Vacation Part 1

This past week has been consumed with family, fellowship & fun.
Wednesday my brother Derek and his family of six arrived at my parents after traveling for a month across the states visiting family and friends. They have spent the past 2 years in Toronto Canada where Derek did a fellowship in liver transplant. They are relocating to Birmingham Alabama where Derek will be a part of the University of Alabama transplant team. It was so exciting to get to meet the newest addition to their family Connor David and for them to finally meet our baby D.

I am sure you are wondering how this picture fits into the whole vacation thing.
Well ... while we visited at my parents Wednesday evening Quila found it necessary to get into the snacks I had packed for our trip. She consumed an unknown amount of mini marshmallows and 2 whole fruit leather strips. Needless to say she was puffed up like a balloon appearing to be carrying a six pack liter of pups.
So this is how MY vacation started out on Thursday. The dog decided that the sweets weren't settling well with her and up they came not once, but twice all over ME and my white jeans. DISGUSTING!


We stayed at this quaint lake home off Table Rock Lake. The house and all the amenities it offered were beautiful. The home was furnished with four seperate king bedroom suites each with their own jacuzzi jetted tub and shower. It was perfect for our family and provided plenty of space.

Here our our girls: Danielle 16 gifted in creative writing and an aspiring musician, Gabrielle 3 our little princess & Paige 15 the fashionista and golf pro in the making.
This is how they spent much of their time together. Snuggled up to one another listening to their IPods, reading or watching movies. Gabrielle was loving the girl time and all the attention!

Dylan 7 & Logan 5 both adorable and so full of energy.
I got a glimpse of what it will be like to raise a boy in a few years from now.
Tyler, my 17 year old nephew, was unable to be with us as he was participating in a golf tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Here are our babies: Connor 13 months & Dawson 10 months
Dawson learned to pull himself up while in Branson and has nearly mastered the art of crawling. He had been content to army crawl for several weeks prior to this.
I will be back soon with more about our vacation get away!
Please let me know you have stopped by.

Home Sweet Home

4 hours in the car, 6 unanswered voice mails, 130 e-mails (which I am slowly sifting through), 16 new blog posts (all read - I am a professed addict!), 6 loads of laundry, 2 kiddos bathed and sound asleep & this tired momma is off to bed herself.
We are glad to be home.
I will be back soon to post a few pictures from our family vacation.

Feeding the ducks

This past Monday we met up with Marietta and Nevaeh at a great little park located off K7 on Dennis Ave here in Olathe. They have a pond where you can feed the ducks, a walking trail, a playground area, shelter, etc.

The ducks amused us as they were scared of our shadow cast on the water. It didn't take long before they realized we were offering them some goodies (bread). Several ducks across the lake put on a little show for us fighting over something/someone. It really was quite funny to watch.

Gabrielle and Nevaeh doing their best to look at the camera but squinting from the sun.

Mmmmmm time for a little snack for themselves ...

Little man just hangin' while the girls were having fun!
I would definitely recommend this park area for a day outing for anyone. It is great that it is close in proximity and free fun for the kids.

Knock Out

For those of you who know us you are well aware of our love of MMA fighting. For those of you who didn't know that, well now you do. I am what some might call a female fanatic! I love to watch UFC fighting. Anywho, after baths tonight there was still about 30 minutes before Gabrielle's bed time so we all piled into our bed and turned on the fights. When the 1st fight was over Gabrielle crawled on top of Travis and said "Daddy let's pretend we are fighting" and started throwing fists in the air. That can't be good right?? Travis was quick to say "We only fight with lots of hugs and kisses" and proceeded to tackle her lovingly.
I am off to finish watching the big fights with my hubby!

Wild Child

I may be a little biased, but could this kid be any cuter?

OMG I am so in love! How can one lil' man make one Momma so crazy mad in love? It is true the Lord makes enough room for love for 2 or 3 or even 5 for some of you crazies!! J/K

Baby D was "fresh" out of the bathtub early the other morning and I decided why not give him a mohawk before his hair cut later that same afternoon. He obviously knew how adorable he was because the smiles just kept coming. Sister thought he looked hysterical and was rolling with laughter.

He was due for another cut (his 4th since birth!!) as this picture shows. His new cut gives him more of a big boy look. I put gel in it Saturday morning and gave him that just out of bed, I am a punk rocker, messy look :0)
Love the new look Bubby Boo, Love your Mommy

Recently Said and Heard

Oh the things that come out of my child's mouth! When will we learn that everything and I repeat everything she hears, she repeats?
* Shopping at WalMart several nights ago so said "You are really ticking me off!" I turned to Travis and said "Did you just hear what she said?" He looked at Gabrielle and asked "What did you just say?" Yep ... no question ... we heard correct the 1st time. Unbelievable.
* Yesterday she ate like a bird. She didn't finish breakfast or lunch and then refused supper. I informed her that when she decided she was hungry that she needed to finish her lunch before having any snacks. Travis took her swimming and it took her all of two minutes after entering the door to say she was hungry. I promptly said I would reheat her lunch and she said "No, please give me something with sugar in it (very dramatic). I need a brownie please. I don't want a healthy snack. I want something with sugar." She definitely has her Mommy's sweet tooth :0)
* We often times have a dance party in Dawson's bedroom so today as she is dressed in her dress up clothes looking like a little doll and putting on a show for her brother the song He Reigns by Newsboys comes on the radio. The singer sang "It's all God's children singing glory, glory, hallelujah, He Reigns." and Gabi says "Mommy, listen it's the Holy Moly song!"

