O-HI-O Family

the crew has landed

Puppy love

a real catch

buddies

'hole' lotta fun

good friends

girly girls

corn hole focus

Lego engineers

7 wonders

accessorized

Vader's ready for the pool

I love Lucy

Pierce fam

Woo hoo!

Laid back

Lake side

splish splash

Great Grandpa Don's treasures

hooked

a welcome addition

princess in training

a pair of Kings

royal surprises

our prince Harry

noble gifts

Maggie love

Birthday princess

slam!

putting Mommy skills to work

chillin'

boatin'

¡salud!

happy hour

party girls

an armful

Karebare has a little lamb...

lovin' on Mags

proud Poppy

boater babies

fashionable

Gammy and Poppy's top 5

DeVore Family reunion 2011 (t shirt designer- Harrison)

snuggle bugs

love birds

Poppy's new princess (and look alike!)

Iron Chef Harrison

She-nice cousins

2nd Rowe

Uncle Tom's play house

Swoosh!

feathered

one of many

(Owen's) double fisting

a friendly meet up

Ladies poker night- Karebear's all in

fair fishin'

target practice

proper instruction

ready to fire

'Say hello to my little friend' 

ready, aim, fire!

go ahead, make his day

Dangerous moves

What a trip!  Our journey started in Beverly Hills, Michigan, with a visit to Great Grandma and Grandpa Biel's house with Pop and Mama.  It was a nice time to catch up, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed all of the animals.  Karrington cannot get enough of Mama's dog; she loved on Lady the entire time.  Her clothes were covered in fur, but she was in heaven.   And the boys attempted to catch every frog in the backyard pond.  They netted quite a few, and they got the biggest kick out of the bellow sounds of the bullfrogs hiding nearby.  Uncle Johnny stopped by for coffee and conversation before we headed south to good ol' Findlay, OH.

We stayed with Pop and Mama for the first night, and then met up with the Reed cousins after mass the next day. Our kids were so excited to see their cousins!  Pop broke out the corn hole game, and we all enjoyed the humid afternoon.  We then headed over to the Reed's for dinner and stayed for the rest of our Pierce visit.  The kids really enjoyed their time together.  Mary took us to her local pool, and our crew was very excited about the water slide (Mommy and Daddy included).  Fearless Karrington took a turn all by herself.  She climbed up the stairs with her siblings and cousins cheering her on.  She pushed off like a pro, but mid-slide, she turned.  By the time she reached the water, she was backwards and head-first...and decided quickly after her first run, she might want to wait until she gets a little bigger to try it again.  The kids also played video games and dress up, built Lego cities, and enjoyed the evening slumber parties in the basement.

Before we knew it, we were headed north to Lake Erie.  Mary and the kids joined us for a visit to see Great Grandpa Don.  He treated us to a nice afternoon at the Catawba Island Club.  We ate lunch, and the kids swam and played in the pool.  When we headed back to Grandpa Don's, the kids went straight for his chest of treasures.  It's a beautiful armoire full of lil' toys and pencils and games and such.  The kids love it.

After our visit, we headed over to Poppy and Gammy's cottage for our DeVore family reunion.  Greg and his new sidekick, Annie were already there, so while the boys rushed to get their fishing started, I enjoyed a couple cocktails with the new couple.  I've decided, 'something's really come over' Greggor... and I'm happy to see it's Annie.  She's great!  (bit of an inside joke...).  Anyway, DeVo and his crew arrived soon after, so we had a full house!  Upon their arrival, the party started... quite literally.  We had a princess birthday to celebrate!  Queen Gammy provided everyone with royal attire, and the kids dove into their goody bags.  The birthday girl, Karrington, received her very own Maggie and Timmy... in the form of American Girl doll twins.  She initially wasn't as interested in the dolls as much as she was the real thing.  Karrington could not get enough of Maggie.  She held her, she fed her, and she was near Maggie's side as much as possible.  Anderson was enamored with the twins too.   He told Uncle Ryan that he and Timmy, 'are gonna be buddies.'

