Lange Family

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T15:30:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Langes! Grammy and Papa stayed overnight on Christmas Eve so they could be ready bright and early for Christmas morning.
Here are Ryan and Eric coming down the stairs - I think they were pretty happy with what Santa brought for them :)

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Ryan got the Lego Police Station

Eric got a new Thomas Train track

All the gifts :)

Eric opening his new Cars 2 Geotrax - yes it is ALL about trains for Eric

Ryan opening his new toy guitar

Mommy picked this out for Ryan so we can sort all of his Legos. Have to admit I wanted to open this a few days ago when I was rebuilding all his Lego City sets. It would have come in handy!

This is our motto

GeoTrax track from Uncle Jon, Aunt Linda, Nate, Chris and Jason

A new game for his computer from Grandma Jean and Uncle Leroy

Woohoo! another Lego set! This is from Grandma Jean and Grandpa Leroy. It was the first thing we built Christmas afternoon.

More Thomas trains from Uncle Jon, Aunt Linda, Nate, Chris and Jason

A couple of new games for Ryan from Aunt Terry and Uncle Peter

Oh look. More things to build....

Angry Birds!

Grammy and Papa made two baskets for the boys :)
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Eric and his new firefighter outfit from Aunt Terry and Uncle Peter

Ryan made this cool bag and ornaments (next picture) at school

Eric made this ornament at school

Eric wanted to take a nap with his new jayhawk things

Ryan and Eric both got silly nerd glasses in their stockings (but Ryan wouldn't let me take a picture)

We head out Wednesday afternoon to Grandma and Grandpa's house for another celebration :)

Dutton Family Christmas

2011-12-18T14:38:00.001-06:00

All the young ones around the tree.

Eric was making silly faces.

After presents Papa took all the kiddos for a ride in the trailer. This was a big hit as always.

This shirt was from my folks. It says "Does this suit make me look fat?". I siad it wasn't the suit it is the fat belly inside the suit that makes me look fat. :D

Visit with Santa

2011-12-04T23:33:00.000-06:00

Grandma Jean came to visit this past weekend and joined us to visit Santa. Ryan brought his list with him, which Santa read then handed it back telling Ryan he had it memorized. He then discussed Thomas trains with Eric. Oh how I love Santa! The boys had a great time and both got to have a nice conversation with Santa. The excitement just keeps building in the Lange household.

Tiger Scout

2011-11-03T18:14:00.000-05:00

Ryan is in cub scouts! Here's my Tiger Scout :)

Eric wanted to join in as well

Halloween Parade and Trick-or Treating

2011-10-31T18:06:00.006-05:00

The neighborhood had a Halloween parade on Sunday night. Apparently my ninja was moving too fast to take a clear picture. Trever is with him as a spy

I think the cookie was way more interesting than the camera

Halloween night. I can't get a good picture of Eric, but the poses Ryan was coming up with were cracking me up :)

Grammy and Papa come out every year to go trick-or-treating with the boys. It's always fun to see what they will dress up as (and I finally got a good picture of Eric)

Thomas and Mario

2011-10-29T17:51:00.000-05:00

My mom made Eric a Thomas the Tank Engine costume - it is AWESOME! We were originally thinking he could wear this to Boo at the Zoo, but then decided it might be a little bulky.

Grandma bought Ryan a Mario costume so he would also have a new costume for the zoo. I love the blank mustache with the red hair HAHA

Zachary's Playground

2011-10-29T17:40:00.000-05:00

After the zoo, we went over to the coolest playground I have ever seen. Zachary's Playground is an accessible playground that is HUGE! There is so much to do! This is the sign that is posted with Zachary's story

This is the bumpy slide - it is all rollers and was the favorite part with the boys

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This is the castle - note how BIG it is. You can get up top via ramps or by climbing. See the moat around the bottom? There are all sorts of activities in the castle, they even have a braille board. Too cool.

