Fall In The Park

On a cool Sunday afternoon a couple weeks ago we went to Galesburg for a quick lunch after church, and decided to drop by Lincoln Park for a few pictures of the kids. We still have lot to learn about using our new camera, but we sure had a fun time! Take a look!

Girls Night Out - Martina McBride Concert

Allison and Melissa are headed to the iWireless Center in Moline on Saturday September 29th to see Martina McBride in concert. This will taped for a TV special in the future, so we will all have to watch that and see if we can see them singing along! They are also going to go out to dinner before, so it should be a really fun night out for the girls.

Eric was going to go with Melissa but plans changed when he realized how much Allison wanted to go, and no babysitter had been found yet. Jacob and Eric are planning to do some late afternoon golfing, and maybe head out to Lowe's to get some supplies for a couple upcoming projects - you know, guys stuff!

We will see what the girls have to tell us after the concert, stay tuned!

Update Finally- The concert was AMAZING! Martina can really belt her songs out!!!!! We had awesome seats and she sang for close to 3 hours. Watch for Allison and I on TV when this concert is televised.

Allison's New Haircut

On Saturday August 18th Allison decided it was time for a change and she got her haircut. As you can see from this picture it is much shorter now and layered. She is stil learning how to take care of it, but she really seems to like it! Doesn't she look like such a big girl now? Daddy was a bit nervous when she left to go to the spa, but he absolutely loved it! I bet all of you will too!

Rodeo Weekend 2007!

The rodeo was in town August 16th through 18th, and what a great time we had! We were busy from the beginning to the end with the big parade, kiddie parade, working in the Church Tent, riding rides, eating junk food and of course...watching the rodeo! We had family in town from Minnesota (Rhonda, Cory and Madison) and there was never a dull moment! Here is a snapshot of Allison and Jacob from Thursday night, before there were all wore out!

Young Family Gathering - August of 2007

The second weekend of August we took a road trip to my sisters house in Gallipoils Ohio. Allison and Jacob had so much fun getting to see Uncle Matt and Aunt Heather, cousins Nathaniel and Lindsey, Aunt Boo Boo and Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Brad and of course Grandpa Gary!

Here are some pictures we took during the "1st Annual Young Cup" hosted by Heather and Matt. http://picasaweb.google.com/youngericn/GallipolisAugust2007

We all competed in various events and these are just a few of the pictures Melissa and I took that day. We have many more, these are just a few of our favorites. If someone from the group wants something specific from that day, email us and let us know what you are looking for, hopefully we can find it in the 200+ pictures we took that weekend!

Our New Yard!

This past spring we had a landscaper come in and do a ton of work to our yard, the web album linked below shows the results of his hard work. We have a few more things to add next spring to get things all ready for the new pool, but this is a quick peek at how much better things look today!

http://picasaweb.google.com/youngericn/OurNewYard2007

First Day Of School

Allison and Jacob started school today, wow the summer sure did fly by! Allison is going into 3rd Grade, while Jacob is starting Kindergarten. From conversations after school today, it sounds like Allison is going to be a great big sister, she seems to think it is pretty cool to have her little brother at her school now, we will see how long that lasts!

Here is a picture of the two of them at the bus stop on their first day, have you ever seen two kids look any happier to be going to school?

Look Out Kindergarten, Here Comes Jacob!

Today was Jacob's first day of Kindergarten, and wow was he excited! He came home with lot's of fun stories, it was everything he had hoped for and more. (It sounds like playing on the play ground is his favorite part of school at this point! Hot Dogs for lunch in the cateteria seemed to rank up there as well!)

Here are are a couple of pictures from this week, the one with him in blue was Monday night before we had our first visit to his room. The other one is of him getting on the bus today! (Riding the bus was another exciting event for Jacob, he just thinks he is big stuff now!)

2007 Princess Contest Photo From Newspaper

Take a look at this photo taken a few weeks before the 2007 New Windsor Fair and Rodeo "Little Princess Contest" for usage in the the newspapers and such. We think this was a great portrait of Allison!

Best Friends Forever

There is nothing better for these three than a weekend when Anna is home from Arkansas. You could barely get the three of them apart! Swimming parties, sleepovers, singing karaoke, watching fireworks at the ball park, what more could these three ask for? (Although I sensed the idea of shopping was high on the list Saturday evening when we took the girls to dinner in Galesburg. All Brittany had to do was mention a "Big Sale at JCPENNEY's" and all their eyes lit up! Knowing better I quickly steered the van North on Highway 150 and headed back for the fireworks show; could you imagine trying to get this crew out of the mall?)

Here is a picture of the gang at the ballpark Saturday afternoon. What a great time they were having. We cannot wait until the next time Anna comes home again!

Day Of Baseball Fun In New Windsor

With a projected high of only 81 degrees on Saturday July 28th, it was a fine day for baseball in New Windsor. As part of the "New Windsor Sesquicentennial Reunion Baseball Tournament" there were eight games schedule at the ball park on this fine day, with fierworks scheduled to follow the final game. Allison's game was scheduled at 4 PM, "Rookie Team vs. Parents", with Jacob's game to follow at 6PM, "T-ball Tam vs. Parents".

