Mike and Tracy Zundel

Mike is on the Run Again :)

2011-04-26T00:41:00.002-04:00

Mike ran the Washington DC Half Marathon in March and shaved off about 20 minutes from last year's race.

He looks great :)

In April Mike ran the "Mud Dog Run" with Peter and Jeff. They had a lot of fun.

Mike came in 12th running a 28:54. That is pretty awesome! He's pretty awesome!!

Spring 2011

2011-04-26T00:08:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter

Cameron and Jordan look beautiful in their new dresses. I am excited to see if Jordan will be a little mini Cameron.

This is the FIRST family photo with Jordan in it. Yes it took us 6 months to do it but who is counting? :) Chase had his first experience with allergies this week. With his allergies acting up he looked bleak all weekend. I am glad we got him to the doctors on monday morning to get him on allergy meds. I love him so much and want him to feel better.

Winter 2010

2010-12-15T20:44:00.000-05:00

We had a very mellow holiday this year. I had my ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair done on December 16th. Michael's 13th birthday was done all by mike on the 18th - birthday breakfast all the way to his birthday cake and cleanup!! He got lots of fun stuff. My mom was here to help out since i was fresh out of surgery and had a new baby. She is so selfless with her time and energy. it was not the best time to come and help out but she did and she did it lovingly a few times while i was recovering. i love her so much :) Chase played in his last Christmas recital. He sounded awesome.

For Christmas we had a quiet peaceful, relaxing day. Mike made the whole day amazing for everyone. I am so lucky to have him. So So So Lucky :)

Mike and the kids went to the Wenglers for the new years eve party. It was fun for them to play air soft with their cousins. By the end of January i was off of the crutches finally and free to walk and start physical therapy.

Mike flew to California to see Chris and Paige get married. He married a beautiful and amazing woman. He is so lucky :) They are perfect for each other!

Mike and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! He is so awesome. I love him so much :) He is an amazing husband, father, and leader of Kobe's pack. Michael babysat the baby so we could go out to dinner at Yellowfin. Michael did a great job. I am so grateful for him. Chase said he wanted to clean the kitchen while i was stuck upstairs high on perkoset. He took a picture of the cleaned kitchen and texted it to me. Chase is so sweet and helpful. I am so lucky. Cameron has had the opportunity to help me with the baby out all the time and she is so excited to do it every time i need help with Jordan. Cameron is amazing. I love her so much. I really can't say enough how lucky I am for my family :)

Fall 2010

2010-09-09T16:29:00.000-04:00

Cameron turned 7 on September 9th. She is growing up so quickly. She played very well on her soccer team

this season with the naval academy team "bumblebees". She is such a great helper and has so much love to share with everyone. My Dad and Carol came to visit for a week. it was so much fun. We toured annapolis and ventured out to find a light house that we couldn't get into but had fun along the way. I love it when my dad visits!

October 11th at 2:30am my water broke and went into labor. We had to drive to Bethesda (national naval medical center/president's hospital). I delivered Jordan at 3:40 in the triage room waiting to be processed. She is healthy and perfect. She is so adorable!!!!!!!!!!!

We had the most relaxing next few months just enjoying Jordan and not going anywhere. I was in heaven =)
The kids fight over who can hold her and who can kiss her and who can look at her. Jordan is SO loved! She has so much hair we can put it in pony tails! She had to go to the hospital to lay under the billi lights for a few days but that was it.

She was blessed on

June and July 2010

2010-07-10T00:48:00.000-04:00

Spring 2010

2010-02-25T15:53:00.001-05:00

We had a party at our house for our friends who went to the Washington DC temple to be sealed together. It was so much fun cooking thai food for lots of people.

My infertility doctor told me that he didn't know why I couldn't get pregnant and i would need to try invetro if i wanted to have any more kids. So I broke down and cried for a few days and gave away my baby clothes and maternity clothes and was at peace with my life. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and 3 beautiful children.

I was called to be the Relief Society President and laughed because thought it was a joke. it was an amazing and nerve wrecking experience starting to be the Relief Society President when i have attended Relief Society about 5 times in the past 7 years.

In March I tore my ACL and needed to have acl reconstructive surgery and minscuis repair. I went into pre op and they told me that I was pregnant. I didn't believe it because I was waiting for 6 years and now i was pregnant?? It was true and i had an ultrasound and i was 19 weeks along. I thought i was gaining a few pounds because i injured my knee and was not running. At the ultrasound they told us we were going to have a little girl. That was the most wonderful and amazing day i have had in a long long time. We are so excited to have our 4th baby!!!!! Her due date was october 29th. Now i needed to get new baby clothes and maternity clothes. fun fun fun! My surgery was postponed until after i had our baby girl.

