Babies

We have two new babies to let you all know about. Interestingly, they were both born on the same day, one late and as you may read, one quite early.

Keith and Sam, Lynne's brother and sister-in-law, had a baby girl yesterday in London. We have no name to report on yet and I'm hoping we will have an update in a day or so with some pictures and more specific details (Keith??). Congratulations to you all, we are thinking of you all. They also have two boys, Thomas and James and an older little girl called Ella.

Lindsay and Mike also had their little boy, Burke, yesterday. Not really sure if you have been following their story, Lindsay was on bed rest for over three months and has only recently been taken off. She got to 32 weeks this past weekend but had to have emergency cesarean section yesterday. Burke is doing well now. Congratulations once again to you all, we are thinking of you. They also have a little girl, Ruby.

Chillin out this Sunday....

Today we are taking it easy after our three stop activity around the counties of Indiana yesterday. This morning Lynne headed off for a bike ride with Kaisa while myself and the girls played with play dough, did some coloring and called Granny and Grandad Owens. I have just returned from my bike ride and it appears the girls have gone out to the park. I have just passed my summer goal of 1000 miles which I'm pretty pleased about.

Below are a few additional photos from yesterday. We drove over to Pine Village and called in at Dispennett's Orchard. They were doing free apple dipping for kids which as you can imagine Anja was just thrilled about (I didn't see any adults complain mind you).

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Patch

Today was a fun filled autumn day. Weather was perfect, a brisk morning with a clear blue sky and the sun was up in no time. We headed off with the Mauer family to Oxford Indiana to visit a pumpkin patch to collect our annual fare. This farm, Millennium Farms, is very well organized and a great activity for children. They had a hay ride out to collect your pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, a bouncing castle, pony rides, a very good petting zoo area with lots of animals. We packed a rough picnic and it was great fun. We did this last year also and it may well become our little autumn tradition (Anja wants to go back tomorrow).

I took lots of pictures which are posted to a web album space.

 

 

 

 

Sleep Over and Water Fights

Last weekend Anja had her first ever sleep over. Randy and Lorraine had their grandchildren Scotlyn, Cy and Logan over for the weekend and Anja joined them for a fun packed evening. A bike ride, bonfire, grilled brats, S'mores, fun filled baths, ice-cream and lots of reading ensured a fun packed evening. I think the kids had fun also :). They had a balloon fight the next morning which turned into an all our water fight with the hose and various watering devices.

Anja had a great time and was exhausted after (thanks Randy and Lorraine).

For those of you on the other side of the pond not familiar with what a S'more is, it's a traditional campfire treat of roasted marshmallow popular in the US.

 

 

Pandora.com

So we noticed on Lindsay and Mikes blog the other day that they had started listening to Pandora. It's this free online music radio type site. Anyhow, apparently this has been up and running for some time but we have just started listening and it really is great, really cool (thanks Lindsay).

Have been listening now for a few days and I have already found a couple of artists that I really like but had never heard before. Plus of course it virtually only plays music you like. Awesome!!

I really like Colbie Caillat, an artist I had never heard of previously. Admittedly I never really listen to music radio. Anyhow, check her music out, plus she has a rather interesting and different story of how she got started.

Lindsay is still hanging in there by the way, she has done so well. She is 30 weeks now.

Overdue Update....

Hey...I know it's been a while....

Not a great deal to update you all on. Life is chugging along, the girls are getting bigger and the election here in the US is getting closer but ever more all consuming. Can't rally look at any TV or website without it permeating through. We survived hurricanes Gustav and Ike, we're not really in any typical hurricane path, way to far inland. We are certainly moving from Summer to Autumn here in West Lafayette, a little cooler in the mornings.

I have started running in earnest again, had quite the lull over the summer (i typically prefer biking during the summer months). I plan on running another half marathon on 01 November which is rapidly approaching. Yikes....need to get some miles in...

Girls are great, Anja is busy at pre-school and Isabel is getting steadier, faster and more inquisitive by the day...oh boy!!

We are ceratinly moving from Summer to Autumn here in West Lafayette, a little cooler in the mornings.

 

 

Jonathan and Family off to Australia!

Jonathan, Triona, Diarmuid and Nara will soon be moving to Australia (not really sure what's going to happen to Rosie and Kipper). They leave in just over a week, 11th September I believe. We wish them the very best of luck. I'm sure it will be exciting for them, moving to Brisbane, for just under one year. I believe their plan is to be back next August, in time for Clive and Tracey's wedding.

I heard that they intend taking it easy initially, if one can ever really do that with a small baby, Nara is just over three months.

I'm sure there will be frequent updates on Ozzy life on their blog once they arrive and get settled in so be sure to check in often.

Our family are a pretty global bunch really. We are in the US after having lived for quite a few years in Sweden. Davey and Sam are obviously in a different country every month right now (currently Thailand). Aiden lives and works in The Netherlands, Jonathan and Triona are moving to Australia (also lived in Indianapolis for a short time), Clive and Tracey currently live in Ireland but lived in Australia for one year and Eilish is still at home. Mum is willing to trot all over the globe but Dad, well he lives in Roscommon and always will now!!

 

Randy and Lorraine's Family

Sunday evening we had Randy and Lorraine's extended family for dinner. Lorraine's oldest son and grand daughter, Tony and Ashley, were visiting from Texas for the week. Lorraine's mother, Jane, was also over. Unfortunately Randy had to work. Anyhow, good food, great company, a few drinks, lots of laughs, some photos and generally a good time was had by all. We enjoyed it a lot.