Ryan jumping down from about half-way up the ropes

Boo at the Zoo in St. Louis

2011-10-29T17:22:00.025-05:00

We wanted to go the the St. Louis Zoo one more time this year. The only weekend that was available was Halloween weekend, so we got to experience Boo at the Zoo. It was pretty cool with all the kids in costumes :)

It was a little cooler out so a lot of the animals that we don't normally see (because they are hiding from the heat) were out. We always get a kick out of the Rhino exhibit because most of the time we don't get to see them.

This cat was so beautiful - here are two pictures of him.

Here's our required snake picture!

Warning - lots of elephant pictures ahead! My favorite animal is the elephant, and the St. Louis Zoo has a HUGE elephant area. This is Raja, he was born right after my parents moved to St. Louis in 1993. Now he is the man of the house as I believe he is the only male elephant.

I can't remember this little girl's name, but she is so tiny! The second picture is mostly for size reference.

She's a little bow-legged when she walks, I could have watched her for hours, but the family wasn't quite as enthralled as I was.

This video is quite cute. It's the little one playing with a branch

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Moving on...
These bears are quite small (for a bear). They looked so cuddly until you looked at the size of their claws. Wow.

There's a dinosaur riding this carousel

and a ninja...

The boys favorite part - the train!

Can't say I have ever seen this before at the zoo. The female lion was up in the tree. The second picture shows how high up she was, and the male lion is sleeping under the tree.

I think the coloring on the dark giraffe is pretty cool

KC Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-01T22:59:00.022-05:00

We went to the KC Pumpkin Patch with Adrien and kiddos. Wow, this place has a ton of stuff to do!

Here is the tricycle race track

They had a pumpkin cannon - that was cool :)

Not sure if you can really see how far the pumpkin goes in this video

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A barrel "train". I think Eric would have been happy to ride this for the entire day.

They had a pillow bouncer instead of a bouncy house. This is way cooler than a bouncy house! The kids loved it. Only problem was Eric couldn't get up on top. See the video after the pillow pictures, we were quite the entertainment for all the spectators.

Here's the video of Eric trying to get up on the pillow

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And....back to the train.

All the kids in the giant chair

CLIFFORD!! Eric loved him!

Note how his ear keeps blocking all the kids - oops.

shocking. back to the train.

Finally got the kids off the barrel train, and we find a train playset. Progress!

They had a huge sandbox filled with all sorts of John Deere trucks and tractors. Ryan and I played in this for quite a while.

Riding on a bigger "train"

Here is the PVC roller slide. I wish Sean had video of Adrien and Jorja going down this, it was hilarious.

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After the pumpkin patch we decided to try the Sporting KC corn maze. Wow. I can see why they post those signs that say "LOST? Text XXXXX for directions" I think we only made it through about half of the maze. At that point I was determined to just survive and get out :) I think this would be a lot more fun when the kids are a little older and we can follow a map through it.

Homecoming Parade

2011-09-22T23:24:00.012-05:00

Love living in a small town. We went out to the "main street" to watch the homecoming game.

This might be my new favorite picture of the boys

Fire trucks and police cars = happy boys

Here's our next door neighbor, Steffie, playing the clarinet. Her brother, Jake, is just off to the left, playing the drums. We weren't fast enough to catch a picture of him. oops.

This is Maddie (in the middle). She has red hair just like Ryan and is now a Senior in high school. She was one of the referees for the pre-K and K soccer league and was Ryan's very favorite ref. Look how excited she was to see Ryan :) (not that Ryan noticed right away)

Deanna Rose Farmstead

2011-08-27T19:45:00.001-05:00

We went to Deanna Rose Farmstead today with the Blanchards for "safety day" Lots of fire trucks and police cars to climb around in. We all had a good time but it was really HOT!

I like this picture, but it is a bit blurry.

Here's Ryan and Eric on the water rescue boat

Sean took the boys in to feed the goats

Jorja - could she be any cuter? She is a mini-Adrien :)

And super-cool Jackson

This picture cracks me up :)

Honestly, we did not plan these outfits, but it is pretty funny.

"CHEESE" on the train

They have a cool track to ride pedal tractors

First Grade!

