My kids have pacie issues!

Marnie was Meg's best friend because that was how she could get to Holland. Holland was such a great baby, this is her in her blessing gown. They blessed her on Sunday down there, we felt pretty special to be a part of that!

Some old vacation pictures! We had so much fun and we were so sad to see the week end. We don't get to see everyone nearly enough. Meg and Cameron were best friends which I was glad to see because Alli wasn't there to bridge the age gap between Meg and the big girls.

Meg looking for whales, she was hilarious with those binoculars.

We went whale watching off the San Juan Islands, WA. The resident whales were taking a vacation while we were there, of course! We saw harbor porpoises, bald eagles, seals and several other birds and deer. It was fun, but too long and I was sea sick!

Charlie and Aunt Heather

These are the beautiful waterfalls outside of Portland, I think it is the tallest waterfall in the country. I could be wrong though.

Sarah's 1st Attempt at Blogging

O.K., I don't know what I'm doing and Tom's not here to help, but I'm going to try to post a blog, whatever that means!

Tom is in Houston interviewing, I'm pretty much freaking out, let's just leave it at that.

Me and the kids just got back from Portland, OR where we visited my sister and stayed in her 700 sq st STUDIO apartment with my parents. It was crazy, but we had a lot of fun and it is absolutely beautiful out there. We took a trip to the San Juan Islands in Washington also.

I'm also going to try to include some vacation pictures, sorry this has taken so long but Tom has offically given up. I think because he bought a Nintendo thing like the kids on vacation have and if he has free time he does that instead.

Guzman/Cruze Visit

We had the Guzmans and Cruzes stay with us this weekend. Alex, Rachel, and Oliver live in Denver near her family. Oliver is 3 months younger than Charlie but basically the same size (Charlie is small). Steve, Meg, and Ella live in Chicago while Steve goes to PA school there. Ella is almost two (communicates like a 3 year old), so she and Meg had a blast jumping on the trampoline, etc.

Sarah and I killed our diet with all of the junk food, Graeter's times 2, On the Border, Penn Station, and Donatos. It was worth it though.

Guz, Cruze, and I stayed up late each night playing Football and Hockey on the 360. By Sunday, I was so tired I actually took a nap. I must mention that between Friday and Saturday night, I got 8 hours of sleep mainly because of our weekly presidency meeting we have at 7 am in the morning on Sunday. Sarah was very nice and let me sleep in on Saturday morning.

I have finally found my match in the Friends Scene It game, Rachel. Overall, her team won twice and my team won twice, although she will contend that she is the champion somehow.

I wish I had gotten some pictures of everyone, but I only got Oliver and Charlie. Ella is super cute. Everyone that sees her wearing her little glasses comments how cute she is. As you can see, Oliver is very cute. He is lucky to be Germexican.

We hope to see the Cruzes and Guzmans again soon. They are great friends.

Muirfield Village Golf Club

Yup, that's right. Mike Ryan, one of dad's buddies, treated dad, Scott Alpeter, and I to an evening of high class golf and dining. Muirfield Village Golf Club is home of the Memorial Tournament and one of the top 10 golf courses in the U.S. according to some in the golf world. It was pretty cool putting on the same green as Tiger Woods had just a week ago.

I started the day off by having a guard let me through the gate to da' club. When I got to the entrance, someone took my bag, car, and shoes. They respiked my shoes for me because I had some old pieces of hud from high school still in my shoes. When I got into the club house a bag with a sweet shirt and hat was waiting for me. Let's just say, I don't have a shirt in my collection that compares to it. After everyone was ready and our newly spiked shoes were brought to us, we headed outside. Our bags were ready for us on carts and we headed to the practice tees. The balls at the driving range were the most expensive balls you can buy (ProV1s). After that, we went to the putting green and putted for a little bit. On our way to the first tee, we met our caddies. Bobby Jones was Mike and my caddy. He was basically the coolest guy on earth. He knew the course inside and out. He was telling me where to hit for each shot, without him I would have scored 5-10 strokes higher. I ended up having a decent day shooting 44 on the front 9 and 51 on the back. This was only my second round of the year, so I wasn't feeling bad. I beat Mike and dad, so I didn't embarrass myself, which was my goal.

After the round, we ate at da' club. It was like eating at a gourmet restaurant. I had the Walleye. At the end of the evening I went out to my car, which was valet parked at the front next to a $170K Bentley. They must not have realized I was driving a Corolla.

(Pictures - One of the holes at Muirfield, the Bentley)

Gone Fishin'

This picture is from a few weeks back, but it is worth putting on the blog because of the size of bass I caught. Charlie and I went with the Stucki clan to ride ATVs and to fish at the Kiehl farm. This picture includes 4 of the 5.9 Stucki kids. We caught several bass and bluegill that day. This picture was of the largest bass we caught.

Charlie's 1st Birthday!!

This was Charlie's birthday outfit thanks to Aunt Marci. We spiked what little hair he had, but the gel did not last long. By the end of the day it looked like a little shark's fin.
This is Charlie and his best bud James. They had a lot of fun with all of the new toys. Thanks to everyone for the presents.
Meg and Chloe had a hard time waiting for the presents and cake. While everyone was eating the girls circled the presents like a couple of hawks. After a while, they came over and asked if I would let them each open one little present. So, I let them both open one of Charlie's Hot Wheel cars. After about 10 minutes, I looked over and the girls had opened about 4 presents a piece. I think they were looking for something that they might like.
Charlie was pretty worn out by the time we sang Happy Birthday to him; however, he was very happy to eat a piece of cake with ice cream. He definitely has a sweet tooth and the Kiehl endless pit stomach.

Sunday at The Kiehl Farm

For those who have not seen the go cart, I supplied some pictures. Meg really likes riding around in the go cart, Charlie however, not so much. Jen actually let me drive her around with the stipulation of "no donuts". You know I wasn't going to obey that rule. The screaming reminded me of the good old days with Sam behind the wheel of the Maverick.

Charlie's Buzz Cut

Charlie's hair has been looking a little too Grovetucky. I thought it was time to buzz it. I have a feeling Grandma Kiehl won't like it the first time she sees it.

Meg's Night on the Town

Meg got all dressed up for dinner and a movie with Grandma and Grandpa. She went and saw Shrek 3 and loved it. She especially liked Gingy in the high chair.

The Bride and Groom

The weather, landscape, and festivities were picture perfect. It was raining with insanely strong wind the two days before Saturday.

Grandma and Charlie

All is well when Grandma is around.

Wedding Day - The Trio

Matt was always very nice to Charlie and Meg and very helpful throughout the vacation.

Wedding Day - The Ladies

Meg, Melissa, and Emily

Wedding Day

Since Sarah and I have actually lost some weight, we decided to take a family picture. I included some pictures of Meg and Charlie dressed up also.

Charlie is a lefty!

It was a unanimous vote by all at the house that Charlie will grow up to be a left-handed pitcher. He threw with everybody on the trip and never tired of it. He was launching the ball pretty well.

Outer Banks - Jason & Kathy's Wedding

Meg and her cousins played hard on the beach. I don't think I have ever seen Meg so tired.

Trip to Outer Banks - Jason & Kathy's Wedding

We had a great time at the Outer Banks with Sarah's family.

Meg and Charlie

This is the most recent picture I have of Charlie and Meg. It gets a little rough by the end of the day.