Visiting the Flachmans / SEP 22-29

On Wednesday, 22-SEP, Rosie drove to Dickinson, TX, to take care of Logan and Kayleigh (and Shane, too) while Karen went to a scrapbooking retreat. While Karen was gone, the kids enjoyed traveling the neighborhood in Logan's truck.

Shane and Logan enjoyed playing with clay.

Before Karen left, she and Gram took the kids to a local park. Karen enjoyed pushing the kids on the swings. Logan really likes to go high.

Gram and the kids enjoyed relaxing in a swing.

On Monday, 27-SEP, Bapa flew to Houston from Little Rock, AR. All of us went to a local park. Gram and Bapa enjoyed playing with the kids on a merry-go-round. Logan and Kayleigh enjoyed playing with the ducks (or maybe chasing the ducks).

Since it's getting close to Halloween, Karen looked for costumes for the kids. Kayleigh makes a cute little jack-o-lantern!

Sam also enjoyed wearing the headband - NOT!

Before we left, we got a good picture of the three girls all dressed in green blouses. They're so cute!

We had a great visit. We left on Wednesday for the drive to Ft. Hood to visit Chris' family.

Karen, Logan and Kayleigh's Visit to HSV / Bapa's Birthday Bash

On Tuesday, 14-SEP, Karen, Logan and Kayleigh flew into Little Rock for a visit with Gram and Bapa and to help celebrate Bapa's birthday (one of those BIG ones). Logan and Kayleigh had fun playing with grandparents and old toys that their Mom (and her brothers) had played with. Kayleigh and Bapa are having fun on the floor.

Logan enjoyed playing the guitar (intensity and focus help).

On Wednesday, we went for a ride in the boat. Gram and Logan are ready to go.

Kayleigh and Karen are also ready.

Kayleigh enjoys that "wind blown" look. Gram said Kayleigh's blowing hair reminded her of a troll doll - for those of you old enough to remember.

Gram and Kayleigh are enjoying the ride across the lake.

On Thursday we drove to Gravan Gardens in Hot Springs, AR. We went directly to the children's play area. It's complete with rocks to climb on and water. Logan and Karen enjoyed the cool water.

As most little boys would, Logan got wetter the longer he played in the water. He had a great time. Luckily Karen had brought him a change of clothes - good planning.

Kayleigh and Bapa stopped next to a wooden carving. Doesn't look like anyone we know but at least it's happy.

Kayleigh also enjoyed sitting on the rocks.
We all enjoyed a stop by the waterfall.

"Back at the ranch" Logan had fun playing golf in the back yard. He carefully lines up his shot and selects his club.

However, every good golfer needs a reliable caddy. Kayleigh is up to the task. She has the bag, but where did those golf clubs go?

BAPA's BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION. Karen and the kids made Bapa a special shirt for his birthday. Logan and Kayleigh's footprints are on the back of the shirt. Wow - it's one of a kind.

Friday evening for dinner we went to The Shack in Jesseville - one of Bapa's favorite restaurants. Wayne and Delma Jensen - friends from HSV - joined us at The Shack and later at Gram and Bapa's house for cake. Kayleigh and Bapa get ready to blow out the candle on Bapa's piece of birthday cake. Yes, it's Tennessee Sheet cake - what else?

Gram enjoyed reading to Logan each night before bed. Logan especially enjoyed "I Am A Bunny". He could almost read the book to Gram.

After Saturday morning at Balboa Beach, we took Karen, Logan and Kayeigh to the Little Rock airport for their return flight to Houston. Thanks for the visit. We'll see you next week!

Labor Day: Visiting Doug in Midland, MI

On Wednesday, 01-SEP, Rosie and I started the drive to Doug's place in Midland, MI. We planned to visit with him and Ashley over the Labor Day weekend and watch Doug in the Traverse City sprint triathlon. We arrived in Midland on Thursday. We were surprised at how much cooler and drier the weather was compared to Arkansas. It actually felt good to be outside. Ashley arrived late Friday night after working all day.

On Saturday we drove to Traverse City, MI, where Doug would participate in the sprint triathlon. The temperature Sunday morning was a bit cool; the water temperature near the shore was down right cold. Doug decided to wear his wet suit - good move.

Doug does the "twist" to warm up as the oldies music blares in the background. Ashley is keeping warm.

Doug has finished the swim and bike and is now starting the final "run" phase; he's all smiles.

The finish! YEAH!

After the race, Doug took a quick shower and we all headed to the Old Mission Tavern for lunch. We repeated our order from last year - the roasted half chicken that's only offered on Sunday. It was delicious. After lunch we headed back into the city and a stop at the Traverse City Pie Company. Ha - we don't need a map, we simply follow our stomachs! The cherry crumb pie Rosie and I shared was delicious.

Ashley had to leave on Sunday afternoon heading back to Columbus, OH. We drove back to Midland on Monday morning.

Monday evening, Doug and Rosie did a bit of cooking. Doug made a large stir-fry (which we had for dinner - very spicy) and a significant pot of soup for the freezer. He really seems to enjoy cooking and experimenting.

Rosie and I left on Tuesday morning for the drive back to HSV. We arrived back at around noon on Wednesday - in plenty of time to get Sam from "camp." Thanks Doug and Ashley for the great visit. We had a lot of fun.

