24 August 2008 - Idlewild

Hi all,

We had a ton of fun this week. The weather turned blistering hot, the lawns burned up and the air conditioners cranked up, but we still had fun. We got the pool out and filled it with cold water from the hose to cool things down.We also took the girls to Idlewild Park, which is about an hour or so east of Washington, PA. Here's Madeline on the carousel, which was built in 1932.
It might be kind of hard to tell, but this is me with Emily and Jessica on the Log Ride.
We played hard at Idlewild and stayed until it closed at 9:30 PM. The girls were exhausted and slept in the car almost immediately. We took a day or two to recuperate. We think we'll definitely do it again next year.

On Saturday, we had another water-fun-cool-off event. The ward primary activity was water softball (you had to slip-n-slide from 3rd, to home). The kids were soaked and happy at the end of it. I was the chef-de-cuisine, grilling mini-burgers for all the kids.

After the primary activity, I went home and changed in to my suit so that I could go back to the church and officiate a wedding. It was the first one I've ever done, but I think it went off without a hitch. I'll get some more practice soon -- I've been asked to do another one on September 13th.

I guess that about catches you back up with us. It's back to school next week, so it's good we had some fun while we good -- nose to the grindstone soon enough.

Matt & family

17 August 2008 - Pool Party

Hey Everyone,

August has been a foot race for our family. We've been very busy with summer fun, cooling off from the heat, and getting ready to go back to school. Although I documented Jessica's birthday in my August 10th posting, I thought you'd enjoy this photo a group of Jessica's friends playing volleyball in the back yard in hula skirts.
On Saturday, we had a ward pool party. The weather turned a bit cool, but it was sunny and actually the temperatures reached the 80s so it was warm enough to swim. This is Jessica taking the plunge out of the slide.
The smaller girls enjoyed the kiddie pool with the frog slide.All in all, it was a good week and we had lots of fun.

Matt, Joanne & girls

10 August 2008 - Jessica's Birthday

Hello everyone,

Happy birthday to Jessica today. It was good to talk to those of you who called, and thanks for the presents too. In addition to her birthday, we've had an eventful week. I attended an Explorer Scout high adventure trip from Wednesday to Saturday. Joanne stayed home with the girls, which I think wasn't terribly fun for her, but she was a good sport. Our high adventure was at Ohiopyle State Park in the Allegheny Mountains. We stayed busy for three full days by kayaking, climbing, caving, biking, and camping. It was fun, but we were glad to come home on Saturday, dirty and tired.Aunt Jennifer arrived yesterday. The girls love visitors, and this summer we've had a pretty steady stream of them.
This is Jessica opening presents on her birthday after church. She is 9 years old now. Madeline was sure to stand by, in case any help was needed opening presents.Emily helped make a happy birthday for her sister by assisting on the pineapple (shaped) birthday cake.Behold the finished product!Ugh! Another Webkinz. In spite (or perhaps because) of this, Jessica has had a very happy birthday.

Have a great week,

Matt, Joanne and girls

3 August 2008 - Fun in Delaware

Hi all,

This week was a ton of fun. We spent the weekend with Karl and Jolene. With a couple of Karl's in-laws from Oklahoma and his cousin Jeremy, we went to Philadelphia and saw a Philadelphia Phillies game. We went to church on Sunday and took some time to relax.
This is us at a small beach on the Chesapeake Bay. Emily found a clam, which she thought was outstanding.

Joanne got lots of 'me' time with Trevor. He is a smilin' kid.
The kids all had a blast together all week. They had a lot of fun playing together in the yard. We even went bowling and to an arcade. Before we left town, Karl, Jacob, Jeremy and I caught a third baseball game, this time at the new Washington D.C. ballpark. We watched the Nationals play the Phillies. On Wednesday, we drove home and spent the rest of the week readjusting to normal life.

Matt

27 July 2008 - Washington D. C.

Hi Everyone,

It's been a busy summer, and I've been a little lax in writing my updates. I'm getting back on track now.

On the 21st of July, we drove to Washington D.C. so that I could attend some work-related meetings at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Joanne, her mom, and the girls had to stay in a hotel because they weren't allowed to stay at the institute with me. We did get to go out to a Cuban restaurant with Jerry and Danae, her mom and our family for Joanne's birthday.
This is Joanne's birthday cake on July 22nd, compliments of chef Aunt Danae!

After the meetings were over on Thursday, we all met at Jerry and Danae's house and Joanne's mom stayed there while our family headed north to Karl and Jolene's house in Delaware.Among other things, we got to go see some baseball on the trip. This is Camden Yards in Baltimore.Here is Trevor, Karl and Jolene's littlest guy. He was so cute that he and Jolene appeared on the Jumbotron.It was hat night at the ballpark, but the hats actually had a Miller Lite logo on them, so they wouldn't give any to the kids. We let the kids wear them though. Ths is Amanda, Amber and Jessica, with Emily standing up in the background. In all, our group was comprised of 27 people include our family, Karl's family, their cousin Jeremy's family, Jerry and Danae's family, and our friends Jenni and Ed who live in the D.C. area. We had such a large group we were acknowledged on the Jumbotron between innings. It was a ton of fun.

Have a great week,

Matt