Happy Birthday!

Today was Jim's 47th birthday and we celebrated it with dinner at Anna Mae's. After we got home, Jim opened all his gifts. It would appear that his kids know him quite well by the gifts they gave him; chocolate, more chocolate, and chocolate covered nuts.

Fall Colors

Since fall is coming and that means colors will be changing, Andrew is right on schedule. He decided to paint his "sharpie" car flat black. With $150 worth of tape and spray paint, I think he did a fairly decent job. Now all he needs is some racing stripes or detailing or something to remind us he is not Markem Mennonite!From this. . .
. . .to this

D Rally 2011

Last weekend, we went to the Pony Club event; D rally. It is for D level riders and is a eventing event. Julia took Jackson and Leah went as her coach. She did really well and placed in the top half of her group (14th out of 32) for the cross country. She had a lot of fun which is the most important thing and now has experience on the Caledon hunt club course. Great job, Julia!

Cross country jumping

Dressage

more dressage

Hannah's Summer Project

This summer, Hannah asked if she could redecorate the bathroom. (I LOVE it when she asks to do stuff like that!) We went to Home Depot to pick out paint and other items for her to do her "magic" on the bathroom and hallway. Today, she put up the last item (the valance) and I think she did a very good job. She is welcome to decorate any room in our house anytime! I think you have amazing talant, Hannah! Here are several pictures of the finished product.

Illinois Vacation

Here are some pictures from the rollerskating part of our vacation in Illinois. Since I lost the camera for the remainder of the trip, there are no other photos. However, we had a very fun trip and got to spend some great time with my family. Here are some highlights;

1. Boating with Greg and his family
2. Getting to go to Trista's 13th birthday party
3. Staying at my parents' farm and getting "spoiled"
4. Eating at Monicals, Avantis, and a Chinese buffet in East Peoria
5. Swimming at the Princeville pool/ supper with A. Jane
6. Attending a Bauman reunion at the Roanoke park/pool
7. Rollerskating in Pekin
8. Lots of shopping (Farm and Fleet comes to mind :))
9. Staying at the Baurer Resort
10. A 5 hour dinner with my grade school friends
11. Getting to see Ryan's family growing up


There were many other things we did, but spending time with family was the best thing. Even Charlotte got to meet everyone. She did awesome for her first trip and even got to sneak in a few resturants/stores with us. All in all, everyone had a great time and NO ONE GOT HURT! Thanks to all my family who kept us and fed us.