Doug and Ashley Engaged!

Doug finally "popped the question" (i.e. marriage) to Ashley Kulju. They've been dating for about 2 years. Doug did a great job on picking out the ring.

Here's a picture of the engaged couple.

We're excited about their engagement and having Ashley as part of the family - she's a brave woman.

Visiting the Chris Callicott Family / AUG 18-21

After leaving Dickinson, we drove to Ft. Hood (Killeen, TX) to visit Chris, Amy, Adam and Lottie; it's about a 4 hr drive from Dickinson. While we were there we drove into Temple, TX, to visit Bob's uncle, Paul Elmore, and his wife, Ola. Paul is retired from the Army. We took Adam and Lottie with us to give Amy a little "alone time" to get anything she needed done. Paul and Ola have a nice pool in their backyard. However, we forgot to bring swimsuits, so the kids got to go "skinny dipping." They had a great time. Here's a picture of Paul, Ola, Adam and Lottie on the bench in their front yard.We also had time to get a shot of Adam, Lottie, Gram and Bapa.ADAM starts school! While we were there, Adam's school had "meet the teacher day" on Thursday, 19-AUG. Adam's school started on Monday, 23-AUG; he's in pre-kindergarden. Here's a picture of Adam with his teacher, Ms. Baker (FYI: a former college soccer player).As usual, Mom has to fill-out all the paper work. Amy is working with Adam to get him to sign his name on the paper.Chris stopped by to see Adam's room and meet the teacher. The room is really neat with various learning stations.On Friday morning, Amy, Adam, Lottie, Gram and Bapa walked from their house over to the school. Amy wanted to see how long the walk would take. It took us less then 20 minutes to make the trip. We also had to wear our cowboy hats on the trip.Saturday, 21-AUG, was Chris' birthday. We celebrated with pancakes for breakfast before Gram and Bapa had to leave for the trip back to Arkansas. Happy Birthday Chris! Thanks to all of you for the fun visit. See ya soon!

Visiting the Flachmans / AUG 16-18

We recently made the "Texas circuit" to visit Chris and Karen and families. Our first stop was in Dickinson, TX, to visit Karen, Shane, Logan and Kayleigh. We had a fun visit and had a great time at the Houston zoo - in spite of the heat.

Logan enjoyed getting to see Sam again. Sam also enjoyed being hand fed; he doesn't get this level of pampering at home.Kayleigh is a woman on a mission. She is always on the go.Our first stop at the zoo was at the sea lions. No, we're not simply staring at the ground, we're watching the sea lions swim around. They're fast!Logan and Kayleigh enjoyed playing on the sea lion. Looks like Logan is driving and Kayleigh is on the back.Logan also enjoyed the elephant. The zoo had a new baby elephant, Baylor. We got to watch Baylor get his morning bath.Kayleigh had fun chasing the birds while we stopped for a brief snack. Look out birds - your relaxing time is OVER!On Wednesday morning, Logan, Karen and Bob went get skiing at the local bayou. We had a great time and got to go FAST. Karen and Logan are sitting on the jet ski before we left. After we got back from the jet skiing, we cleaned up and headed out to Frogerts Farm Market for some delicious fried pies. Yummy!

Thanks for the great visit! Hope to see you again soon!

July 29&30: Flachman Family Visit

The Flachman Four (Karen, Shane, Logan and Kayleigh) stopped by HSV for a brief visit on their way back to Dickinson, TX, from Peru, IN. They arrived about 1 AM on Thursday morning - no problem, we had a brief nap and were ready to go!

Since the weather was rather HOT (highs near or above 100F) we went to Balboa beach both days. The kids really enjoyed the water and playing in the sand. Logan enjoyed "washing away" the sand turtles Bapa built. However, I'll admit they looked more like lumps of sand as opposed to turtles.

Logan and Shane played in the sand.

In the morning - when it was a bit cooler - Logan enjoyed playing outside with the dump truck. He could move a lot of rocks.

Since the temperature was sooooo hot, we spent a lot of time inside. Kayleigh liked playing with the push frog. It's not only fun to push but can also be used to hit older brothers with. Wow - a toy with multiple uses.

The kid toys are stored in large plastic containers. Of course, the container is as much fun to play with as the toys - if not more fun.

Bapa and Kayleigh were busy playing with the shape ball. Mr. Mischief is getting ready to attack someone. I think it's Shane.

We also spent time at Lake Sophia throwing rocks into the water - a great pastime. Both Logan and Kayleigh enjoyed making splashes. Logan can throw rocks into the lake with either hand!

Kayleigh is focused on getting more rocks to throw. She's a woman with a purpose - better get out of the way! On Saturday morning before they left, we took them over to the lake to distract them while Karen and Shane loaded the car. Kayleigh reached for a rock in the water and fell in. When I pulled her out, she was ready to go back in. So much for getting dressed up for the trip.

Logan also likes helping in the kitchen. Here he's helping Gram cook. Great job, Logan!

As usual most of the pictures are of the kids. Since Karen took most of the photos - we don't have many of her in front of the camera. Gram was so busy playing with kids, she didn't get her camera out of the case. Oh well, at least she had her priorities right!

Thanks for the visit, Flachmans. See you soon! We're headed your way in August - hide the valuables!