The Prince Family

Fun with Uncle Mike and Connie

2011-09-19T23:16:00.000-05:00

Connie and Mike drove over from Memphis to spend the weekend with us over Labor Day. We went to the Bentonville Farmer's Market and walked around, then went to Beaver Lake to swim and fish, walked around the outdoor shopping mall in Rogers (next to Bentonville) and ate LOTS of yogurt at YUM YUM's! We had lots of fun and were really glad to have family come visit us in Northwest Arkansas! :)

Jackson and the Broncos

2011-09-19T23:05:00.000-05:00

This is Jackson's first year of tackle football. Needless to say - the kid is in heaven. They have him at defensive back/cornerback. He is playing with 6th and 7th graders...some of those 7th graders are big boys! Kind of scary to see him going after these kids. He loves it though!

Paris and Her Soccer Team

2011-09-19T23:00:00.000-05:00

Thought I would post a few pictures of Paris playing soccer. She has been so excited to be able to participate in a "team" sport. Her coach is nice and does a great job with the girls. She is having fun and learning lots!

The Move to Arkansas

2011-09-13T22:58:00.000-05:00

Just a few images of the move and the flight to Northwest Arkansas. Even a few pics of our movers. That was a tough weekend. We loved our time in Ohio and will really miss the close friendships we made along the way.

ARKANSAS or BUST!

2011-06-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

We are starting our new adventure. I packed my car and left Lewis Center yesterday around noon, getting me in Bentonville, Arkansas at midnight last night. Lots of emotions as I drove - thinking about friends, relationships formed what we are leaving behind, what we are gaining...the list goes on and on. We will miss so many things about "the Ohio." It has been a great place for us and we hope that are new new in Arkansas will be the same! I have attached a few pics from my trip yesterday!

Tyler Turns 14!

2011-06-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe how quickly time flies. Seems like yesterday she was this little thing with a big set of lungs, squaking when anyone held her (except for Heidi of course). My solution to the crying: Bob Marley. Seemed to work all the time. Now she is 14, finishing 8th grade, going into 9th, singing solos, doing great in school, and such a tremendous example to her family and friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!

Tyler's Choir Concert 2011

2011-06-05T20:42:00.000-05:00

Thought I would quickly post this up! Tyler had a couple of solos for her concert last week. Thought you might enjoy taking a look at the YouTube link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZENnV0sx84

Tyler's Young Women's Pinewood Derby - March 2011

2011-04-25T23:24:00.000-05:00

The Young Women decided to have a pinewood derby race among themselves back in March for their activity. Some cars came as hotdogs, others with a bath tub and some were simply a block of wood painted. Tyler wanted to design something that looked a bit like a Volkswagen Beetle or Dune Buggy. She drew it - we cut it and she picked her colors and design...of course orange for her - we even put a surf board on the top of it. She and I spent time really working on the axles and wheels of her car to make sure it would get down the track. I think we did a pretty good job with it - she went 12 - 0, never losing a heat and placed 1st! :) She was proud of her accomplishment - tough to go undefeated in a pinewood derby race.

Tyler's Basketball Season 2011

2011-04-17T22:59:00.000-05:00

Tyler went out of her comfort zone this year and decided to play basketball in a local recreation league with one of her friends. It was a great experience for her and she really learned a lot about basketball and playing in a team sport. Her coaches were great and always made the girls feel good about themselves. Her team was good - in fact they ended up going undefeated and winning the league championship which was played in a local college's arena. She is #10 - the one with the funky socks! :)

Ice Storm 2011

2011-02-01T22:31:00.000-06:00

February 1st at 11:30pm and we have about an 1" of ice on everything. We missed all the snow and got the ice instead. There will be freezing rain all night. We are hoping that the trees and powerlines stay up. I just took this picture of our tree in the front of our house. The back doesn't look much better right now! We will see what is standing in the morning!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-26T21:26:00.000-06:00

Another fun Christmas here in Ohio. We made Gingerbread Houses, Lucky the Elf came to visit, we had Oma here, had a family Christmas Concert and had our first "White Christmas." There wasn't much snow, but enough to count it. The combination of some snow on the ground and about 1/2 to 1" Christmas Eve was perfect. Oma was with us again this year. It was a short but fun visit with her.

