I hope you have a big trunk... because I'm puttin' my bike in it.

I finally got my birthday present! Andrew got me a bike for my birthday this year.  But it's not just any bike... it's a vintage Schwinn! FUN!

It was his mom's bike originally.  He took it to the local Schwinn dealer and they were really excited about it.

It's a Traveler III in a really cool "Schwinn blue".  The bike shop wanted to deck it out with blue tires, rims, handlebars, etc.  Luckily they did not.  I think it looks fine as is. 

I found out online that I can look up the badge number to find out what year it is.  The badge number is 0789. I believe that means that it's from the 78th day (March 19th) of 1979 making it 31 years old! Wow! It is in excellent shape.  The shop owners said that they had 2 other Schwinn Traveler III frames come through their shop recently and each one was rusty.  They were amazed that this one was completely rust-free. Sweet!

It needed a little fixing up.  When we picked it up at the bike shop today, Andrew saw it and said, "WHOA! It looks completely different!" It has been in storage for a loooonnngggg time. 
But... he didn't get a "Before" picture! :(  Dang!

I gotta say that it is really fun to joy ride around on my new Steel Steed.  But X-tra Lite? Not so much.  Maybe for 1979?

I also got a new app for my iPhone called Hipstamatic. (Thanks Aunt Shiela!)  It makes your iPhone photos look retro.  Very fun little app once you figure out how to use it.  I took some experimental pictures...

Whoa! So retro! :)

This looks like a lot of the photos in my family's albums!

My favorite one.  It's hard to line up the lens through the app but I'm working on it.  More fun retro pictures to come, I'm sure!

I can't help but sing Kodachrome when I use this app.  But I always sing it as "I got an iPhone camera, I love to take a phoootograph. So Mama, don't taaaaake my Kooooodachrome awaaaaaay."

Sorry.  I should have given you a Nerd Alert before that one. :)

Andrew's Last Game: GOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!

Andrew had his last game of the season last night at 10 pm.  Gross.  That's late.  But I took a nap so I could go and I'm glad I did.

The game started as all the other games did.  Nothing new.

The screaming crowd was in full effect!

Haha, just kidding.  I was seriously the only person sitting on those bleachers.  I guess everyone else thinks 10 o'clock is too dang late.

Andrew was doing pretty well so I decided to take some video of the game.  I wasn't really paying that close attention when.....

WHOA!!! Andrew scored his first goal!

GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!
Sing it with me now!

"DOH DUH-DI-DOH, DUH-DI-DOH, DUH-DI-DOH-DI-DOH-DA-DOH..."

The guys were all really excited for him.  It was awesome.  I'm so glad I got it on video so he can watch it over and over again.  You know he will! :) 

So congrats to Drewfus on his first goal!
He went from this...

to this...

 What a "good game" it was, indeed.

24 weeks: Kickin' It Up A Notch

 Brian was jealous that he hadn't been on the blog in awhile so he posed for this picture with me.  Gotta love First Borns! :) Such a regal beagle/pug. 

 So I've officially hit 6 months. I can't believe it.  It doesn't seem like it's been 6 whole months.  Things are becoming so real now. 

Let's see what the preggo websites have to say this week...

Babycenter.com...

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Whattoexpect.com...

Your baby is about eight and a half inches long and weighs one and a half pounds, gaining steadily at a rate of six ounces per week. Much of that weight comes from accumulating baby fat, as well as from growing organs, bones, and muscle. Those little ears of his are getting sharper and can hear very loud sounds, from a yapping dog to a jackhammer. Also by now, that fabulous face is almost fully formed, complete with eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair. Is your baby a brunette, a blonde, or a redhead? Actually, right now his locks are white since there's no pigment yet. 

Baby T is really kickin' it up a notch, hence the title of the post.  But as of last weekend, Andrew still had not felt the baby kick.  I felt so bad.  Any time I would have him put his hand on my belly, he would stop kicking.  At the 30th b-day party last weekend, someone said, "Oh my gosh, you're six months and he hasn't felt the baby kick yet?" That made me feel even better. :(  But this person did say "When he finally does feel the baby kick..." and she made the "mental picture" snapping motion like on The Office when Jim and Pam got married. 
Video explains it a little better here:



"...Take a mental picture."  So of course I was determined to make sure he could feel it.

On Monday, I was wearing these shorts that are a little too small in the waist (can't believe that!) and Baby T was going nuts.  I said, "OK hurry now, this has got to work."  He put his hand where I told him and.... HOLY CRAP! he said.  Baby T gave him a hard kick at that point. 

Mental picture... framed forever.  :)

One final thought so not to end on too sappy of a note...

Here is the first lesson in our online birthing class. 

Lesson One: Drying Baby

I think we're going to learn a lot in this class.

