Happy 2011!

Happy New Year, everyone!

This is the Underwoods' last night in Florida.

Tomorrow they'll be driving back to Iowa.

Boo hoo :(

Eruption on Mt. Vernon Drive...

There was an eruption on Mt. Vernon Drive last night!

 Blake finished making his volcano--a Christmas gift from his Big Sister.

After cutting up a disposable container (old milk carton) to mix the volcano-building material,

 he stirred and blended the mixture with water.

Got his hands in the muck...sandy stuff that dries slowly

so there's plenty of time to create the mountainous volcano.

A little landscaping for scale and bit of reality...

...paint to develop character...

...and finally, it's ready to go.

He pours in a tablespoon of soda...

...stirs up a vial of vinegar and dishwashing liquid

(the instructions say to be sure to wear those goggles!)...

...and thar' she blows!!!!

Bowling with Dave

Dave and Blake found Gabe (9) at the beach yesterday. We exchanged contact info and met Gabe and his mom, Joan, at the bowling alley on a cold and windy night (last night).

Here's Gabe (Gabriel)...

bowler Blake...

...and Gabe's Mom, Joan, an excellent bowler.

We ended the night with these scores on the third game.

Good time had by all :)

Maybe today we'll play with Gabriel at the playground near his house...

depending on how much energy we have for being outdoors on another cold and rainy day.

Santa Pants

All the boys get Santa Pants this year!

Here's Landon.

Here's Blake.

And here's Hunter!

All set for Christmas Eve...

Have a good one, everyone!

A Timeless Classic

Landon in 2010	Allen in 1943
Adam and Kim here with a little treat. Here is our little man Landon dressed up in a special outfit worn by his grandfather Allen in 1943. It’s still in great shape and is great for any occasion. It actually even still smells pretty nice. Notice the very different hair.

Another Winter

 Note from Becky:

The Underwoods arrived in Venice at 6 p.m. Sunday evening.

 Hunter intended to post a winter greeting to you from a clipart picture he'd saved

on his computer but the server rejected his use of the art for posting here.

He substituted with this winter picture from a couple years ago...

we'll get busy and make some new pictures :)

Swimming in the Snow

It's 9 degrees in Champaign, IL but Hunter and Blake

 couldn't resist jumping into the snow-surrounded pool.

Landon Visits Santa

Adam said he worried that Landon would freak out when he got near Santa. It didn't happen.

 Landon practically jumped out of Adam's arms to get to Santa..the little daredevil...

a boy who completely enjoyed his visit with Santa. 

Thanks, Virg

And a good time was had by all.

Mr. Softie and I drove to North Fort Meyers for a little tete 'e tete (sp?) with Virg.

While there we took a little tour of the water/park area in Moody River,

the part that's been turned into a bee farm by the mad, mad, mad developer.

Kayaking, anyone?

Spider starts another season

Blake and Hunter opened their 2010-2011 wrestling season with a tournament at daddy's old high school - Pekin.

Hunter won his first match and ended up with a bronze medal. Good for his comeback after being out for over a year.


Blake pinned all three of his opponents in under 57 seconds each. The last one was 27 seconds. The Spider is wrapping up one of his opponents here in the photo.

Here is Blake on the winners podium.

Daddy is proud!

Turkey Trot 2010

Thanksgiving has come and gone. The Underwood's carried on their tradition by starting Thanksgiving morning with a brisk 2 or 5 mile run this year in 19 degrees. (no moisture or breeze though). Hunter and Dave chose the 2 mile leg both finishing better than the year before. Blake chose the 5 mile run finishing in 40:23 and coming in first place in his age bracket.

The next morning Amy took the boys shopping at 4 am. Target was way more challenging than any 5 mile brisk run!

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Getting the Guest House Ready for the Underwoods!