8th Grade Marching Band Night

2010-11-14T22:41:00.000-06:00

At Tyler's Middle School, they get the opportunity to march with the high school band once a season. The scary looking dude is the Orange High School Mascot. Orange High School is known as the "Pioneers...just not sure the actual name of the guy...

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

2010-11-10T22:21:00.000-06:00

We spent some time at Freeman's Farm walking through the Pumpkin Patch. We ran into our friends, Adam and Juliet, along with their kids so Paris was able to hang out with her best buddy Britta. Paris also had her friend Noah with us - yes, he is an older man - but he loves hanging out with us and he is so nice to Paris!

Paris Turns 5!

2010-11-09T22:23:00.000-06:00

Paris turned 5 on October 24th. She is growing up so fast! She is so much fun and such a great blessing in our lives...and, she is NEVER shy in front of a camera! : )

Another Birthday

2010-11-07T22:27:00.000-06:00

Just an entry and a picture for posterity! : ) I couldn't ask for a better wife and kids! Thanks for the great memory.

Rick and Adolfo's Visit to Ohio

2010-11-07T22:03:00.000-06:00

Rick and Adolfo a road trip westward to "The Ohio" to visit us for a few days back in October. We had great weather and lots of fun hanging out, playing games, watching movies, watching Jackson's football game, eating popcorn, etc., etc. Here are a few fun photos from their visit with us!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

It has been ages, but just a quick posting for Halloween 2010.

Tyler's Choir Concert - 70's Music 2010

2010-06-02T23:53:00.000-05:00

Tyler had her choir concert tonight and wanted to share a short video of her solo. We think she sounded great!! For some reason I can't embed the video so I have loaded up on YouTube for you to take a look at!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIiNAcWAHfI

Boston Tip 2010

2010-05-17T21:05:00.000-05:00

Tyler, Jackson and I just got back from our annual Boston trip and the Brain Tumor Ride for Research. This was Jackson's first year riding with us. He really loved the trip, the ride and seeing all the great sites in Boston. We were also able to see Rick while we were there. He came in from New York to spend the weekend with us and help with the Ride. Tyler and Jackson did a great job raising money and also showed some serious bike skills. Jackson rode a tandem with me - it was fun being able to hang out and have a buddy to talk to along the way.

Tyler, Jackson and me before the ride.

Rick, Tyler and Adrie before the ride.

Our stop at Walden Pond.

Our annual stop at "Author's Row" Cemetery.

At the site of Ralph Waldo Emerson's grave.

Tyler's Poem For School

2010-03-07T20:33:00.000-06:00

Tyler completed another book for school and was required to develop a "project" to illustrate what the book was about. The book is called "The Devil's Arithmetic." Thought I would share with you and I hope you enjoy her creativity as much as we do!

I will never forget

I will never forget

The nightmare.

The worst kind of nightmare.

The kind that is real.

There are times

When people want to erase this terror from history.

But they can’t.

Its effect has left an indelible scar on the earth and its people.

I can’t forget

Since I was one,

Who was stripped of my possessions

And shoved inside a boxcar at gun point.

I wish to forget

How we were forced to stand for days,

In an unbearable stench

As they hauled us cross country like cattle.

I want to forget

The concentration camp.

The death camp.

Kept like an animal until the end.

It is impossible to forget

The blue numbers and letters,

Branded on my arm and seared in my mind.

Forever permanent.

I can’t seem to forget

The sunken cheeks,

The walking skeletons.

Pale faces racked with grief.

I won’t forget the people.

The families separated,

And the loved ones lost,

Because they were worked to death and murdered.

Sometimes I want to forget

The fear, the torture, the death,

But nightmares of the past are important to remember

To ensure they never happen again.

