Our "New" Piano

One of my dreams has always been to learn to play the piano, but kind of figured it would be a good idea to get a piano first. Todd's Aunt Diane and Uncle Mitch wanted to get rid of their piano and offerred it to us for free. This was a couple of months ago. Why did it take so long to get it to our house??? We tried moving it ourselves a couple of times. The problem is, it had to be moved out of their basement and up their steps and then into our basement, which luckily has a walk out. Well we couldn't do it. And I threw up in my mouth a little when I found out what various places charged to move a piano (have to pay for a minimum of 2 hours). We debated for quite awhile on what to do because this "free" piano certainly wasn't going to be free anymore. Todd found a place to do it cheaper but the money still made me faint at heart. I seriously wanted to back out. Todd said we were doing it anyway. (Sometimes I love a take charge kind of guy). So this morning, it took a whole whopping 45 minutes for the movers to transport it and we are now $322 poorer. Yes, it's a freakin' ripoff but the boys are thrilled to pieces and I'm already dreaming of composing my first piece.

My OCD is kicking in because I look at these pictures and see something glaringly wrong. It's not centered under the artwork. It's killing me.....must move it now. Is it wrong that I'm already excited to start "decorating" the top of it?? I see all kinds of cool arrangements. Of course most of them won't be possible as two little furry balls of trouble would probably ruin it.

Now lets see if we can get some piano lessons in the budget!!!

Creek Walkin'

The boys' latest obsession is going wading in the creeks. The last week alone, they have waded twice at the creek along the Bob Mays Park trail and once at the creek at South Park. Tonight at my mom and dad's they begged to go down to their creek. It was something I always loved as a child too and back then we lived about 6 blocks from South Park and my friends and I would ride our bikes down there and hike along the creek. When we head to Colorado on vacation next week, I guarantee the boys (and I!) will be ready to do some wading in the clear, beautiful streams!

Todd took these pictures of the boys this afternoon when they went wading at South Park. One more thing to love about summer!

I love the look of pure joy on Aiden's face, you can almost hear his laughter.

I love the brotherly memories being formed.

They even found some raccoon tracks.

It looks like Noah found a cave but it's just a little hollowed out part in the rock ledge. I love his little face.

Time to sit and take a break.

I love this picture. It may just become my next blog header.

This has nothing to do with creek wading but is just another example of something the boys have enjoyed doing together. For some reason, Aiden and Noah love sleeping together. Since the boys' all switched rooms, they had been a little spooked so sleeping together has helped them both. This is what I saw when I checked on them before bed a couple of nights ago. Hopefully this will be another memory they will look back fondly on someday.

Florida Slideshow

Here are the majority of my pictures and Dianna's pictures from my trip to Florida. Enjoy!

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4th of July Weekend

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. It started off with a wedding for Todd's cousin Saturday afternoon. The wedding was beautiful, the bride even more so, and the look on the groom's face when she walked into the church was priceless. He was overcome with emotion and it was so sweet.

That evening we headed to Aunt Janet and Uncle Tim's house for their annual 4th picnic. We got to meet the newest member of the family, little Reid. Such a cutie he is and since they live in Ohio, we had to soak up every second with him since it might be awhile until he visits again. What a sweetheart.
Aunt Jan and Uncle Tim's party was extra special because they had all of their kids and grandkids home. They went from 0-3 grandkids in no time at all and our family couldn't be more thrilled. Nothing better than babies and toddlers to snuggle and play with.

My Uncle Joe (Aunt Cindy??), one of them, took this picture of me and my Dad. He was trying to pick me up and hold me like a baby since everyone else was doing that with the babies. This picture is dear to me because 1. it's hilarious and 2. I don't have many pictures of just me and my Dad and this shows us being goofy and having fun. Love you Dad.

Don't my boys do a wonderful balancing act?? Who knew they were so talented??

Drew and Noah tossing Blake back and forth.

All of the cousins that were present. We are so lucky to have such a big family and our get togethers are always a blast. We always miss those that can't be there with us.

"Look Mom, I can drink and shoot fire out of my hand at the same time!"

Aiden having some sparkler fun.

The fireworks are the highlight of the night. Everybody can bring whatever they want and it all gets shot off. There is nothing better than cozying up on the lawn with your family and having your own personal fireworks display.

Sunday the 4th was a wonderful day too. We took my brother in law Scott out to lunch at Steak n Shake and gave him his birthday present. That night we went to a cookout at my mom and dad's. We ate good food, had lots of laughs, and enjoyed watching old home movies. Nothing better than that! This weekend kind of marked the halfway point of our summer. I hate that it's flying by so quickly but at the same time, oh what a great summer we are having!!! So much more to look forward to also!!