Krista, Obie, Gage, and Garrett

Indoor Fun!

2012-01-26T14:12:00.002-06:00

With colder temperatures, although VERY mild for January in Kansas, we've been finding fun things to do indoors. The boys made marshmallow creations (Garrett mostly just ate his marshmallows!), and took laundry basket rides with Daddy!

Baby Jordan is here!

2012-01-26T14:03:00.003-06:00

My niece, baby Jordan, is here!! She was born on January 16. She was 6 weeks early, but she's doing well! She was in the NICU for a day, and now in the Special Care Unit. Hopefully she'll be able to go home soon!

Cousins

2012-01-10T12:31:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pictures of the Pepper cousins! Gage (5), Garrett (2 1/2), and Kaylee (2 weeks)

Gage's basketball

2012-01-10T12:25:00.002-06:00

Gage is playing 5-6 year old basketball at the Bel Aire Rec. It is pretty cute to watch! The kids barely know the concept of the game, and keep forgetting who is on their team, which basket to shoot in, etc. His good friend, Lukas is on his team, so that makes it even more fun for him. Here are a few pictures...

Baby Kaylee

2012-01-04T12:47:00.003-06:00

My niece, Kaylee Sue Smith, was born on December 26. This is Obie's sister's baby. April went to the hospital in the early afternoon of the 26th. Garrett went to stay at Grammy's, so Obie, Gage, and I could be up at the hospital to wait for baby Kaylee to be born. After being there about 7 hours, she was finally born at 11:15pm! Since it was so late, we just popped in to take a look at her and went home to bed. The next morning, we went up to visit and got to hold her. She's so tiny, was 6 lbs at birth. Garrett had to wait a few days before he got to meet baby Kaylee, but when he met her, he was so excited to hold his new cousin! Garrett just loves babies. Gage really isn't that interested. I'm so excited to be an aunt again, to another little girl. I have one more niece that should be here within the next 6 weeks. Danna is due at the end of February, but she was a month early with Janae, that we expect she'll deliver baby Jordan early too.

Merry Christmas 2011!

2012-01-04T09:05:00.005-06:00

We had several days of Christmas this year, and the boy got lots of new toys! They were really excited this year about Santa coming! Gage got a remote control helicopter and Garrett got a digital Fisher Price camera from Santa. They also got new bikes from Grandma and Grandpa Pepper, a Nintendo DS from Grammy, and lots of other games and toys. We had a nice Christmas break with 11 days off from school. It was so hard coming back yesterday. Now the countdown to Spring Break is on!!!

Cookies for Santa!

2012-01-03T14:36:00.002-06:00

This year we made our own special cookies for Santa! The boys loved getting to help with the baking and frosting. Their favorite part was licking the frosting off of the spoons. It's a good thing Santa is used to kid germs!! This was a fun year, and the boys were really excited. I love the magic of Christmas!

Weight Loss

2011-12-22T14:20:00.003-06:00

So I've been really excited lately about my weight loss, and wanted to share it with you all! September 20 I started The 17 Day Diet, that a lady I work with recommended to me. It's a little deceiving, because you can't just diet for 17 days! But it's in 17 day cycles. The first 17 days are fairly restrictive, then the next 17 give you more choices, etc. There are 4 cycles, with number 4 being maintenance. If you get to 3 and aren't done loosing, then you go back to 1 and start over. The main concept is cutting out sugars and "bad" carbs. I eat a lot of chicken and turkey, vegetables, some fruits, yogurt, and "good" carbs such as brown rice. So far, I have lost 23 pounds! I met my original goal, which was to get back to "pre-baby" weight. But then I decided to keep going!! Now I'm shooting for college weight! I have about 17 more pounds to go. It's really exciting being able to dig out my skinny clothes from the back of the closet! I don't have any more clothes back there, so now if I lose more, it means a WHOLE NEW WARDROBE!! Which would be pretty fun, I think! Anyway, I just wanted to share my good news. If you're interested in the diet, you can order the book on Amazon. It's the first thing I've tried that works, and isn't so restrictive that I get sick of it in a week.

Santa's little helpers

2011-12-11T15:37:00.004-06:00

It's a tradition in our family for the boys to get matching pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning. I usually let them open them a couple weeks early so they can wear them for pajama day at school, and so we can get some cute Christmas pictures under the tree! I couldn't find "Christmas" pajamas, so I got them Toy Story jammies. Garrett LOVES Woody. The day after I gave them their jammies, my mom shows up and surprises them with Christmas pajamas! So now they have 2 sets of matching jammies. Here are some of the pictures, also a couple with their buddy Rykyr (CJ and Andrea Webber's son). He is 6 months younger than Garrett. The boys had a great time playing together last night!

Deck the Halls....

2011-12-06T20:02:00.003-06:00

Our house is all ready for Christmas, thanks to Santa's 2 cutest little elves! The boys had a lot of fun helping me set up the tree this year! Gage was actually helpful this year. We have a fake tree, and he sorted the branches by color, and helped me put them into the base. Then both boys helped put the ornaments on.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-06T16:06:00.004-06:00

It's been forever since I've posted on here. I'm trying to stay caught up, because someday I hope to put this into a book or something for my kids to see. It's much easier than the "old fashioned" scrapbooks! Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving at my mom's house. It was a good one! We got a little silly this year and had headstand competetions! I think my aunt Suzi and I were the winners. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:58:00.003-05:00

We had a Halloween Costume Party at my mom's house on Sunday. Gage and Garrett are Spiderman and Superman. Janae (my niece) is a ladybug. Conner and Lauren (my grandpa's neighbors and good friends) are a construction worker and ladybug. My 89 year old grandpa dressed as a motorcycle man! I thought that was pretty cute! My mom was a princess. Craig was a hunter, and I was a black cat. The rest of the adults were party poopers and didn't dress up! So... they didn't get to be in the picture! Oh, and Janae was terrified of Gage's mask. Look at the picture of all 5 kids with my grandpa. She is crying, and it was taken about 2 seconds after she looked up at Gage's mask. Poor thing. We had to move her away from him for the rest of the pictures.

Carving pumpkins

2011-10-31T11:48:00.004-05:00

We had a fun time carving pumpkins! Gage was really into it. He wanted to get in there and get messy! Garrett did NOT want to touch that icky stuff! He would only use a spoon and scoop it out. Gage also did some of the drawing and cutting with a knife. He thought that was pretty "big kid" stuff!

Babies babies babies!!!

2011-10-11T13:56:00.002-05:00

I just had to make a post about all the people I know having babies! It seems like something must be in the water lately! Almost all of my best friends and sister-in-laws are pregnant or just had a baby. Crazy... and it's giving me MAJOR baby fever! Our plan is to have one more... but wait until the boys are in schoool, so about 2-3 more years. I also wanted to announce that I'm going to have 2 more nieces born soon! April (Obie's sister) is pregnant with a little girl, due around Christmas. And Danna (my brother's wife) just announced her baby, due in February is another girl! Their daughter just turned 1 last week, so the sisters will be really close in age. I'm excited about all these girls after having my 2 boys! But my boys are a little disappointed about no boy cousins. :( Maybe someday. My hopes are in Grant or Jessie!

Janae's 1st Birthday!

2011-10-11T13:42:00.003-05:00

My niece (and goddaughter), turned one on October 6 (also my birthday!!). Scott and Danna had a party for her last weekend at the gym at Scott's school. She had a good time at her 1st birthday party!

Playdates!

2011-10-11T12:59:00.005-05:00

It's been forever since I've posted, so I need to catch up! Last month we had several playdates with friends, so I'll include them all in this post. We babysat my niece, Janae, one night while Scott and Danna went out to dinner, and Laura and Hazel came over to play with us too! It was fun, and nice for me to get to play "girlie" stuff! I'm so used to the way rough little boys play, it's so different with girls!! Another evening, Jacqueline, Brock, and Lukas (the boys friends from daycare) came over to play. They all have a lot of fun together! Lukas and Jacqueline have gone off to Kindergarten this year, so Gage is a little sad not having them at daycare with him, but Brock is still there. These kids have also played on several sports teams together, so they are pretty good friends. They play really well together. It's really fun now that my kids are old enough to invite friends over to play.

