Happy 5th Birthday, Aubrey!

Ok, so this is a little late . . . I know.  I went back to work the day after Aubrey's birthday party and I'm still trying to catch up.  Of course, it doesn't help that the fair started that Friday and she seems to think that we need to live there!

Anyway, I can't believe that Aubrey turned 5 this year!  I can still clearly remember the days right before she was born when I was cleaning out my classroom at MV and figuring out how I was going to take on a new job and a brand new baby.  I guess both are going well. :)

On Aubrey's actual birthday, we went to Jumpy's and Aubrey took her friend Myra along.  Although in this picture, it is questionable whether Myra was having fun, they both had a great time.

Aubrey had a water-themed birthday party this year - complete with water balloons and the slip-n-slide.  I still have a nice reminder of the slip-n-slide in the middle of my backyard.

 Aubrey's birthday cakes have all been show-stoppers and this year was no different.  Her cake was an "inflatable pool" and we had sea friends to go along with it.  Thanks, Aunt Alma!

So, if you remember when Aubrey was born, you remember that less than 2 short weeks, she visited the fair for the first time and she's been loving it ever since.  More to come about the fair in a later post - I have to load the pictures to my computer first!

-A

Vacation!

This past week, we had a great time on a beach vacation to North Carolina.  One of my mom's brothers lives about an hour from some very nice North Carolina beaches, so we drove down last Saturday/Sunday and visited my uncle, as well as a cousin and his wife and son, and then on Monday we headed out to the beach.

We stayed in Wilmington, North Carolina and visited their Wal-Mart a few times :)

We first went to Wrightsville Beach, the waves were very rough on the day we went there, but there were lots and lots of shells.  Aubrey came home with several of them!

The second trip to the beach, we decided to try Carolina Beach, which was just 15 minutes down the road.  The waves were calmer on the second day and the sand had less shells in it.  Aubrey played in the sand quite a bit and there were also rides on the board walk.  I thought they would probably be open all day, but after I told Aubrey we could ride, we found out they weren't open until 5.  That meant that we spent the entire day on the beach, I was sun burnt by the time we went in that day!

We skipped the beach the next day, but went back to Carolina Beach again on our last day.

We hope you are enjoying your summer!

-A

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Today would have been Ryan's 33rd birthday.  We went out to dinner tonight and Aubrey prayed that Daddy was having a good birthday and that we would have a good supper.  I love the innocence of children!

After supper we had to drive to the "car deals" in town so she could look for a new truck.  When she gets older, she going to have 3 cars - a black truck, a van, and a smaller car, she needs all those because she's "probably going to have a big family."  Sorry Ryan, she picked out a Ford - I told her that you wouldn't be happy.  I guess there are worse things!

-A

Cowgirl

I have a cowgirl on my hands.  We returned on Sunday from Aubrey's first trail riding adventure.  We went to Brown County State Park with the Wulber family and we had a blast!

We arrived at the campground on Thursday afternoon and Aubrey could not wait to get on top of a mule.  She wanted to know when we were going to ride, she continued to ask this until we took off on our first trail ride.  After being on the mule for less then five minutes, she decided the ride was too bumpy and wondered when we would return to camp!

Aubrey rode behind Auntie Rachel on her own little buddy seat.  She rode Cody, which was Ryan's mule.  Here she is trying out her seat.

Becky had knee surgery on Monday before we left, so she did not ride, so I got to ride Gretchen, who is Becky's mule.  Good thing that Aubrey did not ride with me, I took a dive off of Gretchen on the second day that we rode because she got over too far in the mud and slide into a big mud puddle.  I had to bail!

By the end of the trip, Aubrey was "helping" carry water and give the mules a bath.  I think that she mostly wanted to get wet, but oh well!  She is below helping Josie (Uncle Russell's girlfriend) carry water and then helping Grandpa and Uncle Russell give one of the mules a bath.  I think Molly, but maybe Ellie Mae.

On Saturday, Mommy needed a break, so Aubrey and I went into Nashville and shopped a little with Becky.  It was a warm day, but we enjoyed a puppet show and lunch in a coffee shop, special things Becky picked out for us to do on her previous trip into town.  

I had to come home and present a workshop yesterday so I was a little tired, but I think we're going riding again another time - Aubrey needs some new boots, a cowgirl hat, and a riding helmet!

-A

Play Ball!

If you know me, you know that I am not very athletic.  I enjoy playing volleyball, but am by no means great at it.  Aubrey enjoys playing sports, so she's starting her first organized team sport this year with tee ball.  Ryan enjoyed playing softball, so maybe she has a little talent, I'm not sure . . .

She has finally gotten to play a whole game, and although she wanted me to keep coming out in the field with her (I did not), I think she enjoyed it.  She is a pretty good hitter and so far she hasn't had to use the tee to get a hit.

Here are a few pictures of her and her friends Brooklynn and Elliott.

Around the Wulber House . . .

We are so busy, that we're hardly ever here!  I've been kind of waiting to blog until after Aubrey had her first t-ball game because I wanted to post pictures, but it got rained out this weekend, so it will be another week before they get to play.

My dad went to the orthopedic doctor last Tuesday.  His fractures look about the same and he has to wear his back brace for another month before they begin to "wean" him off it.

His eye is still bothering him, he isn't seeing normal out of it.  He goes to see the eye doctor next Tuesday.  We are praying that the doctor will check things out and give ideas about how it is healing.  I'm sure he'd like to be able to see without covering his eye and/or squinting.

Thanks for prayers!

Last Monday was Becky (Wulber's) last concert.  She is retiring at the end of this year, I think I heard she has 9 days of school left!  It was great to watch her conduct and she shared the family with the audience.  Aubrey is looking forward to possibly taking some violin lessons and piano lessons in the near future.  She's also looking forward to going mule riding and camping with the Wulbers, the second weekend in June.

-A

Updates on My Dad

My dad had surgery a week ago Friday on his left eye.  He is definitely opening it up more than he was able to before, but his vision is still blurry and sometimes doubled.  The doctors said it could be up to 3 months before it was completely cleared up.  I am sure it is frustrating to not be able to focus on things and use both of your eyes.

He is in less pain around his back and ribs, he was cleared by the trauma doctors this past Tuesday - for his broken ribs and bruised lung.  He will see the orthopedic doctor for his back and the ophthalmologist for his eye this coming Tuesday.

As the weather begins to get nicer, I'm sure he'll be itching to get outside.  I remember the year Ryan got his arm caught in the auger and wasn't supposed to be using it - he couldn't wait to get outside in the tractor that spring!

Thank you all for your prayers so far!

-A