Both kids played really well, but we will add no comments about how the parents played! All of the games were very exciting and it was really cool to have fireworks in New Windsor.

These were our last two games of the year so we are trading in the batts, ball and cleats for backpacks, crayons and pencils. It is exciting that school starts next week, but we sure will miss the fun times with our friends at the ball diamond!

2007 New Windsor Fair and Rodeo "Little Princess Contest"

On Sunday July 22, 2007, Allison participated in the New Windsor Fair and Rodeo "Little Princess Contest". This was Allison's third (and final) year being a part of the event, and she had loads of fun with all the other princess and queen contestants. While she did not win the contest this year, I assured her that she would always be "Daddy's Little Princess".

Eric's Preferred Ball Golf Outing - 7/22/07

On Saturday July 22nd 2007, Eric and seven of his friends got together at the Windmill Golf Course in Rio Illinois for a round of golf. After all parties had arrived (Brett was late and half asleep) pairings were drawn and the fun began. The weather was perfect and course was in fine shape, the results of the day are posted below:

Lowest Team Score

Dave Scharer & Scott Dasso = 67
Brett Hitchcock & Steve Kruse = 75
Jodi Scharer & Terry Pearson = 84
Chris Wills & Eric Young = 86

Lowest Team Putts

Jodi Scharer & Terry Pearson = 42
Dave Scharer & Scott Dasso = 44
Chris Wills & Eric Young = 55
Brett Hitchcock & Steve Kruse = 55

Most Lost Balls

Chris Wills & Eric Young = 7
Brett Hitchcock & Steve Kruse = 7
Jodi Scharer & Terry Pearson = 6
Dave Scharer & Scott Dasso = 6

I hope everyone had a good time at Eric's 1st Annual BUSTING B@LLS tournament, and I hope that we can call get together again next year for another go at it!

Wisconsin Golf Roadtrip

On Saturday July 14, 2007 Eric along with his friends Steve and Brett woke up extra early and took a roadtrip to Janesville, Wisconsin. Their old friend Rob from Rockford had invited them up for a round of golf at the Glen Erin Golf Club. The roadtrip was only about two and a half hours, but Eric, Steve and Brett got up so early that they arrived about an hour before their tee time. After checking in at the clubhouse, the three of them headed off to the driving range to get warmed up and kill some time. When Rob arrived they all got settled in and the adventure began...

It was a windy day but the sun was shining and the greens were ultra-fast. This course was all the website promised with a "distinct Old Irish flavor". The course was a bit long for Eric, but was fun for all nonetheless.

When the scorecard was tallied the results reported were as follows:

Brett = 115

Eric = 140

Rob = 118

Steve = 104

Spending the day with Rob was fun for all, and being on the golf course made for a perfect day. The expectations for the day were certainly exceeded, and we were all one step closer to our goal of playing a round of golf in all 50 states! Before we left for home Brett found someone to take a group picture, and the results can be seen here.

New Hairstyle For Allison

Check out the new hairdo Melissa and Allison came up with a few weeks back.
What a cutie!

Allison Preparing for Princess Contest

Allison is preparing to participate in the New Windsor Fair and Rodeo "Little Princess Contest" on Saturday July 22, 2007. She has participated the past two years and really enjoys this event. More details on this exciting event can be found at the site below.

http://www.nwrodeo.org/queen/fairqinfo.htm

Next week after the event we will be sure to share some pictures with all of you!

Jacob's Preshool Graduation

Look out Kindergarten, here comes Jacob Curtis Young! In late May of 2007 we celebrated Jacob's gradutation from "Time for Tots" Preschool. While Jacob sure will miss his preschool teachers Miss Debbie and Miss Cindy, he is growing up and cannot wait to ride the bus to school with his big sister starting in August!

Trip To The Zoo

Over Memorial Day Weekend 2007, Melissa took Jacob, Allison and several of their friends to Niabi Zoo. Fun was had by all! Although Jacob was the only boy along for the trip, he seemed to have a good time as well!

Summer Trip to Minnesota

In early July Allison and Jacob spent a week in northern Minnesota with Grandma and Grandpa. Camping, fishing, riding grandpas four-wheeler, and playing with cousins Maddison and Jayden were just a few of the highlights. Here is a picture of Allison and Jayden having a good time!

Allison Going To State!

Allison competed in a dance competition on Saturday July 14th at the Mercer County Fair in Aledo. Her group finished 2nd in their category, but the first place team had been to state before, so she gets to go! This will be in Springfield sometime in January of 2008, stay tuned for more details!

Allison's Dance Receital

In late June Allison had her annual dance receital. She did five numbers that day, she was sure fun to watch. She had been practicing for several months and all that hard work sure paid off. Here is a picture from one of the performances she did.

Jacob - Spring Soccer Star

While he was pretty reluctant at the start of the season, Jacob was a fan favorite in his second season of soccer this spring. He claims that he won't be playing next year, but we will see what happens. If it is something that involves running, Jacob always fusses until it is time to start playing, then he gets right into it!