COLORADO family vacation!

2011-09-07T10:21:00.011-05:00

Obie's birthday was on September 4, last Sunday, and all he wanted for his birthday was a trip to Colorado to go camping in the mountains! So, we set off for Colorado at 5am Saturday morning. We traded the 105 degree temperatures in Kansas to freeze our butts off in Colorado! Talk about extremes! It was cloudy and rainy a lot of our time there, and we even had some freezing rain one day! But when we had breaks from the rain and clouds, it actually warmed up into the 70's, which was nice. More to the story below. . . . .

You can't really tell by looking at his face, but Obie was really happy to be in the mountains again!

These are the Spanish Peaks (below). When we lived in Walsenburg, Colorado, the summer of 2003, Obie and I hiked to the top of the West Peak (on the right). It took us 8 hours!

These are called the "Devil's Staircase", located between LaVeta and Cuchara.

San Isabel National Forest is where we camped. "Bear Country"!

Now we drive the windy dirt road up into the mountains to find our campsite. This road can make you carsick very easily!

We finally made it to Blue Lake Campground! It took us about 9 hours, and we got the 1 and only camp spot left on this Labor Day weekend. We were lucky, lucky!

We managed to get the tent put up fairly quickly.

That deserves a beer!

Garrett was excited just to play in the tent! He's never been camping before!

We brought plenty of outdoor toys.

The boys liked to fill their buckets and cups with water from the creek that ran right next to our tent! It was so nice listening to that flowing water at night when you're falling asleep.

Gage was in heaven with all the rocks and nature! He's going to be just like his daddy!

So happy to be in Colorado!

Like I said, it got REALLY cold at night. We sat snuggled around the fire all evening until it was time for bed.

Look at these cold, sleepy boys... Colorado is exhausting!

Day 2: Obie's birthday!!! We woke up at the crack of dawn, and it was too cold to just hang out outside, so we went for a drive back to Walsenburg, where Obie and I lived that summer. It's about 30 minutes away. There is a lake at Lathrop State Park, just outside of Walsenburg, where we spent a lot of time that summer we lived there. We went back there this trip to show the kids. It's such a pretty lake, with mountains in the background. Love it!

Later that morning, once it had warmed up a little, we went for a hike, from our campsite down to Blue Lake, and then hiked farther up into the mountains. Gage did great! Garrett had to be carried a lot of the way, so we decided we're just not ready to do that much hiking yet. Although Gage is already talking about which mountains he's going to climb to the top of when he's 10 years old! I can't wait until they're old enough to hike with us. It's been 8 years since we lived there, and Obie and I hiked to the top of the West Spanish Peak, and Trinchera Peak, and can't wait to do it again with the kids!

Blue Lake. . . The most beautiful lake I think I've ever seen. It is so clear, you can see the fish swimming around, and it is surrounded by forest and mountains. Gorgeous! We didn't end up having time to fish, but our neighbors at the campsite next to ours brought us over some trout that they had caught and it was delicious!

We found BEAR poop along the trail, and Gage (the camera hound he is) had to have his picture posing next to the bear poop! That was one of the highlights of the hike for him!

The boys found a great little hill that they were racing down, over and over again!

Garrett says, "I WIN!!"

Yay! Obie did it too!

My silly boys. We did it!!! Do you see all 3 of them in the picture?

Day 2: Evening
We went into Cuchara (the town at the bottom of the mountain) for dinner for Obie's birthday. We ate at the Dog Bar. This was a place we used to go to often! And yes, dogs are welcome there! We took Mickey in there with us a few times in the summer of 2003.

Aside from the cold weather and long drive, it was a great trip! We decided that if we do it again, we will make sure we have longer than 2 days there, and go between late June and early August, when the weather is warmer. It would be nice to go again when the kids are a little older and can actually hike with us!

Weekend with friends

2011-08-29T13:12:00.002-05:00

This weekend the kids had a lot of fun with friends, and the parents had a good time too! Sam Abrams (a friend of Obie's from college) came over with his daughter Lily, and we put our kiddie pool under our big slide on our swingset, and the kids had a blast on the "waterslide"! It went really fast too. The adults sat out and sweated in the 105 degree heat, but the kids were nice enough to splash us every once in awhile to keep us cool! We also went to SummerFest in Derby with CJ and Adrea Webber, and their son Rykyr. We got to see Clifford, which was a big hit! They also had several bouncy houses, balloons, face painting, free ice cream, a movie in the park, and fireworks. It was fun, and all free (even better!). Here are a few pictures from our weekend...

Gage's Lion pictures

2011-08-22T15:22:00.002-05:00

I forgot to post Gage's lion pictures after his birthday!! I've been taking a picture of Gage next to his stuffed lion that he got on the day he was born (from Uncle Scott and Aunt Danna). I took a picture of him each month during his first year, then on birthdays ever since. Look how much my baby has grown!!

5 years

4 years

3 years

2 years

1 year

1 month

Mud Volleyball

2011-08-22T15:19:00.002-05:00

Obie played on a Mud Volleyball team at ElDorado's Frontier Days. The boys and I went to watch him. Later on in the afternoon when it was really hot, they opened up a pit for the kids to play in. Garrett didn't really like it too much, but Gage had a blast!! He has an ear infection from it though. :-( But it was fun!! Their team ended up placing 5th, which meant they were pretty good!!

More birthday parties!

2011-08-22T15:11:00.003-05:00

Gage shares his birthday with my grandpa Dillmon, so we always have a family party for Gage and "Big Papa"! Papa turned 89 this year. We had a party for them at my mom's house. Gage got even more presents and a motorcycle ride from my mom's friend Craig. What a fun birthday!

Gage's 5th birthday party!!

2011-08-22T14:42:00.004-05:00

I can't believe my baby is 5 years old! I know I've said it a million times, but where has the time gone? 5 seems so old to me! Anyway, one of Gage's most favorite things to do is swim, so we decided to have a swimming party for him this year. We rented out the Park City pool, and invited all of our family, friends, and neighbors. It was the best party we've had yet! Everyone had a lot of fun, especially the birthday boy! His best friends from daycare came (Jacqueline, Lukas, and Brock) and their moms. Kambry and Nolan, who have been our next door neighbors and best friends since the day Gage was born, came to the party, even though they moved 2 hours away this summer. :-( The Haskells were all there (Payton, Kinleigh, and Brody). Laura and Jeremy came with little Hazel. CJ and Andrea brought Rykyr. Scott and Danna and Janae were there. Also, my mom, Obie's parents, Jessie and Kelli. Good turnout!

BBQ with my girls!

2011-08-22T14:17:00.002-05:00

We had an Alpha Sigma Alpha alumni BBQ at Tamaras, with husbands and kids. Most of these girls live in the Wichita area, but Libby came all the way from Emporia, and Randee came from Kansas City. It was so good to see everyone and we had such a fun night!

(picture above) Randee, Jocelyn, Tamara, Libby- back row
Trisha, me, and Laura- front row

With the 9 kids (plus 3 babies still baking!). Laura, Trisha, and Jocelyn area all pregnant right now!

Vacation to Texas

2011-08-20T21:38:00.009-05:00

I haven't posted on here in a long time! I'm going to have to go back and document the rest of our summer... In the end of July, we went to Denton, Texas, to visit my dad and Kelli. They moved to Denton last summer, so this was our second time there. Although it's not as cool as San Antonio, it's much closer for us to drive, so we're happy about that! While we were there, we took the boat and jet ski out to the lake. Both of my boys went tubing (Gage by himself, and Garrett rode with Obie). We went to the Dallas World Aquarium, which was really cool! We had a birthday party for Gage's 5th birthday, and we went to Dave & Busters. On our way home from Texas, Obie and the kids and I stopped at Turner Falls and swam under the waterfall, and went down the slides. It's a really neat place, and I highly recommend it!! It was a great vacation! And really nice to see my dad and Kelli. Can't wait until they move to Oklahoma, which they say will be within the next year. Then they'll only be a 2 1/2 hour drive, and we can easily go down for just a weekend.

