The Lieslands

simply livin' it up

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July this year, going to Joyce and Dave’s, which is where we always went growing up. There was plenty of Chex Mix and fun!

mari jumping off the diving board
appels
boating
parachute
andrew made it outside this year

Mar-Mar’s 60th Birthday

Today we celebrated Mar-Mar’s 60th birthday. It was a fun party and a great chance to see a lot of Cincinnati folks.

like riding a bike
andrew with his cousins and mine

Cincinnati Zoo

Our first day in Cincinnati we spent the entire day at the zoo. It was great taking our time and it was also great not having to push a double stroller everywhere.

a day at the zoo

Saint Louis

We went to Saint Louis last weekend for Nick & Molly’s wedding. When we weren’t at the wedding, and when we were, we were able to partake of some of the finer parts of Saint Louis.

At the Arch
Playing in the Flooded Mississippi River
Climbing 5 stories above ground, at the City Museum,, where they had their reception

American Gothic House

On our way to Saint Louis we stopped by the American Gothic House and Museum, in Eldon, IA. We had a great time dressing up and eating homemade apple pie.

Mari’s Birthday

Today we celebrated Mari’s birthday by inviting some of her friends over. It was a fun time and I think Mari loved it!

2011 Mahoney State Park

We just finished up our annual pilgrimage to Mahoney State Park with the Connors, the Reagens, and the Liesses. The kids had a great time riding bikes, playing tennis, hiking, fishing and probably about a million other things.

Summer is Here!

Summer is finally upon us and we plan to enjoy it. We have a busy Summer planned, with quite a few trips and camps. We have been spending a lot of time outside over the past two weeks. Here is a shot from Gray’s Lake last night.

2011 Dam to Dam

Mary Connor, the kids, and I ran the Dam to Dam this morning. The adult race is a 20k and the kids’ races were 100 and 200 meter sprints.

Andrew: I Am. . .

I am Adventureland.

I am chocolate.

I am WII Sports.

I am baseball.

I am Penguins of Madagascar.

I am Mary Poppins.

I am a passion for my brother!

Dance Recitals

Mari and Andrew had their first dance recitals yesterday. They did really well and had a lot of fun. Both of them even managed to sneak in a wave to us during their dances.

There were no pictures or video allowed during the actual performances, but we did get some videos of their dress rehearsals.

Strange Bedfellows

Last night a thunderstorm rolled through right after we got the kids to bed. I heard some commotion upstairs, but I didn’t want to bother to find out what was going on. When I went to check on Mari and Elliot before bed they were both snuggled up in Mari’s bed.