Fall and Winter 2009

2009-09-01T15:32:00.001-04:00

This falll we adopted Kobe! He is the best dog ever. When we adopted him from the Mid Adlantic German Shephard Society his name was Fabio. We could not say his name with out busting up laughing. So Kobe it is. He fits in well and is already trained to sit, stay, release, fetch a ball and bring it back. We can't wait for him to be trained to not run off since we have a few acres without fences. He is very protective of Tracy and the kids when Mike is not home.

Chase played soccer and had a great season. Michael and Chase started wrestling and had so much fun. It is nice to have a wrestling partner in your own home to practice with when they are not at practice. The matches were fun. It was fun to watch the kids wrestle and it was funny to watch their parents as well!

For Thanksgiving we traveled to Indiana to visit the Wenglers and Leslie Burnside's family was there to. We brought Kobe and it was fun. Well Kobe decided to help himself to the pie table when we weren't looking! We now know that Kobe LOVES pecan pie and can eat it all by himself :)

Mollie and Tim came to our home to be a part of Michael's ordination and celebrating the new year . The kids were in heaven with a mega tea party and lots of granna and grandpa time mixed with Wengler cousins to!

Summer 2009

2009-06-08T15:25:00.000-04:00

Cameron graduated from preschool and Michael graduated from elementary school! Mike had a temporary assignment to San Diego at the beginning of the summer watching over mids. Mike had a few crazy stories from that trip. Tracy and the kids flew to san diego the day school got out. They were stuck in Texas because a tornado touched down at the airport and they were there for 3 days. Super fun. We spent time in San Diego, Clovis, and Utah while we were on the west coast. Surfing, swimming, zoo's, waterparks, playing with cousins, hiking, caving, kayaking, rock climbing, roasting marshmallows, tons of picnics and much much more. It was amazing. We are so lucky to have such amazing family.

Elementary School Days /fall 2008

2009-04-01T10:39:00.002-04:00

School is great here in Maryland. I have not met many parents because about 85% of kids ride the bus. There are no sidewalks down here so it is to dangerous for kids to walk. It was actually forbidden, a school rule. We live about 1/3 mile away from school. When i found the house i was so excited that we could ride bikes, skateboard, scooter, or walk to school. I was surprised but happy because we have not been tardy because the bus picks them up @ 7:18 at the end of our driveway. School starts @8. I will not complain :)

Every morning we meet @ 7:00 sharp ready for the day. guess who was just rolling out of bed @7. Me! I have sandwiches made the night before and so it is not hard to put lunches together. They went to bed with wet hair the night before. I didn't focus on their hair this morning because i was still waking up. When they got home we sat and talked and i noticed their wild hair. I thought that i will make sure that their locks look great the next day. Chase pulled something out of his backpack and hid it behind his body and said "hey mom, my teacher gave me a present - guess what it is " i thought that was so sweet of his 3rd grade teacher to do that. He pulled out a little black comb. He was so proud of his gift that his teacher gave to him. It didn't look like he used it because his hair was still wild :) Michael perked up and told us that he got a gift also. So Michael pulled out his little black comb with a big smile on his face. He was just as proud as chase for his gift from his teacher too.
He said "wow - the teachers at Mayo are really generous". i was giggling because i knew it was because the teachers wanted their hair to look nice and not so wild.

I found out a few min later that it was PICTURE DAY!!!!!!!!! I immediately looked at their hair again and their clothes and just smiled big and was giggling. It was so sweet, they were so proud. I can't wait to see their individual photos and their class photos. I love my kids so much.

Spring is upon us

2009-03-23T19:36:00.001-04:00

Chase playing water polo, setting up the counter attack.

Cheering on the cougs in the first round of the NCAAs.

Splitting wood on our property.

Cameron and Tracy enjoy cooking together in the kitchen.

Our home after an early March snow storm that dropped about 8 inches in a single day.

Cameron looking beautiful when we were on the pool deck watching the boys play water polo.

Chase and Cameron enamored with Chase's new nintendo DS (a birthday present)

Happy 9th birthday Chase!

Michael playing water polo, passing to a teammate after making a steal.

