Archive for July, 2009

Monthly Archive
Jul 24 2009

Nathaniel’s 7!!!

Posted by kvanzandt under Nathaniel, birthday | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off

Nathaniel turned 7 on Monday! We just celebrated at home because Daddy had to work in the evening and we're planning a party for next weekend. Thaniel got to have a break from his usual chores for the day. After lunch, we let him open a few presents!




He was excited to get his own gum and M&Ms!


He got a couple of new Transformers!




The second present was a box of baby wipes...or so he thought!




Much to his delight, it was really a "signature" Webkinz panda!




That evening, Grandma and Papa Corbett came over because they'll be away for his party...We had birthday pie! YUM! Fresh-baked apple!



Got them all!




A LEGO Star Wars set!!!




Thaniel shares his Papa's love of planes...so this was GREAT!




Another new Transformer! ALRIGHT!!!

I think Nathaniel enjoyed his day...other than missing his big sister 'cause she was a camp...he had a good birthday!

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Jul 24 2009

Busy Day… but FUN!

Posted by kvanzandt under Seneca Hills, church, horses | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off

Last Sunday our church had a GREAT outdoor service! The weather was perfect...not too hot, not too cold. After the service we had a picnic with LOTS of good food! And then there were games and activities for the kids!



Kaity and Liah after lunch...waiting in line for horse rides!



Frank, Kelly and Liah watching all the kids riding horses.



Elli was SO EXCITED to find out about the horse rides! It's almost her turn!



Obviously, Kaity didn't want her picture taken!




Zach and Nathaniel are always ready to pose, though!



Here's Kaity riding


Elli on Tabasco...could her smile get any bigger?
(If you click on the picture and make it big...you can actually SEE her smiling face!)




I even got a chance to ride with Liah...who was totally unimpressed. (Yes, I got up there all by myself!)




Then Zach go to ride Cocoa.



Nathaniel rode Tabasco too.




Elli wasn't afraid of the horses at all! We had to remind her to ask before she touched or fed the horses. She wasn't shy about asking! She fed the horses a couple handsfull of grass. She absolutely LOVED it!




Then, later in the day... we took Kaity to Seneca Hills for camp for the week. Here she is unpacking her stuff on her bunk. We managed to get there early enough she got a top bunk like she wanted. (Are you impressed? You should be!)



Kaity posing with one of her counselors and Janalyn, a friend from church. Kaity went not knowing if she was going to know anyone there. She was pleasantly surprised to find out Janalyn was in her cabin. She also saw another girl she knows from her Grandma and Papa Corbett's church during registration. The neatest thing, though, was that Aunt Mandy's cousins, Stacy and Shannon were there this week, so she knows them. Plus, Stacy's daughter, Emily is in the cabin with Kaity too...a new friend!




When we got home, Liah found Kaity's purse...when the cat's away...the mice will play! Actually, I think Alliyah is missing her biggest sister a lot this week!

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Jul 20 2009

Cub Scout Day Camp—Family Day!

Posted by kvanzandt under Camp, Cub Scouts, water | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off

We got to spend the day as a family at Day Camp this year! Friday is always family day...and water wars! So you have to go, knowing you'll get wet...unless you wear a big orange vest to let everyone know you're off limits! I had to wear one this year because of Alliyah... : )



Elli started the day picking posies while waiting for the activities to begin.



The first station the boys went to was the fire hoses! The idea was to use the water to move the water jug down the rope to the other team's end. The boys got SOAKED! Kaity and Elli participated too...for a little while, but they didn't want to be up front and get totally soaked!


Here Zach is actually manning the hose, but you can't see him. Behind him is Nathaniel, Kaity and Elli. Kaity and Elli are trying to shield themselves from the blast! What a good big sister Kaity is!



Here the boys are....SOAKED!!!


Liah got tired of sitting to watch all the fun, so she thought she would stand...for a better view, I guess!


Nathaniel manning the hose!...AGAIN!



Zach manning the hose...AGAIN!




Elli likes the view much better from here!



Little Liah...just bein' cute! : )




This was the interesting creature we were greeted with at the bottle rocket station! At the end of the post is a little video of a launch!





Nathaniel trying his hand at a slingshot...under Daddy's watchful eye.




Zach's turn!




Kaity and Elli got to try too!




Emptying the firetruck!


4

Daddy was practicing too.




After lunch the kids got to see some animals up close...and how to bathe a goose for the fair!




The kids got to pet baby chicks.




Then, back to the games! They had to soak a sponge then pass it to the back of the line over their heads, squeeze the sponge, pass it back up, etc. to see who could fill the bucket at the back of the line the fastest!




This was a BIG slingshot for water balloons!




Their last station was a big water gun battle! The "forts" were pretty much destroyed by the time they got to this station, so it was everyone for themselves!



Daddy in action!




Zach on attack!



Nathaniel's sneak attack!




The boy's pack was responsible for closing ceremony. Here they're retiring the flag.


