A whole week in the same place!

We've been in Athens for a week now. It's been nice to relax a bit without packing any bags or having to drive very far! We've taken some short trips around. The kids got to play with friends which was great for them! They enjoyed some time with grandma and grandpa while I did some work for the Fulbright program at OPIE. Otherwise they've helped check on beans, tomatoes, peas, and potatoes in my mom's garden. They love to see what's growing and especially to pick/dig the things. Charlie loves the tomatoes and both of the kids love the green beans for dinner. It's fun for them to see the whole process (they planted some green beans when we first got here) and get to "reap the benefits"!! Mostly they like to look at their sunflowers which we planted in a large circle, placed a table and kid chairs in it and pulled the tops in so it's kind of like a tepee! It's been a lot of fun and if we're home next summer I"m going to have to find some space for that. Today we are going to a festival uptown Athens to hear some bands and enjoy some "kids activities". then tonight we'll go to a baseball game and see the dreaded (by charlie) and delightful (to heather) orange bear, lovingly named after Aunt Kelly's friend Homer.

back in Athens (again!)

After a nice few days in Indiana we're back in Athens. It was hard to say good-bye to the lake as it's so fun and relaxing to be there--riding on the pontoon, eating good summer lunches and dinners (corn, watermelon, pasta salad!!). The kids managed to be only small disasters while we were there and did not teach Riley anything bad as far as I can tell. It was fun for them to have a friend for a few days although I'm sure she's unwinding after the departure of the small tornadoes! Thanks to Jeff's family for sharing their vacation home with us--we had a great time as always!

Now we're back to life in Athens. Of course we'll be busy and I'll be helping with the fulbright program a bit so that will keep me a little busy. Hopefully we'll be back to some excercise in the near future as well.

Easy living at the lake

Now we're in indiana at Jeff's aunt's lakehouse with his mom, aunt and uncle, and cousin Lindsay and her family. The kids are having a great time playing together, sharing meals, and spending time on the boat or in teh water. We've been crusing around in their new pontoon boat, sometimes trailing a "tube" with a combination of kids and adults. Our kids have done OK but don't LOVE it. Riley on the other hand (lindsay's little girl) LOVES the tube and is enthusiastic about riding it! the kids all are getting along great and it's so fun to see heather and Charlie enjoying time with their cousin (2nd cousin?!). The weather has been perfect and they always eat well at teh lake. Back to Ohio on Saturday for a whole 3 weeks in one place! I will be helping out a little with the fulbright program at Ohio University so it will be a little busy but not having to pack and go every week will make life seem easier!

happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July to you all! We are back in Ohio (since Sunday) and taking it easy once again. We experienced the Athens fireworks last night which was pretty fun. The kids liked to name to colors as they exploded in the sky and although Heather thought they were pretty loud at the beginning they were all right by the 3rd or 4th one. This morning we went to the "4th of July Parade" Athens style which included many fire trucks, tractors, horses and lots of candy. The kids got their share but were a bit overwhelmed by others who were more vigorous about grabbing the candy nearby. Otherwise the 4th has been relatively quiet for us. Jeff reported that his group won the "build a boat" contest at their base but he didn't score bit at the "big prize bingo" which was the afternoon activity. He's doing well and says hello...