US Naval Academy Ice Hockey

2009-03-02T03:02:00.000-05:00

Mike took the family to a naval academy hockey game. The kids had a blast. It was fun that we knew someone on the team so we could cheer him on. To our suprise we were invited to skate after the game and get signitures of all the midshipmen hockey players who were waiting on the ice with sharpie markers. It was great. The kids and i got our skates on and skated for a while. Chase didn't want to leave until he had everyone sign his team roster booklet. He was easy to find on the rink because he was wearing SHORTS! It was Chase's 2nd time ice skating, Michael and Cameron were 1st timers. They all did great :)

January gave us our first snow day!!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-02T02:57:00.001-05:00

I woke up at 7 am (on schedule for me) this morning and mike was already gone. I couldn't find the kids anywhere. I went downstairs and saw the back door was wide open and it was snowing. I yelled for the kids (as loud as i could @7 in the morning) because i wasn't going out into the snow after being awake for only 5 min. I needed to prepare myself. I finally saw something moving in the distance and it was all three of them. i was so glad to see them together. When they got closer i saw that Cameron was not wearing any shoes and she didn't have a jacket on (she was tough) - Just her PJ's. Michael put his jacket on her and was freezing but did his big brother duty :) They were exploring in the woods for about 40 min before i woke up and called them in. School was canceled and mike told the kids before he left for work. It is amazing that we get a day off school for a few inches of snow. We won't complain :) We went sledding, snowball fights, tiny snowmen, shoveled driveway, and sliding on the frozen creek in the back yard. It was Cameron's first time doing all of that. She loved it. We all loved it :)

I love our neighbors!

2009-03-02T02:31:00.001-05:00

It is really nice to live in a little cul-de-sac. We know our neighbors well now. i love it. Cameron loves playing with Wyatt and Ayla. They are the little brother and sister that she hopes to have someday. I love that they are very open just as we are to having kids over any time of the day. i will hear the kids yelling for eachother from their windows. Becca is 11 and she comes over after school to hang out and have fun. I love our neighbors

It's Christmas time

2009-03-02T01:55:00.000-05:00

Bethie and her family came to visit for Christmas from north Carolina. I am so glad that we are just 5 hours away from family. i love them and it was so nice to have them in our home.

It was fun trying to keep 6 kids from running down the stairs to see what Santa brought them before all the parents were ready downstairs.

Hanna thinks that Nana is the best seat in the whole house:)

Sophia loved wearing the bows on her head. She is a ham :)

Cameron had a runny nose so she blew it all the time. When Santa gave her cute band aids in her stocking she had to put it on something. She had no cuts or bruises so she put it on her tender upper lip. Super sexy :)

December 18th - Michael's 11th birthday

2009-03-02T01:22:00.000-05:00

In our house, birthdays begin the second you wake up with breakfast in bed.

Then on to presents...

there were lots of "learn by trial and error" with lots of tears and bruises within a 24 hour period. All in good fun and now they know the rules of air soft :) it is nice that we live on a couple of acres of woods so they just go out and play navy seals:)

and on to fun yummy birthday packages.

It is sad that he had to go to school but it was tons of fun when he got home. He loved being treated like royalty on his day!
Nana flew in to celebrate with him and to stay for over a week. We love it when she comes :)

Michael requested a chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream cake. Wow! It was fun to make and really decadent.

Our monthly visit to Washington DC

2009-03-02T00:37:00.000-05:00

We live 15 min from the metro station. The ride in was fun until the kids noticed the food ad and they decided that they were starving.

Our kids loved it and were troops walking the whole national mall. We were ambitious our first time out and then decided that we would visit DC once a month to enjoy everything little by little. Growing up in the area my family would ride our bikes to the national mall as kids. it was so much fun :)

I am glad the boys are interested in history because i wasn't until i was 18 (probably because i wasn't forced to take it i was able to choose for myself)

I can't wait to go in the spring with all the cherry blossoms. it is gorgeous :)

It sure is chilly in november!

2009-03-02T00:22:00.000-05:00

Cameron got ready for school all by herself today (usually i have to suggest more practical pieces for the cold weather). I was very impressed with Cameron's ability to dress for cold weather after just a few poor wardrobe choices that left her shivering at school. I know she is 5 but the habit of going outside year round in undies and bare feet is a lifestyle she was used to. Under her dress she has her PJ's and thermals . We were freezing in november :)

Thanksgiving pics

2008-12-23T10:05:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's a month late for putting these up, but I wanted to post them before we post Christmas pics in a couple days. We had the wonderful pleasure of hosting the Wengler family for Thanksgiving (Mike's sister's family). They drove out from Indianapolis and spent a week with us. We were blessed with great weather and even better food.

