Miscellaneous Pics from the Weekend

Here are some pics from the 4th of July Weekend.

I have no idea what Joel is doing here. Apparently he plays golf like his dad and needs to wear a safety helmet. No, his dad doesn't golf in pajamas!
The boys doing the robot.

Uncle Nate with the guys!
Aunt Susan putting on a smile while holding the monkeys!
Boys playing Nintendo DS....Notice Joel is all about safety first.

Cousin Julie comforting Joel. Joel isn't a fan of the loud fireworks!

Jeffrey and buddy Katy
Joel asleep. He had enough of the weekend.

The Fourth continues!

Yes, even though the 4th passed, the festivities did not! The Townsends brought over a plethera of fireworks on the 5th that didn't get a chance to explode. We couldn't just let them sit there! We had to do something! So we did!

Kathy and Katy spinning sparklers

Jeffrey....the Pyro


John imitating Zeus.

Yeah Fireworks!



The Grand Finale!
Wait! Just one more sparkler!

Brothers and Others Bash

The night before the 4th, the Brothers and their Significant Others got together to play games, tell lies, and visit. Good times, good times!

Fourth at the Fortners!

Oh me, oh my! These pictures don't even give you a clue as to what kind of destruction took place in the backyard at 411 N. Tyler! It was a good thing it was raining, or no telling what would have happened to the yard.

Above are a couple of pictures of how many fireworks we had. This is just a little taste. The OM (Ol Man), Uncle Jerry, Brothers: Nathan, Eric, and Trevor all contributed to the festivities. Forecast called for 40% chance of rain-showers and 100% chance of fire-showers!

Of course we couldn't wait until it was dark. Here are some pictures of Jeffrey blowing up some fireworks.
Uncle Eric providing a steady hand. Eric always lets you know that "Ya got time!"



Uncle Nate providing tips to Joel



The fans grow restless waiting with anticipation!


And here is the brain trust. The group responsible for most of the fireworks.

A picture is worth a 1000 words.


Finally night time! A few shots of the fun.

The PlannerThe Lighter
The results!

The Aftermath!

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST.....

Ok, so we bought the boys both fish at the end of the school year. We told them it was for having a good year. For Jeffrey, it was for holding on to all A's the entire year even while playing basketball and baseball. For Joel, it was for learning lots of stuff at Miss Debbie's house. Anyway, they both wanted a puppy, but I can't afford to buy food for the dog AND for the kids, so I chose to feed children. Well, they both got to pick out their own fish and aquarium decorations. We have had these for like 3 wks or so. Jeffrey's fish is strong. Joel's fish, well.......the 4th fish is dead right now. I wish Wal-Mart had a "dead fish policy". Oh well, I guess we will go back for the 5th fish soon. Say a little prayer for Joel's next fish. May he have a long life.

Summertime fun

We took the boys to the Whiteface pool today. We weren't really sure how Joel would do, but as you can see in the pictures, he did great. We put his life jacket on and away he went. He still won't JUMP off the side, but he isn't scared of the water. Jeffrey found his water legs and branched out to the slides. He wanted to go down with his life jacket, but that is strictly against the rules. He also did great. He did slides the rest of the time. We are so thankful that they like the water.







Even thought baseball season is over, Daddy says anytime is a good time for a game of catch.







After a long day of playing, nap time and bed time are always welcome. (especially welcomed by MOM!!!)

Ace Of Cakes

These are some cakes that Leanna has made. She made these by looking at a picture. Just looking at a picture. Now, if you were talking to her she would say, "I'm just not creative." --Yeah right!

The school would not let the first graders have pizza on the last day of school but they can have cake. It's a rip-off, but Leanna had the bright idea of making cakes that looked like pizzas. Below is the final product complete with Pizza Hut boxes (afterall presentation is everything). The pizza is made with cake for the dough, red icing for the sauce, shaved almond bark for the cheese, chocolate covered peanuts for the meat, and fruit roll ups for the pepperoni.

This next cake is a dinosaur, or it could be a dragon, or crocodile. Either way, it was pretty cool too.