The Stucki's: June 2011

Stucki Family Reunion ... June 24 -28, 2011

We all met in Champaign for the annual Stucki Family Reunion. Somehow my dad seems to find a way to accommodate all six of his kids' schedules and we have met as a complete family at least once a year for the past decade probably. One of these years it is going to result in being too complicated, but so far somehow we have accomplished the annual get together.

There are now 17 grandkids, so it is getting to be a very large crowd. But all of the cousins get along great and have a good time together.

This year we did a quick tour of everyone's old schools which seem to be the only pictures I have, for some reason. We actually walked through Westview Elementary, the elementary school that all six of us attended at some point. Nothing had changed, which maybe is a little scary.

It was fun to get together and now the planning for next year has already begun.

Henry's Ark Louisville, KY ... June 24, 2011

The kids visited Henry's Ark, a petting zoo close by our home. Personally, I am not a fan, but they had a good time.

St George Island, Florida ... June 6 - 12, 2011

Matt and Heather Nickel spoke to us a few months ago about renting a beach house in St.George Island, Florida with their family. We drove down there and met them Sunday night for a week of warm weather and swimming and letting the kids get to know each other and play together. It was absolutely fantastic. The house had a swimming pool as well, so once everyone was tired each day from the beach and salt water we were able to spend some time in a fresh water pool. The kids all got along great and it was fun to get to know Matt and Heather's kids better. We had 11 kids and 4 adults but it never felt cramped.

In the evenings we went out crab hunting (I only actually went out once, but everyone else went a couple of times). The crabs come out and roam the beach at night, so you can take a flashlight and see a ton of crabs scampering around. It was actually a little freaky, but exciting.

We stayed through the next Saturday night before starting the drive back to Louisville. It was a perfect vacation and the beach vacation Heather has been asking to take for quite a while.

Nashville (Brentwood), TN ... June 4, 2011

After returning from Florida Friday night, the next day I started the drive BACK to Florida...this time WITH my family, and this time to St. George Island for a weeks vacation! On the way we drove through Nashville, where Heather spent three years of her high school in Brentwood. We stopped by her old high school as well as her old house. Like most places, it has grown out significantly since she lived there. We did not spend too long, but it was nice to see for all of us.

Ryan's Soccer Camp ... May 31 - June 3

We decided to enroll Ryan into a week long soccer camp. He JUST turned three, meeting the cut off by a week. He has not had many opportunities to interact with other kids, so we thought this might be a good opportunity. Instead it turned into a daily routine of him not wanting to play, then getting him to play, only to return to the sideline after a few minutes. You can see in these (terrible) pictures that he was doing his own thing mostly and only seemed to enjoy snack time. But I guess it is a start and I am sure that he will get used to these things pretty soon.

Downtown Louisville "Water" Park ... June 3, 2011

Quotes to Remember

We were in Munich and just checking into our Hotel and both the girls needed to go to the bathroom. We all ran upstairs to our rooms and they both bolted into the bathroom. They began to fight over which one was going to use the toilet first. They argue for a few seconds when Katie shouts, "Mom, which one of us do you want to pee their pants?!" (May, 2009)
We were driving home from church last week and I said something like, "We are going to buy a Toyota Sequoia". Suddenly from the back we hear our 4 year old, Ashley, pipe up ... "You killed my Father...Prepare to Die!"...somehow she confused "Toyota Sequoia" with "Inigo Montoya" from the Princess Bride! (May, 2009)
Ashley and I were playing a card game when she says to me, "pause the game, I have to go to the bathroom". This is when I realized the technology gap between my childhood and hers.
I asked Ashley what country she was born in (she was born in Canada). She told me that she couldn't remember, so I tried to give her a hint. I said, "you were born in Cannnn...". To which she immediately exclaimed in triumph..."CANDYLAND!!"
Katie woke us up this morning telling us we needed to get up. Heather told her that her head hurt and she wasn't going to get up yet. Katie responds, "But you don't WALK on your head, so get up!"