2011-08-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

Ryan started school first grade this week :) We had back to school night last Thursday, this is when we found out who was in Ryan's class and who his teacher would be.

This is Ryan and Mrs. Durand.

First day of school!

This year I have worked out my schedule to work from home in the afternoon so I can get Ryan off the bus.

Ryan had a great first day - although getting any details from him was a bit tough. I asked him if he was going to tell me about his day and he replied "NEVER". I would imagine it only gets worse from here on out.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2011-07-18T21:45:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to my big 6 year old!

Grammy and Papa came over since Grammy wasn't able to make it to the party

CHEESE!!!

Ryan's 6th Birthday Party

2011-07-16T21:03:00.016-05:00

Ryan had a Lego Birthday party with 12 kiddos and numerous adults - it was 100 degrees outside so we all agreed an indoor party would be the best :)

A Lego birthday cake and candles of course

Opening thousands of gifts is tough work...

I think the space launch pad was a big hit

Look at this cool wrapping paper Trever made for Ryan

All the guys checking out the homemade card Trever made. I have to laugh at Trever's cheesy smile here.

Caroline - Ryan's girlfriend

So we had them pick teams to do a ping pong ball relay. Too funny.

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Caroline is pretty talented

Here is the balloon race - if you can get past Ryan's melt down in the middle, it is pretty humorous

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All the guys decided to pop all the balloons. Apparently that is pretty difficult

My friend Candy made lego hair bows for the girls - aren't they adorable? Here is Jorja modeling for me

Ahhhh, finally - we have the airport!

This scooter is pretty cool!

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HAHAHAHA - Lego overload!

Branson Vacation Day 7

2011-07-08T23:32:00.001-05:00

The girls went shopping and the boys went golfing. We drove past this cool looking dinosaur mini golf place on our Ride the Ducks excursion earlier in the week so we decided to check it out.

Papa attempted to keep score for about two holes then realized it was not worth the effort. The kids didn't care and Grandpa and Daddy were so terrible it didn't make much difference.

We came out of this tunnel through the middle of the volcano and looked straight ahead at a GIANT mechanical T-Rex. He was really cool looking and the boys were definitely checking him out. The "scary" part is that he had a boot and what looked some tattered clothes in his mouth.

This gives you and idea of how large that T-Rex is. If you look closely in his mouth you can see the boot on the right side. Notice the climber on the wall is missing his right foot. His pants were all shredded and bloody.

This is the front of the house we stayed in. The boys loved that there was a bridge to get to it.

For our last night we went out for ice cream, then stopped by the dam on the way back. Didn't have the camera, so these are from my phone.

We walked down to the water (88 degrees) and the boys decided to stick their feet in. Luckily they were wearing their water shoes. Note that Eric is getting a tad wet here - haha.

Branson Vacation Day 5

2011-07-07T20:15:00.027-05:00

SILVER DOLLAR CITY!!! Even while melting, it was still fun.
It was actually raining when we got there, so no rides were running, but luckily that passed quickly

Seriously - could we find a smaller horse for Sean?

The flooded mines ride was really cool! Everyone in the boat had a gun to shoot at targets

Anyone else find this scary?

Both boys thought this was cool - you could roll/rotate this giant marble ball since it was covered with water

We had to wait a while for the train - the conductor came over and let the kids wear his hat

We were held up by bandits while on the train

Ryan holding up his hands

This area was sooo cool! There were hand crank water canons on the sidewalks and you could spray the people on the boats as they went by. Only problem was, they had cannons too :)

I was actually quite impressed with Ryan, I think we have hit another milestone. He has never liked being sprayed with water, NEVER. He always wants to be in control of where the water is. The first time he got sprayed here, he started to cry. However, he went back and had a BLAST!

Not sure if you can tell how soaked he is here.

Papa decided having an umbrella would really help his cause.

Ryan, Sean, Papa and I all rode the boat after this. We were absolutely drenched. Grandpa manned the guns on the side and followed us throughout the whole ride. He was a tad wet as well! It felt great in the heat, and Ryan had so much fun.

