Ghost Walk

On Saturday we went to a Ghost Walk in Smithville. Rudy loves scary stories, especially those tied in to local folklore. The tour started right about the time he usually goes to bed, so he was a little tired but still so enthralled. The first story was about a local legend, that he is always reading about. When the story was over, and we started to walk to the next site, Rudy turned to us and said, "I LOVE this!" He sat or stood still and quietly at each stop - a sure sign of how interested he was, since he's usually in motion at all times!
About halfway through he told us how much he loved us for signing him up for the walk. We spent the next day retelling the stories, talking about which was our favorite, and what we would look for the next time we were at Smithville.
There is a paranormal museum about an hour away that we may need to go check out and some other ghost tours near there. That may be a good fall/winter day trip!

Another Sleeping Picture

Out of bed, off the top bunk, and fast asleep on the floor.

Beach and Boardwalk

Friday was a great beach day to meet Vincie, Andy and the boys. The tide was very high and the waves were very rough, but the weather was perfect. The kids had fun digging in the sand...

and playing in the waves...

and trying to keep the water back.

After the beach, we headed to the boardwalk for dinner. We were so excited that the kids are getting old enough to sit at their own table (at a food court) while the adults sat right next to them.

After dinner we headed to the rides. Rudy, Tyler, and Noah were leading the pack.

Andy was not excited to be going on this ride. In fact, Rudy yelled at us, as the ride was going, that he thought Andy was going to puke (of course, he was very excited about this possibility!)

Obviously a fun time was had by all.

The Coolest Cat Ever

Paul has dubbed Moonie, "The Coolest Cat Ever", mainly based on the fact that he plays fetch. If you throw a pipe cleaner (Moonie's favorite toy), he will run after it, pick it up and carry it back.

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Saturday we had some family time by celebrating Paige's 2nd birthday. Here is the birthday girl.

And the soon-to-be 2 year old, Charlie.

The weather was perfect so the kids spent a lot of time outside.

All the kids got along well and different cousins played together.

The big boys played soccer.

Then present time came. I think Rudy and Lucy were more excited than Paige, and they had to be called off several times from opening Paige's presents because she was too slow for them.

Max had a late night the night before, so he was a little sleepy.

How do you get kids to sit at the table... offer cupcakes!

The silly ones.

Renee made very cute Elmo cupcakes.

The birthday girl waited very patiently.

MMMM. Cupcakes!

After eating the icing, this was Paige's way of eating the cake.

More sports- Renee's uncle, Ed, played football with Rudy.

It's not a party until someone takes his shirt off.

What's more fun than pushing a wagon back in forth in the living room?

Saying good-bye- Charlie gives Paige a hug!