Trip to Philadelphia

Every year my mom and I try to take a long weekend trip
somewhere. Well, this year we went to Philadelphia. We took Ryan with
us and had a great time. These are the steps that
Rocky ran up. And no, I did not run up these steps. I did not
want to ruin Rocky's moment.

This was the creepy prison we toured. It has been
on TV a few times for being haunted, which I would
not doubt.

Ryan in front of Independence Hall.

We went to China Town for some great food.

Me in the creepy prison.

In front of Betsy Ross' house. OH my gosh, Ryan is
taller than me. I even have heels on!! Yikes!

Mom and I in front of Independence Hall.

We took a tour bus around to make sure we saw all
the sights.

Homecoming King

Homecoming is always a fun time.
The night before the game we have the burning of the dummy,
a big cookout and of course the crowing of a King and Queen
and Ryan was crowned homecoming king!
The next day at the game we bring out the RV and
do our own little cookout with friends.

Court of Honor

Despite all we have going on, we have still been able
to keep the boys active in scouts. It is not easy, but it is
important. Ryan earned 5 merit badges over the
summer at scout camp. Way to go Ryan.

Meet the new Doyle ~~Bella~~

We have added a new member to our family. Meet Bella.
Our sweet little black lab. Yes, we are crazy but
we have really missed Duke and wanted to
get another dog so no time like the present.

Is she not the cutest!!??

Riley's 12th Birthday

Happy Birthday Riley!
We love you!

1st Day of School 2009

Colby is now in 2nd grade.

Casey is now in 3rd grade.

Maddie is in preschool.

Ryan and Riley are now is 6th and 7th grade.

Riley embarrassed that his mom is taking pictures.

Washington DC Tea Party

My friend Dineen and myself took a Amtrak train
up to Washington DC to protest ALL that is going
on with our government. This has been something I've
been planning for several months and it was a
great experience. It felt great to be among a huge crowd of
other Americans who feel the same way I do. For my friends and family
that feel this way, please get involved! It will make
a difference.

As you can see from the clouds the threat of rain
was looming.

This view is what you could see at every angle. It was
amazing!

The best part about this day was "people" watching. The
signs and the people caring them were awesome.

I was standing up by the capital building.

This is the view from where we were standing.

Colonial Williamsburg

If I could get Maddie to look at me and not the horses
it would have been nice.

So over Labor day weekend we spent a day in
Colonial Williamsburg. We had fun just
walking around and spending time together.

If only I could get a set of these for the back yard!

Washington DC Temple

Ryan went up to the Washington DC temple to
do baptisms for the dead with the youth today. I asked him to
take some pictures of himself in from the temple but this
is what he came home with. I wanted to post these because
I think this is one the the most beautiful temples I've ever
seen. I'm really proud of Ryan for wanting to
do this important work.

Visiting the Hatches

We went to Lynchburg, Va to see Colby and Caseys
friend Luke get baptized. The Hatches moved away from
us last summer and we really miss them!

Donuts!!!! YUM!

Krispty Kream donuts give kids with A's on their
report cards 6 donuts each for free. So of course when I heard
free and donut in the same sentence I was in the
car driving to Richmond to watch them make the donuts and
then we ate the donuts. It was as simple as that.

Hanging out with our Friends

Over the past couple of weeks we have been trying to squeeze
in a lot of stuff with friends. We have gone golfing.

Went to Busch Gardens with a big group of friends. This
was the initial group but we had about 7 others show up later so
it was a fun time.

And of course we always make time for bowling.

Summer Swimming

I couldn't let the swimming season end without posting
some pictures of the kids enjoying the pool. I can't even count the
hours that have been spent in our pool. It is well used not only
by our family but the many friends and family we have come
over during the summer.