Daddy Rocks!

We celebrated Daddy (and Papa!) today with a brunch at our house and then a competitive game of Uno Attack.

Aunt Stacy and her favorite little guy get cozy.

Julia busies herself during our game by pulling out her American Girl catalog and "shopping".

Ry helps Uncle Patrick by pressing the game button for him, and Aunt Crystal sports her sticker bling Julia gives her on her shirt.

Visit with Grumpy & Aunt Kathy

Today we drove up to Chicago to visit Grumpy and Aunt Kathy. Ryan continues his 3 year obsession with trains, so he was super excited when Aunt Kathy offered to bring us to see some up close! This particular train is the same type Grumpy used to work for!

I heart trains!

Grumpy spoils Ryan with a bag of M&Ms.

The kids enjoy a treat of peppers, which they like to eat like apples. Except the green ones, which Ry deems as "Yucky!"

KBK

Our church, Metro, held their annual Kids Bible Kamp this week and Ryan was able to attend for the first year as an actual camper! (He has gone previous years for fun while I volunteered at KBK, but this was his first year to officially be a part of the activities!)

The last day of camp there is a family friendly carnival in the evening and the kids all go on stage and sing the songs they learned throughout the week. Thad and Ryan had front and center spots! GREAT for snapping pics for me! =)

An average of 500 kids attended KBK each day, and 300 volunteers made this great event happen!

Julia snuggles up to Daddy watching Ry and the kids sing.

SuperGirlz!

Josie and Julia playing dress up...can't you just see them as eccentric little 80 yr old women someday?

...and enjoying a little snack still in full costume. =)

Julia+Hot Pink Marker

= 2 year old with crazy lipstick

...who thinks she is really hot stuff!

Editor's note to DFS: I really only left her alone about 2 minutes. She can be very creative very quickly!! =)

Traditions

We had a fun family weekend at the lake. Amy and Jeff continued the tradition they started last year of taking the kids first thing in the morning to the gas station down the street in their pjs to get a nutritious breakfast...any candy they choose + a ring pop for good measure.
Amy & Jeff will soon be publishing their new book: How to Become the Favorite Uncle/Aunt in One Easy Step.

Happy Birthday, Mat! Happy 6 mos preggo, Beth!

Ok, isn't she crazy cute??!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Four Legged Friend

Ryan: Mommy, is Kate getting bigger like we are? Is she as much as me?
Me: Yes, she is actually six years old!
Ryan: Six years old??!
Ryan: (laughing to Kate): Kate! You are 6 years old! You silly old dog! Mommy, take our picture!

When You Are Two...

...the blueberries should come in the box for this cereal. You will insist on pouring out the entire box trying to find them. When explained to you that only the cereal comes in the box, you will say, "Oh."...you will say that this fairy princess is your "sister"....you will stand on a booster seat, put on your brothers shoes and proclaim, "Look at me! I am very tall!"

Run For The Stars 10K

After MUCH peer pressure from his siblings, Jeff decided to run a 10k race today...with only 2 weeks of training under his belt!

Stacy runs by and Ry and Papa cheer her on.

Uncle Patrick, Aunt Crystal (who was the first girl to cross the finish line!), Peter, Aunt Stacy, and Jeff.

The kids enjoyed a bounce house on site. Although Julia was NOT happy about getting pushed down the slide by Ry, but we weren't sure how else to get her down from there!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jacob!

The birthday boy gets the "Most Spirited" award for excitement over icing!

Oh my...look at our cute babies!
They really could pass for twins lately, I think!

Julia really wants Ty to play with her...

Happy Birthday, Jake!
We had a great time at your party!

Summertime backyard fun!

I see you!

Balloon Fun

Ryan took these balloons yesterday from church.
In fact, he always thinks of his sister
when it comes to getting stuff...
one for him, one for Julia = two for him.

This indoor fun kept us busy nearly 45 minutes!
Hopefully, I've worn them out enough to get a nap out of Ry today! =)

The Reward Bucket

If you give a potty-training 2 year old a jelly bean for going on the potty...
She's going to want some more...
She's going to want a sucker to go along with that...
And if you give her a sucker...
She might want to brush her teeth...
And drink the water...
And if she drinks the water...
She's going to need to potty again!

Cousins

Cousins...can you just imagine the fiasco we are going to have on our hands in another 10 years??