Tyler

Tyler was student of the month at his school in September!  We are so proud of you Ty-Ty!

Word of wisdom from Brenalee

TJ walked to the bus stop last week and picked up the kids.  I normally drive to the bus stop because it's a mile away and it's about 1,000° here still.  And the kids whine like crazy if they have to walk in that heat for a mile...I've finally just learned my lesson and drive.  But we finally cooled down to about 800° so TJ thought it would be a nice walk for Cesar and the kids.  About half way home Brena is really whining and says "Daddy I'm so hot and sweaty I'm going to grow hair under my arm pits!"  So, that's how it gets there?

Fall quilt

I actually pieced the top of this quilt last year.  But, I never got it quilted.  I finally sat down and basted it, quilted it, and bound it.  I love it!  And the best thing about this quilt - it is for ME!  I forgot to measure it, but it's a good size.  I sat on the couch with it on me last night and it was the perfect size.  Not that we are having fall weather by any means - we're still in the 90's - but I want it to be fall! 

Spelling Test

Tyler loves spelling.  It was no surprise to me when he came home with a 100% on his first test!  When we were homeschooling he would work in his spelling workbook in his free time.  He would finish one workbook in about 6 weeks.  One workbook should normally last 6+ months!  He loves spelling!  Good job Ty Ty!

Busch Gardens Tampa!

We are a family that LOVES roller coasters! Last year we went to Busch Gardens and I forgot my camera! This year I didn't forget! Busch Gardens does a Salute to the Heroes program that lets military and their families in for free to a Busch Garden theme park. We always choose Busch Gardens because of the roller coasters. They are fabulous! I love that thrill of plummeting to the ground, or going upside down. It's so fun! Poor Tyler. I thought for sure this year he'd be able to go on the big rides. There are about 5 or 6 really big coasters you have to be 54" to ride. He's like 53 1/2". But, there were plenty of other good rides to go on.

This is Brena at the end of the day running to cram in as many rides as she could on this coaster.

You can see Tyler in the very back seat and Brena is right in front of him.

This is on one of those crazy water rides. We got so totally soaked, I was wringing my shorts out.

Lots of animals throughout the park. We even saw a tiger and a white tiger.

Ahhh, one of my favs...Sheikra! It is 200 feet up and 90 degrees straight down and 68 mph the whole way!!! WOW! It's amazing! At the top of the 200 feet they hold you over the edge as you look straight down for about 5 seconds :P SO fun!!! ♥♥♥

This was Scorpion. You can see TJ with Brena - TJ has the blue shirt on and Brena is right next to him. The kids couldn't get enough of this one.

This wasn't a huge ride, but it was SO fun. It's one where they take you up, then drop you, take you back up and drop you, over and over. Seriously tickles your tummy.

Another water ride, figured I was already soaked, why not get more wet?

TJ and Tyler going up Gwazi...TJ's got his arm up in the air, second car from the front. Tyler's on the other side of him.

Until next year Busch Gardens!

Genealogy

We {I} have been doing a lot of TJ's genealogy. I had noticed that his great-grandpa had died in Eustis, FL. We were going down to Tampa for the weekend and I thought I'd check to see if it was on the way. It was! It only added about an hour of drive time. It was worth it! His great-grandpa and his great-grandma are buried there. His great-grandpa died in 1978 - the year TJ was born so TJ never met him. His great-grandma just passed away in 2005, and she lived in Colorado. So we knew her pretty well. It was really neat seeing their names and hear TJ tell stories to the kids about what he remembered. It's been amazing finding different family names lately. Just using google I am amazed at what (and who!) I've found - hi Matt! Matt is TJ's second or third? cousin. I was googling TJ's great-great grandparents and found a wealth of information from Matt. I emailed him (not knowing who in the world he was) and he has given me so much information! When we started doing TJ's genealogy back in 1998, it was not this easy! The internet has come a long way since then.

Their names are at the very top - Dennis and Irene Larabee.

This is a picture we had from 2003, when Tyler was only 3 months old. Irene is his great-great-grandma. It was neat he could connect a picture with a grave. She passed away right before Brenalee was born.