Piper

This is a recent photo I took of my little niece, Piper. Isn't she the cutest?

Family Reunion

What happens when two grandparents, six of their children plus their six spouses and 20+ grandchildren descend on a small farm in Marietta, Ohio? Craziness ensues. Recently, Jared and I had the pleasure of attending a three-day family reunion with his parents, siblings, spouses and many of our nieces and nephews. The weekend's non-stop events included friendly competitions of skill and wit, four wheeling, scavenger hunting, popsicle eating, swimming, earth-oven-pizza-cooking, water-balloon throwing, barrel rolling (with people inside), homemade icecream making and of course lots of laughing. It's a wonder someone wasn't injured throughout the course of events but surprisingly everyone left in one piece- healthy, happy and looking forward to the next reunion.

(Jared showing off on his new toy.)

(My brave sister-in-law getting ready to roll down the hill.)

(Another brave soul, my 10 year old neice, getting ready to roll.)

(Grandpa

(My niece dodging a water balloon.)






(Prepping the Earth oven.)


(Mitchell's first sparkler.)




THE END.

A Tribute to My Grandmother

In addition to my class reunion, I also had the opportunity to attend a memorial service for my Grandma who passed away about a month ago. She was in her eighties and had been battling cancer for quite some time. My uncle Bill made this lovely tribute video for her which I just love. I am not a very deep person but seeing my Grandma and Grandpa so young and happy makes me think a lot about life, it's richness, beauty and the people that come and go that make it that way. You can watch the tribute below if you feel so inclined.

Meet Ohio's Newest Dentist

A big high five to Jared's older brother Austin, who just graduated from The Ohio State school of Dentistry on Sunday. Congratulations to Austin (and his family!) for making it through four years of really hard schooling!

Lakeside

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend spending time with family in Lakeside, Ohio. A small community on Lake Erie where my grandma owns a cottage and where I made many fun summer memories as a child. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Weston Turns 2

My nephew Weston celebrated his 2nd trip around the calendar on Sunday. Here are some pictures I thought the fam might enjoy:

Called to Serve

This past Sunday we had the opportunity to say farewell to our nephew, Luke, who is leaving to serve a two year mission for our church. He was called serve in Madagascar. (An island off the southern tip of Africa, in the Indian Ocean, in case you've never heard of it.) Seriously, if anyone can handle living in Madagascar for two years, it's this kid. He is the most mature nineteen year old I have ever met. (He makes Jared and I look like junior high goof offs.)
I'm trying to figure out a way to get his parents to raise my children so they'll be as sweet and well mannered as Luke!