Ryan and Sean wanted to ride the BIG swings, while they waited, Eric decided he should ride too, so Grandma took him. This is when my camera decided it was out of batteries. And believe it or not I could NOT find a gift shop anywhere in this area to buy more batteries. BAH. So I didn't get a picture of Eric and Grandma.

The rest of these were taken with my phone, not the best, but better than I thought they would turn out.

Grandma and Eric decided to ride the frogs. We STILL hear about the frogs to this day. I think this was the highlight of the day for Eric.

Not sure if you can hear Eric as he comes around, but he is saying "I hoppin'"

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As we stood in line for the tram to take us back, Eric passed out on Sean's shoulder. It was a long, hot day, but oh so much fun!

Branson Vacation Day 4

2011-07-06T19:42:00.002-05:00

Instead of renting a boat we went for a Ride on the Ducks. These are amphibious WWII vehicles.

The duck ride is somewhat famous for making a rapid entrance into the water. Unfortunately due to flooding the lake is nearly over the top of the damn and they are not allowed to enter water as fast as normal because of trees hidden under the water. Once in the water we saw the Branson Belle leaving her dock. It was very impressive to see up close.

Our tour guide was a really good one and he let every single kid on board drive for a little bit. He even took the pics of the kiddos driving.

Here are Kathy and Ryan with our tour guide. He picked up on Kathy pretty quickly because he is a K-State grad and Phil was wearing a K-State shirt. He picked on Kathy the entire trip. It was a lot of fun.

Branson Vacation Day 3 - Go Carts and more

2011-07-05T14:28:00.014-05:00

So we headed out in the heat to one of the go-cart places on the Branson strip.

The first thing Eric saw was the train ride

Of course Ryan spotted that if you sat on the left side you could ring the bell

They had little go-carts that Ryan could drive. I am thinking these went about .25 MPH

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On to the tea cups - all was good until the ride operator got them spinning fast, then Eric turned green. Luckily the operator saw that and stopped the spinning in time. Lucky save.

Back to the train (of course)

Ryan, Sean and Papa all went on the BIG go-carts. Here's Grandma and Grammy trying to beat the heat.

CHEESE

The look of pure joy on Ryan's face is priceless

Here comes Papa

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While driving over the dam we saw this - that is what I want to do next time! Showboat!

We went to Dixie Stampede for the dinner show - it was fantastic. No cameras allowed, but I did take two quick pictures with my phone of the boys at the pre-show so you can see their boot mugs :)

Branson Vacation Day 3 - Water Gun Fight

2011-07-05T14:22:00.006-05:00

We armed the kids and Papa with squirt guns...

This picture just cracks me up - he is so serious

Papa was in charge of refilling the guns, and of course, getting the boys

Surprise attack by Grandma

Branson Vacation Day 2

2011-07-04T23:46:00.001-05:00

Happy Fourth Of July!

Ryan and Eric loved throwing snappers on the ground

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These were the most bizarre sparklers we have ever seen - Sean actually burned his finger on one as they flared up as soon as you lighted them, then pretty much fizzled into nothing. Lame.

HAHA - don't touch my goldfish!

Grandma brought Eric a cool bus book that actually turns into a bus - too bad you can't fit 2 kids into it :)

Branson Vacation Day 1

2011-07-03T23:23:00.000-05:00

What a great vacation! We rented a newly constructed house on Table Rock Lake for the week. Grandma and Grandpa and Grammy and Papa joined us for a vacation in Branson. Definitely a place I would return to.

Lots of fun things to do - Connect Four

Driving cars...

Here is the loft area in this FIVE bedroom house - WOW

ha - here is Eric playing connect four

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My mom and her sisters

2010-11-13T22:32:00.000-06:00

My Aunt Terry and Uncle Pete came out to St. Louis to visit, so we packed up the kids and drove out to visit. I haven't seen them in about 5 years!

Here's my mom, Aunt Terry and Aunt Deb

ok, so I had to put in a picture of Eric and Ryan...

