Spring/Summer 2012

Long time, no blogging.  Guess it's time to catch up.  So, here is the last 3 months or so in pictures.



We have been trying to get out regularly and walk.  Some for fun and some because we're old and need to get out and get some exercise!  There are a couple of parks that we really like to visit.  One has a nice, paved trail and the other is a wooded area where there are lots of bugs, birds, turtles, sticks etc. to pick up and look at.  Dan has had the boys keep a notebook that lists all of the things they have seen there. 

There's nothing quite as cool as the Weinermobile when you're 7.  Andrew and I went to see it.  Pretty cool, but you couldn't get inside and see what was going on in there.  Andrew was pretty disappointed.  But, he did have a good time looking at the outside.

We made a trip to Grandma's.  While we were there we got to check out the baby barn swallows.  Not very cute yet, but I'm sure by now they are.  It was lots of fun to check out the nests in the barn and see which ones had babies.

We also went to a park while we were there.  This is Andrew climbing a tree to try and see what might be inside the hole in the tree.  As far as I know he didn't find anything.  He sure is a climber tho.  He has also discovered he loves to do cartwheels.  He does them all the time.  Everywhere.  While we're walking, playing baseball, doing chores, walking in the parking lot.  Everywhere.

Dan took the boys for their first canoe ride.  We have an old canoe that still holds water and have been saying for a long time that we would take them canoeing.  They were so excited they could hardly stand it. :)  He took them for a 15 minute ride down to our neighborhood swimming pool and then after a little swimming they paddled back. 

Maicol played little league baseball this year.  He had only played in the backyard with the neighborhood kids.  He ended up being one of their main catchers.  He also got to pitch and play 2nd or 3rd a little.  We really enjoyed watching him and he had a wonderful time.  He is signed up to play ball in the fall too.  For someone who had not played organized baseball before he did really well.

Checking things out from the dugout.

We made a trip to see Dan's dad and spent the night at a state park.  Not sure why they're saluting.  Just silly I guess.  We were out walking and found wild raspberries to eat.  Yum.

Andrew "not" getting in the lake. :)

Maicol celebrated his 13th birthday.  He had a baseball cake and a family dinner.  We still need to take him to a Reds game for his birthday gift.

We also finally did something to celebrate Andrew's birthday.  (It was in March)  We went to a place that had bumper cars, laser tag, rides, and this neat thing that let you shoot small, relatively soft balls at your brothers.  Lots of fun for everyone.

I love this picture.  Maicol may be 13, but he will still grab his brothers hand and walk.  In fact, he still sometimes reaches for my hand and we walk together.

Juan Pablo.  About 3 weeks ago he had a seizure.  Something new for him.  We spent several hours in our local ER and then transferred to another hospital.  He has an arteriovenous malformation in his brain.  Fortunately, it has not bled and is not causing him any problems yet.  We are still waiting to have one test done.   After that, a group of neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists will meet and they will let us know what the plan of action is.  There will be at a minimum some type of minimally invasive procedure done and at a maximum actual brain surgery.  We covet your prayers as we wait to see what will need to be done.

We have also been doing lots of swimming.  The boys play baseball in the backyard everyday.  Even if there are no neighbor kids to play with the three of them play. 

Karen