SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!!!!

This isn't a very good picture. Mostly of the backside of the kids. This morning instead of starting school, we went to Sandy Johnson's house and went sledding down the hills in her backyard. It was amaZing! There are three hills. One for little ones, one medium sized hill and the big hill for the big kids. I took this one picture and then had to take Julia Mahler down the hill. Next thing I knew, I was taking Julia, Sophia and Faith Elyse Widholm down the hill as well. After four trips down the hill and walking back up, I had it. So, I took the little ones to the little hill and pushed them down all by themselves. They only went about five feet and were able to bring the sleds back up and then we went again. Mrs. Widholm is due in April - so she wasn't able to sled down the hill. Mrs. Mahler stood and watched in her tennis shoes (she doesn't own boots). I, however, borrowed boots from the hand-me-downs that Aunt Ruth gave us at the wedding. They are guys size 7, but they fit just fine. I was still frozen, but it was alot of fun.

So, if any of you kids are in town when there is snow, I know the perfect place to go sledding. Mrs. Johnson LOVES having everyone over. She couldn't thank us enough for coming.

Now it is 1:30 and we are just getting done with Math. We will probably be here in school until dinner time. Oh well! That is what we get for taking the morning off.

So, all in all it was a GREAT day!

INTRODUCING MR. & MRS. TOBIN JAMES BOLTON!!!!!

February 23, 2008, finally arrived. Erin Rumley would become Erin Bolton at the end of the day! Here is the ringbearer, Caleb. He isn't completely nude, he has on swimming trunks. We were heading to the pool before the wedding rehearsal. He just had to try on his tux to see if it fit over his broken wrist (which was in a cast). What a trooper!

Here is how they practiced "walking" down the aisle. They were at a full run. We are hoping for a better "walk" tomorrow.

Emily was the "hairdresser" of the day. She is fixing Elyse's hair - isn't is amazing?

Our flower girl, Grace, has had it! Poor little girl!

Here are our six gorgeous children. We sure did it right!

Another fun couple that attended the wedding - Emily & Dan-O.

Betsey & Micah are lookin' good!

And the "rest of the family."

Three lovely girls. Thanks Cassie & Tiffany - you did a great job!

My oldest, Luke, and his family. His wife, Lacey, daughters, Grace & Ava Joy, and the famous ringbearer, Caleb (broken wrist and all).

Gma Laga and Aunt Ruth came.

Here they are doing it right! No running or laughing for them. They did a GREAT JOB!

What a gorgeous little girl.

One proud daddy walking his little girl down the aisle.

And now I pronounce them man and wife. Please meet Mr. & Mrs. Tobin Bolton.

Their first dance as husband and wife. Isn't her hair gorgeous? Great job, Emily!

The best man blindfolded Tobin and put him in handcuffs before his attempt at removing the garter. It got alot of laughs. I am not sure who was more embarrassed Tobin or Erin.

Tobin finally "found" the garter.

Well, that is our day in a nutshell. If you want more pictures, you will have to come see them in person - it takes far too long to download them and put them on this blog. So, come see us and them - we love company!

Tomorrow we get back in the swing of school, teaching Bible studies and Sunday School. Oh boy! I don't think any of us are ready for that yet. Oh, by the way, Elyse decided that the weekend was too much excitement and she threw it all up tonight (of course it went on her bed, the floor and her pillow). So much for getting to the bathroom on time. Just what I always wanted after a fun weekend. The fun had to end some time.

ZACHARY'S TENTH BIRTHDAY!!!!!

At least this is the celebration, the actual birthday is tomorrow, February 15. We started the evening with his gifts. Zachary is closing his eyes waiting "patiently" for his presents.

Elyse has a hard time waiting "patiently." She made Zachary a gift. I don't know if you can tell what it is, but it is a picture of our four youngest inside a homemade frame made out of popsicle sticks from Mrs. Boltze's art class.

Finally, Elyse could give the picture to Zachary - she was dying to do that all day!

Zachary got a football from us. I think he was excited - he hasn't put it down yet, even to eat!

He also got Book IV and V of the "Wormling" series (Jerry Jenkins books).

We always give the kids their choice for their birthday dinner. So, we had sharp cheddar cheese, summer sausage, potato bread, Toppers crackers, rootbeer and moose tracks ice cream with hot fudge. It was a weird combination, but much better than peanuts, grapes and grape juice (lol).

Here is a closeup of the cheesse and sausage. He really liked it. Believe it or not, we were completely full after eating all of this.

About 30 minutes later, we had the ice cream. He was able to blow out ALL the candles with one blow.

Can't believe ten years has gone by. It has flown (Lacey, I know you don't believe that now, but you will).

Elyse and I are going to watch the "Christy" DVD's. Zachary is going to play Madden '07 and Dad will probably be working on the computer. So, that is our day in a nutshell (or should I say "nuthouse").

BUSY WEEK!!!!!

Tuesday we went to Erin's VB Banquet at the Olive Garden in Terre Haute. Dr. ??? said it was Mardi Gras, so he was handing out beaded necklaces to everyone. Last, but not least, Dad even got a set.

The banquet was very nice. Good food. Good company. Good things and stories said about each girl on Erin's team. It was a good night.

When we started to leave the restaurant, there were tornado warnings out. The rain was coming down left to right (instead of from the sky). The winds were so strong, we could hardly open the door to get out of the building. Erin offered ice cream at her house and Tobin came too. We wondered how the three hour drive would be getting home, but it was fine. A little rain, many puddles and Rt. 41 closed because of flooding. We made it home though just fine.

Wednesday Zachary, Elyse & I drove to Chicago to have lunch with my roommate from Moody. We haven't seen each other in 25 years. It was a good lunch and fun to catch up on all that lost time.

Saturday, I had my fashion expert help me pick out shoes for the wedding, pants for Dad and plenty of lunch I didn't need to eat. It was a great day.

Now I just want to sleep. No more driving around the world for me for awhile.