Gary and Elaine....

I admit it....I am a magazine and catalog junkie. I love looking through the pages and getting ideas and inspiration. I will admit that I often wonder who really decorates like that ... or who has rooms as perfect as that....or what really happens to all those knick knacks when the kids come running through the room. This website has me laughing out loud and adds some humore to those oh so perfect catalog pages....the adventures of Gary and Elaine in the pages of their little catalog world.

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.....

Last weekend we planned a quick family get away to Columbus. We left on Thursday afternoon and spent the evening eating dinner, shopping, and getting cheesecake for dessert! Friday morning we headed to the Columbus Zoo. Chris and I had only been there once before (when we were dating!) and the kids had never been, so we thought it would be a fun day trip. We were not disappointed. We loved seeing such different animals from the Ft Wayne zoo - bears, manatee, gorillas, elephants, rhinos, snakes, polar bears, tigers and koalas. Our favorite area was the gorillas and monkeys. They were all so animated and were interacting and playing with each other - so fun to watch!



This baby gorilla was so cute! She had been born at another zoo, but was moved to Columbus after a male gorilla attacked the baby and she lost her leg. They are rehabilitating her and will soon be introducing her to her adoptive gorilla family.

This tiger was right up against the glass. As Jenna moved closer to it, this was the look it gave her.

We loved watching this elephant. He was all by himself and played in the water forever.

Their new exhibit this year is polar bears. It was very crowded, but we eventually worked our way to a spot right up front against the glass. They were fascinating to watch ....and so big!

Baseball....

The regular little league baseball season is finished (Jacob's team finished 2nd in the league!), which means now it's time for all star team tournaments. The 12U Van Wert Dons have played in 2 tournaments....and have been tournament champs in their age division in both!! The latest tournament was 2 weekends ago in Bryan. I took my camera along for one day of the tournament and snapped lots of photos of my favorite little league player doing his thing.

He usually plays 2nd base on the tournament team....
His hitting has really improved this year. It's so fun to see him hit the ball harder and get on base consistently!

He also gets to bunt occasionally....

Chris coached Jacob's little league team and is helping coach the tournament team. He's definitely our favorite coach!

Ready to steal 3rd....

He has done a great job fielding the ball this year too. It's hard to tell...but he made the catch here!

Love that he has such a big smile on his face. He truly loves baseball!

4th of July camping....

Growing up, my family camped all the time. It was what we did every 4th of July. We would go to the same campground, with the same friends, and camp. We would spend time swimming, exploring the campground, playing with Barbies on a blanket in the shade, and watching fireworks. I have a lot of fun memories of our camping adventures.

This year the Chiles' asked us to join them for camping over the 4th of July weekend. We spent three days at a campground in Granville, Ohio and had a great time!

Our home for the weekend....

Our first day was Jenna's birthday, so we celebrated with a little cake....


Our campsite was right near the creek. The kids spent hours in the creek exploring and catching crawdads....

The campground had lots of activities going on for weekend, especially for the kids.
They made firecracker hats....

They also went ziplining.

Jacob getting ready to go...
Jacob

Dane...

Cade...

Gage...

Jenna getting ready to go...

Jenna...

4th of July bike decorating....

and a watermelon eating contest....

THANKS Chiles' for inviting us to spend the weekend with you!

We had so much fun!!!