby at our house again...even if it was for just a few days. AND Aunt Amy loved taking photos of them!

During their visit we got together with family, watched Jacob's baseball game and Jenna's t-ball game, went to the zoo, played in the sprinkler, went swimming, and of course ate ice cream!! I have lots of photos from their visit....so be sure to check back over the next few days!

These are photos of all of us spoiling baby Mia. Even Uncle Chris managed to hold her a few times during their visit. As usual, I didn't make it into one single photo. UGH! I wish I would have thought of it while they were here.