The kids found a snake in our backyard

Hiking in our backyard

Chase loves football

Cameron has turned into quite the gamer

Cameron and Emma in our front room

The kids climbing on a log in our backyard

Settling in for Thanksgiving dinner at the kids table

Halloween/Cameron 1st day of school pics

2008-11-04T15:50:00.000-05:00

This year, Michael was a ghoul, Chase was batman, and Cameron was catwoman. Also, here's a couple pictures from Cameron's first day of school.

We moved!

2008-11-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

So, we finally moved. We're happily settling into Maryland, about 25 miles East of Washington DC, but only a few miles from the US Naval Academy where Mike is now working as a professor in the Chemistry department. Here's a few pictures from a our new home and a recent trip into DC.

Our last month in Miami: September 2008

2008-09-12T09:32:00.000-04:00

Life was a bit busy but I still tried to take pictures - i just never posted them.
I will begin with Cameron's birthday September 9th:

She has fun wearing her canes outfit to torment her school teachers here in Maryland. Our sweet sweet daughter ;0)

She is such a great helper. I caught her doing the dishes without being asked.

Our baby girl is growing up way to fast

The day before Mike took off for his training, Carlos and Patricia came over for a last goodbye . They are awesome friends.

September 11th Mike was sworn in. It gave me the goosebumps.

i love you Mike and am so proud of you :)

Now that Mike was in training and i was home with the kids getting the house ready for the move, I always take time out to play. I took the kids to the beach 3-4 times a week, I banished the tv and computer, we took some trips, had some parties, said goodbye to all of our friends, and then I drove the kids, Sparky, and Paco to maryland in the saturn.

Sanibell Island was so much fun. It was my first time traveling on the west coast with the kids. After loosing sparky for a few weeks (she got out of our fence and was found 8 miles away) i couldn't leave sparky with a babysitter for a few days. So she came with us. I am used to going to the beach with the kids and it is fun but bringing a fast dog to the hotel and the beach added a touch of stress for me :) She was able to swim for her first time. It was sloppy and cute.
I wish i took more photos but i am grateful that i could take what i did. I was scared taking the nice new camera out onto the sand with 3 kids and a dog. We hit about 4 different beaches and they were all beautiful. I had a police man follow me for a few miles as i was searching for a new beach. Someone called my car in, saying that i looked suspicous as i drove out of the parking lot. When the police man came to my window he started to laugh. i was nothing that he was expecting. He peeked into the car seeing Michael, Chase, and Cameron all fighting and a dog ready to leap out of the car. i was excused. I personally think that tinted windows and sweet wheels on my car is what made him suspicous :0)

Wow! I knew that there were going to be shells there but not this many. We dug oiur hands deep into the shell ground and I couldn't dig deep enough to find sand or anything else. It was beautiful and painful to walk on. We sucked it up and just made a few grunting sounds as we walked the shells to get to the water.

Sea Turtles running out to the ocean :0)
Every year we go see the cute little sea turtles run out to sea. it is the cutest thing ever. First there is a slide show on the beach ( around 9 pm) of awareness for about 40 min so we dug our feet and butts into the sand and got comfortable. After that we went to the waters edge and watched the little guys come down into the ocean. The speaker said that they follow the light of the moon to make it to the water. Only a couple of them were confused and needed help directing them towards the sea with a flash light held up high so they could see where to go. I wish i knew how to take good photos at night without the flash because I would damage the baby's sight with the flash, I wasn't that desperate to get a picture.

Pack Meeting

2008-09-03T07:14:00.000-04:00

We just had our last pack meeting with troop 240. It was fun and sad because we are moving. Chase is a wolf and he recieved his first gold arrow point and his 2 silver arrow points. He also earned many beltloops to weigh him down about 5 pounds. He worked hard this summer. Michael is a webelo and he recieved his arrow of light tonight. It was great seeing how proud he was of this big accomplishment. There are 20 badges possible in the webelos book and he had to do 19 as well as many many other things. I made him the award with the arrow attached to it. We will miss the cubscouts here but life must go on.

Go Canes!

