Miss Abby

Abby was sick and stayed at Grandma's while we worked. Even though she was sick, she still had to be busy. She's soooo funny!!









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Jack's First All Star Mention!

Jack is doing great in All Stars. He's positive, hard working and gives 110%. We are very proud of him!

Letter to Grammie (Day 5 of our RV trip)

The weather was very nice today (mostly sunny and about 75 degrees) but it started raining again about 6:00 so we still haven't had a chance to sit by the fire at this campground. That's OK though. They had a blast today. This campground has a million things to do and on Wednesdays they have this special deal where you buy a wristband and get to do all the activities unlimited from 11-3 so they played miniature golf, rode go carts, rode bumper boats, had a water balloon fight, jumped on a huge trampoline, swam in the pool, and slide down a water slide. They were all too short to ride the go carts by themselves, so Missy and I had to take them so that was a lot of fun. I cannot believe the amount of money they have invested in this campground. This is like the Disney of campgrounds! We had a lot of fun today. The weather started looking bad so we decided to head into town (downtown Port Huron) for dinner and found a really neat restaurant right by Lake Huron. There were lots of boats in marinas, but we didn't see any coming or going (probably b/c of the weather). But it was a very good meal and very affordable too for some reason. It was a pretty old restaurant called Quay Street Brewery and Restaurant and I think they just haven't been raising their prices to match other restaurants. Then we came back to the campground and watched Air Buddies in their theatre. We're all in the camper now getting ready for bed. We have to leave for our last destination tomorrow so our trip is winding down. We only stay one night at this last place and then we head home on Friday. I think everyone is about sick of living in this cramped RV (especially when it's raining) so I doubt anyone will be sad to get home. We've had a ton of fun though and the best part is all the time we've spent together. The kids really start hanging on me when we take trips like this and I really love that part. They all want to hold my hand when we walk, sit in my lap when we sit or just climb on me when there's nothing else to do. Normally that stuff kind'of annoys me b/c I usually have something else to do but I really love it on vacations like this. I've probably only spent 2 hours total on the computer this whole trip and 90% of that was writing these emails to you! So that alone is a testament to how much time we've spent together.

Well, I'll try to write more tomorrow night but we might be busy packing and cleaning so I might not have a chance. Thanks for "listening"!

Love you,
Jeff

Letter to Grammie (Day 4 of our RV trip)

Yes, we are in Michigan. Right near the US/Canada border. I actually thought Port Huron was in Canada, but I was wrong, it's in the US in Michigan. We've seen 3 of the Great Lakes on this trip. First was Lake Erie, then we saw quite a bit of Lake Ontario on the road today and now we're right next to Lake Huron.

Niagara Falls was awesome and I think we did everything you can do. But we made the mistake of going to the US side of the falls first instead of going to the Canadian side. The US side was closer and it was amazing and we walked around for hours looking at all the sights and the kids ended up getting pretty tired so by the time we went over to Canada and saw the amazing, amazing horseshoe falls, they were kind'of sick of the place and ready to go home. I basically had to run over there and take a few snapshots of the horseshoe falls when that's where we should have been standing and admiring it all. But we did have a blast and did a lot of cool stuff. We walked over a small walking bridge that crosses the Niagara River just north of the falls. The water flowing over those rapids was incredible. They said it flows about 35 MPG and I could believe it. Then we walked for miles around the American Falls and looked it them from all angles. There are some lookouts that are literally about 5 feet from the edge of the falls. Then we went up that lookout tower and got some great shots from up there. Then we did the Maid of the Mist. I know we did that as kids, but I sure didn't remember how amazing that was to be at the base of those falls and hear that roaring water and get soaked from all the water mist. The kids absolutely loved that and I'm so glad we went. After that we drove through customs and into Canada. That was pretty cool too. By that time everyone was getting kind'of cranky and everything was very far from the parking lot so we did lots of walking in the hot sun until we stopped at a very cool restaurant for lunch/dinner. That revived everyone quite a bit and raised the spirits so we had enough energy to make it to the horseshoe falls. I took a ton of pictures from all angles and I can't wait to see how they turned out.

