Searching for a Home...

For those of you wondering, we still have not bought a house on the coast. We are currently waiting to hear about a foreclosure in Gulfport that we are very interested in. Please pray it works out!! These pictures were taken one night after eating at Back Bay (which is owned by the same people who run Lookout 49- Stephen & Tami). Ava stayed with Nona and Noah came with us. He really likes to help our realtor open up the houses. And he REALLY enjoyed getting a special dinner with just the 3 of us- he kept going on and on about it. It was a beautiful sunset and you know I always have a camera with me...

Noah's First ER Visit

We have been at Seagrove Beach this past week and have had a great, relaxing time except for Thursday evening when Noah slipped on a piece of paper and busted his chin open on the hardwood floor. He started screaming immediately so I knew something was wrong because he usually is pretty tough and doesn't cry a lot. Then I saw the blood on his fingers. Nathan came right over and it only took one glance to know that he needed stitches. After some tylenol and root beer (his drink of choice) and instructions on how to get Ava to bed, we headed over to Sacred Heart Emergency Room in Destin. Thankfully, there was no one in the waiting room and we were brought on back within 5 minutes. They put LET on a cotton ball and left it on his chin for about 20 minutes to start numbing it. Funniest Pets and People was on TV, which Noah really likes, so we cracked up laughing for awhile before the stitching started. Bless his heart, they didn't have a real papoose board so they put his arms to his sides and put them in a pillowcase - which they told Noah was a cape- and then wrapped him legs to shoulders in a sheet. He DID NOT like being wrapped up and he especially did not like it when we had to hold him down during all the squirming. They did have to use a needle to inject more lidocaine and that is when the screaming started. They cleaned out the wound real good and then started stitching. He was moving so much that the PA only got one stitch done and then had to use a thicker stitch that they generally don't use on the face. He ended up with 7 stitches total. Noah kept saying that he was so angry at everyone and that he was going to punch them and spank them. He kept saying too that he was hot and did not like the cape. The PA said that he was hot too- and he was sweating- from trying to do a good job with Noah MOVING ALL OVER THE PLACE even though there were 3 of us trying to hold him still. After it was all over, they gave him a football but he didn't want it- he just wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. We told him he could have whatever treat he wanted and he chose skittles. He fell asleep on the way back to the house and has done so good with the stitches since then. They need to come out Tuesday and hopefully he will let Nathan do it. Isn't it crazy that this all happened in between jobs and insurance? We have temporary insurance but don't know how well the coverage will be. And Nathan is an ER doc after all, but oh well. Anyway, we have all survived the incident and are just thankful that he didn't knock his teeth out or anything worse. Oh and I did grab my camera to take to the ER but my memory card wasn't in it! I was so disappointed - you know I like to document everything!

Cousin Camp

We returned home from our vacation on Wed night, July 1st and then immediately had more activity at Nonnie & Pop's house on July 3rd & 4th. Three of Nathan's cousins (sisters & their spouses each with 2 kids a piece) came down for what Nonnie called "Cousin Camp". We had 8 kids under the age of 5! Whew! Luckily Pump It Up was open one afternoon for free play so we took them up there to burn off a little energy. Nonnie & Pop had a huge cookout on the 4th with Pop's side of the family- I think 50+ people showed up. It was fun but very HOT!

we celebrated Will's birthday with a brownie cake and ice cream

Rob, Jason & Nathan

Chattanooga Choo Choo

While in Chattanooga, we stayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. We debated on staying as it was a little expensive, but it was well worth it. Our room was an actual train car- it was decorated Victorian style. Noah ABSOLUTELY loved it!!! The very first thing he said when he woke up was, "I had fun sleeping in the train car last night"! The gardens between the trains were beautiful and the lobby was gorgeous. The hotel was converted from an actual train depot and we got to ride a trolley around the property to learn about the history. This hotel was an attraction all in itself and we did everything they had to offer, even down to eating lunch in their restaurant. Noah still talks about it and has even named a toy train that we bought him there "Mary". He takes Mary everywhere and talks to her all the time. It's pretty funny.

There was one part in the engine that was open for the kids to play in- Noah would have been content to play in there for hours.

inside the RR model train museum

hanging on one of the train cars

we were in train room #743

this was as much fun for the kids as the real train

clearly Ava loves it too (maybe the best 25 cents we spent the whole vacation)

in the gardens

would've been a great pic if that backpack lady wouldn't have walked in

checking out the koi pond

Ava loved the fish and wanted to grab them

playing in the engine

Noah & Mama in front of the train

in the train car room

decent family pic

Noah with the Chattanooga Choo Choo

We had a great time here and highly recommend the experience for any of you that have little ones that love trains. I think it is a memory that Noah will keep for a long time.