Gage's haircut

2011-07-28T20:58:00.003-05:00

Gage decided to cute a huge chunk out of his hair the day before we left for vacation to see my Dad and Kelli in Texas. It's more than a chunk of hair though... he cut it to the scalp so it's a bald spot! Obie and I actually thought it was pretty humorous, AFTER I gave him a big lecture on how dangerous scissors are, and how he should NOT cut his hair (oh, yeah, and he also cut Garrett's hair, but not nearly as noticeable). Gage was tired of us (and the rest of our family) laughing at his silly haircut, so he agreed to let my stepmom shave it off (buzz cut). It's not my first choice of haircuts for him, but it looks better than it did! And his hair grows so fast, it will be normal again in a couple weeks. BAD timing though... We have his 5th birthday party this weekend, a BBQ/reunion with several of my friends from college, he starts back to school soon, and we had professional pics scheduled (which I have cancelled!). See pictures below of "his" haircut, then getting his first buzz-cut.

Lake of the Ozarks 2011!

2011-07-12T20:51:00.010-05:00

We just got back from our annual family vacation at Lake of the Ozarks. My aunt and uncle have a house down there on the lake. Fortunately their house is big enough to accommodate our large (and growing) extended family! This year we had 2 new additions at our big family vacation. This was my niece, Janae's first summer at the lake, and my cousin Matt brought his girlfriend Kelsey this year. She's really nice and fits in well with our crazy family! Now that my kids are a little older (Gage is almost 5, and Garrett is 2), they're able to enjoy it more, and so are the rest of us (not having to deal with fussy babies who missed their naps!). Scott(my brother) and Danna came with baby Janae, and she did very well. She's 9 months, and such a happy easy going baby. My mom, and brother Grant were also there, as well as my aunt Suzi, uncle Rodger, cousin Matt and his girlfriend Kelsey. We were there for 3 full days, and it's always a little sad to leave "paradise" and return to the real world. I absolutely love it down there! I got so many great pictures, and I wanted to include them all, so here they are!

Pepper Family.... Obie, Gage (4 1/2), Garrett (2 yrs), Krista
*I always write the kids ages, and not ours, LOL! In case you're curious, Obie and I are 32!

Frankie and Louie's is a restaurant/bar with a great beach for the kids to play, washers for the big kids, and a live band in the evenings. It's a really fun place!

Matt and Garrett with Captain Morgan at Frankie and Louie's

Love this one! Matt is trying to cheer Garrett up so he'd smile for the camera! What a sweet uncle!

Matt and Kelsey

The girls (me, Kelsey, and Danna)

Rodger even let the boys drive the boat! They loved it!

Matt and Grant tubing

Gage tubing. He was SO brave! At first he went slow, but after watching Matt and Grant, he wanted to go fast like his uncles! One time Rodger drove too close to a buoy, and Gage just held on tight and rode right over it! All the adults were freaking out, but he thought it was fun!

Grammy and Garrett watching Gage while he was tubing. Maybe next year Garrett will be out there!

My little sailor boys! My mom bought the boys these sailor hats at the Titantic museum. Everyone thought the hats were so cool, they all wanted their pictures taken with the sailor hats! (see pictures below)

Uncle Grant and Gage trying to be cool!

The "bucket heads"! Had to get a picture with all the kids and Uncle Matt with their bucket hats.

Long day on the boat and Gage was crashed out!

Garrett and Janae fell asleep too!

Garrett and I went jet skiing! He had fun... just a little nervous when we hit a wave and got splashed in the face. He still wanted to go again though!

Back at the house for some poker!

Obie and I after the kids are asleep and we can let loose! LOL!

Garrett loves giving his cousin Janae kisses!

Gage loves his cousin too!

4th of July

2011-07-06T14:13:00.006-05:00

We had our annual 4th of July party out at Obie's parents house. Obie says the 4th of July is his favorite holiday and he loves blowing stuff up! Apparently he has passed on his love of fireworks to Gage, because Gage was REALLY into it this year! We started out being really careful with him, letting him "help" light the fireworks, but he quickly proved how responsible he could be, so by the end of the night, he was out there with the big boys lighting his own fireworks! No major injuries, so it was a good night! Garrett liked watching the fireworks, and he got to help with a few roman candles. But mostly, he just enjoyed running around and playing with his buddy, Rykyr (CJ and Andrea's little boy, who is 6 months younger than him).

Our 6th Anniversary

2011-07-06T14:03:00.004-05:00

Obie and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on June 25, 2011. The boys stayed the night at my mom's, and we went out to dinner at Sake's (a Japanese Steakhouse), then to the Looney Bin Comedy Club to see the Sandman (hypnotist), and to the Chalet for a few drinks afterwards. It was a fun night out without the kids! Every year for our anniversary, we take a picture (with our wedding glasses) of our family, to show how we've grown. Here are our anniversary pictures starting from this year (our 6th), all the way back to our wedding day. Our first anniversary I was 8 months pregnant.

It's SUMMER!!!

2011-06-15T16:15:00.007-05:00

One of the few perks of being a teacher/school counselor.... SUMMER VACATION!!! I'm really sad that we're already halfway through June. The summer always seems to fly by! But we are really having a good time! The kids and I have spent our time at the pool, the zoo, the t-ball diamonds, the movie theatre, the park, and playing in our backyard pool and sprinklers! This summer started off REALLY hot, with temps in the 100's for over a week. We're finally back down into the 80's and 90's, where it should be for June. Obie was gone on a work trip in Florida/Georgia for 10 days and we really missed him. We will be going on 2 vacations this summer, to Lake of the Ozarks, and to Denton Texas to visit my dad. Both vacations will be in July, so there will be vacation pictures coming later this summer.

My family at the Sedgwick County Zoo

Wet 'n Wild Friday at the zoo

Gage and his new buddy, a baby goat

Garrett loved the baby goat too!

Garrett was feeding the geese at lunch, and that silly goose followed him everywhere!

Garrett was pouting about having to take a picture by the waterfall.
Gage and Garrett at the Valley Center Sprinkler Park. Gage loved it! Garrett didn't want to get wet. :-(

Swimming with Uncle Scott, Aunt Danna, and cousin Janae in Augusta

Gage is still a little fish this summer! He absolutely loves swimming and is so brave!

Garrett and his cousin, Janae. Janae enjoyed the water much more than Garrett! I can't believe he doesn't like swimming!

Gage's t-ball team at the Bel Aire Rec... The Rockies! He really likes playing t-ball and enjoys playing pitcher and 1st base (they get the most action!)
Really wondering what happened to the kid on the ground in front of Gage!

Garrett likes watching t-ball too!

My cousin Emily and her daughter Ivy came over to play

After being gone 10 days, we were happy to welcome Daddy home! We took these signs to the airport, and had quite a crowd watching our reunion (with tearful eyes). It was pretty sweet.

Mothers Day

2011-05-11T12:58:00.003-05:00

We had our annual Mothers Day lunch at Scott and Danna's house in Augusta. It was a good time, and lots of good food! The weather was HOT! We had about 3 days in a row where it got close to, or above, 100 degrees! Crazy weather for mid-May. After that, Obie and the kids and I went home and let the boys swim in the backyard pool (kiddie pool). It was a nice day! I got 2 plants from my kids that they made at school. It was so sweet. They were so excited to give me their gifts!

Blast ball

2011-05-09T14:18:00.003-05:00

Gage is playing 4 year old instructional t-ball this year, and it's called Blastball. Each team lets every player bat, then they switch sides. They play 3-4 innings, depending on time. No score is kept and it's just for fun and for the purpose of learning. They only run to first base, and
it's a special base that honks and squeaks when they jump on it. Gage's favorite part about t-ball is when his team is in the outfield. When the other team bats, all 6 kids on Gage's team run for the ball. Whoever gets there first, holds the ball up high and shouts, "Blastball!", then throws it to the coach. Gage is so fast, that he is often the first one to the ball, and he loves that! Here are some pictures.

Easter 2011

2011-05-04T10:11:00.006-05:00

It's been a busy month! Gage started t-ball a few weeks ago, and is really loving it! It is by far his favorite sport (out of soccer, basketball, and t-ball). He's really pretty good too! I'll get some pictures up soon. Also, my grandpa was in the hospital for 11 days. He had a heart attack, then got a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung), so he had to stay for awhile. He's recovering at home now though. We also celebrated Easter last weekend (or maybe the weekend before, I'm losing track of time). It was Garrett's first real Easter Egg Hunt, because he wasn't walking last year. It was fun, and the boys really got into the competetion of who could get the most eggs! The Easter bunny visited our house and left lots of candy, a life jacket and water guns for Gage, and a sticky ball and raquet set for Garrett. We are now counting down until summer vacation! Only 14 more days of school!