Well, we finally got some rain. We're sitting in the camper right now in the middle of a pretty bad thunderstorm. Missy is scared to death, luckily the kids are sleeping, and I'm loving it! There's nothing better than camping in a thunderstorm to give you that "close to nature" feeling. Technology is great in these situations. Missy's on the Weather Channel on her phone watching the live radar so we can tell that the worst is almost over, but back in the old days you had to listen to the pattern of the rain and make a judgment call on staying for the reward of a beautiful day the next day or potentially getting stuck in a 3 day monsoon. We're pretty far from home right now so we don't have much choice!

I'll send more later. I think the plan for tomorrow is to hang out at this campsite. This is by far the coolest campsite I've ever seen. We might venture into town and see the lake and beach. Kind'of depends on the weather too.

Love you,
Jeff

Letter to Grammie (Day 2 of our RV trip)

Yes, they are known as the "roller coaster capital of the world". They have more roller coasters than any other park and some of the coolest ones in the world. I only rode 2 and they kicked my butt.

Yes, that's Lake Erie. We're driving around the whole thing! We're in Grand Island next to Niagara Falls right now. This campground is awesome too. The kids are playing in the pool that had 2 slides and Missy and I are sitting in the shade relaxing. It's pure sun and 70 degrees - absolutely perfect! I think we're going to hang out at the campground today and head to NF tomorrow morning. Camping like this on a road trip really is the perfect way to do it. There's always something to do and you never get bored. Jack already met a new friend named Cameron who just invited him to play "Ghosts and Graveyards" tonight at 9:30. Jack said, "I think I have to go to bed at 9:30". :) We drive right next to Niagara River on the way here and you could see the water flowing very quickly. There were tons of boats in the river, but it seems like it would be spooky to me. If your engine ever died, it seems like you'd only have a few minutes before you'd go over the falls! We saw a boat trying to go against the current and it was kicking up tons of waves, but barely moving! Crazy.

Well, I'll write more tonight or tomorrow. Love you!
Jeff

Letter to Grammie (Day 1 of our RV trip)

Here's an email I just sent to my Mom about our first day on our RV trip:

Hi Mom. Well, our first full day is done and we're having a blast! We got here much later than we wanted last night, so we didn't get to do much other than setup and eat dinner, but we got up early this morning and headed to Cedar Point about 10:00am. That place was awesome! Jack rode his very first and second roller coasters today. It was a gorgeous day too. Party sunny and about 70 degrees all day. We only saw about half of the park so we really could spend another whole day here, but we're heading to Niagara Falls in the morning. This RV is much slower than we thought it would be so we're going to get an early start so we can get there in time to do some stuff tomorrow. We planned on a 4-5 hour drive, but I bet it take a couple more than that. The kids were wonderful today. They are the perfect age for this stuff. Poor Abby wants to ride everything but still isn't tall enough (48 inches) and even though Ally is over 48", she doesn't want to ride anything so it works out pretty good. Jack is still pretty timid. He finally agreed to ride what he thought was the smallest roller coaster in the park, but after it was done, we realized it wasn't the one he thought it was so he was pretty proud of himself. That gave him the courage to ride an even bigger one (the Iron Dragon). He liked that one so much we rode it twice! I must be getting too old b/c I'm a little dizzy and nauseous when I get off one of those, but I'm able to recover in 20 min. or so. This campsite we're at is awesome too. We've been riding bikes, playing pool, playing shuffleboard, and they have this big thing called a bouncy pillow. It looks like a big pillow, but it's filled with air and the kids can jump on it. I've never seen anything like it. I'd send some pictures, but things are very cramped in this RV and the kids have been using my laptop to watch movies so I haven't had a chance to get the pictures off of my camera yet. But I took a ton today and think I got some good ones. Well I better get to bed. I'll try to write more tomorrow and send some pictures too.

