We had a fun day yesterday at the start of the Labor Day weekend. After Joshua and Emily got off the bus from school, we headed over to 
Geist Resevoir for a boat ride with the Wrays. Captain Mark took us on a fun, “super fast” ride. We rode for almost 2 hours enjoying the sun, views of the lake and company of friends.
Thanks Mark!
More pictures are available on our SmugMug site.
Aug 23rd, 2008 by Tom
Today Joshua and Matthew had their first soccer games. It was a hot, humid August morning and the boys worked up a pretty good sweat. Our local soccer club has changed the field environment for the young players. 
Instead of 7 from each team on a medium size field, Matthew’s age had 2 small fields and 3 on 3. Similarly, Joshua’s age had 2 small fields and 4 on 4. It made for a lot more action for all the kids.
Emily cheered on her brothers as Mom and Dad bounced between two games being played at the same time in the soccer complex.
Additional photos can be found on our SmugMug site. Joshua’s photos are here, and Matthew’s photos here.
Aug 12th, 2008 by Tom
Today was a big day in the life of our family. School started again and this time Joshua joined the big kids boarding the bus for the short ride. While he was nervous, he boarded with pride and had a great day. His “high” today was joining all the other big kids for lunch in the cafeteria where he had “a hot dog with ketchup!”.
Additional photos are available on our SmugMug site. I’ve also uploaded a short video of the kids at the bus stop.
We have a new member of our family: Benny! Benny joined us this afternoon from the Humane Society. He is a 2 year old flat-coated retriever. He is well trained, has a gentle demeanor and is very happy to be in his new home surrounded by kids and love.
It has been a long time for Emily to wait for a dog. She has been patiently waiting for a dog since she was 3 or 4 years old. Her spring project for school about dogs convinced her that we needed to get our dog from the humane society “to save a life”. There are lots of smiles and life in our house today.
For more pictures, see our SmugMug site.
Emily and her new friend.
Jul 6th, 2008 by Tom
Wow, what a week! 
We had perfect weather, lots of sun and adventures during our time in the Outer Banks. Our cottage on the ocean provided a great home base for fun at the beach, a visit to the Wright Brother’s Memorial in Kitty Hawk, and a trip to the Cape Hatteras Light Station.
The kids loved hanging out at the beach, building sand castles and hunting for crabs at dusk. Who needs fancy entertainment when Mother Nature has provided the biggest sand box playground. 
Mom, Emily and Dad each took their turn at hang gliding, just like the photo above. There was plenty of good food, minature golf and kite flying like the Wright Brothers.
Each night we would count our blessings and tell our “highs” (and “lows”) of the day.
Each of us could easily get to 6-10 highs for each day. The kids even had a competition to see who could have the most highs.
We ended the week with a lazy day at the beach on the 4th of July. At sunset, after a great final seafood dinner, we walked the beach finding crabs and enjoyed fireworks up and down the cape.
Many blessings indeed!
Many more pictures are available on our SmugMug site.
Jun 14th, 2008 by Tom
Two weeks today we fly to Norfolk, VA and then drive down to Kitty Hawk on the NC Outer Banks. I can hear the ocean already from our rented cottage deck. We have a wild 2 weeks in front of us, but it will be great to settle in a low key cottage for a week at the end of June. The picture at the left is a view from the deck. Ahhhh…bring on the vacation.
Jun 7th, 2008 by Tom
These past few weeks in Indiana have been full of severe thunderstorms. Last night we were greeted with an incredible sky at sunset. The lighting was just right for a magnificent backdrop to the neighborhood.
Additional photos are available on our SmugMug site.
Jun 5th, 2008 by Tom
This evening Matthew, Joshua and Lilly (next door neighbor) played outside with some of Matthew’s birthday gifts. 
Matthew and Lilly were especially excited to each have their own scooters and to go “riding together”. Matthew also tried out his baseball pitching machine. A little bit of work to do there…but great determination.
You can see more pictures on our SmugMug site.
Jun 5th, 2008 by Tom
We have a determined squirrel in our backyard. He loves our bird feeder. 
So far a baffle and raising the feeder hasn’t done the trick. Will have to try more extreme measures.
A few more pics are available on our SmugMug site. Note the flying squirrel shot. He may be clever but he knows who is boss.
Jun 1st, 2008 by Tom
Summer has come and it brought the warm, humid air with it. 
This evening our backyard became the water park for our cul-de-sac. Emily led the charge, creating new games and experiences for the neighborhood kids.
It is great that we have so many kids within walking distance from our home. 
There is always someone to play with and things to do. This adhoc, unplanned evening brought smiles and laughs to many.
Many more photos are available on our SmugMug site.