Boys Who Turn 30 Are Still Boys

We went down to Indy this weekend for Stafford's 30th birthday party. Now... the Staffords know how to party.

I mean, anyone with a coconut bra would know how to party!

There was a bags tournament.

...where Andrew took some time to do a little dance.

There was a grown man wearing size YOUTH MEDIUM swim trunks.

There was slapping for no reason.

The Slip N Slide was a big hit. I'm sorry, the Slip N SlideS. There were 4 in a row.

Here are some of the Slip N Sliders, bruised, cut and bleeding. Those things are dangerous!

Lower and Travis were the winners of the Bags Tournament. The trophy was a mannequin... because why not, right?

Later in the evening there was a rousing game of Sloppy Die. Yes, I was jealous. It looked like so much fun! Next year! :)

And finally there was wrestling... and again that creepy mannequin.

I believe this was an Alpha Male contest. It was very interesting. I believe in the end it was a draw because we told them to stop because one of them was going to die. When it was all over, they stood up and shook hands, complimented each other and went on with their lives.

BOYS ARE WEIRD.

Here's some video proof of all the fun that was had by the party-goers. Sorry for the violence of the wrestling match. It gets a little intense at times so avert your eyes if you get a little freaked out.

National Lampoon's Keiper Vacation: Part Deux

I don't have any stories left from vacation but I did want to post some of my favorite pictures that I didn't get a chance to post last time.

The sunset was gorgeous every night.

...and so were the mustaches.  Sick.  Another reason why we have to go next year... so Andrew can blow them out of the water with his lip sweater.

I think this picture is just so cute.  Here's Lilli contemplating her next wakeboard move.

 This is Isabel swimming as hard as she can (obviously before she "cut her foot in half").

This is another favorite from the trip.  Only because of the pink umbrella, broken sunglasses and a Budweiser to cap it all off.  Hillbilly culture embraced!

Most of the following pictures are going to be of Adam and his "Gnar Shredding".  (I don't care if I don't use the term right, ADAM!)

Gnar.  Shredded.

This one looks like Adam got shredded and not the gnar.  :)

This one too but I actually think he landed this one.

In this picture, we are following him riding behind a friend's boat.  We've found you get the best pictures this way. 

Adam would know.  He's a little obsessed with wakeboarding.  So much so that he has done it hillbilly style in our front yard at home.

He also won a contest (just a drawing, not a talent contest) and won a bunch of crap.  It's still up on the wakeworld website in fact.  He really did win a bunch of crap.  Plus he got professional pictures taken of him making the board and also using his new board on the lake while he was in Seattle . 

This is the only one I could steal from Facebook. He got to fly to Seattle, make his own board, and got a bunch of freebies to go along with it.  It was his dream come true.

You can kind of see the custom board he made here.  At least half of it. 
Ok back to the vacation.

Here are some crash shots.

This was one of the friends on the other boat crashing.

Stephanie didn't crash too much.  She basically just would let go gracefully! Makes for a good picture though.

 Here's Adam making a big splash. 

Here's Adam making an even bigger splash. 

 Here's Adam skipping across the water on his back.  OUCH!

Brandon's turn! Also a very epic crash. 

Finally, this is the friend who owned the other boat.  We had to get his picture too.

GNARLY DUDE! :)

National Lampoon's Keiper Vacation: Part One

Last week I'm sure you were all dying because there were no blog posts to read about the Thornburgs.  Well ol' Morgdorg was on vacation with her family and had absolutely no reception once we got about 30 minutes from Dale Hollow.  Bummer.  But I have to say, not having any connection to the internet or texting or cell phone calls was kinda nice.  Just for a little while.  Don't get me wrong.  My phone was beeping and dinging like crazy once we crossed the "You Ain't Welcome Here, AT&T!!" line.

Moving on... the Keiper family traveled to Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky/Tennessee state line.  It is the biggest lake I've ever seen.  I didn't even get to see all that much of it but it is HUGE.

Quite beautiful too.  It is flat as can be and there are hardly any boats on it. But that's only because the lake is so huge that 1000's of boats could be on it and you wouldn't know the difference. It is a great lake for wakeboarding.  Or as my brother referred to it once and only once, "Shredding the Nar."  HAHAHAHA!!!! He should have known better! Of course we were going to make fun of him! :) Poor guy.


Anyway, we had a great time and, between everyone with a camera, we took probably a 1000 pictures.  There were 11 of us staying in our chalet.

The kids slept on air mattresses.

Or in this case "off" the air mattresses.

The entire lake was surrounded by trees like this...

and this.  It was so peaceful.

There was a rope swing for the adults. That's my older bro, Brandon.

There's my younger bro Adam falling into the... BLUE WATER! What??? Blue water??? In a lake? I figured all lakes were brown like Freeman! :)

You can see Jack and Cec in this picture.  Adam is talking to them to see if they want to go on the rope swing.  Luckily they did not.  It was definitely for the best.  That rope swing is dangerous. We were worried about injuries all week, figuring with Adam's injury record that it would be him.  You will find out later it was not.  Stay tuned...

