Kenton, Emery & Kallen's Page

2011-12-21T07:39:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we went to Christmas in the Park at James Ranch Park in Xenia. We stood in line (outside) to visit with Santa and then took a wagon ride through the park which was decorated throughout with lights!

2011-12-20T09:18:00.001-05:00

Last Friday evening, St. Brigid School had their Christmas Concert. The Kindergarten class sang a few songs and did a great job! Kenton is on the top row in the middle in the plaid shirt.

2011-12-19T17:08:00.000-05:00

Here a couple of pictures from the Xenia Christmas parade a couple of weekends ago! There were only about 10 entries, but there were alpacas!

2011-12-15T07:31:00.002-05:00

Here are some more Christmas pictures, including Keesha reading a Christmas story to the kids.

2011-12-13T16:51:00.002-05:00

These are from the weekend after Thanksgiving when we decorated the Christmas tree!

2011-12-08T10:57:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to IKEA in Cincinnati to pick up a couple of things. The kids loved that store even before the Christmas decorations. Kenton (who hates shopping for the most part) even says he wishes we could live at IKEA!

2011-12-05T06:40:00.001-05:00

Kallen has started holding her head up pretty well. She likes sitting in the bumbo chair and being like the big kids.

2011-11-21T08:02:00.001-05:00

Here are some more pics of Kallen.

2011-11-18T08:15:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we went over to Cox Arboretum in Dayton and had a great time. It was a little chilly, but the sun was out which helped keep us a little warmer. Running around the grounds of the park helped keep the older kids warm, too!

2011-11-16T08:21:00.001-05:00

Here is a picture of Kallen from a couple of weeks ago. She is definitely growing!

2011-11-08T15:25:00.003-05:00

The girls before we headed out to go Trick or Treating. Kenton decided to stay home and hand out candy with Keesha.

2011-11-07T08:41:00.001-05:00

On October 28th, Emery's school had Dad's day. The kids sang songs for us and then we had lunch together, provided by the preschool. Emery and I had a great time.

2011-11-04T09:21:00.001-04:00

Last week we decorated our pumpkins. The kids did not want to carve them because they did not want them to rot quicker, so I gave them some sharpies and let them decorate their own. We did use a stencil to paint the triceratops onto Kenton's pumpkin.

2011-11-03T05:54:00.003-04:00

The kiddos in their PJs.

2011-11-02T12:35:00.002-04:00

Such a cute little witch! Last Friday we went trunk or treating at a church in Beavercreek. When we got out of the van, there was a little boy (probably about 3 years old) getting out of the car next to us dressed in a costume and carrying a pretend sword. He pointed the sword at Kenton and Emery and said "I'm going to kill you". Kenton looked up at us and said that the boy wasn't being very nice. Before his mom had a chance to tell him to be nice, Emery looked him right in the eye and said "I'm going to put a spell on you!"

2011-11-01T06:30:00.003-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, Aunt Bobbie invited us down for her neighborhood Halloween party. There were games, food, and crafts. The kids had a great time at the party and as always we all enjoyed visiting with Aunt Bobbie.

2011-10-31T21:44:00.002-04:00

A couple of weekends ago Keesha's parents came up to visit and we all took a trip out to The Pumpkin Barn here in Xenia. The kids got to pet some rabbits and they each got to pick out a pumpkin.

2011-10-30T06:48:00.000-04:00

One of the many things I like about Sugarcreek Metro Park is the natural play area for kids. Kenton and Emery both enjoy this area.

Emery really liked this natural chair.

Kallen is awake and enjoying the walk.

2011-10-29T08:08:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago all five of us went on a hike at Sugar Creek Metropark in Dayton. It was just a little cool, but the sun kept things comfortable. Kenton and Emery started things off by looking at the map and deciding which paths we were going to take.

2011-10-28T09:08:00.001-04:00

Here are some pics from Kenton's swim lessons. He has gotten to the place that he really enjoys being in the water. He decided to jump off the high dive. I wasn't able to get a picture of him when he actually jumped off, but I did get some "preparing to jump" pictures.

2011-10-27T06:17:00.000-04:00

This fall, Emery is taking swim lessons for the first time. She seems to really like it and is excited about signing up to take another rounds of lessons.

2011-10-26T07:33:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we had one of those days where the kids REALLY needed to get outside for a few minutes, but it was raining. Since the temp was in the upper sixties, we let them go out and play in the rain. They had a great time and they didn't even melt!