We had a great day! The weather was excellent! Hot and sunny! Perfect for Water Wars!

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Jul 20 2009

Fun at the farm!

Posted by kvanzandt under Fourth of July, fireworks | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off




After the baby shower, we all went to the farm. My uncle's farm that used to be my grandparents' farm is a great place to visit. It's always fun to go to see what animals will be there and new things for the kids to play on! Zach, Nathaniel and Elli had gone up with my parents earlier in the day. Frank was also able to join us after he got off work. As you can see, Alliyah was still enjoying one of the balloons from the shower!


Carl and Laurie have had this trampoline for several years and it's always a source of great fun! They were still jumping when it was so dark they could hardly see each other! Earlier in the day the kids also got to swim, play in the playhouse, visit the kittens, cows, chickens, ducks, turkeys and goat, and just enjoy some great Mueller food and fellowship!




Having the moon about full helped them see!




Frank and my cousin, Mark, set off some bigger fireworks. They even had some that launched into the air. Great fun!




On a sadder note, it also would have been my grandfather's 94th birthday. We miss him so much!

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Jul 18 2009

First comes love…then comes marriage…then comes

Posted by kvanzandt under Dessarae, baby | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off

Doug and Dessi with a baby carriage!


Frank's niece (mine too!: )) is having a baby! She's "due" October 8th. And has been told she's having a girl! I saw the ultrasound pictures...it's pretty convincing! : ) ♥~ Makayla Rae~ ♥



Her mom, my sis-in-law, Kelly, and a couple of Dessi's friends threw the shower for her. It was a luau theme! I have to admit, it was the first luau baby shower I've been to. Very cute!



Kaity and Annie were filling in their cards for baby bingo. We had fun playing that. Mandy kept winning!!!!



Alliyah enjoyed the balloons! : )



Jeannie and Dessarae all decked out in their luau attire : )



The cookies were in the shapes of baby things and the baby's name.



There were even fun straws and umbrellas for our drinks!


They got lots of cute little girl clothes and baby necessities. This little outfit says "Mommy's little angel"



It's hard to see from this angle, but I found her the cutest little tankini for next summer! : )




Liah spent some time with "Aunt Jeannie" during the present opening.


The happy couple...soon to be threesome!



Kaity with her leis : )


Visions of the future???




Justus loved trying to pull Doug's hair! : )


On a more serious note...Dessarae's been having problems with elevated blood pressure and swelling in her legs since before she was 28weeks. It's still too early to deliver the baby. So, I'm asking for prayer for the safety of Dessarae and little Makayla as those symptoms can have adverse effects on both of them!

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Jul 18 2009

The Fourth of July

Posted by kvanzandt under Fourth of July, holiday | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off

Here's our (almost) annual 4th of July picture!
The kids are looking quite patriotic, aren't they?
We enjoyed a brunch picnic at the Leo's (which I've attended many times since I was in high school!) with a dip in the pool as well! It was a fun time except Frank had to work so he couldn't join us for the fun. Thankfully, Grandma and Papa Corbett were there to help watch the kids once again! It was a little cool for swimming (low 70's) but the water was WARM! It was great! You could just walk right in...no adjustment needed! Of course the kids didn't want to get out! I was surprised, though, that Alliyah didn't like being in the pool because she LOVES the bathtub!!!




That night Frank set off a few little fireworks on the front sidewalk...one of which was going full force when the police drove by...guess it wasn't big enough to bother with!




Then we did sparklers! Alliyah wasn't very sure of them. She was just fine watching!




This was a major accomplishment! Zach overcame his fear of the sparklers. I didn't know why he wouldn't do any the last couple years. He would just run the other way and hide. He revealed that one of his siblings had dropped a hot sparkler on his foot a few years ago and that is why he was afraid to have anything to do with them!




Love Elli's outfit? This is the "sweatshirt" she picked when we told her to go put on something warm over her dress! I'm not sure what made her pick the hat!

All in all it was a fun day and we enjoyed watching the great display of fireworks Grove City put on this year (22 min.!) from our 3rd floor windows once again.

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Jul 8 2009

Just had to…

Posted by kvanzandt under Alliyah | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off



post this cute picture of little Liah!

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Jul 8 2009

Check it out!

Posted by kvanzandt under Uncategorized | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off

I added a video to the last post...check it out!

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Jul 6 2009

Soundblog#1: Ubuntu FCS Sumbission

Posted by sean under soundblogs | Permalink | | Leave A Comment | Comments Off

Here’s a little 1-minute tune that I’m entering into the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase.


Download link:  Reverse

It was made using all free (FOSS) software tools: Ardour, Hydrogen, LADSPA plugins, as well as Cynthcart on a Commodore 64 (though I’m not sure if Cynthcart is “free” by the FSF definition, the author does make the source code available).

By the way, this is the first of a series of planned “soundblogs”, where I’ll post little sound clips of things I’ve been working on.

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