By: Tyler Prince

Paris in Heidi's/Kim's/Grammie's Coat

2010-02-21T19:17:00.000-06:00

The coat Paris is wearing in the picture dates back to approximately 1966. It was originally made by Paris's "Grammie" for Heidi's oldest sister, Kim when she was 4 years old. It was passed down Heidi when she was about 4.

What is even more interesting is the material came from a coat that Grammie used to wear when she was first married. She cut her coat up and made a coat for Kim for Easter Sunday.

When something is that old, is it considered an antique or do we simply label it an "heirloom?"

Some Ohio Snow!

2010-02-18T22:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it's not the Baltimore/Washington, NYC, Philly section of the country, but we have had our fair share of snow and cold weather here too in central Ohio! The last 3 storms to hit us has produced somewhere in the neighborhood of 31-35 inches of snow. I heard on the news a couple of nights ago this is the 2nd "snowiest" February in recorded history in Ohio. We still have 10 days to go with another storm possibly hitting us Monday or Tuesday.

The kids have had fun in it - I think Jackson could stay out all day if we left him. The most impressive part of all this snow has been the enormous icicles that have formed off houses, buildings, etc. Jackson and I took the missionaries home the other night and stopped on the way home because he was itching to try and find a "big" one. Well, we found one and took it home with us. We were in the Expedition and had to put it long ways into the back to get it home.

The snow blower has come in handy so far this season. I think I would be in a world of hurt if I didn't have it. I am lucky that Jackson is always willing to help out and shovel as well. He is earning his keep and even goes to the neighbor's house and shovels her driveway to be helpful.

We went sledding down a relatively small hill a couple of Saturdays ago. Kids had fun running up and down the hill. Paris was trying to get the hang of it on her small little sled she was trying to ride. Tyler was getting into the fun and flying down the hill pretty good. I think Jackson got a little bored with riding on his stomach so he decided to ride down standing on one of the sleds.

Paris and Her "B's"

2010-02-01T20:17:00.000-06:00

We took these on New Year's Eve, trying to convince Paris to say goodbye to her beloved "B's." Heidi even decorated one that we would keep as a Christmas ornament to be used every year. As you can see, she had A LOT of them! She even decorated a mini Christmas tree with them. The "B" fairy came and took most of them...but unfortunately was not able to get ALL of them. The decorated one found its way back into her mouth and over the course of a few days, 2 more mysterisouly appeared. Yes, Paris is a functioning "B-aholic." We thought we had her on the wagon, but she seemed to find a quick way off of it.

December 27th Snow

2010-01-12T23:17:00.000-06:00

We almost had the "White Christmas" we were hoping for! Oma, who spent Christmas with us, was thrilled to see it even though it didn't quite get here on Christmas day! This was taken at night. It is amazing how light things look with the reflection off the white.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-11T22:02:00.000-06:00

Just a few memories from Christmas this year! The kids had lots of fun. We had lots of fun. And it was great having our Oma with us this year from Florida! Jackson was happy that "Lucky", his elf, came to visit us again this year (you can see Lucky in the picture with the kids on the stairs). Yeah, he is 1st cousins with the elf from the original Rudolph movie....

Christmas Morning still untouched by kiddies!

Christmas Morning - patiently waiting!

One more photo op!

Paris and her new Build-a-Bear

Jackson with his new BYU hat and Ohio State Mascot - Brutus. He was also a Build-a-Bear dude.

Tyler and her new stylish backpack.

Oma with her huge jar of Nutella!

Christmas Party 2009

2010-01-03T20:48:00.000-06:00

Our Church Christmas party this year. Paris was Santa's helper passing out candy canes to all the kids. The extended red smile on her face is from her eating them as well...she looks like the Joker from Batman...

2009-10-07T22:45:00.000-05:00

I am really REALLY far behind on this. Keeping this updated is not one of my strengths. I wanted to upload a few pictures from our trip to visit Grandpa Ed this summer in Wilmington, NC. It was a relatively short trip, but they had lots of fun and even caught a few fish off the pier.

A little pier fishing.

Paris is wearing Tyler's dress at the same age. In fact, we have pictures of Tyler around the same pier when she was 3. I can't believe how big she is getting!

