A little late...but Harrison's 7!!!

I'm a little late getting this blog out, but Harrison had a birthday party in August...it's hard to believe he's seven years old already! He decided this year to have a backyard party with a High School Musical theme. And, like last year, his choice this year was cupcakes instead of a big cake. So, we decorated the deck and put the food out:



































The kids played in the backyard, even the big kids! Check out Missy on the trampoline - the girl's got some moves!



Harrison did a great job of getting all the candles blown out...especially since they were almost higher than his head. All that extra "air" MUST come from Dad!


I have not put any pictures of Harrison's guests as I don't want to post pics of other people's kids. But, he had a nice crowd at his party this year - 3 boys (counting Harrison) and 3 girls...a nice, even number. Everyone had a great time.

Happy birthday, Harrison - I love you more every year!!!!

Bushwacked!

Ok, so it's not a bush, it's really a small evergreen tree...but it was in my front yard and getting much too big for my taste. After much discussion, Chris and Delmar removed the tree! Of course, I'm still waiting for the stump to be removed before I can do any real landscaping but at least it's a start.

Here's a shot of the tree - you can see it was crowding out the two bushes on each side. I'm not sure what these bushes are but they flower out with the prettiest pink flowers! So, I'm hoping they will really thrive now.


And, here's the boys at work - these two are always looking for things to do. Especially if it involves power tools of any kind.

The infamous stump...I'll be sure to add another post when it's cleared to show you the end result of this most exciting event!

State Farm Park ROCKS!!!

Chris and Harrison have enjoyed many afternoons at State Farm Park...just another perk from Mom! (smile) This summer, Harrison learned to do a front flip off the diving board and Chris was quick enough with the camera to catch it.


As all good tourists, Chris knows how to dress! Check out the outfit and then imagine him walking around with a camera! (Now you know why I let them go without me...)

I love HOOTERS!

Last summer when we were in FL, we passed a number of restaurants in Destin. From the backseat, we hear Harrison say, "Hooters...I LOVE Hooters!" We all laughed, but ended up having dinner at O'Charley's that night. Over a year later, Harrison finally got his chance to go to Hooters - the one in Bloomington, IL! Here's Harrison with the ballon they gave him...you can't read it, but the waitress wrote "I love Hooters" on it (appropriate, considering the comment in FL a year earlier!).


We also took a picture of him outside with the sign. It looks like Hooters lived up to Harrison's expectations...we will most likely be returning there in the future!

A Day at Camp Sandage

As the summer has progressed, we've had more and more occasions to lounge at "Camp Sandage". One afternoon, Chris had the camera and captured our day in the pool. Here, Amy and I are "docked" at the side in an effort to get some sun and avoid being splashed by the kids. One comparison of our tans shows who's the pool owner and who is not. :~(

















Harrison has enjoyed learning to surf in the pool. You'd think it can't be done without waves, but guess again! By cleverly constructing a pile of floats and the boogie board, he has learned he can ALMOST stand on water...





Emily's head needs to get larger or she needs smaller goggles (smile):



Lilly works on her tan:


As you can see, Camp Sandage is doing well during its debut season. It will be sad to see the summer come to an end, but never fear...the Moore household has become the focal point for the fall as the fire pit has now been strategically positioned in OUR backyard. Stay tuned - I'm sure the future will lead to a blog of the first fire party at the Moores.

Fun at the Fair

While we were home for Drew's birthday (see next blog - "Drew is 14!"), Harrison and I had a chance to visit the county fair with Toni. "Big Drew" was performing in the talent show and we had to go see him! He performed an acoustic version of "Ice, Ice, Baby" with a friend of his and I have to say he wasn't too bad...sorry, Drew, I should have had higher expectations for you! Oh, here's a shot of him before his performance - good looking guy, huh?

Harrison enjoyed the show - a lot...he was Drew's biggest fan!

After the show, we hit the midway for some fun on the rides. Harrison had his first roller coaster experience with Aunt Toni:


And, he learned to spin himself like crazy in the slime bucket:


Before we left, Harrison had a chance to fish for a prize. Here's the fish:


And here's the prize:


Being at the fair brought back a lot of memories for me. I was glad to get to share Harrison's first fair experience with Toni...maybe we'll get back for it next year!

Drew is 14!!!!

Well, it's hard to believe, but Drew is now 14 years old! Our last trip to KY was over the same weekend as his birthday and we were all so glad to get to see him on his birthday. The "boys" (Dale, Chris and Drew) spent the day playing golf and that evening we gathered at Dale and Barbara's for birthday dinner. Drew's mom made his birthday cake...and it tasted as good as it looked:






























After dinner and cake, Drew and Harrison hit the backyard for a little chipping. Of course, everything that Drew did, Harrison tried to do. I have lots of pictures of each of them hitting the ball, but this gives you an idea of the fun they had...here Drew is attempting to hit the ball over the fence and onto the tennis courts - and eventually he did it!
















But of all the pictures taken that day, this last one is my favorite...one of the few pictures we have of Chris, Harrison and Drew together.

Happy Birthday, Drew...we love you!!!