Love you!
Jeff

He deserves it!!

Just got a call from Jason Christie!! Jack made the 'A' 8 year old All Star Team!!!!!!!!!!!! He called to see if we "accepted" and of course I said YES! They are going to be fitted for uniforms on Monday at 6:30. Jack's going to be so excited!!!

Where does the time go?

I took the girls to eat lunch today (the last day of school) with Jack. They wanted to go through the lunch line to prepare for next year! I just can't believe Jack's going to be in 3rd grade and the girls will be in Kindergarten. I did find out while I was there that "subject to change" the girls are going to be together in Mrs. Faulkenberg's class. They are going to LOVE it!! Can't wait to see who Jack has!!!

Poor Jack

Jack has gotten so into baseball this year! He wants to play it all the time and can't wait for All Stars. While hanging out at the field with the Tretter's and Coleman's playing around, he caught a bad bounce to the right eye! Ouch!! The thing is...they called to let me know he got hurt but then he went to Nick Coleman's and jumped on the trampoline and played basketball. How bad could it be, right??? I was a little shocked when he got home!!


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4/27/11 - Abby is so funny!

While at school last week, Ms. Virden was talking to the kids about their full names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. She asked Ally what her address was and she said "Tippecanoe". She then got to Abby and asked her. Abby said "I don't know...I live with Ally!" That girl is a character!!!

4/23/11 - Ally finally decides to run away!

It's a rainy Saturday morning and everyone is stuck inside. As I was getting out of the shower, I heard noises in Abby and Ally's room. When I went in there, Ally had her rolling Barbie case and was filling it with clothes. I asked her what she was doing. She said Jack and Abby were being mean to her and she was leaving. She had packed every dress she owned so I told her to wait until I got ready and then I'd help her pack. I explained to her that she'd be sleeping on the streets so she couldn't take dresses and would need warm, old clothes. I told her to make sure her blanket stayed off the ground, etc. After we packed her clothes, she got a ziploc bag of leftover waffles out of the fridge and was ready to head out. Jeff asked her to stay and I told her we'd miss her. As I headed to the door to open it for her, out of nowhere, Jack starts going hysterical...crying and begging me not to let her leave. He was so upset! She goes on out and turns around and waves. She gets to Mike's house next door and Jack's screaming and chasing her and begging her not to go. After much negotiation, he talked her into living on the driveway and just coming inside to color Easter Eggs and make the Bunny Cake. She came back in and it started storming. She decided she would live in the garage but that soon went out the window. It definitely didn't go ask expected. I never thought Jack would even care! He was so sweet to her that day!!! BTW, later I emptied her Barbie case. She had a stuffed cat, pencil, paper, bubble gum, diapers and a poster of Troy and Gabriella from her room!!!

4/21/11 – Jack “The Slugger” Patterson

Jack’s always talking about hitting a home run. He asked if he could get $20 every time he hit one. I (Mom) told him I’d give him $20 for a Grand Slam but not every home run!! So, here we are at Game #2, bottom of the 6th inning, 2 outs and bases are loaded and Jack’s up to bat. We are losing by 5 runs. Jack’s hitting has been so much better this year. He’s very solid. He gets up to bat, let’s the first one pass and then POW…he hits an awesome in-the-air ball that goes right inside the fence. Everyone takes off running and Jack is flying! By this time, we are all screaming. He’s heading towards 3rd base where Sam Duggan is coaching and Jack doesn’t even look up. Drew Duggan is in front of him and Jack’s on his tail. He gets to home plate just as
the ball does and he’s SAFE! GRAND SLAM!!!!! He’s so excited. We are so excited! They are all in the dugout cheering. I run to the dugout and tell him we owe him money! His response – “Were the bases loaded?” :-) He didn’t even know it! He said Dad promised him $50 for a Grand Slam!!! We ended up losing by 1 point but what an exciting ending. He’s been on Cloud 9 ever since. We got in the car and he called everyone…Grandma and Papaw in Florida, Grammie, Greg and Billie and finally Devyn. It was great!!!