Flexing.
And, kicking back.

Grandpa Ed.

The annual beach pose...Jackson and Tyler chillin'....the "insta-pose" from Paris.

Another automatic smile.

Just leave me alone and let me play.

The entire gang.

Jackson's Recital

2009-06-23T15:25:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make sure I shared with you Jackson's recent piano recital. Tyler and I were in Boston at the time so unfortunately, I missed seeing it and Tyler missed playing in it as well. He did a terrific job and has come a long way! The teacher always comments at how well he does and how hard he concentrates during practices. I hope you enjoy!

Tyler's Choir Concert

2009-06-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share a short video clip of Tyler singing at her 80's 6th grade choir concert on May 26th. She wanted to sing a solo, but struggled about which song to sing. She finally landed on a song - probably the best song ever produced (in my opinion)! She had her hair crimped with her bangle bracelets - I hope you enjoy! (note: the shakey video is the nervousness in Heidi's hands)

Ohio Snow

2009-02-22T20:41:00.000-06:00

Just a few pictures from a recent snow storm we had here.

Teega: December 1994 - October 23, 2008

2008-11-07T14:57:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make this entry short. After several months of debating what was best for my old dog, we finally felt that she was simply not happy anymore with her quality of life. Hard to describe unless you have been put in this situation, but I guess it is one of those things that you "just realize." She was a happy dog that simply loved people, especially kids. She especially loved the outdoors! Heidi and I were talking about how Teega would always lay in the flower bed in front of our house in Georgia, like she was protecting the home front. When she was younger, she was always willing to go on a jog with me. Her favorite past time was water. We bought her a baby pool one time and she was sit in it all the time during the summer! Crazy...she loved the snow too and would gallop through it during the winter. The kids loved her and she loved the kids. Paris would always make sure that she had food, water and a bone.

Taking her to the animal hospital was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do. The following poem was given to me by my grandmother that really made me realize that I needed to think of her more than simply be selfish and keep her going because I didn't have the strength to do what was the right thing for her. We will miss her love and zest for life.

A Dog's Plea

Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness then the loving heart of mine.

Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I might lick your hand between blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me learn.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world's sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when the sound of your footsteps falls upon my waiting ear.

Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a domesticated animal, no longer accustomed to the bitter elements. I ask no great glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.

Feed me clean food that I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bidding, to walk by your side and stand ready, willing and able to protect your life, should your life be in danger.

And, my friend, when I am very old and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am not having any fun.

Please see to it that my life is taken gently. I shall leave this earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.

-Author Unknown

TYLER TURNS 11!!

2008-08-11T14:54:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe how time flies. It seems like yesterday Heidi and I were carefully placing our bundle of joy in the back seat preparing to take her home. We were both truly amazed at her lung capacity at such an early age. The sound was nearly deafing for the 45 minute ride back home. We quickly found out that Tyler hated the car seat and for months, everytime she sat in it, she let us know how much. People would think we exaggerated until they had the opportunity to ride shotgun in the car.

Luckily, things have changed! The crying has turned into beautiful melodies as she sings with her favorite songs from the radio. She has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives. She is thoughtful, caring, appreciative, sensitive and full of life and energy. Thank you Tyler for being such a great girl! We appreciate all the love you have brought to our home.

Tyler was also lucky to have her grandmother and greatgrandmother visiting for her birthday this year. How many kids get to have that opportunity!

Kim's Ohio Visit in May

2008-07-06T22:27:00.000-05:00

Just a few pictures of Kim's visit to the Ohio in May while Tyler and I were in Boston for the annual Ride for Research. Kim had the opportunity to escape Florida for a few days and decided to come and visit with Heidi.

Last Day of School!

2008-07-06T21:04:00.000-05:00

Tyler and Jackson's last day of school was June 3rd. Tyler is moving on to 6th grade this fall at Orange Middle School. Jackson will be in third grade this year. They loved their teachers and classmates.

Tyler in her locker.

Tyler and her teachers.

Tyler's class.

Jackson and Mrs. Lilley.

