Hamming it up!

Waiting to go to school on the first day.

I asked Natalie to stand by the wall so I could take her picture.

She started to make lots of poses.

Peek-a-Boo

Backpack on and ready to go.

First Day of School 2007-2008

Mallory is a senior and Rachel is a sophomore.

Bailey is in 2nd grade and Joseph is in 5th grade.Taylor is in 7th grade.

Natalie is all ready for preschool.

More First Day Pictures

Close-ups in the Pool

Taylor (12.5)

Joseph (10)

Bailey (7.5)

Natalie (4)

Natalie got so excited when the kids jumped in the pool.

Last Day of Summer

The kids decided to swim one last time for the summer.

Natalie liked to watch them all jump in at once.

There were goofy jumps.

There was dancing.

There was diving.

High School Volleyball Tournament

The high school volleyball team played in a two day tournament in Richmond on Friday and Saturday. Joe took the girls up Thursday evening and stayed to watch them play on Friday. I drove up Saturday morning and stayed to bring them home. Their team ended up in 7th place out of 16 teams.

Mallory is playing middle again this year.

Look at that height on the block.

Mallory only missed two serves the whole weekend.

Rachel got to warm up, but didn't get to play at all.

The bench warmers got to keep stats for the other players.

Natalie turns 4

Our baby is 4!

Natalie was so excited by the candles on he cake.

She loved this microphone.

Wow, a hat & coloring books!

Taylor Wins Again!

Taylor came in 1st in the 13 - under age group in a one mile run.
The wind was strong, so everyone's time was slower than normal

New Fish in the House

It was decided by all the kids that the turtle was too smelly and needed his cage cleaned more than they wanted to do it, so we let him go and got Joseph this small tank with some flame tetras. He was excited because all three fish made it through the first night at home.

High School Volleyball News

Good news at the Stratton house. Mallory and Rachel tried out for the HS volleyball team last week. Mallory has played on the volleyball team for three years. Rachel tried out last year, but did not make the team. This year, they both made the team. We are very proud of them.

Taylor Wins a 5K

Taylor's name was in the paper because she won her age group in the first 5K she ever ran. The girl across the street came in third overall.

Vegetables?

The one tomato has finally turned red.

This plant has two cucumbers.

So does this one.

Found a Wii

Since telling Joseph that I'd get him a Nintendo Wii for his birthday last week, we've been on the hunt for one. Rachel and Taylor made about 15 calls last night and found four in stock down by the beach. Joe went down there this morning and left them with only three.

Joseph and Bailey had a blast figuring out how it worked.

Joseph and Rachel played all sorts of fun games this evening.

Mallory and Rachel tried tennis, baseball, bowling and boxing.

Natalie on the Move!

Natalie has been pedaling for about two weeks now.

I was surprised at how good she's gotten.

Asleep all Over

All of the kids except for Mallory decided to sleep downstairs.
This is what our family room looked like this morning.

Sunflowers

Bailey and I grew these sunflower plants from seed.
This one has two flowers on the other side too.

We only had two that made it.
This one should bloom in a couple of days.

Best Friends

Taylor's best friend spent the night a few days ago. They have known each other since Kindergarten. They took about 30 pictures, I liked this one the best.

Baseball Game with Dad

Joe took Joseph to see our minor league baseball team play for his birthday. They had a blast and the Tides won!

Joseph Goes Double Digits

Joe took Joseph to Hooters for his 10th birthday!

Joseph got his picture with the waitress.

Joseph had to hoola hoop while the waitresses sang Happy Birthday.