Last (but cerainly not LEAST), the reception!!

And now...last, but certainly not least...the pictures from our last night of vacation - the reception!! It was a very nice intimate party, with good food, plenty of drinks, and great music. There was dancing (LOTS of dancing), talking, laughing, and lots of people just having a great time. Enjoy the photos!

First dance...

Amy's dance with her dad...

Kendall could not get enough of the bride...she danced with her all night long. Bless you, Amy - you made her night!

Bob & Lisa taking a break...

Noah and I "clinking". He thought this was the coolest thing he'd ever seen. We did it like 50 times. And no, he did not have actual champagne in his glass!
Gary & Luanne taking a spin around the dance floor...
Maria, showing off what happens when you have dark blue icing on your wedding cake...
Noah, bustin' a move...
Ok, now forgive me for these next three...but you know what? There are rarely any pictures of me on my camera since I'm always taking the pictures! So guess what? I kind of like being in some for a change...and these are fun. We were having a ball!
Of course, Kendall wanted her chance to dance with Daddy...
Noah's done. Peace out, dudes!!!
That's it folks! Our vacation in pictures is now complete! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, putting it together. What on earth will I come up with to write about next?

I guess you'll just have to tune in to find out! :)

Our reason for being there...

The highpoint of our vacation, our entire reason for being in Nags Head, was wrapped up in this one evening...Saturday night at the beach, which by any account was not just another "night at the beach". It was an evening set aside to watch two lives intertwine into one. Joe and Amy's wedding was finally here!! The weather was perfect...slightly breezy, not hot, perfect blue skies dotted with fluffy white clouds...it really couldn't have been better! We started with photos...here's one of our whole family:The photographer had us facing directly into the sun...it was brutal. We were all (naturally) concerned that none of the pictures would turn out. And if the picture above is any indication, we'll be lucky if any of them do! :)

Ooooo, here she comes...the bride, on the arm of her dad. Look at that big smile...
That's Amy's cousin's husband there officiating. He and Amy's cousin Erin live in Switzerland, and he got his license over the internet so he could come over and officiate. Wasn't that nice of him?

Notice there is no nervousness here in this light grasp of their hands...no tenseness at all...

Sharing a joke while exchanging rings... The kiss...We did it!!Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Joe & Amy Mejstrik!!The kids were at the ready to hand out bottles of water and small washcloths for the guests to wash off their feet...Me and the munchkins...A pic of me & my sweetie, taken by none other than Ms. Kendall...

The PYTs

Another vacation photo shoot! Here they are, the PYTs...my niece Anna and her friend Maria. These girls are a hoot!! Trust me, we certainly didn't need to have a photo shoot for them, they were taking plenty of photos themselves! But hey, can a girl ever have too many pictures of her and her best friends?? I think not...

Living out their lifelong dreams of being Baywatch babes...

OMG!! Is that David Hasselhoff?? We've been discovered!!!We can't leave Kayla out...little sisters always want to be included!I wanna go back to the beach!

What we've been doing...

This past week, we've had absolutely perfect weather.

It's been sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and the temperatures have been mild.

Perfect Ohio weather.

While we've kept plenty busy with all of the normal stuff that goes on around here (homework, taking care of the chickens, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.), we've also been trying to have a little bit of fun as well as get some work done!

The other night, Barry and Luke got their bows out and decided to have a little target practice to get ready for the quickly upcoming hunting season. It wasn't long before Kendall and Noah had run into the house to get their bows that Grandpa Tom had brought them for Christmas. It looks like my kids may be into archery. They both caught on somewhat quickly and listened well to the instruction handed to them by their daddy and uncle. Grandpa Tom would have been proud! We'll continue to work on it...Also on the agenda has been cutting, splitting, and stacking wood. This will be the first year we've had a wood burning stove, and we are SUPER excited. But, of course, that means we have to be ready...and that means work. So Luke and Barry headed out last weekend to cut up some fallen trees our friend Paul had in his woods. They brought the wood home and then this weekend, Barry rented a log splitter and they split and stacked it all. It was a LOT of wood, peeps. It was so good to see my kids grab some gloves and start helping...and having a blast doing it! But it's done now, and that's a good thing. I'm going to be so toasty and warm this winter...