The long weekend at the lake included the usual boating, eating, drinking, fishing, laughing and playing.  This year, Anderson decided to take the golf cart for spin; he nearly hit the cottage before he got anyone's attention.  Okay, to be fair, I saw him sit down in the driver's seat, and asked the adults playing basketball outside if, 'they knew AJ was taking the golf cart out.'  No one answered, so I assumed they were cool with it.  The reality was no heard me ask, and no one noticed he'd snuck away. Fortunately, there was no harm done, and Daddy hopped in the cart so AJ could enjoy a ride.

While at the lake, we spent an afternoon at Kelly's Island and the winery (a favorite of Mommy's), and spent another day floating on the giant group raft with our lake friends and family.  The babies were great on the boat and in the water- they are natural boaters!  And we lucked out again this year with fabulous weather!

Before we knew it, we were saying our goodbyes and heading back to Findlay.  We stayed at Poppy and Gammy's where the boys could enjoy the new basketball hoop Poppy put up for them.  Harrison was thrilled to practice his skills.

We shared the first afternoon with Torri and her crew, and it was a HOT one!  We enjoyed lunch together, and the kids played in the comfort of central air.  We ventured out once to the nearby school, but quickly decided it was best to stay inside.  The next day, we had lunch with Ashley and her boys at the Fern Cafe, and then headed over to Uncle Tom's place for a quick swim.  It was so nice to see my cousins and their lil' people.  I really admire them both for so many reasons.  We also spent another afternoon with the Reed cousins.  The kids were so happy to have another play date with them, while I had another opportunity to catch up with Mary and Doug.  Before we headed back to the lake, we were treated to a nice lunch with Grandma Sanders.  And she also treated the kids with a generous gift of money they have thoroughly enjoyed spending.

Back at the lake, we relished in more boating and swimming and near perfect weather.  Grandma Wilma and Aunt Erica joined us for the weekend 'adventure' too.  This year, Harrison was able to join the big boys for an early morning perch fishing trip.  They caught a lot of fish, and our lil' guy was thrilled to be included.  Don Jolley has become a bit of a hero with our boys because he's such a good fisherman (and he's so good to our kids).  Every time we come back from a lake visit, the boys get out their boats and 'guys.'  Don is always the best fisherman, and Rocky (another lake friend) is always the fastest boater.  I noticed the last time they played 'lake,' all of the boaters had snacks and drinks in their hands.  Details are important!

After the weekend ended, we headed south.   Next stop:  Columbus, OH!  Here we stayed with Grandmo Jane and Grandpa Dave.  On the first day, we enjoyed some shopping and crafts and a fabulous meal.  Then, we spent the next day with my good friend Amy and her handsome lil' redhead, Owen.  She's a wonderful mommy, and he's ridiculously cute.  That night, I enjoyed a long overdue 'girls night out' with some of my favorite people.  It was so fun to catch up with all of them.  They all look incredible, and I'm sorry I don't have a pic to show them off!  (forgot my camera).  The next day, we had a quick visit with my best buddy from High School and her crew.  Her youngest wasn't interested in photos, so she missed the cut.  Our kids were disappointed to leave their friends, but girls poker night awaited.  Karrington and I headed over to my girlfriend's place to have a hand or two at poker.  Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long, but it was still great to see the girls.

The next day, we picked Daddy up from the airport and headed to the Ohio State Fair with Grandmo and Grandpa.  We ate junk food, drank root beer, learned a lil' about physics in the science building, watched pigs race and finished with a little fishing.  Harrison caught a catfish, but threw him back.  By the end of the day, we were soaked.  It was so HOT and HUMID, but we had fun.

 On Saturday, we got all 'fired up' with Grandpa Dave.  He took us to the farm to practice our shooting skills... and it was a blast!  Grandpa Dave is a very good (and patient) teacher.  We all learned so much about guns and slugs and more.   I wouldn't mess with any of us at this point.  :)   We capped the day with a local Catholic festival and the Danger Brothers.  Anderson and Karrington really got their groove on... they danced and danced and danced some more.  It was hilarious.  Anderson has mastered the air guitar, and Karrington has some pretty good moves too.  Harrison preferred to sit back and watch his younger siblings rock the night away.

The next morning, we shared a fantastic brunch and then headed back to Findlay to say our goodbyes.  We left for SoCal the next morning, but we sincerely enjoyed all of the new wonderful memories we've made with loved ones.  Until next time...