Good Friends

Earlier this summer, a good friend of mine from high school came in town, and we were able to get together for a few hours to catch up. It was grea

t to see Jen and her kids. Her oldest is only a few days apart from A and her youngest is only a few weeks younger than C. It was fun to play, have some good conversation and chase after four very mobile, very independent, and very active kids.

A few days later, I had a reunion of teacher friends. A group of my old collegues met up for lunch. It was so fun to catch up, though it was a little different now that we have 7 kids among us. But the kids played well, the food was delicious and it was really fun to catch up with friends I haven't seen in several years. C was cracking me up! He couldn't get enough of the girls, and followed them around giving them kisses. Little E's face in the first picture just makes me laugh! Of course, the group picture is as memorable as the group of friends. We enjoyed our time so much that we ended up too close to nap times. But it was well worth it! At least there are smiles on all of the parents' faces!

This morning, the boys and I were sitting at the table eating breakfast and we had this conversation:

A- What's the name of this cereal, mommy?
Me- Granola
A- But what's last name?

Robot

I'm sure hoping I can get this to post because it makes me laugh out loud just watching it. We were playing in the front room with a good friend of ours, and the boys were having a blast. All of a sudden, C just breaks out into the Robot Dance. Yep... the 80's classic is making a comeback in the Hawley household, and there wasn't even any music playing in the background! Enjoy!

Cleveland Trip

At a splash park near Gramma the Great's house. Many houses in Cleveland don't have AC, which seems crazy to us Cincinnatians. But this fun, little wet park helped us all deal a little better with the 98 degree weather.

Eating popsicles at Aunt Linda's house. P and I got a chance to get out for a few hours while Aunt L and her kiddos took the kids to the beach. It was a great break for us and the boys had a blast.

Lucky's Cafe! We saw this little store on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (on FoodNetwork), and just had to try it out. It's a little coffee shop with some tables in the back that has become a great brunch/lunch place. The owner grows many of the veggies/herbs that she uses in the side garden, and almost everything else is purchased in season from local farmers. Sounded just up our alley! The food was phenomenal! So good, in fact, that we ventured across town a second time to get one more fix before we headed home. This may become a family tradition for us!

One last attempt to beat the heat. We went around the corner to Aunt Colleen's pool and spent an hour or so cooling off on our last night in Cleveland. We love having such a generous, loving, sharing family.

Kelley's Island

These pictures are in reverse order. I don't have the time to move them around because the boys will be waking from naps soon. Start at the end and work your way up.

Family pic on the ferry.

Traveling back across the ferry. Looking at this picture, I realize how hick-ish we look. One kid with no shirt... the other with no pants! Please remember it was about 98 degrees and we hadn't been in air conditioning all weekend.

On this particular morning, C was up at 5:45, so to keep him from waking the entire house, I took him on a walk (about 1 1/2 mi.). By the time we got back, A was awake, so I packed up the boys, brought some bagels along and we headed to the public beach. We don't go there often because it gets super crowded, but that morning we were the only ones there. The boys had a blast, and after about two hours of playing in the sand and in the water, we headed back to the cottage... at 9:30am!!! Oh, what I would pay for my kids to sleep in!!

A driving the golf cart with Uncle Kevin.

C driving the golf cart with Uncle Kevin

Reading books with our new cousin, Jack, and his sweet momma.

"Riding" the jetski. (Mommy and daddy got to ride it on the lake and got it up to 54 mph! So much fun!!)

Aunt Cait helping the boys "ride" the jetski.

Waiting for the ferry to take us to KI.

Mohr Animal Acres

On our way up to Kelley's Island, we stopped off at Mohr Animal Acres in Urbana. This is a family-run farm that sells meats and eggs at local farmer's markets. We have been buying from Trudy and Andi for 1 1/2 or 2 years, but they have become good friends of ours. It was fun to finally see their farm and for them to get a chance to show off what they do. We saw all kinds of animals: donkeys, chickens, llamas, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, roosters and many babies. We also got to see some tractors and eat raspberries fresh off of the bush! Delicious! I think C alone may have eaten them out of raspberries :) The kids loved the farm, and it made for a fun way to break up the 4 1/2 hour drive!

Daddy's Last Day

P has been working as a postal worker since the beginning of the year. It was a great temporary job for him and had a lot of benefits. But his job was most likely going to be eliminated in the next few months, so for that and many other reasons, last Wednesday was his last day working for the USPS. I brought to boys to meet up with him during his short ten-minute break and they got to see daddy's mail truck.

Touch A Truck

Last week, we were staying at my parents' house for a few days. On Saturday, A decided he didn't need a nap and C ended up going down early and only sleeping about an hour. So, knowing it could be a long afternoon, we headed out to the Touch a Truck exhibit going on in a nearby town. Talk about a boy's dream come true! We got to climb in and pretend to drive probably 20 different kinds of trucks! An ambulance, police car, digger, loader, fire truck, army truck... it was awesome! The boys had a blast and were so worn out that they both slept in the car on the way home!

A on an army truck. There was a sun-roof type opening and some sort of scope on the top that he could look through.

The most tears for the day occurred when A had to get off of the digger.

Swimming

I swear this kid is fearless. After watching his big cousin go off the board, little C would not be left out. He just walked right to the edge as if it were no big deal! What a brave kid!

Here's my nephew's first "dip" in the pool. Sweet Baby I was not so much a fan of the water. I think it had more to do with the fact that he was tired, though. I am betting that next summer he'll be jumping off the diving board with the rest of the big kids!

A sweet pic of A and his cousin, M. I love when these two boys play so well together. On this particular day, their love-hate relationship was definitely tilting towards the love side. They made each other laugh and smile... so precious!

Butterfly Show

I took the boys to the Butterfly Show a few weeks ago. We met up with my mom, my sister and my nephews. It was a lot of fun!

P.S.

I have just under 100 pictures on my camera that I haven't gotten a chance to download onto our computer yet. We are currently on vacation, but when we return, I will try to post some pics of the summer. Events: butterfly show, touch-a-truck event, trip to kelley's island, swimming at nonnos, pic with daddy and his mail truck, and more! Be excited for some cute, cute pics!

To Adopt or Not to Adopt

The above link is to an article on adoption from a blog I follow. Just thought I'd repost it because I loved what she had to say. It's a realistic view of adoption and what it entails from the child's perspective. It may help you faithful readers out there figure out a little more about where we are coming from and why we are still pursuing adoption despite all of the possible issues that could arise. We really feel it's where God is leading our family, and though it can be overwhelming to think about, we are committed to following the Lord ANYWHERE He chooses to lead us, whether or not it is easy.
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