Pile #1

Pile #2

Pile #3Also, we joined the gym this week...Lord have mercy!! Barry got a very good deal at Urban Active that involved Luke being able to be on our membership, as well as including childcare. This is a VERY good thing. It's time to get that core tightened back up! So this week, Luke and I will be going in for our consultation with a personal trainer...you know, so they can give me the number I'm just dying to see... the body fat percentage. UGH. I am excited however, for the Zumba classes and the yoga classes, and the spinning classes...and I LOVE the cardio room. It's dark and has a movie screen in the front where they play all kinds of good movies while you get your cardio in. When I was there the other day, they were playing a Matthew McConnaughey movie. Mmmmmm...yeah, that would keep me on the elliptical for a good 90 minutes! LOL!

That's about it for now, folks. Of course, I've got more...but it will have to wait until tomorrow...I'm pooped!

Photo Shoot #3

Are you tired of my vacation pictures yet?

I'm not. I'd love to go back and have another vacation week! The thing is, I started this...so I have to finish it. Can't leave anyone out, you know! So let's continue on with the Family Photo Shoots, shall we? I'm almost done, I promise.

This particular one focuses on Bob, Lisa, Anna & Kayla. I have a million pictures of them, because they were pretty easy to photograph. Just wait until you see some of the pics of Anna and her friend Maria! (Now, that is going to have to be a post all it's own, because those girls were having too much fun!)

The family picture...everybody has to have one!

Lisa and the girls...

Bob and his girls...I think this one will end up on his desk.

Sisterly love...

But I like this one best...

My, oh my...I can't tell you how much fun I was having! And the best part is that I think everyone was really happy with their pictures! I guess we'll see when the Christmas cards come out, eh?? :) Don't forget to vote for your faves!!

Tailgating!

Please forgive me for all of the pictures...I know there are a lot. We just had a such a fabulous time on Saturday, that I simply can't leave many out! As many of you know, OSU played USC in the Shoe this past weekend. (I would prefer not to discuss the outcome of that game... :( ) We had some friends that were tailgating all day down on campus, and they invited us to stop by. Keep in mind that Barry and I have not tailgated in a LONG time. Like 8 or 9 years...so we were long overdue.

Anyway, Barry really, REALLY wanted to go. He thought the kids were finally at an age where we could go for a few hours...and besides, every Buckeye should experience OSU campus on a home game day! Once we told the kids about it, there was no going back. They were super excited!! So we suited up in all of our Buckeye gear, invited Sheri and the Huntingtons, and headed down to the game. The weather was absolutely perfect...pure, blue, sunny but cloudless skies. IT. WAS. AWESOME.

We parked on West Campus and took the buses over to the stadium, close to where Jon & Ben's tailgate was. The kids thought the bus ride was the best part of the whole day...go figure. Once we got to the tailgate, there was plenty of loud music, cornhole tournaments, party food, and of course, beer. It was a sea of red as far as the eye could see. GLORIOUS!! Unfortunately, there was not much for the little kids to do, and too many people to let them play freely. After spending an hour or so there, we decided to walk up closer to the stadium, and maybe let the kiddos play on the baseball fields. Once we found our way onto the field, the kids had a blast running up and down the big hill, playing tag, running the bases on the baseball diamond, and posing for pictures. We spent quite a bit of time there, and it was really nice to let them run. Of course, we adults got a little silly too...
After the kids ran themselves ragged (and truth be told, we were all getting a little hungry), we decided to head to Graeters for ice cream before we pushed the munchkins to their limits. Of course, after all that running around, the kids needed a lift. Good thing they have such a strong and willing daddy.
The ice cream was everything we imagined it would be...cold, creamy, smooth...heaven in a cup!! The kids all opted for Cookies n Cream, but Sheri and I split a pint of Buckeye Blitz in honor of our fun day and in hopes of a fantastic game that evening! Baby Will was totally into the ice cream too...
We stopped at the grocery on the way home to pick up supplies to cook out before the game, and then we headed to Shawn & Deetra's. The kids played hard and we watched some football. Although our beloved Bucks lost in the last 2 minutes of the game, we still had a fantastic day...and that's all that really matters!!