Jackson's class playing a game - blind fold yourself and find your shoes in the pile of all the kid's shoes.

They also have a fantastic bus driver - "Mr. D." He is a gentle giant and really loves the kids.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

2008-06-29T22:53:00.000-05:00

Jackson is playing ball this year for the "Texas Rangers." It has been kind of a downer season...only winning one game this year. Yeah, that kind of stinks, but sometimes it is good to feel the aganoy of defeat on occasion in order to appreciate what it is like to play on a winning team.

Jackson playing catcher.

Jackson preparing to bat.

Paris trying to flirt with Merek...doing her best to keep his attention.

Memorial Day Weekend Car Show

2008-05-30T22:27:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we found a small car show that was being held locally. The kids seemed to have fun...I was in hog heaven! Paris won the heart of an older woman who owned a cherry red 57 T-Bird Coupe which she let her sit in.

Paris and her 57' T-Bird.

My ultimate dream car. 67 Shelby Cobra.

Tyler, Jackson and Paris in front of a T-Bird.

Cobra Mania...doing the "gansta" hands.

Tyler's personal favorite. I think it was the orange color that won her over.

Jackson's Passion - Football

2008-05-25T17:23:00.000-05:00

Thought I would post up a few pictures for you from a recent flag football game with Jackson. He has been in "Hog Heaven" the past few weeks since being able to sign up and play on an organized football team. Here in this part of Ohio, it has been impossible to find a football league that doesn't play on Sunday here. It appears Ohio State football is more important than religion...so instead of missing a Saturday game of Buckeye football, we just play organized sports on Sundays around here!

Here are a series of pictures. Hope you enjoy!

Jackson's Team - The Bobcats

The Set.

Looking....

Seeing the Play Developing and Looking for the Open Receiver...

The Rush and the Scramble...

Quick Feet, Stepping Up to Miss the Rush, Locking in to Throw...

The Touchdown Run!

2-pt Conversion Attempt...

Rolling Left with His Receiver...

Plant...Throw...Over the Rusher...

The Conversion and Victory Run!

2008 Ride for Research and Boston Weekend

2008-05-23T11:39:00.000-05:00

Tyler and I spent a long weekend last week in Boston for the annual Brain Tumor Society's Ride for Research. As most of you know, we lost Robes (our brother-in-law and uncle) to a brain tumor nearly 10 years ago. For the past three years, Tyler and I have been traveling to Boston (by the way - Tyler saves her money each year for her plane ticket there) to participate in memory of Robes and to also ride for those who are fighting this terrible disease.

Part of the weekend's events is the opportunity to catch some of the sites and spend lots of time with cousins and extended family members. As you will see in MANY of the pictures, Tyler, her cousin Adrie, and Adrie's cousin Emma are all dressed in pioneer outfits. This has become a tradition as well. We have some great blackmail pictures for all those dates to come when they get older! I can hardly wait to see what happens when they are 21 and if they are still willing to dress in bonnets and walk down the streets dressed as pioneers!

We had Rick Church with us this year riding as well as Chuck and Emma again (Robes' brother). Jamel was there for his 8th year, Ellen Patton (Robes' sister and mastermind behind "Patton's Army), Tad (with his daughter Zoe) and Brian, the workhorses of the crowd (and by the way, this was Brian's 11th year riding) all joined in as well.

This is really a big event with hundred's of riders each year. This year we rode 25 miles again. The girls did a fantastic job! (When's the last time you sat on a bike for 25 miles...up and down hills?)

The girls's day out in Lexington, MA....visiting the historical sites...getting looks from drivers passing by and being asked for group photographs!

Minute Men Memorial

John Hancock House - Samuel Adams and John Hancock were here the night Paul Revere rode through on April 19, 1775, warning them about the approaching British soldiers.

Gathering place of the Minute Men - night of April 19, 1775.

National Historical Museum - Girls with George Washington.

Miscellaneous Stuff!

Streets of Lexington, MA.

Fenway at night.

Girls at the Robert Frost Farm.

...and more Robert Frost Farm.

Famous rock fence Robert Frost wrote about in one of his poems.

