Cacapon State Park- This is Mike's mom, Sheila, with most of her grandkids, minus James and Jenna, who live in Alaska.

Yes, we are still alive!!!

Hello all!! I know its been forever, and I've been getting your emails telling me to get some new posts on here. So here I go..............It's been a very busy, crazy summer around here. Caitlyn and Colton were here for 6 fly-by weeks. Shortly after they arrived, we headed north to West Virginia for a visit with Mike's family. When we left there, we headed to DC for a visit with his Dad, who now lives at the Soldier's Home. It's a beautiful campus type setting with a lot of history. It was once Lincoln's vacation home, much like Camp David would be today. The following pics are mostly from our trip. It's so great to have all four kids together!!!

Vacation Bible School

VBS was last week at the Main Post Chapel. Nearly 300 kids from 4 years old through 6th grade participated. It was a great program and Tucker really enjoyed it. They gave each child a CD of all of their songs, and we have listened to it 499 times already. Ok, maybe not quite that many.......but enough to be singing all the songs in my head!

I was excited to hear that they learned the meaning of the word "obey" on the first day. We've been practicing that at home :-) Here are some pics from the program on the last day. The picture of the larger group has a couple of Tucker's friends in it. Max is in the middle in the red shirt. Audrey is on the right in the turquoise.

8 months

Ty was 8 months old last Monday. He now has 5 teeth, working on #6. He's starting to eat a little table food, and has the army crawl down to a science. It is truly amazing how quickly they grow and learn. Oh, his other new trick is a high pitched squeal that I'm sure could break glass. Hopefully, that one won't last long!!! He's still a daddy's boy, but is starting to reach for mommy when I walk in the room. That doesn't sit too well with dad! I'm sure we'll both be chopped liver once big sister takes over!! These pics were taken on Ty's 8 month birthday. I love the one of Tucker-he's starting to get tan, and the hair isn't so bad anymore!!

Summertime Fun

We purchased our summertime fun for the kids (and dad) last week. Needless to say, its a big hit with the neighborhood kids. I figured that taking Tucker and Ty to the pool by myself would be a bit of a challenge, so we opted for stay at home fun. We'll get lots of pool time while Caitlyn and Colton are here, I'm sure, but right now, this has been great. It's soooo hot and humid here, that the slide makes it a bit easier to handle. Tucker is loving it, and can't wait for brother and sissy to join him!!!

We're planning an evening of sliding for the parents after the kids go to bed. I'm sure there will be a few drinks involved, and with our luck, an ER visit!!!

What's up

We've been pretty busy around here the last few weeks, as evidenced by the next few posts. Mike made a trip to Kansas for Colton's 6th grade graduation. He took several pictures, but unfortunately, none of them turned out very well, so you'll have to wait a couple more weeks to see recent pics of him. From the looks of him though, they'll be pics of Dad shaving his head next!!! Mike being Mike doesn't bode well for Colton getting to wear his hair like the kids are wearing it these days!!!

We've been busy spring cleaning and getting ready for Caitlyn and Colton to arrive. They'll be here next weekend until the end of July.

These pics are of the little men of our house. Ty is now bathing in the tub with big brother. Tucker is a huge help in this process. He holds while I wash. I thought the pic of Tucker in his chaps and hat was just kinda cool.

Why my daddy's a soldier........

instead of a barber!! We agreed that Tucker was in very bad need of a haircut, and I was okay with a short buzz with the clippers, however, bald is not what mom had in mind!! Tucker did look in the mirror and say, "now I look like Grandpa"! That was pretty funny! Although I'm less than thrilled, Tucker seems to like it. He loves feeling it and says "now I can see my brain"! Oh, the things kids say...... The first pic looks like Tucker is saying, "hmmmm, what am I doing?" Next is what I call the Full Metal Jacket look. Finally, this is the reason why Pearce/Krider boys need hair-far too much ear!!!

Ty

Here are a few pics of the not so little man. Daddy's mission is to make him a Kasey Kahne fan. He's already holding up the #1 sign!!!

Houston vacation

We took a wonderful Mother's Day weekend trip to Houston compliments of The Pampered Chef. I earned a free stay in '05, and since it was expiring the following week, we decided we better use it!!!! Most of our time was spent at the Kemah Boardwalk, which is like a small amusement park. What a great place to take the kids. Tucker had a great time, and the food was fabulous! We also found a neat little place with putt-putt and bumper boats. It just happened to be National Miniature Golf Day, so we got to play for free. Who knew there was such a day?! We also went shopping for an inflatable water slide for the yard. We had to end up ordering it, and we're looking forward to it getting here next week. It's so hot here in the summer, and the post pool doesn't allow swim diapers, so taking the boys to the pool is pretty much out of the question. So, we'll be the cool family on the street with the giant waterslide! Look for pics after next week!!! Anyways, here are some pics from Houston.......believe it or not, Tucker really liked the ferris wheel!

Fishing

Daddy took Tucker fishing for the first time this morning. It was an early morning out of bed and off to the brand new Huddle House on post for breakfast. Then to Catfish Cove, the children's fishing pond on post, and a great morning of father-son time. Tucker was very proud to show off the first of his many catches!

7 months old!

Ty was 7 months old yesterday, I can hardly believe it! Look closely and you can see his first tooth that came through last week!

How do I get out of this predicament?

Ty managed to get himself tucked under the footstool. Tucker thought it hilarious and wanted to join him. He really thought it was funny when I told him he used to do the same thing!

All jumped out!

Looks comfortable, huh? He was still trying to jump as I pulled him out to put him in bed. Never even opened his eyes!

Cowboys

We recently went to a PBR rodeo, which Tucker was, of course, thrilled about. This pic is him in front of the bucking shoots. He told me he couldn't wait to be "ridin' them bulls someday". He was also super excited to meet announcer Donny Gay that night. For those of you that know bull riding-Wow! So neat for Tucker to get a high five from him. For those of you not so familiar, think football's Al Michaels or Frank Gifford. We saw a sign from Ty that he will follow in his brother's footsteps of loving all things rodeo. He took hold of Tucker's stickhorse and did not want to give it up. Big brother wasn't quite sure what he should (or could) do about that one!!

EASTER

The boys had a great time on Easter morning. Tucker is really getting into searching for the eggs, but as you can see from the picture, he's just not always sure where to check next! Ty loved his new Easter duckie and couldn't wait to get it in his mouth! Thanks Grammy!

Riding Lessons

A few days after we got home, we had a wonderful visit with Grammy. Tucker was so excited, but slightly irritated that Grandpa didn't come too. We assured him that he'll come soon. While she was here, Grammy got to see Tucker at his riding lesson. He's doing awesome, and I couldn't be more proud. After missing two weeks, he didn't forget a thing! My little cowboy.....

Almost done...........

Just a couple more of our trip. I think the one of Mike and Ty is one of my favorites. The one of Tucker and Ty sleeping is our last full day, after Mike had taken Caitlyn and Colton to the airport. The little ones and I had played on the beach one last time, and we finally had to wake Tucker up at 8pm to go to dinner. Ty never did wake up until we returned from dinner and started getting him into his pj's. They were beat, to say the least!! A very fun, but very long week for the babies!!