2011-10-25T06:45:00.003-04:00

On October 13, Emery's preschool had their annual open house program. The theme this year was "A Beach Bash". The kids had great time wearing their beachy or Hawaiian clothing and singing for their friends and family. Kenton and Kallen enjoyed watching their sister preform.

2011-10-24T06:29:00.001-04:00

The last few weeks we have gotten to take several walks with the decent weather. Kenton really likes to push the stroller if Emery is not on the walk with us. On this particular walk, Emery and I were doing something else, so it was only the K's (Keesha, Kenton, & Kallen).

2011-10-20T07:14:00.000-04:00

Kenton is a terrific big brother. He likes helping out with Kallen, but every time she needs a diaper change he seems to disappear! One of his favorite activities to do with Kallen is to feed her.

2011-10-19T05:59:00.002-04:00

Here are some more pictures from our trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center. The ball area in the Children's Museum is always one of the biggest hits with our kids!

Kallen found a perfect spot to take a nap!

Emery decided it was a little small and a little too hard for her!

2011-10-18T07:15:00.001-04:00

We took advantage of Kenton's days off from school to head to the Cincinnati Museum Center. It was nice for Keesha to get to go with us during the week. As always we had lots of fun at the museum.

2011-10-16T08:20:00.001-04:00

Here are a few more pics from our hike at Sarah Arnovitz. Bridges are always great fun!

2011-10-11T08:38:00.001-04:00

Here are some more pictures from our hike last week at Sarah Arnovitz park. One of the things the kids like about this hike is that there is a place where you can stop and throw rocks and sticks into the creek.

2011-10-10T08:25:00.001-04:00

Last week, Kenton was off from school on Monday and Tuesday, so on Monday afternoon we took a hike. It was our first hike as a family of five. We went to one of our favorite hiking spots in Xenia, Sarah Arnovitz park. We had a wonderful hike.

2011-10-09T07:24:00.003-04:00

In September Emery started talking ballet classes. She really enjoys it. Of course the fact that she gets to "dress up" all in pink makes her super happy!

2011-10-08T07:49:00.001-04:00

Here are some action shots and team pictures from Kenton's and Emery's soccer games a couple of weeks ago. They both really like playing soccer. This is Emery's first season to play. Kenton has really improved over the past several seasons.

2011-10-07T12:48:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from soccer practice from a couple of Saturdays ago. We got there a little bit early for team pictures so then the kids had to "hang out" for a few minutes before Emery's game got started.

2011-10-06T08:13:00.001-04:00

A couple of weekends ago Aunt Suzanne and Cousin Alyssa came down to visit and see Kallen for the first time. We had a great visit!

2011-10-04T07:30:00.000-04:00

2011-10-03T16:57:00.000-04:00

Introducing Kallen Eleanor Summers

2011-10-02T09:53:00.001-04:00

These pictures were taken on Emery's first day of school, September 6th. Unlike last year, Emery gets excited about going to school each and every day.

2011-10-01T17:25:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, I took the kids to the bike path to ride their bikes. The bike path is relatively flat, so the kids don't have to worry about trying to peddle up hills. We all had a great time!

2011-09-30T09:27:00.001-04:00

Here are some more pictures from the dinosaur exhibit at COSI.

COSI museum

2011-09-29T21:29:00.000-04:00

For Kenton's birthday he wanted to go to the COSI Museum in Columbus. Since he was sick on his birthday we had to wait until a week after his birthday to go. The reason he wanted to go to COSI was because they had a temporary exhibit on dinosaurs. We had a great time and Emery and I enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit as well!

First day of kindergarten

2011-09-28T13:46:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged for a while because we've been a little busy! ;-) There will be some pictures of Kallen soon. I do like to keep the blog in chronological order as much as I can. Here are some pictures from Kenton's first day of kindergarten.

2011-09-06T06:03:00.003-04:00

Emery started playing her first season of soccer a couple of weeks ago (Aug 28). She had a great time. Kenton started his new season that same day, but was sick and was not able to go to the first practice/game.

2011-08-22T09:49:00.003-04:00

We went to the Louisville Zoo with my mom, sister, niece, and a friend of my niece's. The kids compared their size to the average size of an adult gorilla. We all had a great time at the zoo!

2011-08-14T09:59:00.002-04:00

This past week we went down to visit Granny Cardin in Glendale. We went down to Dinosaur World, Kenton's favorite place in the whole world. We had a great time!

