Catch up

Having not posted for a long time, I thought I would go back and post some of the events of the last few months.

{April}

Jake and Gage took Molli and I neon (or glow in the dark - I'm not sure what it's called) {Miniature Golfing} at a local mall. It's one of our favorite things to do as a family.

How did we get a picture of Jake and I? Gage man - that's how. He took this all by himself. A photographer in the making!

Our two little monkeys at the neon miniature golfing place.

Happy birthday to me! Yup, 26 in April - gettin' old.

Proof that I do Molli's hair. I absolutely LOVE this picture of her. I just want to squeeze her!

It finally warmed up enough to play outside - we were all glad for that. We had a really great {backyard on Oakmont Drive} and I couldn't miss the chance to take some pictures of where the kids spent a lot of their summer days.

One of Gage's best friends was Jorden. This day, they were rescuing some kind of baby animal out of the fire pit. Knights in shining armor!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Gage. He is such a sweet boy and so caring.

And Molli, with all the attitude for the whole house! She's such a fireball and yet a sweet delicate little girl at the same time.

Take it away boys!

Gage is totally in charge of dressing himself so he can be quite creative with his outfits! I think this outfit makes him go faster on the teeter-totter!

Gettin' down to business.

We visited {Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo} with Tracee and Brooks one day. I really like this zoo. For the most part, all the animals have large areas to live in and you can always see them. The Polar Bears and the Elephants are our favorites for sure. One time we were here, a cup had landed in the Polar Bears living area. It was so cool because he grabbed it with his mouth and threw it over the fence. The Zoo keeper said they teach them to do that to keep their areas clean. I think they are just using them for cheap labor! :)

Brooks and Gage on the train in the "Australian Outback". Train rides are their favorite part.

Molli again, being a cute girl. It's funny how I never have a picture of her with her hair done. I really do, do it. I promise!

I had one last get-together with my two {movie buddies}. In January, Laura, Debbie, and whoever else came, started going to a movie once a month. We had one last fun night at The Cheesecake Factory. Originally, we planned on just getting cheesecake. We saw how expensive it was and decided to walk around Legacy Village to find a cheaper treat. Upon walking though, we decided we were hungry - not just for a treat. So, back we went to The Cheesecake Factory for a bunch of appetizers. I love these girl's and had so much fun with them. BTW, it took a lot of effort to get a picture this good with no one around to take it for us!

We made our final visit to the {Case Western School Farm}. We have spent many a days here, playing fetch with the dogs, hiking, having picnics, and more. It was a great place to go get away from the city and just enjoy each other.

One of my favorite things at the farm is the vines hanging from the trees. Before moving here, I only saw people swing from trees in the movies so it was kind of cool to do that there.

Cute Molli lovin' the farm.

We thought we wouldn't get to go to the {Dental Formal} this year because Jake was at COT during that time. However, bad weather kicked in and they had to reschedule it for a date after her was back. It was so fun to be able to go one more time. I tried to talk Jake into wearing his "Blue's" (the uniform he wore at COT that I couldn't get enough of him in) but he gave me the excuse that they weren't clean and he really didn't want to. It didn't matter because he was still just as handsome in his suit.

Tracee, Chrissy, me, and Alison striking a pose. It was really fun to be with these girl's. I have enjoyed these 4 years with them and won't ever forget our times together.

Who couldn't love these guys? Mike, Brian, Brad, and Jake - James Bond-ing it.

Our {Senior Dinner} was at the Botanical Gardens this year. It was really fun to be able to have it there. I liked how they spent the money to appreciate us and pay for us to have it at such a great place. We had dinner a bunch of presentations (including the dreaded Senior Roast) and handed out awards. Jake ranked #1 in the clinic and I couldn't be more proud of him. I know he'll kill me when he sees that I put that on here but I don't care. He put a lot of hard work into being a good dentist and deserves the credit. We talked about how there are so many people in his class that worked so hard and are going to be awesome dentists. He had a really great class and I know he misses all of them.

This is a picture of a handful of the spouses in our graduating class. They are all such great people and we had a ton of fun together. I learned so much from everyone and am really grateful that I got to know them.

Jake and I at the Botanical Gardens.

Tracee and I at the Gardens as well.

{MAY}

Hayley, Tyler, and Avy came out to visit us for a little over a week. It was so much fun to have them here! We went to {Palmyra, NY} and visited the church history sites. We visited the farm where Joseph Smith and his family lived. From the little log house the Smith family started in to the bigger one and the sacred grove, it was really awesome to walk where the prophet walked and received so much revelation.

They call some of the older trees in the grove "the witness trees". I believe this is one of them. There are a few trees in the Sacred Grove that are bigger and older looking than the rest. It was cool to look at them and think, "I wonder what you've seen?"

This is a monument at the top of Hill Cumorah.

Me standing on the Hill Cumorah.



Next on our road trip was a visit to {Niagara Falls}. It never ceases to amaze me how big these falls are. I can't believe crazy people have fallen down these falls in barrels - on purpose!

-Jake, Gage, and Tyler-

Molli loves her Aunt Hay-hay and cousin Avy.

Gage loves his Avy-kins.

I'm sure this tug-of-war was with love.

3 babes in a tub

Another place we had to visit one last time was {Chagrin Falls}. I love this little town. It's hidden in the trees and is beautiful with a fun waterfall in the middle of town. My favorite date Jake ever took me on was a motorcycle ride through the beautiful country to this town.

This Popcorn Shop was part of the Under Ground Railroad back in the day. Many "important" people have visited it since. My very first visit here, I bought some popcorn called, "Tutti-Fruitti". It was seriously the best popcorn. It was a bunch of different fruity flavors - I loved it. Come to find out, the next time I visited, they told me they don't sell it any more. I was sooooo sad!!! It was definitely the worst thing they could have done. :)

Dorothy and Sandy took us to this cafe for the first time a few years ago. Dorothy said we had to try her favorite burger that has green apples and swiss cheese on it - I thought it sounded disgusting! Well, we went with them and I tried it. It was actually really good and became one of my favorite burgers there. They make different burgers that you wouldn't find any where else. They put things on them like banana butter. It sounds weird but I've never had anything there I didn't like. We made it a point to take all visitors to Rick's Cafe.

Hayley and Tyler...well mostly Hayley, wanted to see the Amish. So, we took a little trip to {Amish country}. Hayley was cracking us up, shouting out "Amish!" every time she saw one! It was so funny to see her so excited. I know you're not supposed to take pictures of them for one reason or another. But seriously, they are so amazing and live such great lives that I would hate to not have the memories of them. We talked about how if the economy totally went under and the world lost everything it's used to (like power and electricity), the Amish would be the ones to survive. We decided that we wouldn't be surprised if in a few years, Tyler became Amish! You have to know Tyler and his thirst for knowledge in living off the land. He's a funny guy.

Before we moved, we had to get Dorothy to ride the scooter. I think she's going to give up her truck for a scooter now! j/k It would take more than a scooter for her to give up that truck I'm sure.

Last of all, a couple of days before we moved to San Antonio, we found out that {we are pregnant}! Yup, I'm about 12 weeks pregnant now with a due date around January 17th. I'm still not sure it was such a good idea having Molli and the baby only 22 months apart but it seems to be this is the best time for Jake's Residency. Jake and the kids are very excited and I'm just trying to survive being sick for a few more weeks. It's made progress on our home slow and the kids bored because I just haven't felt good enough to do a lot. But I do have to admit I'm excited to be one kid closer to being done. Jake and I have decided we're not going to find out what we're having this time. We have one of each and will be ready for whatever comes along...I hope.