Jessie and Kelli's wedding

2011-04-12T13:38:00.006-05:00

Obie's brother, Jessie, got married to Kelli Methvin last weekend. Congrats to "the other" Mr. and Mrs. Pepper!! Obie was the best man, and Gage and Garrett were ring bearers. Poor Garrett was sick with the stomach flu all weekend, but he was a trooper and did his job well! Then spent the whole night puking in the hotel room. Yuck! Gage had a blast and met a lot of new friends (Kelli's niece and nephew). They were all out on the dancefloor breakdancing! LOL!

My family (Obie, Krista, Gage, and Garrett)

Jessie and Kelli's wedding, April 9, 2011

Aunt Kelli and Garrett at the Dollar Dance

Jessie and Kelli cutting the cake

The cutest little ring bearers

Wes, Obie, Scott, Ryan, Brad

Mike and Scott

Scott and Danna (first night away from my niece, baby Janae!)

Kristie, Opie, and Danna

Aaron and Kristie

Jon, Jessie, Aaron, Obie, Opie

Kristie and Danna

CJ and Rykyr

Andrea and Rykyr

Garrett's 2 year checkup

2011-03-24T22:23:00.002-05:00

We went to the doctor today for Garrett's 2 year checkup. Until now, Garrett has always been in the 30th-50th percentile for height and weight. Today he weighed 30lbs 4 oz, and 36 inches tall. That is 76th percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height. So, my "small" baby must have hit a huge growth spurt, because now he's way above average! The doctor said he appears very healthy... yay! While we were waiting on the doctor, I went ahead and weighed and measured Gage on my own. He is 43 lbs and 44 inches. He's getting so big too!

Long lost friends

2011-03-24T22:13:00.004-05:00

We went to the park with Krissy, Colden, Collin, and baby Karis today for a picnic and playtime. Krissy was Gage's babysitter for 3 years, and Gage's babysitter for 1 year. Gage and Colden are best friends and basically grew up together. They are exactly 2 weeks apart in age. I used to work with Krissy at Park Elementary, which is how we ended up sending the kids to her home daycare. Krissy's second child, Collin is about 6 months older than Garrett, and her baby, Karis is 7 months old. Gage tells me he misses Colden on a regular basis. It was so nice to get to see our "long lost friends"! We love Krissy and her kids!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Garrett!

2011-03-24T21:33:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, Garrett turned TWO! We make a BIG deal over birthdays at our house. The birthday boy got to choose our breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a special activity for the day. We had blueberry muffins for breakfast, pigs in a blanket for lunch, and sloppy joes for dinner. Since Garrett's not really old enough to tell me what he wanted to do for his birthday, I chose something for him that I knew he'd love (and hasn't done since he was an infant). We went to Watson Park to ride the train! We used to take Gage there all the time when he was Garrett's age. Garrett LOVED it! The whole ride, he was saying "Choo-choo!". It was so fun seeing the excitement in his eyes. After the train ride, we went to play at the park. We went with our neighbors, and Gage and Garrett's best friends, Kambry and Nolan, and their mom, Nicole. Uncle Scott, Aunt Danna, and cousin Janae also met us there. When we got home, a big box of presents was on our doorstep from Mimi K and Grandpa Lee for Garrett's birthday. They even included a present for Gage. After presents and dinner, we had a little leftover birthday cake from the party on Saturday, so we lit candles and sang happy birthday. Gage insisted that he needed candles too. It was a good day for all of us. Happy Birthday to my baby boy, Garrett! I love you!

Garrett's 2nd birthday party!

2011-03-21T15:37:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Garrett's birthday this past weekend. I can't believe my baby is 2! Well, almost... his actual birthday is March 23. He chose a Toy Story theme for the party. Garrett loves Buzz and Woody! He had a Buzz and Woody cake, and a giant Buzz Lightyear balloon. Some of his favorite gifts were a talking Woody doll, lots of sand toys, a big dump truck and construction trucks, balls, and puzzles. He also got a gift card to Portrait Innovations, so I can take him to get his 2 year pictures taken, and I made a 2nd birthday book from Shutterfly for him. Garrett had a good time, and enjoyed all the attention being on him. With a big brother who is an attention-hog, he doesn't get that too often. Happy 2nd Birthday Garrett!!

Ron and Lana's visit

2011-03-21T15:05:00.005-05:00

My Aunt Lana and Uncle Ron from Michigan, stopped through Kansas for a visit on their way home from Arizona. They are retired and travel in their RV during the winter months to avoid the cold snowy weather of Michigan in the winter! Sounds pretty nice to me. It was nice getting to see them. It's been over 2 years since we had seen them, because they had never even met Garrett. They also happened to be here for St. Patrick's Day, so we had dinner out at the lake with green beer and green milk (for the kids).

March birthdays

2011-03-15T12:31:00.006-05:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I've posted on here. Life just got in the way.... Haha. We've been busy! Our whole family has been recovering from illness. It seems that we keep passing back and forth. We are so ready for Spring! This is the last week of school for us, and then Spring Break!! Woo-hoo!

A couple weeks ago, we celebrated Grant's 19th and Garrett's 2nd birthdays. This was a family party. Garrett will be having another party this weekend. I'm excited that his birthday falls on Spring Break this year, so I can spend the whole day with him doing something special! Not sure what we'll do yet. I was thinking maybe going to Watson Park to ride the train. He hasn't done that yet, and Gage always loved it, especially at Garrett's age!

My niece, Janae is 5 months now! It's hard to believe. She's still super tiny, but she's growing! I love that she smiles and laughs. My boys are much more interested in her now.

Here are some pictures from the March birthday party.

Superbowl Party

2011-02-07T10:42:00.008-06:00

Last night we went to a Superbowl Party at Haskells' house. We had lots of good food, and fun times with friends! There were 8 kids there, so the boys had a lot of fun playing! The kids all put on a great halftime show for us. They were dancing to the concert that was on TV for the halftime show.

Snow days and funny Gage story!

2011-02-03T12:38:00.002-06:00

We are on our 3rd snow day for the week, and 5th snow day this year (all in the past month). I've worked in the Wichita school district for almost 10 years, and we've never had more than 2 or 3. This is crazy!! Today, school was cancelled for kids, but teachers were supposed to report for an inservice day. I got all dressed and ready to go to work, drove the kids to daycare, only to find out the daycare was closed too. Wish I would have known last night, and I might have been able to find a babysitter, but not with only 10 minutes notice this morning! So, I had to take a personal day to stay home with the boys. Which sucks, since I'm running low on days, and it's wasted on such an easy work day! But oh well.... I get extra time with my kids, and for that I'm grateful.

Out of the mouth of babes..... I was talking to Gage about all the people he loves. I said jokingly, "But you love Mommy the most, right?" He said, "I love you and Daddy and Garrett and Izzy and Bear all the same." I told him that I love him, Garrett, and Daddy much more than Izzy and Bear, since they are just dogs. Well, that made him sad, so we got into a big long discussion about why I love my kids more than my dogs. So, in trying to give him an example, I said "If we were on a big boat that was sinking, and you, Daddy, and Garrett were already on the lifeboat, and there was only room for one more person, would you pick me, Izzy, or Bear to get on your boat and save?" Gage thought about this for a minute (which worried me that he was thinking about it!). Then he said, "I would pick Izzy, because she's the smallest, and she wouldn't sink our lifeboat." I just started laughing! I called Obie to tell him that our son would let me die on a sinking ship and would save our dog over me, and Obie's comment was, "Well, at least he was thinking analytically about it. He's a smart boy." What the h*$@?? What is wrong with my family?!! So... is there anyone out there who would choose me to be on their lifeboat? Come on people!!

Kansas weather and 1st sleepover!