Finally!

I’ve been asking the girls if they want to get their ears pierced for the last 6 months. They first said they’d do it when they turned 5 and then when that came and went, they decided to wait until they turned 7! J Well, on Saturday, April 2, Abby and I went to Kohl’s to look for them some cheap summer clothes. While checking out, Abby announced she wanted to get her ears pierced. I just said “ok, whatever”. She said “no, right now”. I told her I’d take her to the mall but if we went, she was getting them pierced…no changing her mind! She said that was fine. So, she and I snuck (we didn’t tell anyone) to the mall. We went to Claire’s and she picked out little rainbow colored flowers. She hopped right up there and sat through all the cleaning and marking of the ears, etc. She never did anything but smile. Two workers came back and on the count of 3, she was done! She never even flinched!! She was soooooo excited!! We went straight home and showed Daddy and Ally (who was asleep on Daddy’s lap!). Ally was excited for her. We also went right to Grandma’s to show her!! While at Grandma’s, Ally said she wanted to do it. It was like 7:30pm by this time. I knew we had a busy day the next day and thought she might chicken out if we waited. So, we ran back home, picked up her blankie and headed back to the mall. She was good, sat up there, and picked out some light blue flower earrings. As the girl was (slowly) getting everything ready, I could tell she might cry and was getting nervous. She was holding her blankie tight. Once the girls finally got the guns ready, she was smiling nervously. 1-2-3 and pop….she started to laugh a little and then started crying hard! J I picked her up and we all cheered that she had her ears pierced and showed her in the mirror. She finished crying before we even paid. So, after that, we went back to Grandma’s and then finally home at around 8:45pm. I was exhausted but the girls looked so cute!! They have to wait 6 weeks to change them. Just in time for Totten Hall’s Graduation!!!!










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Boys will be boys!

On a Thursday night while dropping off food at Christy Rolley’s house, Jack got to play with Sam and his friends outside. All the boys had Airsoft guns and were playing war. Of course, as soon as we got home, Jack wanted to go to Walmart to buy one! So, Jeff took him and let him buy one with his own money. Once home, Jeff gave Jack 3 rules…no shooting people, no shooting animals, and always wear your safety glasses. Friday went by without a hitch. Then came Saturday! The boys were out at 8:00am as usual. Jeff was on the computer, and I had just taken a shower. While I was getting ready, I heard Jack’s cackle…that cackle that means they are up to something! I looked out the bathroom window and could only see Jack P. He was standing at the easement with his glasses on and his arms inside his shirt and laughing away. I told Jeff to go check on them because I had a feeling that they were shooting each other! Jeff snuck outside and watched for about 5 minutes. Jack B. was about 20 feet away just shooting Jack P. like crazy!! Needless to say, Jeff jumped all over both of them and sent Jack B. home and Jack P. inside. Jack P. was so upset because it was only 10am and he had to stay inside until his practice at noon!! And, he was grounded from his gun for a week. What can we say…it only took him a day and a half to break the rules!!!!!!!!!


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Go Indy Met Pumas!

Heading home from Indy after watching Nick's Cinderella team when the Class A State Basketball Championship. It was such a nail-biter! The won 59-54 and worked so hard. We are very proud of Nick!!!



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Skiing at Perfect North

We took the kids skiing at a new place near Cincinnati, OH. It was a nice place and we had a great time. It was the girls first time and they both went down from the get-go without falling! We stayed about 7 hrs. Not too shabby!



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My 'bag lady'

We had a snow day today so Abby dressed herself. Gotta love the pajama shirt, capris, baseball socks and rain boots!! We went to get a haircut and she wasn't about to change!!!



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Having fun at French Lick Water Park!

Decided to take a break after the hustle and bustle of Christmas. The kids are in heaven!!


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