Pictures

Well here are some pictures I have be delayed in sharing.

First-Luke and Aunt Erin's first slide
Second-Luke's first visit to Hershey's Chocolate World
Third-Luke in his new high chair eating his squash
Fourth-Luke and Isabella when they visited us in August

PA Stone Skipping Fun

Hello everyone. We visited the Annual Stone Skipping competition in Franklin, PA this weekend. For those who live in PA and have never been, it is a must, please mark your calendars for next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We watched 15 professional stone skippers duke it out for the title and prize of a can of PA crude motor oil, some homemade fudge, and a rare prize of one in 6 spot of attending the NATIONAL STONE SKIPPING competition in MICHIGAN on July 4th!! Yes that is right, there are only 6 slots opened for this national competition. It was a good time, Luke enjoyed it as you can see. He thought that by being SuperLuke he could throw the stones further, but didn't get a chance. The skipper in the picture above is none other than the Guiness Book of World Record Holder for stone skipping with 40. He is from Emporium, PA and his name is Kurt Steiner. He however was defeated this year, by last year's NATIONAL CHAMPION Russ Byars (not not a relation to Jenn Byers) who had 34 skips (very impressive). Please those who want to go, let us know. Joe is looking into renting a big tent and motor home for the event so we can tailgate before hand. Practices will be held the first weekend of every month at the Slippery Rock River for those who want to enter the Amateur competition next year. BYOS (yes bring your own stones) so start looking!!!!!

Walks in the Forest and Carnival Rides

The first 3 pictures are of flowers we saw on our last walk in the State Park. We have been enjoying them, but it has been raining, raining, and raining, the past 4 days so we haven't gotten back there. I know the dogs are getting excited to get out again and to get moving and sniff all the animals out in the wild.

We also went to the local Lawrence County Fair on Saturday. We don't recommend going any earlier than 1 pm, as the food booths aren't opened yet and the rides haven't started. Joe decided he would watch Luke and didn't want to ride any rides. erin and I went on the himalayas and the Scrambler, for those carnival junkies-these are fast, spinny rides. We had a good time as Erin remarked it would be her last rides for 2 years. So it was fun. The Funnel Cake was also a reason we went and was equally good.

Pirates Game

Funny, but you never know who you will run into at a Pirates game. We spent the weekend in Pittsburgh as I had to take my board exam. The dogs went to doggy daycare (or the kennel). We went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game on Friday night to celebrate my exam being over. We ran into a few familiar faces--my Uncle Hector, Aunt Marijo, and cousins Emily, Rachel, and Justin. So next time you go to a Pirates game, look around every corner to see who you might know!!!!

Luke had a great time. As his dad remembered, his first baseball game was the Pirates vs. the Reds, and Luke's first game was the Pirates vs. the Reds. Luke slept a lot, cried when the men behind us started to heckle the left fielder, and enjoyed looking around. He was very excited about his 1st bat given to him by his Great Uncle Hector!!!

Hiking

We have discovered the whole family loves to hike, including the animals, minus the gray furball. We have been visiting Moraine State Park on a triweekly basis and hiking around the trails. We know the ones in the area we have been hiking on quite well. We ended up taking a really long one the other day, that made Luke fall asleep, but otherwise he is a real trooper. Here are some shots...

Visitors

We were delighted that my Grandma and Aunt Cindy came down to visit us on their way to Pittsburgh. Joe made homemade spaghetti sauce and we had a salad and dessert pizza. It was a wonderful time.

We are still unpacking and enjoying the house. Work starts on Monday for me. Joe and Luke can continue to chill out on the couch for awhile!!