2011-01-31T19:37:00.003-06:00

If there is one word to describe Kansas weather, it is "unpredictable". This past weekend, we had 75 degree weather! Over the next 24 hours, we are supposed to get about a foot of snow, and 30-40mph winds which could produce as low as -40 wind chills! It's hard to believe that 2 days ago we were outside in jeans and t-shirts. Saturday night, the guys all went out for Mike's 30th birthday and to watch the KU vs K-state basketball game. CJ asked if I'd babysit Rykyr because Andrea was working. The boys had so much fun playing together! We played outside for awhile, since the weather was so nice. Rykyr even stayed the night (for half the night!). CJ came to pick him up at midnight, but for the kids it felt like their very 1st sleepover!!

WHAT?

2011-01-26T13:41:00.002-06:00

I've noticed in the past 2 weeks since Gage's surgery, WHAT? is no longer the most used word in his vocabulary! I'm excited to see that he's hearing again, and also following directions much better! Because he can actually HEAR the directions! However, it's not really improving his ability to focus at school or stay attentive to tasks longer than a few minutes. So I'm still concerned that he has ADHD. I thought maybe fixing the hearing would take care of it all. No such luck. But we're 1/2 way there! I'm going to talk to his doctor at his 5 year checkup this summer about ADHD and what we should do. I also think I've made a decision about next year. I'm about 80-90% sure that we will not be sending Gage to Kindergarten. With an August birthday, I don't want him being the youngest kid in the class, especially with the behavior and attention concerns. I think one more year will be good for him. He would be going to the Heights CDC all day next year. They do a preschool program in the mornings, which he didn't get this year, because he was at pre-k at my school. And, Gage and Garrett would be in the same class! The program is for 2 1/2-5 year olds. That might be fun for them!

Snow Days!!

2011-01-14T13:48:00.002-06:00

Gage's surgery was Monday, then we had an unexpected surprise... we got the next 2 days off also for Snow Days!!! I LOVE my job. So, this week was only a 2 day week for me (Thursday and Friday), then we have a 3 day weekend! We're off Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Tuesday is Inservice, so the kids get a 4 day weekend. We spent most of our snow days inside the house, because the wind chills were below zero. I did get the boys out for about 20 minutes each day (all we could handle) to have a snowball fight and sled down the steep driveway of the church near our house! I tried to make our snowdays really special, so my kids will have good memories of their childhood snow days!!

Success!!

2011-01-14T13:44:00.001-06:00

Gage's surgery was a success! He was a trooper, and didn't even have too many complaints. The anesthesia made his tummy hurt a little and his ears are still sensitive when we put drops in, but other than that, he's back up and running! AND... he passed his hearing test at school yesterday!!! That is the best news I've heard in awhile!! Yay Gage!

Surgery is now January 10

2011-01-07T16:09:00.001-06:00

Gage's surgery date was changed to January 10, this coming Monday, for anyone who is following along! I'm NERVOUS.

Gage is having surgery January 12

2011-01-04T10:12:00.002-06:00

A couple months ago, Gage's preschool teacher mentioned that she thought he might not be hearing very well. I had our school nurse screen him, and discovered that he failed hearing in both ears. We've been to the Ear Nose and Throat specialist twice, and tried a couple things to get the fluid to drain from his ears, but nothing worked. So now he goes in for surgery next week, on January 12, to have a new set of ear tubes put in, and he's getting his adnoids out. This surgery is more invasive than just the ear tube surgery he had when he was one. This time, they put him under general anesthesia with an IV, instead of just a mask. He'll also have a breathing tube down his throat. The surgery is expected to last about 30 minutes, and he'll be awake about 30 minutes after that. Just just over an hour, he'll be away from us. However, the recovery time can vary, and it's uncertain how long he'll have to stay at the surgery center. It's an in and out procedure, but they have to make sure he's drinking fluids on his own before taking the IV out. I'm so nervous for the surgery, but I can't wait to find out the changes we'll see in Gage once he can finally HEAR!! The audiologist said he's only hearing about 50% of what is said to him right now!

Christmas with Dad

2011-01-03T16:01:00.002-06:00

We celebrated our 6th and final Christmas with my dad at my house! Garrett got a new trike, which he loves!! And Gage got a V-tech video game, which has provided hours of entertainment. It was a Merry Christmas for all this year!

Christmas at Mike and Kath's

2011-01-03T14:36:00.002-06:00

The Dillmon family (aunts, uncles, cousins) on my mom's side gets together every year for Christmas at my Uncle Mike's house. My aunt makes amazing food and it's nice to see everyone! This year we played Battle of the Sexes which was a fun time, and the GIRLS won!!

Christmas Day at Mom's

2011-01-03T14:26:00.004-06:00

After the boys saw what Santa left them and opened presents from Mommy and Daddy, we went over to my mom's house to celebrate with Mom, Scott, Danna, baby Janae, Grant, Matt, Suzi, Rodger, and my grandpa. Matt and Grant got new boxers and thought it was funny to make fun of one of our family pictures where we were jumping in the air holding hands. So that explains the picture of them holding hands jumping. They're pretty silly!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

2011-01-03T13:48:00.004-06:00

Santa Claus came to visit our house! The boys were so excited to leave chocolate milk and cookies for Santa. Uncle Scott and Aunt Danna gave them some Reindeer food to throw in the lawn too! Christmas morning was great when they found the pillow pets Santa had left for them. Gage really wanted the frog, and Garrett got a puppy pillow pet. Another big hit was the Criss Cross Crash for Gage, and a keyboard for Garrett. It was a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve with Pepper's

2011-01-03T13:40:00.004-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve with Obie's parents, April, Jessie and Kelli. We had a delicious ham dinner, and the kids got lots of toys! I think the adults had just as much playing with the toys! Uncle Jessie kept up his tradition of getting the boys the most obnoxious gift (not really... just usually very loud), and got Gage a nerf gun that shoots balls! I think Obie has had more fun with that gift, shooting all of us, than the kids!

Lee family Christmas

2010-12-24T09:10:00.004-06:00

We had Christmas with my dad and Kelli (Grandpa and Mimi K) last night. We all went out to eat at Carlos O'Kelly's and then back to my house for presents. The boys were very happy with their gifts. Gage got a V-tech Vmotion game system. He loves being like a "big kid" playing video games on the TV! He also got an Uno Farm game and some clothes. Garrett got a Little People Race track (that is as tall as he is!), a Leapfrog Cattepillar, clothes, and some Tag Jr. Books. We still have 4 more Christmas's to go, and Gage is super excited that we get to have 4 more of these!

December pictures

2010-12-24T09:02:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures from the past month. The boys love taking baths together! They could stay in there for hours if I'd let them! We did fingerpainting the other day. Gage loves getting messy, and Garrett hates it, so Garrett just dipped one little finger in the paint. The last picture is of our dogs, Izzy and Bear. They are an "odd couple", but they really love each other! They snuggle together and play and wrestle. Izzy is keeping Bear young!

Gage's last basketball game

2010-12-15T14:30:00.002-06:00

Gage just finished his last basketball game of the season. They actually never played a "game" but just did drills and centers. He learned how to dribble, pass, and shoot, along with several defense and running drills. He definitely enjoys basketball more than soccer, and he's really good! His coach said that he has a really good shot and good form. One of the best for a 4 year old he's seen! He said to keep practicing and Gage could be really good! That made him so proud. At the last practice, all the kids got a medal.

Jacqueline, Gage, and Kambry (Jacqueline is Gage's "girlfriend" from daycare, and Kambry is his best friend- lives next door)

Look at my medal!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

2010-12-09T19:37:00.002-06:00

Obie was in Georgia for a week on a business trip. While he was gone, I took the boys to see Santa twice! Once I went with my mom, Danna and Janae. We went to see Santa at a baby boutique in Newton. It's a bit farther drive than just going to the mall, but we really got a lot more individual attention from Santa. I liked it! There wasn't a long line and the kids got plenty of time to chat with Santa. They mail us the pictures, so I don't have them yet, but I'll post as soon as we get them!

Later last weekend, the boys and I went and looked at Christmas lights with my dad, and we went inside Heartsprings to visit Santa #2! Gage forgot to tell Santa #1 what he wanted for Christmas, but he remembered to tell Santa #2.

