A Day On The Links

Yesterday we decided, since Ski had a day off, to go play golf. We asked Renan if he played golf - he said yes. However, on the way to the course, while discussing what we were going to do, we discovered that when we asked Renan if he played golf, he thought we were talking about miniature golf! Well, needless to say we found out this was Renan's first attempt at "real" golf. He was a good sport and tried his hardest to knock that little ball up and down the course for nine holes. We had lots of fun and he took the teasing gracefully. Ski and Alex battled as usual for bragging rights. We hope we can get Renan back on the course again sometime - maybe we'll even throw some miniature golf his way! P.S. On photo above, Alex was not miserable, he just hates getting his picture taken!

Renan is here!

Well, Renan (pronounced Henan, soft e) arrived this past Saturday. We met him in Springfield when one of the AFS volunteers brought him down. He has immediately fit into our family. The dogs have really taken to him, which is a definate plus! As you can see from the picture, Alex had him out playing catch the next day after he got here. Yesterday (August 18th) Renan started school here as a senior. Everyone has been great helping him out, talking with him and making sure he gets where he needs to go. The senior class has been very helpful with him, which I really appreciate. I substituted at school yesterday and he seemed pretty comfortable there. I'll post more pictures as we get them. Welcome Renan!!

The countdown is almost over!

Well, our two countdowns are almost over. Summer is coming to an end - school starts this Thursday the 20th. Boy has time flown. As usual we didn't do most of the things we wanted to. We are down to one vehicle - the truck finally gave up the ghost. That makes it really hard to do anything extra. Alex starts high school this year. I took him for his sports physical yesterday - 5'7"! He says he isn't playing basketball this year, but I figured we would get the bases covered just in case. I hope he changes his mind. He really enjoys playing and is pretty good at it.

Our exchange student Renan arrives this Saturday the 16th. We are really excited he is coming to stay with us. He is making his final preparations in Brazil while we make ours here. Check back frequently. I will try to do a weekly update once he gets here.

22 More Days

We wanted to share some more pictures of our exchange student, Renan. He sent us some pictures with his mom and sister, and another with his sister and his dog. Renan will be arriving around August 15th, and we will pick him up in St. Louis. He will be a senior.

In Memory of Shawn Marie Bradbury

This blog is dedicated to my sister Shawn, who passed away on January 15, 2007. She is missed everyday by all of us. Shawn, you were and are so important in our lives. There are alot of good memories that we have to keep you in our hearts until we see each other again. Love you baby sis.

There's a new dog in town!

Alex decided during the week that we needed to add to our menagerie, so we went to PetsMart on Adoption Day today and adopted Damon, a Labrador Retriever mix. Believe it or not he is only six months old! As I type this Damon and Blossom are chasing each other around the house having a good time. He is quite the character. The only downside was not being able to bring them all home - all the animals there touched my heart.

Our Exchange Student

Our family is trying something new this year. We are hosting a foreign exchange student through AFS. His name is Renan and he is from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He will be staying with us for the upcoming school year. He is sixteen and will be a junior. We are really excited for him to join our family and hang out for the year. It will be a great experience for us and the school, and hopefully for Renan. Renan is the one at the bottom of the picture, along with a friend of his.