the President

As most of you know, Obama came for a visit Monday morning. Ray and one of his sister's friend had waited in line on Saturday morning for tickets. Thankfully they only waited 3 1/2 hours and were able to get tickets. They ran out of tickets 30 minutes after opening the doors. WOW! Monday morning we dropped the kids off at Ray's mom's house and made the venture over to the local high school to watch him. We weren't like some of the crazy people that waited 6+ hours to get inside; we waited 45 minutes. A very chilly and windy 45 minutes I must say. Grandma had the TV turned on for the kids to watch Obama arriving and then speaking. We were told Trevor kept hollering "mommy" and "daddy" at the TV. He was really looking for us in the gym. No such luck for him. We got pretty decent seats for only waiting a short amount of time.

The secret service on top of the school. I have to say that was one of my favorite parts of the day.

Ed the RVer introducing Obama.

The secret service gathered in a corner. And yes, the one lady is on her Blackberry and was for most of the time.

Ray's favorite part was seeing Chuck Todd from NBC.

Once Obama was done speaking, we hurried back into our car and drove over to US 33 to watch the motorcade go speeding by. I must say the minutes before he came flying by is the deadest I've ever seen 33 as far as cars go.

Miss G turns 4

A little update on our lives in the past few weeks. Miss G turned 4 on the 4th. The poor girl was worn out with all the unwrapping she did at Christmas time, that she wasn't in the mood to unwrap her birthday presents. She finished opening some of them the following morning.

She loves to color!!

Mr. Entertainer needed in on the action too.

The next evening the kids had to test out one of Gretchen's birthday presents. Trevor wasn't too sure about this coloring on the tub walls. Mommy says "no" to the other walls. Once he understood it was okay, he loved it!!

Bowling

This year for New Year's Eve we decided to do something a little different. We took the kids and went out for pizza and then bowling with Ray's mom, step-dad and sister. This is the first time either one of them has been to a bowling alley. It's the first time since we've been married that Ray and I have gone bowling. It might be something we do a little more often now that bowling alleys are smoke-free.
Trevor was all about watching the ball go down the lane and than the pins falling over. He just thought it was great. He probably dreamed about balls that night. Gretchen was a little skeptical at first. Ray helped her the first time and she cried once all the pins fell down. She got a strike the very first time. Thanks daddy! :) After watching a few of us bowl, she got the idea. Soon she was rolling the ball down the lane all by herself. There were a few gutters in there but she was having fun. By the end of the night she was asking me if we could go next weekend. I'd say the night was a success.

Finally the pictures

Showing Aunt Carrie some of her new clothes. The girl loves clothes!

Checking out the new stuff we got.

Enjoying his new car he got.

Helping Grandpa with Grandma's new garbage disposal. It was more fun than my presents.

Dr. Gretchen checking out Matt. He was rather a handful of a patient.

New clothes with trucks on them. :)

Very excited about the new toothbrush Santa left her in her stocking.

As you can tell, it was a little too early for Trevor's liking.

Time to dig into some presents.

Mom's cake topper was more exciting than my new toys.

Grandma got me all these new toys. She bought so much since the kids hadn't really had a Christmas last year since we were dealing with Ray's grandfather's declining health.

On 3 let's take a picture. She had filled the memory with 470 pictures in 2 days!!

This Little People castle kept her entertained for hours.

SpongeBob pillow!! His face was priceless when he opened the box. He knew right away who it was.

Gretchen was very excited about her Minnie Mouse she got.

Helping Jordan decide what present to pass out next. It was tough work.

Christmas time

Whew! Last week was fairly busy with lots of Christmases and late nights for the kids. Tuesday started the celebration with Christmas with my Grandpa Miller and my dad's siblings and family. Gretchen and Trevor see this side of the family about once a year. Therefore, it took a little time for them to relax and feel comfortable with them. By the way, Karen, Gretchen is still talking about playing with the nativity scene and that "lady." :)

Wednesday evening was spent with my parents and siblings. The kids really enjoyed this Christmas but Trevor is still looking for those silly "baas."

Uncle Matt, you're taking too long to get my present out of the box.

Thursday morning was spent just us as a family opening presents. Ray had made the kids a table with drawers to put their toys into. Trevor seemed to think he fit in better.

The rest of the day was spent with Ray's mom, step-dad and siblings. This was a rather difficult Christmas. It's been less than a year since both grandma and grandpa passed away and by far the 1st holiday after is the toughest.

Friday evening we got together with Ray's dad and step-mom. Gretchen really enjoyed playing with Ray's half-brother Andrew and Ray's dad.

Saturday evening was spent together with Ray's uncle and his family. The kids know Uncle Greg as the man with the pool. Trevor even pointed to it and asked about it on the way into the house. He's going to be very excited this summer.

Sunday afternoon we ventured out to see my Grandma and Grandpa Birky and my mom's siblings.

Monday and today were spent recuperating. Late nights make for tired little kids. We really enjoy our schedules around here.

Editor's note: the computer is being slow and I'm not patient enough right now. More pictures will come. I promise, Carrie. :)