Softball City Champs!!

They finally did it!! After getting third place two years ago, then second place last summer, Brianna's softball team finally won the city championship!!! Way to go, girls!!!

1st Day of School

YEA!!! School has finally started!! Here are some pics! Zach is starting 10th grade (and not enjoying having his picture taken!!) and Brianna is going into 4th grade! Where did my babies go??

This is a picture of Brianna with her best friend, Madi, outside of the school when they first arrived!

Finally... A Family Reunion!!!

It has been a long time coming, but we finally managed to have a family reunion on the Hoben side this year!!! (We did try to make it a Hoben/Boblit one, but most of the Boblit side live too far away...) It seemed that the only time we were seeing each other was at funerals, so we decided we needed to get together for a "happy" occasion!! Hopefully we will be doing these more often!!

A big "Thank You" to my cousin, Greg, for hosting this family party! He has a huge machine shed that is partially being converted into a home that is situated right on a lakefront. Perfect place for our gathering! There was plenty of space to set up tables and chairs and a huge backyard for the kids to play games. He even has his own little "beach" area and dock! People were fishing and going out on the lake in the boat!!

I also want to put a huge "THANK YOU" out to my cousins, Tammy and Michelle, for all their work and organizing this event for all of us!! They did a wonderful job!! My last "Thank You" goes to to my cousin, Kristie, for making all the foods that our grandma used to bring to these reunions way back when we used to have them... and for all the pictures that gave us that trip down memory lane!!

Here are some pictures of the families that attended! The last picture is of my mom riding on the back of Greg's motorcycle!! Great times!!!!

Pioneer Days

I forgot to blog about Brianna's pioneer adventure at the end of the school year. Her class went to the Adams Nature Preserve and spent the day attending the one-room school on the grounds out there! They had a blast! They got to dress like children dressed back in those days, and learned the games they played in the past! They even had to pack a lunch and it could only be foods that were around back then -- no Capri Suns or fruit snacks, etc.! -- and not even sandwich baggies or brown paper sacks! Only baskets or pails!! And a tin can to use as a cup!! I did get a picture of Brianna before she left for school that day:

All-Stars 2009... Softball

Brianna was elected to the All-Stars team again this year! They played on a cold and drizzly Thursday evening... but they won!!! Here is a photo of her team when they received their gold medals!!!

Fourth of July 2009

Hope all our friends and family had a wonderful Fourth of July holiday!! Ours was nice and quiet... until dark, anyway!! We were supposed to visit friends in Omaha for the weekend, but with all the "running" we did every weekend during the month of June, we just decided to stop and breathe! We stayed home and did a little bit of stuff around the house, but mostly just acted like couch potatoes!! It was GREAT!!! We did catch the fireworks show after the baseball game that night, and the ones throughout the neighborhood!! There were so many fireworks going off that the streets outside seemed really foggy from all the smoke!! Thinking about all the money being spent on those fireworks has me realizing that I'm in the wrong business!!! HAHA!!

Here Comes the Bride...

As most of you know, on Saturday, June 27th, my sister, Jenny got married!!! I now have a wonderful brother-in-law named Matt added to the family! He is much closer than that, though... more like a real brother!! He also brought three children into the mix, so I also have two new nephews and a niece! The wedding took place down at the Anderson Dance Pavillion along the riverfront. The wedding party consisted of me as the maid of honor, Jenny's daughter, Sydney, and Matt's daughter, Alyssa, as bridesmaids. On the groom's side was my brother, Derek, as the best man, and Matt's two sons, Lucas and Noah, as groomsmen. It was a nice small ceremony with the reception and dance held immediately after. Thanks to all the family and friends that travelled and attended -- it was great to see everyone and share in that special day! And a special thank you to Robin Goree for all the wonderful pics from that day!