from sea to shining sea

Happy Memorial Day! This day has a lot of meaning and significance for many Americans. I recently watched a few movies about wars that Americans have fought in and through the story telling and acting in those movies I gained a new respect for what many men and women have given up for us as Americans. We do live in the best country in the world so if you are or have served...Thanks! We decided to have an all out American day, which began by mowing our lawn. What is more American than that? We did have a picture, but Melissa looked pretty sweaty afterwards and it was vetoed. You get the idea though.

Next we headed to our new swimming pool, but before you get too excited it's just an 8x8 blow up that we got from Sam's Club. All three of us fit in it and after mowing the lawn and trimming, it was just what we needed. This is only the second time we've been in the pool and I think Charlotte loves it a bit more each time. We picked up some great pool toys from the dollar store and enjoyed a refreshing dip in our luxurious pool.

I enjoy taking aim at the dogs and surprising them as they linger close to our deck. Notice my precise aim.

We live in a great little town that has it's own Memorial Day Parade, so after a morning nap for Charlotte and a quick lunch we headed up the street to take in the hoopla. Here is a picture of me and Charlotte at the same parade last year.

Now compare to this year...a few more grays on my head and lot more hair on Charlotte's.

We dressed Charlotte up in a patriotic jumper and some volunteers offered us some handheld flags and Charlotte gladly accepted.

She also found a fountain that sits in front of one the shops on the main drag and was mesmerized by it.

She even decided that the flag needed to be baptized a few times as well. I told Melissa that after Charlotte carried that flag around for about 10 minutes we probably needed to retire it properly and have it burned for all of the ways she desecrated it...but she sure had fun.

I love this shot!

Here's how the parade began. Pretty small-town-feel, but a great parade.

Charlotte wasn't always sure what to think of everything, but she had a good time anyhow.

Here's one of the local high school marching bands. They didn't have any bands last year so this was a treat for band nerds like us.

Ford Mustang fans would have loved this part.

Another great shot of the girls.

The best part is that we live so close to the parade route that when we wanted to head home, we did, and it only took 5 minutes.

We knew that as Americans, we had to put some meat on a grill today, so I thought long and hard and landed on baby back ribs. I haven't made them in a while but, after all was said and done, I couldn't tell that I hadn't made them in a while because they turned out awesome. We added some homemade au gratin potatoes, courtesy of the Pioneer Woman, some simple corn on the cob, sparkling lemonade and some fresh strawberries. Here's the shot before we all dug in.

Charlotte's first crack at a rib bone. She acted like she'd been eating these things for years.

Also her first crack at corn on a cob. No big deal. Apparently the 5 teeth she has coming in right now are paying off big time.

This stuff is yummy.

Before we cleaned up I looked at the table and told Melissa, "I have to take a picture of this." We demolished the table.

Finally, what's more American than a popsicle on the front porch. Charlotte knew what to do with these as popsicles are an everyday occurrence at the Hess House.

"What.....it's all gone?"

And to round things off, drinking out of the hose. Melissa showed Charlotte first...

...and Charlotte stepped right up.

We hope you had a great day with family or friends or whatever. It's never easy living away from family, but our little family here did today BIG. As a matter of fact, everyone but me is asleep. Charlotte in her crib, Melissa and Abby on the couch and Jack asleep in his bed. Love to all of you, near and far.

-jay

no. five quilt

Last weekend two very sweet people got married.  Jay and I both worked on a little something for them.  I have been waiting to post pictures until they got home from their honeymoon and opened their presents.  The word on the street is that all gifts have been opened... so I present the No. Five Mrs. Hess quilt. You see, Brook is now the fifth Mrs. Hess, so we had to create something that symbolizes this world changing event.  Afterall, there are five of us now. Five fabrics on the front of the quilt, representing each Mrs. Hess.  Wrap that up with one poem written by my Mr. Hess and you have one original wedding gift!

“I need some Hess women,” said God So he found a great couple and gave Norma a nod And Norma was a great great commencement But one Mrs. Hess was just not sufficient So Norma bore her first born son And Richard Hess began to run All over Milford, here and there Until he met a young girl with long dark hair He thought, “this girl, I must make my wife” And the second Mrs. Hess came to life Not long after, came David and Dee And before we knew it, the Mrs. Hess’ were three To Germany, Texas and Utah too And in the process two boys grew The girl with long dark hair had a son And the road to four Mrs. Hess’ begun Jay married a girl from 45140 And left for Virginia with Melissa in tow Back home in Ohio, Tristan met Brook And like most love stories it began with a look They walked, talked and their love began to thrive And so that’s why today we now have five.....Mrs. Hess’

If you would like the pattern for this quilt, you can find it here, it was pretty high tech!

Congrats again, Mr. and Mrs. Hess

xoxo, Mr. Hess and No. Four

why, hello...

summer is that you?  Do I hear kids already filling the neighborhood with squeals from their pool?  Sprinklers watering lawns?  The ice cream man coming by the house every evening?  I think it is!

Today C and I got to spend some time with one of her besties.  It was a lovely, warm sunny day so we decided to start this Memorial Day weekend with some fun.  Last night I dug through some of her bags of clothes that have been given to us by friends and I found SEVEN bathing suits that she can wear this summer-SEVEN!  We really have been blessed with so many of our friends that have given us so many girls clothes.  Now, all I think she needs is a super cute cover up for all her adventures this summer.

Today we got to try out some of those cute little bathing suites.  One worn by Miss Charlotte and the other by Miss Penelope-

-melissa

on the fly

I have long been a fan of TLC. While I actually used to learn things on that channel (novel idea since it's called The Learning Channel) it has now become the main spot for many of my favorite reality shows over the past decade or so. I loved Little People Big World and was sad to see it end. Who doesn't love 19 Kids and Counting and our favorite cake maker, Buddy Valastro on Cake Boss? Even our long lost friends Jon and Kate got their beginnings on TLC.

I happened to be on www.southwest.com this morning checking my point balance and found out that a new show begins tonight called On the Fly, which focuses on the industry and mainly, Southwest Airlines. I love Southwest. I love to travel and I love airplanes so I'm excited to watch tonight. So if you are fellow aviation/travel enthusiast, tune in with me this evening at 9/8c. If it's a horrible show, I apologize, but I'm excited to see how it goes. That is all.

-jay