Here is a picture of the 3 cousins after meeting Santa. I also included a couple pictures of the boys in their new Christmas jammies under our Christmas tree. We're super excited for Christmas this year!!

Family photos

2010-12-08T15:20:00.005-06:00

We had our family pictures taken by my cousin, Sarah at Eastbourough Park. I thought they turned out pretty good, and wanted to share! The boys were a little grumpy and not so into getting their picture taken, so I thought she did a great job. Especially considering what she had to work with! Here's a link to her website. http://www.wholenineyardsphotography.blogspot.com/

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-01T11:42:00.004-06:00

Most of these pictures are from the day after Thanksgiving, and Gage was at Grandma and Grandpa Pepper's, so that's why he's not in very many of them! We had a nice Thansksiving this year, with lots of good food! My mom is a great cook! I, unfortunately, did not inherit her cooking abilities. I don't know who's going to cook Thanksgiving dinner when my mom gets older and cannot do it! I guess she'll have to teach me and Danna, and we'll try our best! Or maybe Grant will marry someone who can really cook!

Little Dribblers

2010-11-10T11:04:00.002-06:00

Gage started Little Dribblers, a 4 year old basketball program, at the the Bel Aire Rec last week. There are about 20-25 kids, and they set up stations for the kids to practice (with coaches) dribbling, shooting, and passing. The last few weeks (before Christmas), they will play some games. Gage is really enjoying it and is pretty good!!

Visit from the grandparents in Texas

2010-11-10T10:54:00.004-06:00

I'm going backwards a little because I realized I never blogged about my dad and Kelli's visit to meet baby Janae! They were here in mid-October. They live in Denton Texas, which is much closer than San Antonio where they have lived for the past 6 years. We had a nice visit with them and the kids loved seeing their Grandpa Lee and Mimi K! I wish we could see them more often, but it's still a 5 hour drive. They will be moving to Oklahoma in a couple years when my dad retires, so then they'll be close enough for more frequent weekend visits!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T15:22:00.002-05:00

The boys loved Trick-or-Treating last night! We went with the neighbors, Kambry and Nolan. Gage and Kambry remembered right away what they were supposed to do, and were very excited! Garrett and Nolan hung back and acted shy for the first few houses, but it didn't take long for them to warm up. By the end, Garrett was knocking on doors saying "Teat Teat" (Trick or Treat) and "Dee doo" (Thank you)! They filled up two large pumpkin baskets with candy! They looked like the happiest boys on earth when we came home and let them dump their candy out on the table to inspect their goodies! We limited them to 2 pieces of candy per night, so we'll see how that goes. Some of it may just "disappear".

Our new puppy Izzy

2010-10-13T10:35:00.002-05:00

Here is our new puppy, Izzy! She's a Jack Russel Terrier, and she's 5 months old. She is very playful, and the kids have so much fun with her! She also likes playing with Bear, and surprisingly, he does very well with her. I think it's helping him to be more active. They chase each other around the yard.

Baby Janae is here!!

2010-10-13T09:56:00.005-05:00

My beautiful niece, Janae Michelle Lee, was born on my birthday, October 6, 2010! She was 5 lbs, 1 oz, and 18 3/4 inches long. She has tons of dark hair, and is just adorable! She was born 4 weeks early, so she's very small and a little jaundiced. Scott and Danna have to take her in to the hospital every day for awhile to get her jaundice levels checked and have a weight check, since she dropped down to 4 lbs before leaving the hospital. I love her so much already, and my boys are also in love with their cousin! Especially Garrett. He loves hugging and kissing her, and patting her head! She's precious.

Garrett is 18 months!

2010-09-26T15:45:00.002-05:00

Garrett turned 18 months on September 23. It seems as though 18 months is the magic age for language development. I remember Gage started talking much more at 18 months also. Garrett can say about 20 words now, and is good at communicating his needs/wants. He's still a very happy kid, and is always smiling! He has really started enjoying his new daycare, and has made several friends. He likes playing with his big brother and mimicking everything he does! Garrett also still likes to snuggle and rock with Mama, so that makes me happy! At his 18 month checkup, the doctor said he's doing great, but had to give Mommy a lecture for still allowing him to have a bottle at night. Oops! I "knew" he was too old, and that it's not good for his teeth, but he's been sick with ear infections, sinus infections, and strep throat for the past 2 months, so it never seemed like a good time to take the bottle away, since it's such a comfort for him. But very soon, the "ba-ba" will be gone! Garrett is 26 lbs, 5 oz (57th percentile) and 33 inches (72nd percentile). Happy "half" birthday to my baby Garrett!

Playing at Rykyr's house

2010-09-14T11:34:00.002-05:00

Rykyr is finally old enough to play!! Yeah!! Garrett is getting close to 18 months, and Rykyr is getting close to 1 year. We've been waiting for a year for the boys to be old enough to play together, and the time came! They had a fun playdate.

Gage's first soccer game

2010-09-14T11:29:00.002-05:00

Gage had his first soccer game last Saturday. It was pretty fun to watch, and Gage had the biggest cheering section of all the kids!! He is very loved. He did very well for the first half of the game. After halftime, the coach put him out on the field with Kambry, his BFF and neighbor. Instead of playing soccer, those two chased each other around, gave hugs, picked each other up, and basically just didn't pay attention. The coach said he will not be putting them out there together again! Oh, Gage is in love.... Can't wait for next Saturday's game!

4 year old soccer

2010-08-31T14:01:00.002-05:00

Gage started soccer practice last night! It was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen! None of them have ever played before, so they all stood like deer caught in headlights when the coaches were telling them what to do! Gage has 2 friends on his team, Kambry (our next door neighhbor and his best friend), and Jacqueline (a girl from his daycare). There are 6 kids on the team, 3 boys and 3 girls. Their team name is the Bears! They will be playing every Saturday for the next 2 months. He loved his first practice, and I hope he continues to enjoy it! By the end of practice last night, he was really getting it, and I think he's going to be one of the "stars"! He scored a goal last night! But Kambry score 2. They are very competetive with each other, but it's good because they're pushing each other too! I'll try and get pictures next week.

Gage's 1st day of Pre-K

2010-08-24T11:30:00.003-05:00

Today was Gage's first day of Pre-K! He loved it! He was so excited this morning, he was rushing me to get ready so he wouldn't be late! He was very proud and excited walking down the hall, but when we got to his classroom, he grabbed my hand and whispered, "Don't leave yet Mommy". He was a little nervous. The teachers said that he hardly talked all day, and they only heard his voice at recess! I'm sure it won't take long until he's talking up a storm for them too. Once I saw him in the hall and he ran over to hug me! I had to tell him that he has to stay in line and wave when he sees me at school. I think he's ready to go back tomorrow! I can't believe my baby is in school now. Wow! Time flies. Here are a few pictures of Gage's first day, and with his teacher.

Gage's 4 year and Garrett's 15 month checkup

2010-07-29T14:23:00.002-05:00

We went to the doctor for the boys' checkups. Gage's was a few weeks before he turned 4, and Garrett's 15 month was actually at 16 months, but this way we only had 1 appointment! Here are their stats:

Gage (4 years)
38 lbs - 71st %ile
41 inches - 71st %ile

Garrett (16 months, but based on 15 months "norms", so percentages will be a little higher than they should be)
24 lbs 11 oz - 50th %ile
31 1/2 inches - 58th %ile

Both are healthy and doing well! The pediatrician talked to me a little about Gage's behavior and activity level, and said we need to keep "ADHD" as a possibility in the back of our minds. We will talk more about it next summer after he's had a year of school.

Her only suggestions for Garrett were that we get him off the bottle! He still gets one before naps and bedtime. She says that the milk that sits on his teeth all night long can give him cavaties. The dentist suggested that in the mean time, until we wean him, we can sneak in and wipe his teeth with a wet washcloth after he falls asleep, and still brush teeth in the evening. At least we're not dealing with getting rid of the pacifier like we had to for Gage!! Garrett took a paci for about a month, then didn't want anything to do with it. Fine by me!

Lake of the Ozarks 2010!