Avery's Visit to Ohio!

2008-05-12T10:46:00.000-05:00

As promised, I am trying to play catch up with my postings! This is from the fun visit we had with Avery!

Avery flew to Ohio right after Christmas to visit us for a few days. We kept it a secret from Tyler and Jackson...drove to the airport and Heidi went in to pick her up. The kids were screaming when they saw her! As you might know, winters in Ohio are just not the same as say...a winter in Georgia. However, I think they were able to have lots of fun. Dance Dance Revolution was a big hit with some serious dance moves being cut in the basement by all three of them.

Tyler and Avery worked on ... well ... not sure exactly what you call it...something girlie...they cut out some type of fashion clothes (see the picture below!)

Daily rootbeer floats were instituted while Avery visited. We wanted to make sure everyone kept their sugar content maxed out.

And....we even had snow for their playing pleasure!

We were treated to a very robust magic show one evening. Everyone had a chance to show off their magical abilities. The curtain (aka: sheet) was hung between the doors so the magicians could prepare for their next illusion privately.

Another crowd favorite was our frequent visit to Krispy Kreme.

We spent ALOT of time at the ice skating rink. It was fun to watch the kids do their thing on the ice. We had a speed skater and 2 ice skaters doing their twirls....I bet you can't guess which ones did what....

We loved having Avery come and visit and spending so much time with us! We hope she had as much fun as we did!

Christmas 2007

2008-05-05T15:53:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know it's May and I am posting pictures from Christmas. Better late than never! Wanted to try and play some catch up so hopefully you will enjoy. We spent Christmas in Ohio again. We really enjoyed the time we had together. My dad and Darlene were able to come and visit for a couple of days before Christmas. It was great having them here again. The kids always LOVE playing with Grandpa Ed!

Poor kids and my camera. I hope they don't look back and think...jeez....we had to ALWAYS take so many pictures! I hope they look at it as keeping a memory! I mean come on...it is Christmas...they have only been up since 6am waiting!

Yes, more pictures in front of the Christmas tree!

Christmas Eve dinner.

Grandpa Ed.

Halloween 2007

2008-01-06T23:17:00.000-06:00

We are really behind in our postings. I am going to do what I can to play catchup over the next few weeks. Here are a few pictures from Halloween. Jackson was an army guy. His helmet and jacket were mine growing up. Tyler was Hermine from Harry Potter. Paris was her favorite "Helmo."

We ran into the Helmers (close friends in the neigborhood and at Church) and walked with them some.

Also, Paris decided to flirt with little Jackson Bastian for a few minutes at his house.

A successful night with TONS of candy!

Stephen's 80's Birthday Party

2007-10-25T23:49:00.000-05:00

Heidi truly out-did herself this time. To celebrate my 40th birthday last weekend, she threw an awesome 80's birthday party. 10 couples were invited from Church and dressed up in their best 80's gear including mullets, bangle bracelets, super tight Izods with collars flipped, scrunchies, catheads, laced gloves, teased hair, and more! Fake mullets simply don't look as good as the real ones. Take these two below for example! My buddy Pat wears that mullet oh too well!

We asked to bring at least one picture to the party. The kitchen table was covered with annuals, prom pictures, senior pictures (you will see in the pictures below). Heidi did a fantastic job decorating - finding old albums, disco balls, lava lamps and making a ton of food.

My close friend Adam was in charge of music and games which turned out to be a great hit! Take a look below and you can see me doing best to "moon walk."

And, to top off the night, we had Karaoke with songs from the 80's. You really find out how bad of a singer you are with karaoke, but hey, you have to at least try it, especially among friends.

Heidi and Juliet singing something from Madonna.

Erin and Greg singing to eachother. Greg is doing his ritual mating dance.

Adam and me singing "Ebony and Ivory." Not sure which one was which.