2011-08-05T08:13:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pics from the birthday celebration!

2011-08-04T07:54:00.003-04:00

Keesha's parents and Aunt Bobbie came up on Monday and we celebrated both kids' birthdays. We went out for pizza at Spinoza's (they have a gluten free crust!) and then came home and had GF cupcakes.

2011-07-30T07:51:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple of more pictures from our adventure in downtown Cincinnati. The kids really enjoyed the skywalks. Kenton enjoyed looking at any kind of downtown map showing where we were and then figuring out where we were going.

2011-07-27T07:44:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went to downtown Cincinnati with Aunt Bobbie and had a great time! We started out at the Fire Museum of Greater Cincinnati. The first picture shows the kids getting ready to slide down the pole, just like a real fireman. We also went to the top of Carew Tower (49 floors up) and got a great view of the city. The last picture shows Kenton waving to Emery and Aunt Bobbie from one skywalk to another. You might have to look closely to see Emery and Bobbie. Emery is wearing a pink dress.

2011-07-25T07:28:00.002-04:00

Here are some more pics of the kids enjoying the Lexington Children's Museum with their cousin Colton.

2011-07-23T07:58:00.003-04:00

We went up to the Lexington Children's Museum with Keesha's family. All the kids had a great time. In the first picture, I told Kenton to lean forward on his horse and act like a jockey. Apparently he thinks jockeys usually look terrified! LOL

2011-07-21T07:40:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week we went down to Stanford to visit Keesha's family. Nana & Papaw took the kids to Dairy Queen for ice cream. Kenton, Emery and their cousin Colton, all enjoyed the ice cream sitting out on the back porch!

2011-07-20T07:33:00.001-04:00

While the kids are constantly changing and growing up, one thing has remained the same for close to two years now: Kenton likes dinosaurs and Emery likes to play dress up!

2011-07-17T08:24:00.002-04:00

This past Friday we spent some time at the Cincinnati Zoo. While Kenton was in his last day of zoo camp, Aunt Bobbie, Emery and I looked around at the animals. Then we picked Kenton up, ate our picnic lunch, and spent a little more time at the zoo. Kenton took us on a tour of the zoo to show us what he had learned during camp. Then we all took a ride on the carousel. It was a little warm, but the misting machines helped us cool off.

2011-07-16T07:51:00.002-04:00

Wow! We have a had a very busy week. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit for the coming week. Kenton had zoo camp this past week and each morning I dropped Emery off at Aunt Bobbie's house so she could have "Aunt Bobbie Camp". Both kids had a great week, but we are all ready to sleep a little later for a few days. Here are some pics from a week ago when we went and played at the Magic Castle over in Dayton.

2011-07-12T06:29:00.003-04:00

Recently we moved Kenton and Emery into their new bunk beds into their newly painted and decorated room. So far they are really enjoying the bunks and the new room!

2011-07-11T16:18:00.001-04:00

Having a snack during break time at the Kettering Water Park.

2011-07-09T08:13:00.001-04:00

More fun at Young's Dairy!

2011-07-08T08:18:00.001-04:00

Playing at Young's Dairy!

2011-07-07T07:57:00.003-04:00

Eating yummy ice cream at Young's Dairy.

2011-07-06T07:26:00.002-04:00

Just over a week ago we made a trip up to Young's Dairy. There are a ton of free things to do there, and several things to do that take just a couple of dollars. The kids and I fed the goats and took a couple of photos out in the picnic area before heading in to get some ice cream.

2011-07-01T07:35:00.003-04:00

Here are the last few pics from our outing to Smith Park in Middletown. The kids enjoyed the play area. Of course, Kenton seldom finds a swing he can't stay in for a while!

2011-06-30T07:46:00.003-04:00

There were so many interesting things to see and do at Smith Park in Middletown. We threw sticks into the lake (this never gets old for these two), then we got to see three planes take off from the small airport next to the park.

These geese were blocking the path, but as we walked slowly towards them they got up and moved with minimum honking!

There was a section of the paved path that had games painted onto the pavement. Emery especially liked the letters. She stepped on each letter in her name to "spell" it out.
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2011-06-28T06:35:00.003-04:00

I am having some problems uploading pictures today. I did finally get this one picture uploaded from our visit to Smith Park in Middletown. The kids enjoyed watching a few older kids show off their skills at the skate park.

