Brunswick Nature Center

We went to the Brunswick Nature Center with the Porecs and Jaskolkas. What a blast! It is so cool, educational and free! We were walking in the door and a HUGE bug hit Bella on the forehead, she got scared , Stacy saw it and hit me on the arm (hard!) and then Bella was afraid to go in the door. So the man came and picked up the LARGE beetle with tongs and fed it to a turtle and let the kids watch. Then there were some turtles humping and the kids were screaming their heads off!! We took a hike on the trail with all 8 kids..Stacy kept saying 'Lisa, Stacy, Penny + 8' We had fun!



Gwen, Dalyn and Bella (Dalyn definitely took Gwen 'under her wing' for the hike)~so cute!

Ashton, Gwen, Dalyn, Landon, Sasha and Bella (Ruby was taggin' along with Penny and Brennan was asleep....)

the turtles (Gwen, Landon, Bella)

Ashton, Sasha and Bella watching the turtle eat the large bug

Papa's car show

The girls and I went to Papa's 2nd annual Runner's car show at the North Olmsted Historical Society park. We had a ball! We helped Grama and Donna run the Chinese raffle booth. We boogied to the music played by Dj Al and helped sell 50/50 raffle tickets. I think we sold more cuz the girls were with us and lookin' oh so cute in their matching dresses!!


Bella + Natalie Satink

girls jammin' with Gramama

Gwen and Papa (and Donna too!)

registration booth

Chinese raffle booth

Gwen's 2nd birthday

Gwen turned 2 on July 18th, luckily that day was a Saturday. So we had a Wizard of Oz party with immediate family and close friends! She had a ball. Grama & Papa, Nonny & Opa, Aunty Mandy, Uncle Dale, Kammers, Porecs, McDonalds, Schiemanns (minus Ben), Kriegmonts all attended.


The girls love the baby bath station from the Kammers

present opening chaos

look at that smile after opening Dorothy

the girls always fight over the umbrella.....

gettin' ready to blow out her candles.

pinata chaos

THE CUTEST cake Ann has made for us yet!

Cedar Point

This year's Cedar Point trip was quite painful. To start off with, neither of the girls would eat breakfast so by the time we got there it was like playing with fire.....Gwen started screaming nearly the second we got in the park for about an hour or so. She would not eat, let anyone hold her, get in the stroller,etc. So we finally got her to eat...and she was better and happy. (By this point already I am ready to leave!) So Aunty Mandy and Nonny take Bella to wait in line to go on the big ferris wheel and they come back over to us about 20 minutes later with Bella who was as a pale as a sheet of paper and saying she did not feel good. She would not eat, but felt sick. We threatened her and said we were going to go home if she did not eat or stick a needle in her arm (I'll get to that later...). So for a few hours it was ok.....Paul was begging for me to go on a ride with him so we wait in line for 1.5 hours to ride the Maverick. Note to self: do not ride that ride first if you have not been on a roller coaster in 9 years! First off, why don't they have bathrooms somewhere in these rides? You are hot and thirsty so you buy a drink in line from the vending machine and then you have to pee right before you get on the ride after waiting for 2 hours! It took me about 10 minutes to be 'undizzy' after riding that. I have decided I am done with Cedar Point for a while.....I feel like all you do is walk and wait all day to ride 5 rides!!!!!!!


Mandy and Gwen after a long day

Since Sissy had her face painted, so did Gwen!

Bella can't leave there without getting her face painted......

Gwen talked Nonny into getting her this sucker after she saw a little boy with one while we were riding the Maverick....

Bella on the bumper cars

Children's Museum

We took the girls to the Children's Museum and it was the first time Gwen was there that she actually got to play. We had not been there since before she was walking. She had a blast! The girls would have stayed there ALLL day and played!



Gwen and Daddy on the bus

the girls playing store

Gwen liked the house area with all the babies

Wallace Lake

We decided to take the kids to Wallace Lake one evening and one of them enjoyed it immensely and the other...not so much.


I kept laughing so hard cuz Gwen would NOT put her feet in sand or the water and I kept calling her 'legless' cuz she would not let us put her down.

Bella made 'friends' on the beach (she makes friends so easily now everywhere we go!)

'legless' again!

Gwen had to meet Sam the dog....

isn't this a cute pic?

ooohhh..she hated it!

Riding @ Nonny & Opa's

The fun never stops at Nonny & Opa's. The kids have an array of fun over there riding 4-wheelers, the golf cart, the tractor, etc.




Chris & Gwen on Aidan's new gas 4-wheeler

Gwen on the tractor

Bella on the new gas 4-wheeler

Kiddie Park

We hit Kiddie Park with our cousins! Aidan did not want to ride anything but my girls and Aaron sure did have a blast! It ended ubruptly when Bella got a terrible nose bleed in the middle of the park. We got it to stop, decided to leave and all went to Max & Erma's for lunch!


Bella, Aidan + Gwen eating their popsicles that Daddy/Uncle Paul bought

Daddy + Bella were in front of Gwen + I on the train

Aaron, Gwen + Bella on boats

girls on horsie ride

New Summer toy!

Daddy surprised us all and bought the girls a new blow-up waterslide. Bella loves it. Gwen plays in the tiny pool at the bottom. Unfortunately, we had it out for our 4th of July party this weekend and it has a huge hole/ripped seam. I will be calling them tomorrow to try and get it replaced.....

Brennan Drake Porec

My BFF Stacy had baby boy #3 on June 22, 2009. Here are pics from the first time we met him. Gwen loved him!