Baby Colin

Colin Anderson Rudd meets his brothers.  

Isn't he super precious?

Daddy love.

Ryan and Julia are in love with their newest nephew already!

Girlfriend Lunch

I've got some of the BEST girlfriends! Here are some of "the notorious 9" crew at a Peel lunch.

Amanda, Kel, Em and I pose with Ryan as he shows us some moves. =)

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun 4th hanging with family at the pool and then spending the rest of the day cheering on the Cardinals. (Thanks, Mr. Busch for the tickets!)

The munchkins pretending to be statues...one of their favorite pastimes these days. I can't figure out WHERE they ever got this idea from!?!

Happy 4th of July!

Look Who's Getting Married...

Emily!
And she let our little flower girl enjoy a bit of heaven by helping her open presents.

Julia hangs out with her new best friend Melissa.
(Who bribed her way into this position by sharing her cupcake!)

Bridesmaids, bride and flowergirl. =)

High school girlfriends!

Tommy The Turtle + Mystery Egg

Ryan was super bummed that we wouldn't let him buy a turtle on our Destin trip. He saw a little one in a gift shop and has yet to let us forget about it. My parents found this little guy in their landscaping and brought him over to try and appease our little man.  Mission successful. 

After a few days in captivity (and seriously, in my opinion torture by a 6 yr old and 4 yr old!) we convinced Ry it was best to let his little friend go free. That if he was so happy staying at our house, he would stick around, and if he missed his family he would be free to go off and find them again.

While spending time with Glammie and Papa, Ryan found this egg near their house. 

Of course, we had to bring this little piece of nature home too.  Papa said whatever was inside was no longer living.  Naturally, my little guy had to remove it from it's location and bring it home.  (Thank you, mom! AUGH!)  I did check with our scientist neighbor to make sure it wasn't a snake egg or anything.  She confirmed it was most likely a duck or goose egg. Ewww!

Ice Cream, We All Scream!

I think Ryan's favorite part of playing teeball is the post-game activities.  Ice cream!  Here, he asks us to pose for him to take a photo.

Family Lake Week 2011

Excited kids heading for the boat.  Julia has been growing out her hair, and it's finally long enough for a ponytail.  On another note, I just want to squeeze that little tush! =)

Jeff bought a wakeboard and this was our first trip with it.  He wasn't disappointed with his newest toy!

Julia decides to take the plunge and goes for her first (I think??!) ride in the tube with Daddy.

Uncle Brian, Lucas and Tyler chill and watch to let us know when our skier/wakeboarder/tubers are off.

Ry gets cozy with Aunt Amy.

Uncle Jeff and Ry let us throw them around on the tube for a bit.

And photo proof Glammie even went for a ride on the tube!

Julia Tball

Look out world! We've been practicing hard!
Lucas, Andrew, Tyler, Jake, Emma, Maddie and Julia
cool off from their hard work with icy treats.

Destin 2011

The kids had a BLAST playing in the pools at Destin West.  

Our condo had the ocean on one side, and the gulf coast on the other.  Our surfing boys preferred the big waves of the ocean!

Julia and Mommy like the pools best!

Chilaxin'

After our condo rental in Destin, we went on to stay a few nights at the house of friends in Navarre Beach.  Navarre is rated one of the top beaches in the nation...we know why!! Beautiful, relaxing, and not nearly as crowded as Destin's ever popular beaches.  

Beach bums!

Julia loved playing in the sand with her Ariel doll and making castles for her.

Ryan LOVED surfing.

We lucked out and some great friends, the Morris family, were in Destin  for the first portion of our trip and we stayed in the same resort.  Tarra, the awesome planner, even brought along two sitters, so we were able to have some adult time on our trip.  Horray!

My munchkins!

Humoring me for yet another beach photo!

We can't WAIT to go back again!

Last Day of School!

This BIG kid, is now officially a FIRST GRADER!!

When he came home, we got to work cleaning out his backpack...THIS "treasure" he insisted on keeping and looked at me like I had two heads when I was trying to throw it away.  He promises me that these are his "important" things.

And somehow the putting away of the supplies turned into crafting time...this is maybe NOT the way to start out summer break.  Clean house = messy house. This transformation happens very quickly!

Which somehow evolved into Ry fixing Julia's hair.  It's not as sweet as it seems..he is trying to make her look like a monster.  Don't think my 6 yr old boy would be giving her princess treatment or anything! =)

Recently, a kind neighbor gave us this train track from her childhood.  Glam and Papa came by and we visited our local hobby store for some supplies to see if we could get it up and running.  Ryan is in HEAVEN.  His train "phase" maybe not such a phase...it's thus far truly been a lifelong hobby! Daddy and Papa are having fun with this new set too.  I am wondering how many train sets we'll need to collect before the madness all ends!

All Boy...

Today I received a phone call from the school secretary telling me,
"Ryan found some mud on the playground and he'll be needing
some new shoes, new shorts, new shirt..um, you probably want to go
 ahead and bring him up an entire new outfit!"
My dear boy, someday when you have a son of your own, I want to make sure you r
emember all these things...and your poor wife..and the laundry she will endure!! =)

Ry's First Teeball Game

Ry had his first teeball game today, and quite the crowd showed up to cheer for our little man!

His first hit...a base hit!
(And the crowd went wild!)

Run to first!!!

And he scores!!

After the game, we enjoyed some ice cream--much needed on this HOT day!

Ry learns some news...

Julia learns some news...

Happy 8th Anniversary and Baby News!

We celebrated an eventful 8th wedding anniversary today..

learning we will soon be adding to our family a...