We also spent time at the cliffs where you could jump off cliffs ranging in size from 10 foot to 30 foot. Cec was loving it!

Here is Lilli clownin' before her jump.  (My mom's camera takes MUCH nicer pictures than mine.)

And the jump... Whee!

Pretty much everyone but my mom, dad and I wakeboarded or skied.  Cec was really enjoying it!

Jack preferred skiing over wakeboarding.

Brandon wakeboarded on his first try. 

Adam's girlfriend Steph wakeboarded but she prefers skiing and slalom skiing over wakeboarding.  But look at that "air" she's getting! Adam was proud! :)

Desi wakeboarded.  Adam always says that cheerleaders usually have no problem learning to wakeboard.  Desi was no different! Picked it right up!

Adam and Lilli wakesurfed.  Lilli was so comfortable with Adam on that surfboard that she was...

SURFING!

She also took some time to karate chop the water.  She was in heaven!

But... the deal was if she wakesurfed with Adam then she had to try wakeboarding by herself.

Here's the "Before" picture. 
Feast your eyes on the video below.  Adam is in the water with her at the beginning to make sure she can weigh the board down enough to get up.
Make sure you watch until the end.  The end is the cutest.

She obviously didn't want to do it.  When she got up (well, in the squatting position) she said, "I want to stop now, okay????"  Then after she finally got comfortable, she looked back to make sure Adam could see her wakeboarding. We kept telling her to stand up and she wanted no part of that. Sooooo funny! Then she was on a total adrenaline high afterward for about a half an hour.  She couldn't stop screaming I DID IT!!! It was soooo funny!  Adam was so proud.

He was all smiles when we came back to pick him up!

Here's the "After" picture.  They were both so excited!

So now the story is next summer Adam is going to break the Guinness World Records by having 6 month old Baby T on a wakeboard.  HA!



Now on to the injury report...

Some kind of emergency usually happens when the Keipers go on vacation.  If it's not the pop-up camper top popping off and landing in the middle of the interstate, then it's getting stuck on the top of the highest roller coaster in the park or breaking a bone or some other medical emergency.  All of which have happened to the Keipers.

So we expected this trip to be no different.  But with all of Adam's collarbone issues, we figured he would be the one who hurt himself.  Turns out, not so much.

I took this picture directly before it happened.  We were making our way back to the rope swing when we heard this sound.  It sounded like a siren with a slow build up.
WaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Poor little Isabel had sliced her foot open on a broken bottle on shore.  Brandon ran over to her and picked her up and HOLY CRAP was that a lot of blood.  I mean it was EVERYWHERE.  It was all over her and all over Brandon.  It was CRAZY.   The sight of that much blood freaked us all out. Luckily we had the tube inflated from the kids riding it directly before this.

A quick happy moment during all the blood talk...

This picture makes me laugh too.  I had to include it.  Look at all that water!!!

ANYWAY, sorry, back to the story.

So Isabel is screaming even harder now that she has seen all the blood.  We swim the tube over to Brandon and Isabel and float her back over to the boat.  Dad goes into the "I-have-to-get-my-grandbaby-to-the-hospital" mode. We all jump in the boat and race back to the lodge.  We were about a half an hour boat ride away! Yikes! Luckily before we left, some nice fellow boaters told us what ER to go to in Livingston and how to get there.  That was a lifesaver!

Since we had a half hour drive and the blood stopped gushing once Brandon applied pressure, we felt we could relax a little bit.  So of course I had to take a picture...

Poor poor Isabel!!! It was seriously the widest cut I've ever seen.  It was bad.  In fact, Lilli kept saying, "ISABEL CUT HER FOOT IN HALF!!!!"

Now, if you have a weak stomach, you may not want to look at the next picture.  This is the towel after the emergency.  Yikes!!

Gross!! So Isabel got 6 stitches in her foot and it really changed the way she played in the water.

But it certainly didn't change her attitude!! She was loving this new princess style of living life! :) Peeled grapes please!

Of course I have to post one more picture of her.  She was sitting most of the day on the back of the boat with her foot on a floatie.  Someone's beer was sitting beside her.  When a boat went by, it rocked the boat and knocked the beer over.  We told Isabel to grab it before it fell in the water...

Which of course became a prime picture-taking opportunity.  :)

It was quite the exciting vacation.  We had a great time.  It was a bummer that Andrew couldn't make it but that gives us a whole new reason to go back next year!

Here's the family photo we took after boating all day and then sweating our butts off unloading the boat. 

Just the eleven of us!! :)

I have lots more pictures to post.  This is just the first of many vacation posts.  Stay tuned for more!