Updates!

Hello to all of my friends and family that are reading this Blog. I am having trouble getting my photos to upload, so they will be coming soon. We are in Arizona right now and will be heading to the Grand Canyon the day after tomorrow. We miss all of you guys and know that you are all thinking of us. And just know that you are all missed very much!

Part 3 of 4 cont......

These were the BEST shoes! They go up and down the rough trails and can go in the water too!

Here we go up the mountain......there are alot of photos in between but you get the idea...it is alot of stairs.

We did it!

The waterfall was awesome! COLD TOO!

This picture says it all, we had a great time in Chimney Rock, North Carolina!!!!

P.S........

This is what happens when you fall down a Rock Staircase! Yuck! It did get bigger and blacker...

Part 3 of 4

This is Chimney Rock, North Carolina......One of the most Beautiful Places I have ever seen!

We had a trip planned to Chimney Rock, North Carolina. We had plans to go Gem Mining and just relaxing. We knew that the next few weeks are going to be crazy for us so this was the perfect retreat right in the middle of the Chaos!

These are all of the wonderful gems that the kids sifted out of their buckets. They were in Heaven!

The most fun we had was at the River that backed up to our campsite! Grandma couldn't wait to get in the water with the kids, so in they went. We also rented tubes and everyday we would ride the river, very relaxing!

Part 2 of 4

AWWWWWW!!!!!! DAYTONA!!!!!!!!!!!!

ENOUGH SAID!!!!! more photos to come later!

Part 1 of 4

Finally!!! I got to have my sister come and visit me! We had a great two days of fun. We went to the beach and as usual the OHIO people stick out like sore thumbs in the Virginia Sun!

We also took a trip to the OBX and went to the Digger Dungeon and Jockey Ridge. It was a good time except for the sun burns that they were all suffering from.

And of course we had to give my PREPPY nephew a MOHAWK as soon as he arrived. Uncle Chris was very proud of JR. However, just as we got adjusted to seeing him with it, he asked to shave it off. He has an image to uphold in Ohio!

This is TEAM THUNDER!! Riley was involved in the "Y" soccer teams since he was in pre-K. This was by far his best season. His skills had improved with every game. We are so proud of him! He played a great season.

GOOOOOO THUNDER!!!!!!!

Daddy giving bubba a pep talk before he stormed the field.

KEEP you FOOT ON THE BALL RILEY, seemed to be our sideline cheer all season. GO RILEY!

Good Game, good game, good game, good game. Our last game ended in a tie. (1-1) We had a great time playing with the YMCA!

Chippokes

Chippokes has become our place to getaway! Just look at the view can you blame us. We are going to really miss this BEAUTIFUL state park. It is tucked away on the James River in Surry county. It is absolutely a special getaway for our family.

Here is the Catfish that Riley caught. It was the ONLY fish that was caught and photographed. Olivia won the fishing tournament with her 13 3/4 inch Catfish, Riley took second. I feel like I need to tell about the 2 foot plus Catfish that I caught (on the princess fishing pole too)but the photo was not taken in time because my jealous husband accidentally dropped it in the water! It was HUGE! In the picture are the kids ice cream sundae rewards for the contest.

Here is Olivia feeding Jack the Donkey!
Chris really took to the goats and sheep. He got them all fired up and they began to ram everybody with their horns. The kids also got a backstage pass to see the NEW baby PEEPERS and got to pick out their very own chicken eggs. Special thanks to Rudy, a fellow Coastie that works the grounds there at the park and let the kids enjoy all of the farm animals there.
We had a great time on our last camping trip to Chippokes. Thank-you to the Patterson family for bringing us to this special place. Also thanks to Lee and Mattie Smith and Ms. Laura we had a blast camping with you all.

BUNCO!!!! :(

Well It was my last Bunco night out! I met some reallly great women playing this game. 13 different women coming together once a month to eat, drink, and role some dice(make some money too) what more could you ask for. It has been awesome for the last year and a half. Thanks to all you girls who have accepted me into your circle. Hopefully when I get back and can take my spot back and I will be ready for some great food and conversation.

Also, thank-you for my game, now I hope that I can meet 12 other girls as wonderful as all of you and start my own group out there in California! You all will be missed!

More Norfolk Zoo Pics

The Peacock was following us for sometime. The kids were almost able to touch him. Not a good idea though.

Here I the new Train that took us all the way around the zoo.

This was the first time in All the times we have been to the zoo that the Baboon was out and actually walking around. He only had out undivided attention for a few minutes because a tree seemed more interesting to him that entertaining us humans. He plopped a squat next to the tree and began to pick bark, what a life!

The Elephants were having lunch as we walked by their habitat. Looks like tons of fun! I think the sight of them eating put the idea into the 13 preschoolers that it was lunch time! Let the MELTDOWNS begin!

Norfolk Zoo

It was the annual Kids Quest Preschool trip to the Norfolk Zoo, and what a great day it was. Chris and I were both able to go with Olivia this year. Wow how the zoo has changed, the train is now up and chugging along. They are in the middle of renovating the Tiger's home right now, and what a project that is. By the time we get back to Va it will probably be almost finished. I still can't get over the fact that the Elephants are right smack dab in those peoples front yard. What a way to wake up everyday!

Shamrock Marathon 8K

This was the Shamrock 8K Marathon that Chris ran back in March. Chris even dyed his MOHAWK GREEN for the race. We were all very proud and cold after the run. His time was 48 minutes and and ?? seconds. He also ran this race with our good friends 10 year old son Jay Tipton. Jay actually smoked Chris by 2 minutes right at the end. Too bad old man! We all had a great time! In this picture Carter and Susie had made signs and were down on 19th street to cheer him on!

Chris running the last 1/4 mile to the finish!

I see a GREEN MOHAWK in the crowd, do you?

Chris and Jay right before the race

DONE!!!!

Well yesterday was officially my last day of school. I finished out my first year at TCC and now we are all preparing for our big move. Chris still has 5 weeks left and then it is game on. This will be the biggest adventure that we could possible take on. And I thought school was tough.

Going to California

Well everyone.......I figured that this would be a great way for me to be able to let ya'll know what we are going to be up to while we are on the WEST coast. I am trying this blogging thing out now to see how well I can do at it. Please don't forget us and we will never forget the awesome friends that we have made. I hope that everyone enjoys the blog and I will do my best to keep you all entertained!