Incline Railway

After leaving Kentucky, we drove to Chattanooga to break the drive up back to the coast some. We looked into doing a couple of attractions there, but decided the incline railway would be best for us now. Noah loved it and is still talking about it.

taken from the street at the top of the mountain

Noah & Ava at the top

getting ready to go up!

We went about 7 or 7:30 at night and the weather was perfect. It wasn't very crowded at all either.

THE Original

Did you know that Colonel Sanders opened his first Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, KY? Part of the restaurant and kitchen is still there and has been turned into a museum in the restaurant. We thought it was fun to visit and the kids ate great- maybe I should take them to KFC more!

Can you tell Noah didn't want to take this pic?

Kate, Jacquelyn, Ben, Travis, Caroline, Ava & Nathan

at the original KFC

Hiking in Kentucky

Monday morning Kate took us hiking while Travis started his first day of work. We had to stop by Wal-Mart first though so Nathan could buy a knife in case we ran into a bear (we didn't). We enjoyed picking on him about it the rest of the day though. The pictures are in reverse order- sorry!

Ava had to be carried through most of the trail because it was very uneven and close to ledges. She fussed most of the day and then finally gave up on the way back out. Nathan did great carrying that extra 25 lbs!

Nathan & Ben under the waterfall

just jumped in the FREEZING water!

I cannot even believe little Ava got in and I thought Noah might have frostbite when he finally got out- it was really THAT cold. He threw rocks for a long time

Ava in the ice cold water in front of the waterfall

family pic in front of the waterfall we hiked to

Ava & Mommy

Kate with her 2 kids Jacquelyn & Benjamin (baby Caroline was at Grandma's) with Noah, Ava & Nathan under a really cool rock ledge that you can't really see

Jacquelyn, Ben & Noah (Noah really enjoyed playing with some older kids)

After our full day hike, we grabbed some dinner from a place like Edd's in Pascagoula. If you've been there, you know what I am talking about. Root beer floats, cheeseburgers, chili dogs... yum yum yum!

Cumberland Falls

On Sunday we left Toledo and drove to Corbin, KY to visit our friends Travis & Kate that we met in med school in Kansas City. That evening they took us out to Cumberland Falls. It was pretty dark so we really didn't get any good pics but it was fun to see.

in front of the falls that you can't see

Toledo Zoo

The next day we went to the Toledo Zoo with Chad & Jessica. It was a GREAT zoo that had just opened a brand new children's area only the week before. We were a little tired from all the walking the day before but we made it through most of the exhibits. The chimps really put on a good show for us and were very entertaining to watch. Ava really liked the elephants and hippos and Noah liked the polar bears.

Looking at real bees while sitting in the "honeycomb"

Ava & Noah-bee in the honeycomb

Who let the dogs out?

Noah on the train ride around "Africa"

Butterflies

Chad & Jess gave Noah a crayola digital camera to take pictures of the animals at the zoo. He absolutely loves it and filled up the memory real quick. Thanks Chad & Jessica for planning our trip- it was great to see you guys again!!!

Cedar Point

On Friday we said goodbye to Detroit and drove to Sandusky, OH to meet our friends, Chad and Jessica that we met in Fort Myers, FL. We went to Cedar Point had a GREAT time! Cedar Point is on Lake Erie so there was a nice breeze and it wasn't too crowded and there was hardly ever a wait in line. It had several nice children's areas with rides that even Ava could get on. One of our favorite things was that you could bring your own ice chest in the park, so we packed a cooler and brought some snacks so it didn't get too expensive.

Lucy with Ava

The Yosts


Nathan & Noah on the Junior Gemini roller coaster

Ava & Noah on a yellow mustang ride (Noah almost always chose the yellow rides)

Just the four of us

Silly Noah on the Frog Hopper ride

Sweet Baby took a little nap

Noah on a train ride to the other side of the park

merry-go-round

We also went to see Snoopy on Ice- they put on a great show and really had some good ice skaters. It was a nice place to cool down and take a break from the rides. Nathan & Chad rode a roller coaster twice but other than that we focused on the kids. It really was a lot of fun.