Happy 12th Birthday

A big happy birthday to Julia who turned 12 the end of September!  She asked for homemade pizza for her birthday meal and received a surprise bmx bike from Daniel as a gift.  We are very proud of you, Julia!

Mr. and Mrs. Bond

 On Saturday, Ali Martin married Steve Bond (Jim's step-brother) in a beautiful outdoor ceremony.  The location was on Steve's Mom's horse farm, which is where the bride and groom met.  Ali enjoys horseback riding and chose to ride her horse to the ceremony.  The above photo is her coming to the ceremony on her horse and her dad is walking beside her.

 Steve and Ali after taking their vows.  Bently, their dog, was right there with them during the ceremony.

 All the children with Ali after the ceremony.  The dress code for the day was pretty casual, since it was warm and outdoors  AND on a horse farm.  The boys chose to dress pretty casual!

Julia Playing Softball

This summer, Julia has had a lot of fun playing softball with a local girls team.  She is new at it, so learning the rules and techniques has been challenging.  However, she did manage to get a couple of hits and bring in some runs.  She is one of two who are under-aged so next year their team will be more competitive.

Good Eats

Whenever we are in central Illinois, we try to make a trip to Monical's at least once. Can't get enough of their yummy pizza!

More Illinois pictures

 The kids all stopped long enough to get group picture

 Leah, Hannah, and Daniel enjoying looking through  Grandma and Grandpa's high school yearbooks 

At Grandma and Grandpa's new house

St. Joe's Trip

 Andrew was invited to go with David and his friends on a weekend trip to St. Joe's trip.  There were 11 that went and each brought along a quad or dirt bike to ride.  Even thought it was hot, that didn't stop the riders from having fun and Andrew enjoyed making several new friends.

Note to self:  do not open the tool box up side down 

2012 Illinois Vacation

 The last week of July, our family struck out on our annual trip to Illinois.  The kids had a great time with their cousins and spent a LOT of time in the pool due to the HOT weather.  Here are some pictures of them enjoying the Princeville pool. 

While in Illinois, Linda and I were able to arrange a last minute dinner with some fellow Valley girls: Lisa, Deb, and Julie.  We had a great meal at Flat Top Grill and had to be shooed out of the restaurant when they closed. Very nice to catch up on the news on everyone's families and lives.