2010-07-21T11:14:00.008-05:00

The kids and I spent 5 days at Aunt Suzi and Uncle Rodger's lake house this summer. Obie couldn't get off work, so he had to stay home. :( Which made taking care of 2 young kids at a LAKE so much harder! Also there were Suzi, Rodger, Matt, my mom, Scott, Danna, and Grant. We had a great time, as always! Gage even went tubing behind the jet ski by himself this year! Next year.... water skiiing?! Even I went tubing this year! It's been awhile, and Rodger is a crazy driver! I came home with bruises on my legs, and sore arms for several days! Here are some pictures of the highlights...

Swimming with Friends

2010-07-20T22:58:00.003-05:00

We went swimming at Laura's community pool with Laura, Jeremy, baby Hazel (6 months), Sam, Dezert, baby Lily (almost 1), Obie, Gage (almost 4), Garrett (15 months), and I. Gage has taught himself how to swim this summer!! He started out jumping in the pool with a lifejacket, getting used to going under water and swimming to the ladder. Then one day, about a week ago, he just decided to take his life jacket off and jump in! It scared me to death, but he did it! He can jump in and swim to the ladder. Within a week, he was swimming all the way across the pool by himself! I'm so proud of him! His next "big boy task" is to take the training wheels off his bike! He's been begging us to. We might try this weekend.

Krista, Gage, Garrett, Dezert, Lily, Laura, and Hazel

Mommies and babies!

4th of July

2010-07-20T22:16:00.004-05:00

We had our annual 4th of July BBQ/party at Obie's parents house. The weather was rainy and very windy, but we had a couple hours with no rain, so we did get to shoot off some fireworks. It was still a fun day with lots of good friends and family! Gage really enjoyed being a "big boy" and setting off his fireworks that he picked out himself. Garrett was a little scared of the loud noises, but as long as someone was holding him, he was fine.

Gage and Garrett with their bomb pops. Good idea Grandma and Aunt April!

Garrett snuggling with Aunt Kelli (my future sister-in-law!)

Grandpa taking a break from BBQ'ing

Scott, Danna, Casey, and Dorothy

Ryan, Gage, Obie, Jessie, and Jeff-- shooting off fireworks

Grandma's special 4th of July bag for Garrett

Garrett opening his presents

Gage's special 4th of July bag

Mustaches were in their goodie bags!

Mommy wearing the mustache

5 years of marriage

2010-07-20T21:34:00.004-05:00

June 25th, Obie and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We spent the day driving to Texas to see my dad. It would have been nice to go out and celebrate somewhere, but at least we got to spend the day as a family! I would love to plan a nice 2nd honeymoon for our 10th anniversary.... that's my goal!! It's hard to believe that we've been married 5 years already! We take a picture every year on our anniversary, with our children, to show how our family has grown. Here are our anniversary photos.

June 25, 2010

5 years (Gage is almost 4, and Garrett is 1)

June 25, 2009
4 years (Gage is almost 3, Garrett is 3 months)

June 25, 2008
3 years (Gage is almost 2)

June 25, 2007
2 years (Gage is 10 months)

June 25, 2006
1 year (I am 8 months pregnant with Gage)

Our wedding day! June 25, 2005

Wet 'n Wild Fridays at the Zoo

2010-07-03T01:11:00.005-05:00

The Sedgwick County Zoo has Wet 'n Wild parties every Friday during the summer. They have special activities (face painting, feeding the animals, and water stations) set up all over the zoo. The highlight is the fire truck that sprays it's big hose over all the kids that run wild in a big field. We have a zoo pass, and go to the zoo often, but today was our first time going on a Wet 'n Wild day! It was a lot of fun! I knew that Garrett does not like water landing on his head, so I didn't even dress him in swim trunks. I'll know better next time, because on our way out, we found a "little kid" water area with a baby pool, little sprinklers, baby slide, and bubbles. Garrett loved it, and got his clothes soaking wet. Next time, swimsuits for both boys! Gage loved running around in the muddy field with all the other crazy kids! I swear, you could hear children laughing and screaming from anywhere in that zoo. So much fun! We also rode the boat tour today, for the first time this summer. I like it, but I think the boys got bored with it. We're going to try and do this again at least one more Friday this summer, so if any of my local friends (who read my blog!) want to come with us, just let me know!

Gage throwing a ball at the kiddie water area (looks like he's striking a modeling pose!)

Garrett actually warmed up to the idea of water sprinkling on his head!

Garrett going down the slide for the 100th time. He loves slides!! Especially ones that land in water!

Trying to figure out how to get up their on his own. He's becoming so independent! Where did my "baby" go?

Gage going down head first. Setting a bad example for a little brother who copies EVERYTHING Gage does!

Waving to the people on the bridge on our boat ride

Snow cones on a hot summer day.... aaaaah!

Gage checking out the fire truck

Garrett.... can't decide if he likes it or not.

The water from the fire truck starts to fill the field up into a muddy pit! After a couple hours, the "pool" became much higher (about knee deep on Gage).

Fun in the Sun with Kambry and Nolan

2010-07-03T00:44:00.005-05:00

Gage and Kambry, our next door neighbors have been friends since birth. Kambry is 2 weeks older than Gage, and it's almost like they've grown up as brother and sister. They have a lot of fun together, but also fight, just like siblings. They will both turn 4 in this next month. Kambry's mom, Nicole, is a teacher at Sunrise Christian Academy (close to our house), so she's also off all summer, which makes it nice to have friends that can play with us almost every day! We've been spending time at the pool, movie theater, zoo, and playing in the yard with sprinklers and slip 'n slide. Kambry's little brother, Nolan will turn 2 in September, and is 6 months older than Garrett. I'm sure by next summer, the little boys will be just as close as Kambry and Gage. Eventually, we plan to move. Our house is only 2 bedrooms, and the boys share a room. I think I'd like them to share a room, even if we did have another bedroom, but we'd like to have another baby in the next few years, and need a bigger house! The thing I will miss most when we move, are the friendships we've made with our neighbors. It's a great neighborhood with several other kids living nearby. We've also spent several evenings with the neighbors across the street (they have twins a year younger than Gage), drinking wine! We're very lucky to live on a street with people we consider good friends. I hope we will be as lucky in our new neighborhood (someday!).

Gage and Kambry having "silly races". In this one, they were hopping like frogs around the tree!

Nolan trying to pick up Bear (our 130 pound Lab). It's a good thing Bear loves kids!

Gage and Kambry playing with the sprinkler ball

More races...

Garrett watching the fun from the safety of the porch. He doesn't like the water landing on his head!

Garrett getting messy with his ice cream cone. Some of the ice cream fell on the ground, so his 'very helpful' big brother, picked it up and put it back in the cone for him! Yuck!

Oh, I just ADORE these 2 precious boys! These loving moments melt my heart!

Texas vacation

2010-07-03T00:04:00.006-05:00

We just got back from our annual Texas vacation! My dad and stepmom have lived in San Antonio for the past 6 or 7 years, which is a 10 hour drive from Wichita. They recently moved to Denton (just north of Ft. Worth), which is only a 5 hour drive for us now! It was so nice having 1/2 the drive this time! Gage and Garrett did great (much better than expected) in the car. Since they have only lived there for a few weeks, we hadn't figured out what to do for entertainment. In San Antonio there was so much to do, we never had enough time! Now we're going to have to explore a whole new city, but I'm sure there's plenty to do! Their neighborhood has a community pool, so we spent 1 day there.

We also went to a lake near their home, with the pontoon boat and jet ski. This is the first year that Gage was really brave enough to go tubing on his own! Scott and I pulled him on the jetski (with Scott riding backwards as a spotter, and I drove). The first time Gage fell off the tube, Scott quickly jumped right in to make sure he was okay and helped him back on the tube. What a great Uncle!!! But after the first couple falls, Gage was confident and brave, so we were able to just turn the jetski around to go pick him up, like you do with older kids. He had so much fun tubing! I'm glad that he seems to love the water and watersports (jet skiing and tubing). I grew up going to the lake every summer, and love it! I learned how to water ski when I was 5, so maybe next summer we can teach Gage (he'll be almost 5)! He also begged for us to go FASTER on the jet ski! Scott taught him how to do the thumbs up for faster and thumbs down for slower when he was tubing. I think he just enjoyed showing us the signals and having "control" over my driving, because he kept doing thumbs up and down every 5 seconds!

