More Balloons

It's Kansas! There are apparently quite a few events involving these things, and the kids and I still find them pretty darn cool!

Thirteen Candles on Her Birthday Cake

So we now officially have a teenager in the house. The moment I've thought about with dread for so many years now. But the world didn't end! My child wasn't transformed overnight into some sassy, eye-rolling, back-talking melodramatic vaguely familiar version of the Ramsey we've always known. She's still exactly the same sweet and lovable and hilarious little ray of sunshine she has always been.

She had a really, really fun day as she hit the big milestone. Teacher conferences at her school meant no school on her birthday or the Friday that followed. 7 cute and giggly teenage girls came over to spend the day with us to help make Ramsey's special day even more unforgettable.

So here's to 13 candles representing 13 amazing years since we first received that precious pink bundle of sweetness and love. Thank you, God, for the beautiful gift of this wonderful daughter.

Ram's Treasure Hunt

For Ramsey's "big" birthday present, we sent her on a bit of a wild goose chase, picking up clues throughout the house. The quality of this video is so terrible because our house has really bad lighting, but hopefully you can follow along through the dark parts by listening to the audio.

It really is SO much fun to be a parent during moments like these. :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Flashback to June 2006

The girls and I stumbled across this old photo taken before Alaire was even 2 years old, and we instantly noticed that it looked so much like the pic of them I'd just put up here taken last weekend. We laughed and laughed as we clicked back and forth from this one to that one, this one to that one. So you know something like that just has to be blogged!

The Baby Sister

Attention Paw Paw Gary!!!

The week was halfway gone before I realized that I was too late to get a birthday card mailed to you in time for your special day. Lucky for me, your adorable grandchildren often pick up my slack during times like these. Happy birthday! We love and miss you very much!

Freezing at the Fountain

Hidden somewhere within this somewhat long video clip is a little something that I'm sure wins us the Parents of the Year Award for the Greater Kansas City Area. We would like to thank our son for all his efforts in helping us to achieve that honor.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Tiny is 4½ Now!

And quite a jolly good fellow he is!

Scenes from a September Saturday

Packed up the kids and some food last Saturday for a picnic at Shawnee Mission Park. We drove all over the park finding the perfect spot. And boy did we find the perfect spot! Such a fun and gorgeous day!

As we were driving home I remarked that we'd never taken the kids to splash in the Corporate Woods fountain this entire summer--something we'd surprise them with occasionally last summer that they just loved. We knew it'd be a little chilly in the September evening air to go running around through that very cold water, but since none of their great-grandparents were around to fuss at us about that, we decided to let them live it up!

Just one of those simple days that start off with "What should we do today?" and end up with "I wish we could do that all over again exactly* the same way tomorrow."

*with the exception of the tick I picked up in the woods and found sucking my blood 4 whole days later.

Mr. Tough Guy

Labor Day Weekend

We hadn't been down to Silver Dollar City since Mother's Day weekend, so we were pretty excited to get back there again this past weekend. Maren brought along Bob the Beaver, a stuffed friend from her classroom who enjoys taking little trips with the students anytime one of them goes someplace fun. We took a tour of Marvel Cave in the park for the first time, and it seems to be about the only place Mom snapped any photos. It was cool and damp and dark down there with lots of little bats flapping about! We had a really fun day at the park--the warmest day we've ever had there, so during the last little while that we were there we rode all the rides we don't usually ride, you know those ones that get you absolutely drenched. Also we discovered Curran had grown a few inches over the summer and can now ride all the big stuff that Alaire can ride. No more baby roller coasters for any of these Cajun Cuties! We all had a ball!

My Beautiful and Amazing New Baby Niece

5 weeks before her estimated due date, Rori Claire amazed us all by joining our family very quickly and unexpectedly. She is the first baby of my brother Travis and my sister-in-law Becki. Becki had such a fantastic pregnancy, and a speedy quick labor and delivery that would make any mommy green with envy! I am so incredibly proud of this adorable little family, and I honestly do not know how I am going to survive being a thousand miles away from this beautiful little angel for the next couple years.

Lucky for me, she did come early because that means that her christening was scheduled during a teeny little window of time in which Aaron was on break between college trimesters...which means I was able to hop on a plane and fly down to do my godmotherly duties for the weekend while Aaron stayed behind to do fatherly duties at home with our own precious babies.

There are no words to say how in love with this baby I am! I am so, so happy and thankful that our family has been blessed with her.