Missouri Gibbs Family

For the 4th of July weekend we decided to take a trip to Missouri to see relatives on my Dad's side of the family. We are so glad we did! We had a really great, relaxing trip. It was so nice to see everyone again.

Grandpa, Anna, and Sweedy

We stayed with my dad's brother, Scott, and his wife, Vanette (in the picture above). They were such great hosts. We loved staying with them. I told Uncle Scotty that I was sorry that I was staring at him all the time. He had so many mannerisms and things that he would say and do that reminded me of my dad. It made me realize how much I missed my dad. Also, in this picture is my cousin Alex, his wife Kristen, and their daughter Addison who is exactly one year older than Claire. One afternoon we met them at the local lake and did some swimming. The little ones love the water.

I love my Grandpa! I love his smile and his laugh!

My Dad's sister, Annie, moved from CA to Missouri into Grandpa and Grandma's old house. It was fun to see her and Uncle Joe and meet Sarah's new husband, Corey, and their son CJ.

We have a picture of me and my siblings playing with this fountain at Grandpa and Grandma's house when we were young, so we had to get one with Anna doing the same thing.

The St. Louis arch on our drive back home. This was my first time to see the arch.

Dad's Retirement

The day has finally arrived! Joey's dad retired after 37 years! with the railroad. We were invited to a luncheon they had at the office for him. Congratulations, Dad, on a successful career!

Claire is such a cuddler. She loves to rest her head on your which is so endearing. Love it!

Father's Day 2010

Father's Day is here! They say that behind every good man is a good woman. That's not necessarily true. I don't have a good wife...I have a great wife! And two perfectdaughters.  So in my case the phrase should actually be, "Behind every so-so man are a few amazing women!"

That being said, if today is Father's Day, I'm going to take full advantage of it. Bring on the pampering!!!

Trip to Indiana

Joey's parents are building a home in Indiana where they will be moving to when Joey's dad retires. His mom needed to make a trip up there to check on the progress, so the girls and I decided to join her. It is about an eight hour drive and the girls did pretty well. It was a trip that I was thinking I could drive with the girls by myself, but soon realized that I couldn't have done it without Oma in the car.

While there we took some time to have some fun. We went to a park where they had a little train you could ride. From the pictures below you can see that Anna was THRILLED to ride it. Anna and Oma rode it about six or seven times. Each time Anna chose a different place on the train to ride.

I love the big smile Anna has on her face looking at her Oma. She LOVES Oma!! We all do.

We stayed with Mom-Mom and Dad-Dad. It is always good to see them. They loved seeing the girls and cheering Claire on as she would rock back and forth on her knees trying to learn to crawl.

Heinrich Family

A short while ago, we took a train trip to get out and see some local sights. Well, we did it again. This time we got to make the trip with Joey's parents along with Joey's brother and his family. Joey's dad, brother, and nephews have a passion for trains so this was a fitting choice of a family outing. They still need to oil the wheels on the train to prevent the squeaking, and it was a little chilly in the open air car we rode in, but otherwise it was actually a nice trip and we all had fun!


And of course no visit from family would be complete without some family pictures!!! It's not too often that Joey and his brother are in the same place as his parents. They've always been in different cities, usually in completely different regions of the country, so they don't see each other regularly.

Below is a picture of Joey's parents holding Anna and Claire with Joey's nephews, Kaleb (left) and Carston (right) standing on the sides.


Here's the whole gang. Back row from left to right, Charity (Joey's sister-in-law) and Walter (Joey's brother), Joey holding Claire, and Kim. Front row from left to right, Kaleb, Joey's mom holding Carston, Joey's dad, and Anna.


And these people, well, you have to do one free-for-all pose for family pictures right?

Twisted Ankle Trail Half-Marathon

Joey has decided he would like to run a 50k this year and as his first training race, he decided to tackle a trail race held near Rome, Georgia in Sloppy Floyd State Park. The starting line was next to the big lake in the middle of the park.

It was a race called the Twisted Ankle Trail half marathon. It was a 13.1 mile course which ran up a ridiculously steep mountain and went out and back along the ridge line before coming back down the mountain to the finish.

We don't have any pictures of the hill or much of the course, but let me just say, the climb up the mountain, which began around the 2nd mile marker, was a mile long and had over an 800 foot elevation gain. It was brutal!!

Joey took a wrong turn, along with several other people, on a poorly marked portion of the trail on the way down the mountain which killed his time, but otherwise he enjoyed his scenic stroll through the woods and will probably go back next year!! Maybe Kim will join him on the run next time!

Kim stayed in the park with Anna during the race and they actually held a kids run around the lake while the runners were out on the course. It was at least a mile and Anna made it the whole way on her own and ran most of it too! She's only 2! Way to go Anna!!

Mother's Day 2010

I am so blessed to be the mother of two beautiful little girls. Anna and Claire bring so much joy to my life. I love the smiles, hugs, and kisses they give so freely. I am so grateful and honored that Heavenly Father has entrusted them to my care. I love my Anna and Claire!