We also went to see the JFK memorial while we were there. Well, most of us.... Obie took Gage to Chuck E Cheese instead, because we knew Gage would not be happy and cooperative at the memorial, but I took Garrett with us (my dad, stepmom, brother Scott, and sister in law Danna).

We had 2 great days, and then Gage got sick... woke up throwing up and a high fever. The following day, Garrett got sick. So, after 2 nights of very little sleep, we decided to cut our trip short and come home a day early. It's probably a good thing we did, because that evening we got home, Garrett spiked a 105 degree fever!! Highest fever I've ever seen. Obie called the "on call" doctor and he didn't seem overly concerned. Luckily, the next day he was feeling much better. Since my dad and Kelli live so much closer now, we'll be able to go visit more often, as opposed to only going once a year. So, that made me feel better about having to cut our trip short.

My brother, Scott (aka: Uncle Scott) BBQ'ing for the family

Garrett playing with trains

Gage playing "The Best Game Ever"-- A game created by Uncle Scott (name given by Gage). They toss the rings into the tub. Whoever gets the most in, gets to go for bonus points by throwing a ball in the tub. Simple game, but provided HOURS of entertainment for Gage! My brother is going to be such an awesome Daddy! He and Danna are expecting their first baby (a girl) in early November!!

Uncle Scott and Gage playing "pirates"!

Mimi K (my stepmom), Garrett, and Aunt Danna on the boat at Lake Dallas

Uncle Scott and Garrett

Daddy and Gage on the jet ski (before they got pulled over by lake patrol for going to fast under a bridge in a 'no wake' zone)!

My Daddy and Obie

Krista and Garrett

Mimi K and Gage. He says she is the fastest driver of all of us!!

Gage (on the tube), Scott (facing backwards), and me (driving). We ended up going about 15 mph which is a little slower than what you pull an older child or adult, but seemed fast for a 3 year old! He sure loved it!!

Quote from Gage, "Go faster Mommy and go in circles!!". I did what I was told, which resulted in Gage toppling over upside down! But he came up laughing and asked me to do it again! What a brave boy!

Summer Vacation 2010 continued....

2010-06-17T17:29:00.004-05:00

We are already 1/4 of the way through summer vacation, and it's sad just thinking about this coming to an end. I absolutely LOVE being home every day with my boys. We are having so much fun! I try to plan some sort of special activity for them each day, with most of them being simple and inexpensive. We've been going to the park, pool, sprinkler park, playdates, zoo, McDonalds, and lots of playing outside with the neighbors. Gage is also going to Vacation Bible School this week, and is really enjoying it. The boys signed up for the summer reading program at the public library, so we are also reading lots of books, so they can get cool prizes! And for rainy days, the Family Video near our house has free kids rentals. We just finished Stuart Little 3! This is the life!!! Oh, and one more piece of exciting news.... Garrett is finally a full fledged WALKER! Yay Garrett! It actually makes life a little easier on me, because he doesn't want carried all the time. He is getting heavy!

Gage, Tucker, and friends at Andy and Kristen Nelson's BBQ

Krista, Garrett, and Rykyr (CJ and Andrea's baby)

Trent and Jaeden (Tamara's boys), Zarek (Brandy's son), "baby goat", Gage and Garrett

Gage wanted to take this baby goat home as a pet!!

Tamara, Krista, and Brandy (my friends from college)

Taryne (Tamara's daughter), Rafe (Brandy's son), and Garrett

Gage getting all wet at the zoo!

Trent, Jaeden, Zarek, and Gage

Taryne and Garrett (only 1 week apart in age!)

Summer Kickoff 2010!!!

2010-06-04T20:58:00.005-05:00

We are officially on SUMMER VACATION!!! Wooo-hooo! My favorite time of year! I love being home with my kids every day, and there is never a shortage of activities to keep us busy. I never knew how much Wichita had to offer until becoming a mom! There is TONS of stuff to do here. We go to the pool, the sprinkler park, the nature trail, summer kids movies at the theatre, story time and puppets at the library, the zoo, pump-it-up, etc, etc, etc. We're having a great time already and summer just began! We have 2 vacations planned for later this summer (Texas to see my dad, and Lake of the Ozarks). Thank goodness I chose a profession that allows me to have every summer off!

Gage playing "photographer" at my parents house (Memorial Day)

The boys with Grammy and Papa Joe

Krista, Kristie, Danna at the lake (Memorial Day weekend)

Just "some" of the kids there (Payton Haskell, Wyatt Dunbar, Kinleigh Haskell, Garrett, Gage, Brody Haskell)

Krista and Garrett at the lake (Gage in the sunglasses)

BBQ at Scott and Danna's (Obie, Aaron Haskell, Scott, Danna, Kristie Haskell, Brody Haskell)

Gage and Brody playing washers

Garrett, Gage, and Rykyr Webber at the zoo

Gage and Garrett in the Reptile House

Rykyr, Garrett, and Gage

Rykyr and Garrett

Gage at the Valley Center sprinkler park

Gage

Garrett at the Valley Center sprinkler park

Garrett "not so sure" about the sprinkler park

Last day(s) with Krissy

2010-06-04T20:32:00.004-05:00

This will be our last year with Krissy. She has a daycare in her home with my two boys, her two boys (who are very close in age to my boys), and one other little boy. 5 BOYS! Crazy, huh? She is expecting her 3rd child in September, so she's going to have her hands full! She's not sure if she'll continue watching kids or not. We decided that it was time to move on though. As much as it saddens us to leave her. She lives about 40 minutes away, plus another 25 minutes back into Wichita for work. We spent so much of our day driving. Gage is also starting Pre-K at my school next year! I'm very excited, but kind of nervous about it! I hope he behaves, because that could be embarassing! So, we needed a daycare closer to home, since Pre-K is only half day. We will need to drive him somewhere at lunch time. We found a great daycare at a high school near our house, that is sponsored by the YMCA, that Garrett and Gage can both go to. Gage will go there for the afternoons only. We're excited about the new schools and shorter drive, but VERY sad about leaving Krissy. She's been a part of our lives (and like a second mommy to the boys) for 3 years now!! Gage is very attached to her son Colden, whom he calls his "Super Best Friend"!! They are "super cute" together too! Here are a few pictures of the last day at Krissy's, and the zoo trip we went on together on the first day of our summer vacation!

Krissy, Garrett, and Gage

"Super Best Friends" Gage and Colden (3 1/2 years old- birthdays' only 2 weeks apart)

"Little Best Friends" Collin (21 months) and Garrett (14 months)

Colden, Gage Chris and CJ(in the pool). Chris is the other boy at Krissy's house, and his older brother C.J. comes when school is not in session.

Look at all those monkeys at the zoo!!
Collin, Colden, Chris, Garrett, C.J., and Gage

Garrett and Collin

Krissy, Garrett, and Gage

Can you imagine being one adult with 6 rowdy boys? Most days Krissy only has 5, but when C.J. is there it's SIX!

Garrett, Gage, and Colden

Gage and Colden- "Cowboys"

Grant's Graduation

2010-05-24T10:26:00.006-05:00

My little brother, Grant, graduated from El Dorado High School yesterday! I cannot believe how fast time flies! This is the brother that started Kindergarten when I started college!! He is still just a "baby"! Only he's not anymore. :( And I am old. How did this happen? I saw him with his friends yesterday talking about their all-night party they were getting ready for. It made me a little sad thinking about all the fun I had with friends back then (13 years ago). But also happy to see how far I've come in 13 years. I have a good husband, children, friends, job.... a good life! Anyway... we had family in town from Ohio, my grandma, Aunt LeAnna, and Uncle Gene, along with the rest of my family that is here in Kansas/Missouri. It was a fun weekend, and a fun party for Grant. Happy Graduation Grant!! Now, you're moving on to the BEST time of your life.... college!!! :) You will make friends and memories that will last you a lifetime! Best of luck!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-05-24T10:21:00.003-05:00

We celebrated my mom's birthday on Saturday. My mom has a birthday during the worst time of year, for a family of teachers. It's always right before our last week of school, and this year my little brother was graduating, so we had to squeeze her birthday in the middle. But it doesn't make it any less important! Happy Birthday Mom!!!