School Pictures

2010-11-11T22:30:00.000-06:00

Eric's school picture came out pretty good considering he was sick that day

Can't say this is a great picture of Ryan, but oh well, it is his first of many :)

reading on the kitchen floor?

2010-11-07T22:27:00.000-06:00

This is what I looked up to see the other night while we were cleaning the kitchen. Ryan thought it would be a good idea to read on the kitchen floor, so Eric went and got a book and joined him.

cheesy smile

Halloween

2010-10-31T22:14:00.003-05:00

Our neighborhood had their annual Halloween parade so all the kiddos get to wear their costumes and walk down the street. Of course at the end there are snacks and hot chocolate. Brayden was totally hilarious as Superman. He has blonde hair normally so it was very striking to see him with jet black hair.

Trever was dressed as a knight but insisted on wearing a Frankenstein head for the parade. :)

Here I am wearing my Dad's overalls that he picked up in junior girls department and a mask from Grandma. I mentioned that I looked like Ed Gein and got lots blank stares but lots of people said I looked like the guy from Texas Chainsaw Massacre (of course Ed Gein the serial killer from Wisconsin was the basis for the movie - I guess he isn't too well known).

Eric is fascinated with Pablo much like his brother was. The first time he put on his costume he started jumping up and down and kept yelling "Pablo!" over and over for about 20 minutes.

Ryan and Brayden posing just before setting out. Notice the house across the street from them. They really put out a spread this year. Instead of candy they brought the grill and served fresh grilled hot dogs with soda or hot apple cider.

Eric and Preston didn't actually go up to very many houses but they obviously enjoyed the candy!!

Family Pictures by Nicki Griffith

2010-10-30T22:12:00.000-05:00

We went to Loose Park to meet Nicki Griffith for some family pictures. I think they came out pretty good! Some of these shots are just beautiful :)

Seriously??? In mid-October???

2010-10-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe the weather was this nice just a few days before Halloween!!!

Apple Festival in Topeka

2010-10-03T23:38:00.002-05:00

We went to the Apple Festival in Topeka with Grammy and Papa. Sean has fond memories of going to this when he was a kid.

Ryan was excited to ride on the hand car.

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They had a petting zoo - Eric thought it was hysterical to have the goats eat food out of his hands

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Here is Ryan in the ambulance. Let's hope he never sees the inside of one again - unless he is working in one :)

This was Eric's mood for most of the day

There was a story teller while we were eating; he was telling Native American stories. He wanted some volunteers to help him out and much to our surprise, Ryan volunteered. He gave each of the kids an animal pelt to hold and he called them up one by one to show the audience the pelt and talk about it.

Ryan was up first, with a skunk pelt. hahaha

The guy explained that they used skunk pelts to make hats for kids. Doesn't he look thrilled?

Weenie Roast at Grammy and Papa's

2010-10-02T23:28:00.000-05:00

Grammy and Papa had their annual weenie roast on Saturday. Mike and Harriet were there as well. I love the pond and the view - the sun was setting so we got some good pictures.

Papa always makes sure he has lots of "skipping rocks" ready for the boys to throw into the pond :)

I really like this picture of Sean

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Papa took the boys for a ride in the trailer. He has a grass path cut through all the prairie grass that makes a cool tunnel to walk through. (or ride as the case may be)

Eric was really enjoying his graham cracker and chocolate. He had us all laughing with his "yummy" as you will see in the movie a little further below.

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soccer from the lens of Bonny

2010-10-02T23:21:00.000-05:00

Bonny took these wonderful pictures! Eric and I stayed at home as it was cold and I can't really watch the game while Eric is around anyway.

Not sure why Ryan's coach *cough, cough* didn't make him wear his "Jen B" jacket under his shirt....

The expression on Ryan and the kid on the ground crack me up.

I am beginning to wonder if Ryan ever opens his eyes while playing soccer?

As you can tell, he really hates playing soccer.

another soccer day...

