Wonderful Weather & Best Buddies

Maddie is enjoying all the help. Ryan is pushing while Daddy is steering.

Ryan and Ty riding Lil' Jake together.

Ryan and Maddie swinging.

Ryan hugging Ty on the trampoline.

The three amigos on the alligator. Chomp, Chomp!

Maddie and Ty taking a break to smile at their Mommy!

Ty enjoying Lil' Jake. Lil' Jake was purchased at a yard sale for $4. Nice snag Daddy!

The weather was perfect today! It's hard to believe it was the last day of June in Ohio. Ryan brought his mom, Dani, over to play outside with Maddie and Ty. They played outside all morning. There were no tears or fighting over a toy......that's quite impressive!!

Ty Enjoying His Lunch

Before going to the zoo we had lunch at City Barbeque. Ty loves to eat! He savors each bite and can eat for a good 45 minutes! With all Ty's eating issues, this is fabulous news.

A True Miracle

Jack, a former student of mine, was a buddy for his cousin, Makenna.

Makenna's sister, Cami, was watching the game.

Maddie was happy to be at the game.

Matthew, a buddy, entertained Ty and Maddie the entire game! I wanted to take him home with us. He even wiped pretzel off Maddie's mouth.

Chris had the privilege of helping his brother, Adam, coach a Miracle League team this past Saturday. The Miracle League is a baseball league for children with special needs. Adam helps coach one of the four teams. His team is the Orange Crushers. The field is located behind Starlight School. It is made out of recycled tires and is completely handicap accessible so that someone with a walker or wheelchair can play ball. It is a very smooth surface. Everyone on the team has a buddy that helps them bat or run if needed. They also help their buddies in the field. There is an announcer, a consession stand, dugouts, and bleachers. The field is truly amazing, but not nearly as amazing as the athletes that use the facility every Saturday morning.

Swimming with the Sprankles

Maddie wanting Emma to put swimmies on her.

Maddie is sort of nervous when swimming with daddy.Ty is swimming with Aunt Angie.

Aunt Angie and Uncle Brian have a pool at their house. They are very kind and let us come over! The twins love the water and their cousins do a wonderful job of entertaining them.

Columbus Zoo (yes, again)

On our way out.......

That is Chris holding Ty to pet the snake.

Maddie is trying to teach Ty about the animals, but Ty is not interested!

Maddie petting the snake.

On Friday, we traveled to Columbus to visit the zoo. We have a membership so I think we should go at least every other week. Our max time we can spend at the zoo is about two hours. Chris and I are afraid it might get ugly after that. Of course it was hot since we got there after lunch. Therefore, we viewed as many inside animals as possible!

Story Hour

As teachers, Chris and I know the importance of reading. We read to Maddie and Ty constantly. However, lately it seems that we are reading "at" them and not "to" them. They are usually running away from us or shutting the book as we try to read. So to help with this problem, I thought the two of them should be involved with the Summer Reading program at the library. Aunt Tracey and I took Ty, Maddie, Carson, and Logan to the Lebanon library for Story Hour. It started out nicely. All four sat quietly during the numerous stories and three songs. Then it was craft time. Logan and Carson made wonderful paper plate fish. Ty and Maddie made fish as well. Maddie wanted to eat the markers (and did) while Ty wanted to eat the stickers (and did). At the end of the hour, I was sprinting to the car and ready to head home. I am not sure when our next visit to the library will occur.

Meeting Buck

Ma has a very special friend named Buck whom she volunteers with at the hospital. Maddie and Ty finally got to meet Buck in person. Of course, we documented the meeting. Now Buck can put faces to names when he hears all the Ty and Maddie stories from Ma!

A Ride on the Backhoe

Pa took Maddie, Ty, and me for a ride on the backhoe. He was using the backhoe to dig out the basketball court at Aunt Tracey and Uncle Jason's house.

Happy Father's Day

Maddie and Ty made Chris a homemade Father's Day gift. Since Chris had spent the weekend at basketball camp we (Maddie, Ty and I) thought it would be appropriate to give him a present that revolved around basketball. Maddie and Ty put their hand prints on a basketball and I wrote, "We have a ball with dad!" I think the gift was a slam dunk! Thank you Aunt Tracey for helping with the project.

Sprinkler Time

The twins and I had another visit to the farm (where my parents live) while Chris went to basketball camp at UC. Ty, Maddie, Logan, and Carson got hot outside playing and decided to cool off by running through the sprinkler. It was a good time!

Mother's Day Gift

For Mother's Day we gave my mom a family picture. We hadn't had a family photo since the twins were born. We traveled to Dayton and all 11 of us smiled while wearing our OSU gear. Afterwards we had dinner at City Barbeque. Yum!

Ty and Ma

Ty is having a little quality time with his Ma (my mom). They are tight! Their bond began when Ma spent hours upon hours holding and talking to Ty in the hospital. Ty goes crazy whenever he sees Ma!

Go Bucks

Ty and Maddie were trying on two of Chris's OSU hats. They are still a little big!

A Weekend in Wilmington

Maddie, Ty and I traveled to Wilmington for a weekend visit while Chris stayed in Zanesville to golf..I mean finish the hardwood floors in the bedrooms. We were very busy. We went to Ma's Book Club, had dinner with Bobbie and Gary, enjoyed a visit from our great aunts, played at the Conleys, went to church, took a tractor ride, and spent lots of time with Aunt Tracey, Carson, Logan, Ma, and Pa. Wow, what a weekend!

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