2008-08-29T09:07:00.000-04:00

To kick off the college football season, we attended the Hurricanes games last night, their first game in Dolphin stadium. This is cool, because last fall, the boys and I went to the last game in the Orange Bowl (which has subsequently been demolished). It was a blast. Even Cameron lasted three quarters. The boys screamed themselves hoarse doing the C-A-N-E-S ...... CANES!!! cheer and loved watching the Canes beat up on poor Charleston Southern. It makes watching a football game fun, especially for a couple of pre-teen young men, when every time your team gets the ball, they score a touchdown. Throw in a punt-return that was run back also, and you've got some pretty excited boys. Cameron was enthralled searching for Sebastian, the Canes mascot, repeatedly asking me "Where's the bird?" It was very cute. As a University of Miami graduate, it is fun to have a nationally recognized and televised team to follow, so when we move in a couple weeks, we'll still be able to cheer on the Canes.

Dr. Zundel's in the house!

2008-08-25T15:06:00.000-04:00

Today mike defended. it was awesome. He did great. i am so grateful to to married to him.
In his seminar i learned about olgioribonuclease degradation. it was very apparent through everyone in the seminar that he did very well. His dissertation is on Ribosomal degradation in Escherichia coli! i am married to the the most handsome brainiack ever!
Congratulations Mike on completing your phd! You did it! we love you!

OH RATS!

2008-08-25T14:22:00.000-04:00

Michael, Chase, and Cameron have a pet snake named Paco. He's a rat snake.
We love him enough to feed him large rats. I didn't expect what happened this week.
I usually buy 4 rats at a time. The boys feed him 2 on monday and then a couple more a few days later since we starved him.
Cameron decided to take charge of the 2 remainding rats without my knowledge. When Mike came home she whispered into his ear " i'm taking a bath with the mice" and ran back into the tub. She has been talking about mice and their fantasy lives for a month now. When i returned to the bath to get her out i discovered 2 large rats with shampoo all over them and the conditioner lined up for the next procedure. I was so stunned that i just stood there staring as she was laughing and they were climbing all over her trying to get away. She was so lucky they didn't bite her. it was disgustingly hilarious.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-07T13:43:00.001-04:00

We had a great 4th of July. We had a lazy morning that included some trampoline time with the hose.

We also went to go see WALL-E, which the kids really liked.

Then we hit the beach. It was an amazing day at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne. We're going to miss our July 4th trips to the beach. After playing for hours in the sand and ocean, we settled down on our blanket and enjoyed a great fireworks show. The fireworks are lit off of a barge that is right off the coast so we're up close and personal. We got sprinkled on a little bit, but it was wonderful.

Cousin visit

2008-06-02T11:44:00.000-04:00

We had a great surprise visit from my cousin and her family yesterday. It was so fun to be with them. Our kids got along very well and we enjoyed an outstanding day together.

Hide the scissors!

2008-05-21T21:42:00.000-04:00

Just when Cameron's hair was finally growing out from her last attempt at a self-haircut, she decided that she needed to cut her own hair again, "Just like my friend Paige daddy. Also, just like Michelle!" After butchering her gorgeous hair, the nice lady at supercuts managed to turn the disaster into a cute, but very short, haircut. Moral of the story, hide the scissors and yes, little kids safety scissors CAN cut hair.

Keys trip

2008-05-19T14:18:00.001-04:00

Tracy and the kids accompanied me to Marathon Key, where I had a church assignment. On our return trip, we had to stop and take advantage of the beautiful surroundings and kids in nice clothes.

busy, busy, busy

2008-05-19T14:08:00.000-04:00

We've had a busy few weeks since my last post. During the past six weeks, we've enjoyed visits from family and friends. It's been a fun, busy time. Tracy's sister came with her kids. Greg and Marsha spent some time with us before and after their cruise. And my great friend Ryan visited with his wife for a couple days while she had a conference to attend. It was a lot of fun. One thing my wife and I really enjoy doing is having people in our home.

April Fools!!!

2008-04-01T20:03:00.000-04:00

This morning, the kids were trying to get into the spirit of April Fools day. Michael came limping by, wailing, "I broke my leg!", only to proudly giggle, "April Fools!" Chase and Cameron were pulling similar pranks, all enjoying a temporary "license to lie" without any repercussions. I was largely ignoring their antics, getting ready to head to work, when I hear Chase approach Tracy, who was happily spinning away on the exercise bike.

"Here mom, I've brought you some water."

"Thanks Chase. That's very sweet of you," she replied, and then hastily enjoyed the refreshing drink from her kind son.

As soon as she drained the last drop, he proudly exclaimed, "April Fools!"

To which Tracy replied, "What do you mean, April Fools?"