People absolutely loved it! They were all talking about it at Church on Sunday - so many people came up to us and said, "we heard about that 80's party you had on Friday night!" Heidi has gotten several calls from people saying, "I just can't stop thinking about the 80's party...we had so much fun!" The party brought back so many great memories for everyone! To top it off, Adam surprised us all by creating a DVD with a bunch of pictures of me over the past 40 years that Heidi smuggled to him. It was a great gift! In addition, my mom and Heidi collected a bunch of t-shirts and made him a blanket with the t-shirts that included pieces spanning most of his life. It is truly a work of art.

Group shots of the guys and girls!

Mark Church's Visit To "The Ohio"

2007-10-16T15:57:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am WAY behind on keeping this blog updated. The following photos are from a visit by Mark, Alex and Christopher on their way back to Connecticut from a family renunion back in July. They were able to stay with us a couple of days. It has a been a LONG time since we have seen them, so it was great to reconnect.

Here are some random shots of our visit to the pool. Please notice all the mermaids I was able to catch!

Some other random shots of from their visit.

NYC Trip - August 15

2007-08-20T14:26:00.000-05:00

I had a business trip to NYC last week and decided to grab my camera on the way out the door to take a few pictures while there. I also had the opportunity to visit with Rick and his friend Adolfo. They met me at my hotel and we walked to dinner. Along the way, he showed us the East River walk where you could see across the river into Manhattan. Beautiful!

It was great seeing Rick again. It has been a year since he came out to "The Ohio" to visit with us. We were joking around at dinner and I told him that he was a true "New Yorker." He said the rule of thumb is 10 years in New York to be considered a true New Yorker. He has been there 7 - I think that is close enough!

After dinner, Rick and Adolfo picked up their subway trains and I headed out to take a few night shots along the river and also of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The next morning, I woke up early and decided to walk to my meeting in Manhattan. I wanted the chance to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and see NYC in the early morning. It was only 2.5 miles to my meeting, but my dogs were barking from all the walking the night before. It was worth it though - it's not everyday you have the chance to walk over to Manhattan from Brooklyn...so I did. During lunch, I had some downtime so I headed back out and explored a little more and tried to find some fun shots to take.

Paris and the Chocolate Chip Cabinet

2007-07-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

Heidi has a lower level cabinet where she keeps all of her baking essentials: flour, sugar, oil and....Costco-sized chocolate chips. She accidentally left the door open one day and Paris discovered the semi-sweet treats in the yellow bag.

To keep her at bay, Heidi usually puts a few chips in a small snack bag and let's Paris sit on the floor to eat them. Heidi says she can remember being very small and having Ann (her mom) put Nestle morsels in pots and pans to keep the kids entertained while cooking, etc.

Being the smart 21 month old that she is, Paris waits for the cabinet door to open (since they have child locks on them) and conveniently sits inside the cabinet to have her treat.

Sometimes she has her snack bag...sometimes she figures out a way to open the much larger Nestle bag and sneaks them. The funniest part is that she will look straight at you while feeling and digging for a chip - acting like she is doing nothing wrong. Hopefully the series of pictures give you a fun look at her enjoying the Nestle experience.

Visiting Grandpa Ed In North Carolina

2007-07-19T21:17:00.000-05:00

This is our first official entry into our blog. By mistake, I created "The Prince Family" blog when trying to create my login for the Lee and Ann Church Family blog. I am sure this will be a great way to share pictures and other fun things about the family.

We spent a couple of days in Wilmington at the end of June with Grandpa Ed. As usual, we spent the majority of our time on the beach swimming, fishing, playing football eating ice cream from the 4x4 Ice Cream Man and digging in the sand.

Paris learned very quickly that a handful of sand doesn't taste all that great. It only takes once to know that it belongs between the toes and not between your teeth!

Jackson had fun showing off his catching, throwing and running abilities on the beach. He also took good care of his sister when swimming.

Tyler had fun playing in the surf and walking on the sand bars looks for shells with me. She was very helpful with Paris, making sure she was safe. And, of course, Heidi took care of us all, making sure we all had enough sun screen.

It was great seeing Grandpa Ed again and he enjoyed seeing the kids. As always, he was a great host, cooking enough to feed an army.

Jackson's pride and joy - his #7 jersey...former Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. or, as Jackson says, Teddy Ginn.