The Mellon Parade

Alex, Grandpa and Mom went to the Mellon Parade on Sat morning. Yes we are a farm community still. Check out the John Deere tractors.

Tot Trot

During the Mellon Fest they have some 5 and 10 K runs. They also have a run for the kids. The Tot Trot. Alex had a blast.

The finish line, a ark of mellon balloons.

Everyone got a treat at the end.

Howell Mellon Roll

Howell has a Mellon fest each year. It is a major thing if you live in Howell. Alex entered the Mellon Roll. The idea is that they start at the top of the sled hill, roll their mellon down the hill. You have to make sure that you grab your mellon at the end. Dad was at work but Grandpa Pratt was there to cheer him on.

Misc Pic's of Dad's

Here are a few pics of the livingroom and spare bedroom. the results of the past few trips down to dad's. The boxes on the bed are all empty and waiting to be filled up. I always post what the guys are doing outside the house and wanted to show that I have been doing more that taking pictures.

Mark at Dad's

Alex, Dad and I went down on Friday night for a weekend at the River. Sat morning Dad powerwashed the windows on the outside of the house and I continued to clean/declutter the house. Mark pulled into the driveway just after lunch and right away started on the driveway. It was a joint effort. Mark and Dad both were swinging the hammer. Alex and I would fill the wheelbarrel and haul away the big chunks. We then filled the empty space with rocks. I think it looks pretty good. After a dinner of Pizza we all took turns powerwashing the back deck. Sunday morning Mark and Dad fixed the toilet in the room off the family room. Sunday while Dad and I were at church, Mark went up on the roof and swept it clean. After Alex fell asleep on Sat night, Dad, Mark , & I sat up talking. After Dad went to bed, Mark and I stayed up talking till around 3. I think it was like that when Ron was down and Randy also. Alot of work and a late night of chit chat.

Weekend with the Brown's

The Brown's came up for a short visit. Happy to report that everyone had a good time. We tried to pack a lot of things in a short amount of time. We had silly string, water balloons, went to a lake, dug in the dirt, a cookout, icecream and played with the Wii. It was the first time Alex had a friend sleep over in his room. The plan was to tire the boys out so they would fall right asleep and no silly business at night. IT WORKED !! Alex and Jared are not aware of it but they have know each other almost all their lives. The first time they met was in Russia five years ago. They are about 3 weeks apart in age. Evie was to cute for words. "Hi everybody" was heard every time she entered the room. Even Dad said it was fun have so many little ones around for the day.

July 4th Holiday

Alex and Todd doing some pre July 4th fireworks.

Alex and I went to Uncle Tony and Aunt Chris' in W. V. for the fourth. They had rain all day on the 3rd and the morning of the 4th. For 24 hours after the rain stopped it was still coming down the mountain and up from the springs. Alex had a blast splashing in the rushing water.

The water flowed down the driveway,

across the road and down the dock before it hit the lake. At one point his shoe came off and was floating down the driveway of the club.

Alex tried to stop the water by building a dam before it got to the dock.

Alex had fun lighting sparklers and running up and down Uncle Tony's driveway.

We went down to the lake in the evening and sat on the dock to watch the show. Alex did really good and even laughed some. You can not tell it by his hands. Yep they were over his ears the whole time. But he never asked to go home.

aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

wow

Tony and Chris on the deck in there back yard.

Aunt Chris, Uncle Tony and Alex