Weekend Part 2

Saturday was another fun filled day! We started the morning off with a birthday celebration for Ava at Deanna Rose Farmstead aka The Farm. Gabrielle put on her adventure hat and decided she wanted to try several new things ... so 1st the two of us rode on the wagon ride. We saw a deer near the St. Andrews golf course and a dragonfly while on the ride.

I took this picture as I thought it was so cute that she wanted to hold my hand as reassurance while on the wagon ride. I will definitely be doing a scrap page of this photo. Look how dark she is compared to her Mommy!

Another pic I love! I have tried several times while visiting Deanna Rose to get a good picture of her in "her cabin" but she never seems to cooperate or other children get in the photo, so I was pleased with this one.

Gabrielle's 1st solo pony ride on Chico.
She is riding barefoot versus bareback :0)

Gabi and Aunt Shari enjoying some birthday cupcakes - yummy!

The highlight of the weekend was our outing Saturday evening. We went to Theatre in the Park to see Beauty and the Beast. The production was amazing and the talent (especially Belle) was beyond words. Gabrielle was all eyes and ears! She stayed awake the entire show as well as the car ride home. We didn't get her down until 11:30PM!!! Funky Mama played prior to the show so we shook our stuff and sang our hearts out. What an evening to remember!

33 & 8

Today I celebrate my 33rd birthday and our 8th wedding anniversary. My day was made special by family and friends! I met up with some girlfriends for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. I was showered with some funny cards, an adorable cake amd a great smelling candle along with some scrapping goodies. Tonight my mom gifted her time to care for the kiddos so Travis and I could dine out. We over indulged ourselves on great food and a delicious shared shake for dessert. We capped the evening off with a nice walk around the neighborhood.
What have I learned about myself and my marraige over the past year?
1. I am my mother's daughter (I still have a problem saying no)
2. I have my Dad's temperament (short in the patience department ... I'm working on this one)
3. It is a challenge to remember to fill my mate's love tank at the end of the day after expending so much energy with my little ones
4. The toughest, most fiercely underpaid full-time position is being a stay at home momma - BUT, I wouldn't change my role for all the money in the world!
5. I have reestablished my love for reading however don't make enough time to do so on a regular basis
6. Travis continues to stick by my side even with my ugly behaviors, lack of make-up, unkept hair & unshaved legs! This MUST be love :0)
7. The cook book is slowly becoming my friend. It no longer just occupys shelf space collecting dust!
8. I am still me ... tender hearted & compassionate, a good listener & passionate about my family

4th of July

I hope everyone had a terrific 4th of July weekend! Our family sure enjoyed our extended weekend. GG and Aunt Shari traveled from Springfield to spend the weekend with us. We spent Friday afternoon at the Gardner Aquatic Center (thanks Marietta for the tip on this fab location!) I strongly suggest visiting the water park if you haven't already done so. We had a fun filled afternoon of floating in the lazy river, splashing in the baby pool, playing in the water play area, eating lots o' snacks & popsicles, then more water fun. We were knuckle heads and forgot our cameras, so ... no pics this go around.
Friday evening we grilled out and spent the remainder of the evening outdoors.

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Gabrielle loved the bag of fireworks that her Daddy bought for her. She wasn't a bit intimidated by the snap pops, sparklers and various other fireworks he purchased.

I love this picture of my sweet baby boy!
We stretched his schedule and he proved to be a perfect angel all weekend.

GG & Aunt Shari are both very hands on which provides such a great break for Travis and I. They jump right in with house duties, gathering the necessaries to get out the door, helped with diaper changes, etc. This 4th will definitely go down as one of my favorites throughout my married life.
We had soooo much family fun! Stay Tuned - More to come on Saturdays events

9 months old

9 months old already!!!
At Dawson's 9 month well baby exam he was found to be in the 25th percentile in height at 27.5 inches and in the 30th percentile in weight weighing 19 pounds, 9 ounces. He is a happy baby with a vibrant personality. He says Mama, Dada, waves goodbye and loves to stand propped against a piece of furniture. He still doesn't have any pearly whites and isn't crawling. It was confirmed at his orthopedic appointment this past week that his developmental delays are most definitely a result of several tight muscle groups within his lower back and groin region. We will be starting massage therapy soon which will help to release those muscle groups and hopefully improve his bowels as well. We have an outpatient procedure scheduled in late August for botox injections to those same muscle regions. This has proven to give torticollis patients great relief.

The smile says it all!

Sissy stealing a kiss

Gabrielle and I were invited by our neighbor Heather and her 2 year old daughter Ava to attend the Mr. Stinky Feet and Funky Mama performace this past Saturday at the Record Bar. What fun!!! We are looking forward to seeing Funky Mama perform again this Saturday evening at Theatre in the Park. I rewarded Gabrielle's recent good behavior with purchasing the new Moo Juice CD. All for now! Happy 4th!