2010-09-25T23:16:00.000-05:00

Ryan definitely loves playing soccer. Now that he is one of the bigger kids and there are no goalies he seems to be a little more sure of himself :)

I had to put this picture in because this is Ryan's favorite referee. DeSoto high school women's soccer players usually ref the games. Ryan likes this ref since they have matching hair. She is really great with the kids too.

New season of soccer starts

2010-09-18T23:13:00.000-05:00

Once again, Ryan is playing soccer. This is his last year in this age group, so next fall will be interesting. They are playing at a different park in DeSoto this season.

My two waifs

2010-08-19T23:07:00.000-05:00

Ryan and Eric's Daycare had a photographer come in and take pictures. We lucked out that it was the week before Ryan started school so he was still at the daycare. Here are some of the high-lights, I think they turned out very cute

This one of Eric is my favorite - he looks like he was plucked off the streets during the Depression.

First Day of Kindergarten!!!!

2010-08-17T10:10:00.000-05:00

Ryan's First day of Kindergarten! Can you tell that he is really excited?

Grammy and Papa got this cool outfit for Ryan for his first day.

Here's his Phineas and Ferb backpack. He also has a Phineas and Ferb lunchbox.

Grandma and Grandpa were here for the send-off.

My Boys!

Kindergarten Open House

2010-08-16T10:05:00.000-05:00

Ryan had Kindergarten Open House on Monday to help him get ready for school the next day. Grandma and I went with Ryan to drop off his school supplies and meet his teacher, Mrs. Paris. She had a scavenger hunt set up to help Ryan get used to the classroom. Ryan got to do his favorite thing: puzzles :)

Here's Ryan and Mrs. Paris

Poor Ryan had no idea what "Open House" meant; he thought we were going to be able to play in the "house" that is located in the library and was quite disappointed to find out there was no "house" in "Open House"

Good thing he had lots of fun in Mrs. Paris' room!

Colton's Bowling Birthday Party

2010-08-14T10:02:00.001-05:00

Ryan's buddy Colton invited Ryan to his birthday party at the bowling alley. Pictures or bowling can't capture the excitement of the boys.

Max was the ringer. :)

Grandma Jean, Grandpa Leroy and the giant RV

2010-07-24T09:59:00.000-05:00

Grandma Jean and Grandpa Leroy drove out for a visit with their new RV. They invited Ryan to spend the night with them and he had such a GREAT time. He got to sleep on a fold down couch and help Grandpa Leroy get the RV hooked up and check to make sure everything was working well. Grandma Jean and Grandpa Leroy took Ryan swimming and they had so much fun! Ryan can't wait to do it again (hopefully for longer next time haha)

Jen B comes for a visit

2010-07-24T09:51:00.002-05:00

So the infamous Jen B came to visit us (well, and to see Manchester United play the Wizards, but I am sure it was mostly to see us....). I work with Jen B so Ryan has heard all about her. Ryan has been looking forward to this visit for weeks as he is fascinated by Jen B since she plays soccer :) He made sure to have me remind Jen B to bring her soccer shoes. Well, she didn't disappoint; she even had Sambas, or as Ryan says "flat shoes".

It was REALLY hot and humid out, but Jen B was a trooper and went outside to play soccer with Ryan :) I think he has a new girlfriend.

I don't think Eric was as impressed with Jen B - as long as she didn't get in the way he was fine :)

Birthday bike

2010-07-11T00:23:00.001-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa got Ryan a new bigger bike for his birthday. Not the best picture but it is the only one I have.

More birthday fun

2010-07-10T00:14:00.002-05:00

We celebrated after the soccer party with the family. Here is Ryan opening his new cool Phineas and Ferb guitar (see picture of guitar further down)

I am not sure if he was thrilled about the money, but I am sure that will change as the years go by.

A new globe from Grammy and Papa

A new baseball tee from Mommy and Daddy since Mommy (oops) stepped on the last one and broke it.

Grammy made very cool soccer aprons for Ryan and Daddy

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Mommy got Ryan a tennis racket as he seems to be quite interested in the sport (yea!), and seems to think he should use Mommy's tennis rackets. Not anymore!