2011-06-27T07:27:00.003-04:00

Last week we went to Smith Park in Middletown. The park had a paved trail around it (over a mile long), and several other features including playground equipment, a splash park, a lake, and a small airfield right next to the park.

2011-06-26T08:35:00.003-04:00

Here are some more pics from our hike at Siebenthaler Fen.

Most of the time when we hike I stay in the back and let Kenton lead. Both kids were in front of me, and had already walked on this part of the trail, when I took this last picture. I did not tell them about it at the time. I waited until we got back to the van and showed them the picture. Neither one of them seemed too shaken about it, but neither of them said that they wished they had seen it in person, either. It might be hard to tell from the picture, but it was still VERY alive and slithering around.

2011-06-25T08:09:00.002-04:00

After a really wet Spring (I think I've mentioned that once or twice), we finally got to take a hike in Siebenthaler Fen. Being a wetland, it was very wet, and actually closed for much of the Spring because the pathways were flooded. We had a great hike through our favorite wetland.

2011-06-24T07:24:00.002-04:00

Last week we went to the Cincinnati Zoo with Aunt Bobbie, Keesha's brother and his family (Kenny, Christy, and Colton). All the kids had a great time visiting with each other and looking at all the animals.

2011-06-23T07:12:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we met my family in Bloomington, IN for the weekend. We had a great visit and had fun in the college town. Before meeting up with my family we stopped at WonderLab, a children's science museum in Bloomington. The kids had a great time there, but unfortunately our camera decided to stop working after just a couple of pictures.

2011-06-22T07:21:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to Parky's Ark splash park at Winton Woods in Cincinnati with Aunt Bobbie. The kids had a great time and Emery made a new friend (see last pic). The temp was up in the 90's so it was an awesome day to get wet!

2011-06-21T06:42:00.003-04:00

The kids and I went out to Sun Watch a couple of weeks ago. This outdoor museum is in Dayton, but we had never been out to it before. Sun Watch is believed to be the first settlement (about 500 years ago) in the Dayton area.

2011-06-20T07:41:00.002-04:00

Here are a few more pics from the end of our hike at Sara Arnovitz Nature Preserve. The hike ends with a bridge (one of many on the hike) where the kids can throw rocks and sticks into the creek.

We were finally able to get the pool out and cool off!

2011-06-19T08:23:00.003-04:00

Here are some more pics from our hike at Sara Arnovitz Nature Preserve. This hike is probably about a mile long and take us about 45 minutes (that includes several minutes throwing rocks and sticks into the creek).

2011-06-18T08:21:00.002-04:00

We did not get to take many hikes in the spring because of the cool, very wet weather. Finally things have dried out and warmed up! Here are some pictures of a hike we took a couple of weeks ago at Sara Arnovitz Nature Preserve here in Xenia. We always have fun on this trail.

2011-06-17T07:09:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Cincinnati Zoo with Aunt Bobbie. We had a great time visiting the animals, as well as riding on the train and the carousel. The temp was up in the mid 90's but we stayed as cool as we could!

2011-06-16T08:10:00.002-04:00

Before we left the Port Clinton area, we made one last stop at the beach. We all had a great time on our Lake Erie weekend getaway!

2011-06-15T07:47:00.002-04:00

When we returned to the mainland after leaving Put-In-Bay, Kenton really wanted to sit on the top level of the boat. He liked it up there, but the rest of us thought it was a little too windy! The second picture is of a very tired boy. The last three pics are at the grounds of a lighthouse in Marblehead, Ohio.

2011-06-14T07:34:00.003-04:00

While on the island of Put-in-Bay, we played at a playground, took a train ride, had a picnic lunch, played miniature golf, and visited the Butterfly House. It was a busy, but fun afternoon.

2011-06-13T06:48:00.002-04:00

We had a very tiring first day up at Lake Erie.

The next morning we headed over to Put-in-Bay. A neat island that you can only get to by boat (or a small aircraft). This first pic is while we were waiting to board the boat. The next two are on the boat.

2011-06-10T07:50:00.002-04:00

Here are a few more pics from our trip to Lake Erie. Kenton and Emery were very excited to check-in at our hotel. They love having their own suitcases. After checking in we went over to a drive through animal safari park. Some of the animals came right up to the car to eat some food.

2011-06-09T07:28:00.003-04:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we went up to Port Clinton and Put-in-Bay Ohio on Lake Erie. The first thing we did when we got up there was to go straight to the beach. The kids both loved sticking their feet into the very cold water. Kenton ventured out further than the rest of us were willing to go.