"April Fools mom. That was toilet water."

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T10:22:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Our church service was highlighted by an excellent sacrament meeting talk by our Area Authority Seventy (who is our former Stake President and a member of our ward). After church, we enjoyed the company of friends for an easter egg hunt and then had a very nice dinner. It was a great day. We've had a lot of rain the past couple of days, a bit strange for this time of year. We're quickly approaching the time when the weather begins to get unbearable. The winter season here is so nice and the summer can be so miserable. This will be our last summer in Miami though, as we'll be moving to Washington DC this fall.

Trip downtown

2008-03-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

We had a very nice trip to downtown Miami today. We took the metrorail to save the trouble of parking and because the kids absolutely love it. We spent some time at the Miami Historical museum, where they had a really nice display exhibiting the history of south Florida, from the time of the Native Americans, to present day. It was really fascinating. I learned a lot and the kids really seemed to enjoy it, especially the section on pirating that was rampant in the Keys in the 1800s. We made our way over to Bayside, a nice outdoor mall right on Biscayne Bay, where we shared some snacks overlooking the water. We stopped for a family picture as we walked from Bayside to Bayfront park, which I've loaded atop this post. At the park, they've got a very nice playground that the kids played at while Tracy and I enjoyed sitting down together talking and enjoying some kid free moments. The kids all had a great time. Michael's favorite part of the day was playing at the playground. Chase loved the museum best. And Cameron enjoyed eating fresh fish and chips overlooking the bay. Tracy and I enjoyed one of our best families outings yet. It's amazing how much more I enjoy taking the kids out in public now that they're a little older and more civilized.

Climbing with dad

2008-03-07T11:52:00.000-05:00

I received an invitation from a friend to join him and his daughters at our local climbing gym. I decided to bring my sons and see how they would do. It ended up being an exhausting, but wonderful day. It was one of my favorite times I've ever had as a dad. The highlights of the day were Michael finally reaching the top of a route he'd attempted numerous times, but didn't quite make it. He was so excited and proud of himself. Chase, after completing his own climb, leaned in to me and said, "Dad, this is the best day ever." I didn't do much climbing myself, as I was busy belaying my sons most of the time. But, I did get to do a little bit and thoroughly enjoyed it, as I used to climb a lot my last few years of high school. I hope to return again soon. Enjoy the pics.

Thanksgiving in South Carolina

2007-11-26T11:31:00.000-05:00

We drove up to visit Mike's brother Chris for Thanksgiving. It was a very nice visit. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with some of Chris' Navy friends. We enjoyed playing football, video games, and guitars. It was so much fun.

great picture of tracy

2007-11-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

I had to post this picture of my gorgeous wife.

Halloween

2007-11-01T20:39:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween. We had a nice evening as a family. We started off by carving a pumpkin together.
After our pumpkin carving, we went to trick-or-treat in the Browns neighborhood with the Browns, the Larreas, and Cameron's school friend Wil and his family. It was a blast. After we got home, the kids enjoyed their spoils, while dad enjoyed collecting the obligatory dad tax.

Skip visited us in Miami

2007-09-29T08:52:00.001-04:00

my dad came down to miami last week and we had a blast. It is so nice to see him. Family is so imporntant.
I let the kids skip school so we could spend the day at the beach with him.
we miss him already.

Visit to the Keys

2007-09-21T21:08:00.000-04:00

We took the family for a camping trip down to the Florida Keys, at Bahia Honda State Park.

It was a lot of fun! We spent time swimming, snorkeling, riding our bikes, and even fishing.

Chase was the best caster of the day, but in the end it was Michael and Cameron who were the lucky ones.

A trip to the Keys makes us love living in Florida.

Cameron's birthday

2007-09-07T16:43:00.000-04:00

Cameron turns 4 this Sunday and had her birthday celebration at school today. She's so excited for her birthday. Packages have been arriving in the mail this week. She can barely contain herself. One of the traditions we've started is daddy taking Cameron out to get a new outfit for her birthday. She's can't wait to go. We'll post pictures again after the shopping trip and she opens her other gifts.

Cameron has started school

2007-09-04T10:15:00.000-04:00

Cameron's first day of school was great - she wanted to get so cute and wear her fancy earrings. She's sure a sweet addition to our family. With all three kids in school now, it free's Tracy up to have some much deserved time for herself - something she has sacrificed for nearly 10 years while raising our great kids. We've set up this blog to keep in touch with friends and family better.