Happy Birthday, Karter!

Our nephew, Karter, celebrated his first birthday on Sunday.
As you can see from the before, during, and after pictures, he really enjoyed his cake!!

Birthday Gifts

The gift that Kyle and I got him was quite a hit. It inflates and has balls in it (like at the McDonald’s play land but on a much smaller scale). He did a good job of sharing it with big brother. He also enjoyed playing on his new toy fire truck.

July 4th Canoe Trip

We went canoeing with family and friends over the fourth of July weekend. Then we had a cookout when we got back. It was a lot of fun. Hopefully it will become an annual event so mark your calendars for next year!!! I didn't get a lot of pictures because I couldn't take my camera with me on the mighty Eel River. There is one of the canoes that White's loaned us and a picture of my brother Kyle with his girlfriend Becky. Also, I didn't tip the canoe once! For those of you that know me this is quite an accomplishment!

Niagara Falls Trip

Here's some pictures from our Niagara Falls trip. There is a picture of the bridge to Canada and a picture of us when we went below the falls and even got sprinkled by it. The last one is a view of the Canadian Falls while we were still in Canada. They create a large mist as you can see.

Funny Trip Story

Probably the funniest thing that happened during the trip was that Kyle and I went hiking along the river created by the falls. We had to go down probably five hundred steps to walk alongside the river. Once we got down there, we somehow missed the steps that went back up. We walked and walked and walked. Eventually we weren't even on the path anymore but rather a small fisherman's trail that led to a dam. Luckily, at the dam there were steps back up, but this was only the beginning. We then had to hike half a mile on a road (uphill the whole way). This road met up with the road we had parked on but our car was still a long ways off. I ended up with three blisters and we saw four huge snakes. The scenery was great though! Here’s some of the pics.

More Niagara Pics

Here's more pictures of our trip to Niagara Falls. The first one is of the American Falls (viewed from the Canadian side). Then there is one of us together in Canada with the Amer. Falls in the background. The next is taken of the falls at night during the light show. Then there is a picture of the falls up close.

Kyle's Surgery

On May 28th, Kyle had neck surgery. They removed a bony tumor (usually non-cancerous) from one of his vertebrae, replaced the indentation it had caused with cadaver bone, and placed a metal plate over the bone to "fuse" it in place. He now has to carry a card that shows he has metal in his body in case he sets off any metal detectors! This small tumor was causing him all sorts of pain. He was no longer able to turn his neck or sleep in bed. The results of the surgery were almost immediate. When we first went to see him in his hospital room, he turned his head to look to see who was at the door instead of turning his whole body as he had been doing. The doctor will send the lump that they removed off for further testing just to be safe; however, the doctor said he did not see anything that led him to believe there was cancer present and preliminary tests all came back negative for cancer. Most people who have this surgery have a long recovery period. Kyle has not had any complications though. We were actually able to take a vacation during his recovery time.