2011-06-08T07:28:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we had a massive wind, rain, and hail storm that lasted about 15 minutes, but did tons of damage. Apparently there were areas near us that had softball sized hail. Most of the hail in our yard were a little bigger than golf ball sized. The first pic is of the kids holding a couple of these big pieces of hail. The second pic is of the flooding at the end of our street. There was a whole lot of rain in a very short amount of time. The third pic is of some mint plants that got shredded by the hail.

2011-06-07T07:21:00.003-04:00

After leaving Emery's end of school program, Emery and I headed down the hall to join Keesha and to enjoy Kenton's end of school program. They also did a medley of songs from throughout the year. Both kids are looking forward to a busy summer filled with lots of fun things!

2011-06-06T07:11:00.003-04:00

On the last day of school, Emery's class sang several songs from throughout the year. Back in November when they sang Thanksgiving songs, she spent most of the program in Ms. Beam's lap. This time she stood up with most of the other kids (a couple of them needed to go see their parents) and sang and did some of the hand motions for the songs as well. She has certainly come a long way this year!

2011-06-05T08:30:00.001-04:00

The last evening of our Cave City trip there were 3 very tired cousins ready for a good night's sleep!

2011-06-04T08:21:00.003-04:00

Here are some more pictures from Dinosaur World in Cave City. The kids had a great time uncovering a big "fossil". Then they got to dig (and keep a few) real fossils. In the last two pics, the kids had a great time being inside the mouth of a T-Rex.

2011-06-03T07:51:00.001-04:00

Here are some more pics from our trip to Dinosaur World.

2011-06-02T07:34:00.003-04:00

For Kenton, the highlight of our trip to Cave City was going to Dinosaur World. He absolutely loved it and is still asking (almost two weeks later) when we are going to go back again.

2011-06-01T07:45:00.003-04:00

While at KY Down Under we got to pet a kangaroo and then the kids panned for gems!

2011-05-31T07:31:00.003-04:00

While in Cave City, we went to KY Down Under. We all had a great time and there was a lot to do there. The kids watched a peacock strut around, before we went on the cave tour. Then we watched a sheep herding demo.

2011-05-28T07:28:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we went to Cave City, KY with Keesha's parents and her brother and his family. We had a great time! The weather was a little cool to go swimming so we let the kids put on their swimwear and play in the very large jacuzzi tub. They didn't seem to miss the outdoor pool at all!

2011-05-27T07:45:00.002-04:00

After the Olympic events everyone had a picnic. Then all the kids got a medal and a trophy for participating in the Preschool Olympics. The last picture is Kenton with his friend Caitlyn.

2011-05-26T08:16:00.003-04:00

The "main event" at the preschool olympics was the Tug-o-war. Needless to say all the kids had a great time participating in all the events.

2011-05-25T07:25:00.003-04:00

Here are some more Pics from the Preschool Olympics. The events in these pics are the "pop a balloon with your bottom relay", the "run with water and then pour it into a jug relay", and the sack race, which was actually put a paper bag (without the bottom) over your torso and run, then take it off and hand it to the next person.

2011-05-24T07:35:00.002-04:00

Last Friday, Kenton's school had their annual Preschool Olympics. Here he is marching in during the opening ceremonies. The other three pictures are of the water balloon toss.

2011-05-19T07:54:00.001-04:00

I still do not have any new pics, but here is one from a year ago. This time last year we were playing in the pool. Hopefully summer temps will be here soon and we can play in the water!

2011-05-16T07:37:00.002-04:00

I do not have any new pics, so I decided to pull a couple from the past. Here are pics from two years ago, playing outside. Wow, how they change!

2011-05-15T08:15:00.003-04:00

Kenton's spring soccer season has one more practice/game next Saturday, but he won't be able to be there, so yesterday's practice/game was his last of the season. Here are a few pics of when the were practicing. It was drizzling a little during the actual game so I didn't get the camera back out to take any pictures.

2011-05-14T07:52:00.002-04:00

I have ran out of new pictures to post, so I haven't posted for the last few days. I will try to get the camera out today and take some pictures. I hope everyone has a great Saturday!

2011-05-11T08:05:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures from Kenton's soccer practice/game on Saturday.

2011-05-10T11:01:00.003-04:00

After the festival last Friday evening, we went to the library for a dinosaur themed evening of activities. Then we came home and the kids showed off their face paintings they got at the festival before I made them wash them off just before bed.