The New Aunt

On Saturday, Adam and Erin exchanged vows and the kids gained a new aunt. Erin is wonderful with the kids and they absolutely love her. She looked absolutely beautiful. The kids were quite adorable in the formal duds too. It was a long day (I think I may have been more exhausted than the kids), but after some bribing (throwing all parental philosophies aside), Tate and Lily managed to stay on the stage for MOST of the ceremony. I was just glad they didn't knock everything off the stage. Of course, they were just looking forward to the reception where they could display their moves. Now, Adam and Erin head to Michigan where Adam will attend law school. They will be greatly missed...

Let Wedding Week Begin

We spent the week at Robbie's parents before heading to Portsmouth, Ohio for Adam and Erin's wedding. Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner. Tate quickly showed us all that being a ring bearer is tough stuff. He was napless and over stimulated and as he said "embarrassed to stand on the stage in front of everyone". Lily was shy at first but finally warmed up to the idea of being a princess. After rehearsal we went to the hotel for dinner and I quickly ushered the kids up to the room for a good night's rest.

Dancin' In the Stars

One of Tate's favorite shows is "Dancing in the Stars". He and Lily both showed their skills at the hoedown the other night. So much so...they received a round of applause to which Tate responded with a hearty bow. This one picture of Tate cracks me up. He gets all his moves from his daddy. We stayed well past curfew and the kids (and adults) danced the night away...

Hunting...I Mean Hiking

On Saturday morning we met my whole family at the lodge for a hike to the Natural Bridge. It is tradition that every year at the family reunion we wear matching shirts (Poor Robbie!). Some of the "seasoned" folks took the skylift to the top while the rest of us headed up the mountain by foot. Tate kept saying that we were going hunting and Lily would correct him and tell him it was hiking. He then started correcting himself by saying we're on a hunt...oh...well...I mean hike. Mom had a bum knee but was a trooper and just took her time. My 80 year old grandpa even hiked it with us. We made lots of stops along the way and during one of them, Lily managed to con a granola bar from some man and his son. I swear...you'd think we never feed that child. When we got to the top it was worth the trouble. It was such a beautiful view. Tate informed us that he was "too tired to walk all the way all day down that mountain" so we decided to take the skylift down. After the hike, we went to the pool for a few hours where I was able to enjoy some adult conversation with my cousins that I haven't seen in years. The kids had a great time playing and jumping about. They are getting quite confident in the pool. Needless to say, we headed back to the cabin and the kids crashed for VERY long naps.

Mooney Family Reunion

At last...I have internet access. I finally got my laptop to work here in the mountains of Kentucky. This weekend we went to Natural Bridge, Kentucky for the Mooney Family Reunion. It's actually quite weird that I married an eastern Kentucky boy and always tease him about being from the mountains, and my grandpa is from 45 minutes up the road from Paintsville. We stayed at a beautiful cabin with my Aunt Lynda and Uncle Rick, Faith Ann and Paul, Rusty and Cami, my mom and my family. I don't realize how homesick I am on a daily basis until I spend time with them. There is a definite void living 800 miles away from them. We had a great time and the kids just loved being with their family.

The Hoedown

OK...this might be the funniest thing I've ever seen. Last night we went to the Hoedown at the state park where our family reunion was held. The kids had a ball dancing around. The video below is not great quality, but hopefully you can see Tate (and Lily popping in and out in bottom left corner) busting a rug! I have more pics to post at a later time, but wanted to share the laughter with all of you...

One Year Older and One Organ Shorter

Tonight we had a low key birthday celebration for Robbie since he is still feeling a little whipped from his surgery. We were going to Chattanooga to Ichiban, but mid-day Robbie called and said he didn't feel up to it so we went to House of Japan here in Cleveland. It was a great meal and we all left blown up like puff fish. The kids loved the sliced pineapple with cherries on plastic sword toothpicks that they brought out for Robbie's birthday. They were even singing and playing a drum! When we got home, the birthday boy was expecting to turn the Home Run Derby on, but lo and behold, he was outvoted and ended up in the chair with both kids watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Poor daddy!