Hocking Hills- Old Mans Cave

Here are some pics of Old Mans Cave we did this Wed. AM before it got really hot. We all came out of the hike sweating and exhausted. But the scenery was beautiful and it was not that crowded like the one year Jason & I went because it was so warm. I think it was 95 that day and very high humidity. Rachel did great, Nik has seemed to developed a fear of heights and would not climb up some of the things.

Hocking Hills pics of cabin

We are back from Hocking Hills we had a great time and did not want to leave. It was very hot Thurs. it got to 97 so we did not do as much hiking as we wanted to do. Here are some pictures of our cabin. It was really nice 2 bedrooms and they had all kinds of things there for you. They had games to play we played a lot of Battleship. A telescope but it was to cloudy to see anything. The hot tub was great but we had to wait to around 9 pm to go in it because it was so hot outside. We are going to go back the kids loved it and we want to show them the rest of the stuff we did not see. It took about 3 1/2 hrs to get there. So its a nice getaway and you feel like your on vacation and its relaxing. The cabin we stayed at we could bring Izzy and he loved it, he loved going for walks and exploring.

more birthday

 
 
 
 


Here is Nik on his scooter and Rachel on hers too. Nik wanted his cake Star Wars. Everyone is very excited about going away. So this will be the last post for sure because tomorrow we are off to Hocking Hills.

Nik's 6th Birthday

 
 
 
 


Nik's actual birthday is Wednesday the 8th but we celebreated yesterday since we will be gone on his real birthday. From my dad and Laura her recieved this huge art set with over 210 things in it. It came in a nice wooden case that you can close up and has a handle on it to carry around. Also from them he recieved GI Joes and coloring pads. From my mom he got a scooter just like Rachel's, more crayons and a spongebob shirt. So far Nik says this is the best birthday ever and he has gotten everything he has wanted.

Getting ready for Vacation!!!

We are getting ready for vacation. We are all very excited. It will be nice to get away and not to worry about anything and just relax!! Aug 2nd Rachel had her baby brother, she was so thrilled. I guess it look a lot like Mark. I have not seen him yet them named him Christian. Jason get his staples out Tues. right before we leave and we still do not know what the results are they said it might be more like 7- 10 days before we find out maybe we might know when he gets his staples out. Kids only have around 3 weeks to school starts. I pretty much have everything for them. Tomorrow we are going to the Burkey renioun. This will probaly be the last time I blog until I come back so I will have lots of pics and stuff to tell you then. Saturday the 11th will be Jason and mine 7th wedding aniversary. We plan on going out not sure what exactly it is we are doing yet though.

Liver biopsy

Friday Jason got his liver biopsy. It got delayed because of an emergency. The doctor said everything with the appearance of his liver looked good. We should know the results of the test on Wed or Thurs. It was a lot more sore than thought, they had to put air in his chest cavity which caused his shoulders to be pretty sore. He is seeming better today and he can return to normal activity today though the staples are getting itchy. He has 2 holes one from the camera and one from the needle. We have decided to add an extra day to our Hocking Hills vacation we will be staying from the 7=10th. Everyone is very excited and can't wait. This week the kids continue their swimming lessons they are doing good. Looks like its going to be a hot week. Jason class ends this week and the next class he is taking is Geography.

Big scare!!!

Well I had a big scare today in Walmart. I thought I lost Nik. I was checking out and almost done and Nik was helping me I went to pay and look up to go and no Nik. So I walk over to the exit where the gumball machines are and no Nik. So then I am getting worried. I walk over to where I checked out and asked them if they have seen a little boy. No they haven't. So the call a Code Ryan and need me to give his description and the announce it over the loud speaker. And shortly after a nice teenaged girl comes over with him. We was playing by the arcade games. I told him how serious this was and that he is not to walk away from me ever again. I think he understands I made him repeat it back later and he did. So hopefully he will stay close to me.
Jason is out of town for a few days he left yesterday afternoon and will be back Thursday night. He went to Virginia for more training for work. Next week the kids start some more swimming lessons again. I also reserved the cabin in Hocking Hills for Aug 7-9. So we will be there for Nik's 6th Birthday. It is a really nice 2 bedroom cabin, with a hottub and also a jacuzzi tub. There also is a nice play area for the kids that they just put in this year and we will see them right from our front porch. We are so excited. I have not been anywhere in so long. The kids are thrilled.

more karate test pics.

 
 
 
 


Nik was very proud of himself and he was in a great mood the rest of the night it was so cute.

Nik passed his yellow belt test!!!

 
 
 
 


Nik passed his yellow belt test with flying colors. He did so good! I was very impressed. Now he is a yellow belt confirmed. Here is some funny pictures of the kids dressing up. Rachel is being Nik and Nik is being Rachel. Don't they look cute?

Updates

Jason has decided to go ahead with the liver biopsy. The doctor had left it up to him to decide. I know there is something going on with his liver, his liver enzymes went up each month when they took his blood for that 3 months. So hopefully we will know more after this is done. He gets that done July 27th. On a brighter note Nik takes his test for his yellow confirmed belt tomorrow. I will have plenty of pics. Rachel is here this week and its been a hot couple of days reaching 93 the last 2 days. Today is supposed to be the last day of the hot weather. This Saturday my sister, brother and I are helping my mom paint a few rooms of her house, part of her birthday present. Sunday we are going to my grandparents house for a cookout, should be a lot of fun.

Happy Fourth of July

Yesterday we went to a picnic at Jason's uncles house. Later Jason and I took Nik to see the fireworks in Mentor. They were really good! Here is a cute pic of Nik, he looks too big!

Hiking and the beach

This weekend on Friday we went to Nelsons Ledges and went hiking afterwords we went to eat at the country restaurant in Middlefield. Saturday we took a picnic dinner to the beach and went swimming. We had a lot of fun and I think the kids had a nice time. I think we are planning a trip to Hocking Hills in August with the kids. This is a busy week for me with Fourth of July it is my busiest week all year long. My eye is doing better it is starting to turn a yellowish-green. The swelling has went down and it does not hurt anymore. Well have a nice Fourth of July. Jason only works Mon & Tues. but he still has to take his college class at night this week.

Accident with the garden hose

Yesterday I had a bit of a freak accident with the garden hose. It was all tangled up on one of those things that winds them up and I was trying to untangle it when the one metal end went flying at me directly for my left eye. The pain was unbelievable. I was home alone with the kids, I finally got a hold of Jason and he took me to the ER. I was afraid I had scratched my cornea. The checked me out and numbed my eye and said I did not scratch my eye just badly bruised my eyeball and eyelid. They said my contacts probably saved my eyeball from getting scratched. Now it looks like I was in a fight my eyelid and the corner of my eye is all black and blue. I am not going to be playing with the hose for awhile. Kids are doing good. Jason took today and tomorrow off from work a little vacation time.

Swimming update

Well they both did not pass their swimming lessons, but they did really good and made improvements from last year. Plus they had fun!!! We are taking them again later in the summer at the end of July. Nik is doing better at trying to ride his bike he just needs to pratice more which is hard to get him to do. He does pretty good in the grass we just need to get him on the sidewalk and driveway. He keep on telling him to pedal fast, which he has a tendency to go too slow. This is one time we want him to go faster and he has a hard time doing it. Go figure. Jason took Nik to go hiking at Nelson's Ledges. They had a lot of fun and came back very dirty. Tomorrow is my mom's b-day so Happy Birthday Mom!!! We will have a little celbration tomorrow and in July we are helping her paint some of the rooms in her house with my sister and brother helping. Tuesday my mom and I are providing pet sitting for The Captains game. They have a bring your dog to a game night and they needed some pet sitters to help out when the guest need to get food or use the restroom they can't bring their doggies. Hopefully it will give me some more business. Supposed to be a hot week so stay cool.

First day of summer

 


Tomorrow is the kids last day of swimming lessons, they will find out if they passed or not. They both did pretty good. Nik still can't swim though.

The Big catfish

 
 
 

Happy Father's Day

 
 
 
 


Happy Father's Day. I bought the kids a pool some cute picc of them using it this weekend. They had a lot of fun with their swimming lessons they did not want them to end. This week will be the last week. I will probably sign them up for another session later in the summer. Jason got an Itunes card and some cologne from the kids for Father's Day. He took Nik to the park, and both of them to the beach for a little while. The kids and I went to my dads for a little bit. The had a lot of fun. Jimmy took Nik in the pond and Nik was scared. Nik still can't swim yet. Though he almost knows how to ride his bike, he can go a little while in the grass before he falls. I am sure he will be riding around everywhere in no time. Jimmy also fished with Nik in the pond. Nik got a big catfish, he was so proud.

swimming lessons

Today was the first day of swimming lessons. They did pretty good. Rachel was afraid to jump off the diving board she said she would if I got her googles, so I did. The kids were pretty good the first half of the day then they started fighting and beating the crap out of each other. Typical kids. We extended their bedtimes for the summer 15 minutes. Have a nice week.

Rachel graduated to 4th grade!!!

Rachel is done with 3rd grade and she was promoted to 4th grade. She got an excellent report card all A's and B's. She had 5 A's and 3 B's. She got her math grade up to a B. So very proud of her. Summer vacation offialy starts. Next week I start swimming lessons with the kids. Hot last couple of days going to be cooler this weekend. Have nice weekend no pics today.

Devyn's 3rd Birthday Party

 


Today we went to Devyn's 3rd birthday party. He is Danielle's oldest. They had a clown that did balloons and a few magic tricks. The kids really seemed to enjoy it. Rachel got a balloon flower and Nik a sword. The picture is not the best thats what you get with the camera phones. Though I am sure they are better now. My phone is almost 2 years old. Jason is back from Florida, he made it safely back last night. Kids were very happy especially Nik. He was so bad this week and he said it was because daddy was gone. This week Rachel and I were both sick. Rachel got sick first then I did. At first I thought she just had a cold. They sent her home Tuesday from school. She seemed fine the evening and the next morning so I sent her to school. That evening she came down with a 101.7 temp and a really sore throat, headache, stomach ache etc. So I thought great strep again. I planned on taking her to the doctor. Thursday I woke up and felt like death. My temp was over 101, sore throat, bad head ache and neck ache. So I thought great I have strep too. I was going to my regular doctor that day for a recheck on my BP in the AM so I called to make sure they could do a strep test. They said sure. Well I had the strep test done no strep same for Rachel. He said it was just a really bad cold. Good news the blood pressure meds are working my BP was 117/78 and I have lost 9 lbs. He is keeping me on the BP meds, he gave me a month of free samples and then gave me a 1 year scrip. He wants to to come back in a year when I get my physical. I finally started to feel better on Saturday. Rachel started to feel better on Friday and went to school.On Friday Rachel went with Auntie Kim for a girls evening for her birthday. Kim was in town for a few things. They had lots of fun got their nails done. Went out to dinner and got ice cream. Auntie Kim and Uncle Jay got her a cool little fountain that changes colors and steams. Its really neat I will take a pic of it soon. She also got a cute white jean skirt. Well this week is busy. I have a lot of pet sitting and meetings with some new cilents. Summer is a busy time of year for the business. Rachel's last day of school is Friday she goes a half day. Then she is a fourth grader!!! Have a nice week!