Ryan's 5th Birthday Party

2010-07-10T00:01:00.001-05:00

We had Ryan's birthday party at the indoor soccer place out here. What fun! The kids all got to run around on the 3v3 field kicking balls everywhere.

Eric seemed to want to spend his time with Grandpa.

Sarah and Josie

Ryan must have had something really fascinating in his shoe.

One of the guys from the soccer place rounded up the boys to play kickball. It was this guy against the 4 boys. Jackson seems pretty pleased to have made it to 3rd base.

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Here's the cake! It looks just like Sean's groom's cake from our wedding (well, minus the words)

We learned that Jackson really likes chocolate cake.

This is Colton's big sister, Adelyene, isn't she stunning?

Jorja and her daddy playing

De Soto Days

2010-07-09T23:55:00.001-05:00

Well, they moved De Soto days from Labor Day weekend to the weekend after the 4th of July. Boy was it HOT. They had a new carnival this year which I think was much better. Unfortunately Eric was still too small to ride a lot of different things, but he could go on this one with Ryan.

Ryan was quite happy to see Brayden

Not sure what they were flying into, but it must have been worrisome

Grandma took Eric on the carousel. The first time he refused to even sit on the horse and spent the entire ride clutching Grandma. This was the second trip. As you can see, he was quite proud of himself.

Cabin Day 4: Another sunset

2010-07-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

Cabin Day 4: Santa's Land

2010-07-05T21:29:00.001-05:00

This park is really cool, and completely age appropriate for my little guys. All the rides are included with the ticket price, so Ryan and Eric can just ride and ride and ride (and maybe ride some more). It is also not very crowded so we could let Eric walk around without having to hold his hand which we all liked very much. Not only does this park have rides, but there is also a little zoo too.

Eric really liked the baby bears.

The paddle boat pond is disturbing. There must be 2 million giant carp in there. They follow the boats because you can feed them. They are literally crawling on top of each other. Ewww.

Here is Eric riding the Merry-Go-Round. I don't think he liked it too much.

One we got Eric on this ride, it was hard to get him off :) He tried out all sorts of different cars!

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Cabin Day 3: Sunset and sparklers

2010-07-04T23:24:00.000-05:00

Sean captured a great sunset!

And the red-head was enjoying the sparklers!

Cabin Day 3: Grandpa's Trains

2010-07-04T23:17:00.000-05:00

My dad has an amazing train setup at the cabin. It literally takes up half of the basement. All the grandkids love to drive the trains (and so do some of the rest of us). I thought I would post a few pictures as I do not believe I have done so in the past.

This is the most recent building Dad has finished. He hasn't worked it into the layout yet. Most of his buildings have lights and sounds.

This saw mill has always been one of my favorites

I wish the headlight had been turned on for this train, but still a cool video. Dad built everything you see, including this amazing bridge :)

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Cabin Day 3: On the lake

2010-07-04T23:04:00.001-05:00

Ahhh the boat! Always the highlight of the excursions.

This is the bridge that we drive over by the cabin, Ryan insisted that we drive the boat under the bridge.

Ryan's driving skills are improving! This is the old train bridge that I think looks so cool.

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We stopped at the boat ramp to see if Ryan and/or Eric would actually go in the water. Surprisingly, both boys went in with Daddy.

This video cracks me up with Eric's two faceplants.

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Ryan and Daddy swam back to the boat. Ryan was non-too-thrilled about it, but I did get him to smile for a picture.

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I can't believe we got Ryan to jump off the boat to Daddy!

On the way back to the cabin. There are something like 50-60 switchbacks to get there. Eric fell asleep and his head would flop from side to side on each swithback. We took this at the very end when the switchbacks were farther apart, but you still get the idea.

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Cabin Day 2: Water play

2010-07-03T23:00:00.001-05:00

Grandma filled up the little pool for the boys to play in. Eric had fun with the measuring cups, and Ryan was squirting everything in sight. Neither of them would sit down in the pool though. Eric eventually poured a pitcher water on Grandma. Then Jen and I ended up in a water war with full pitchers of water being tossed back and forth.

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Cabin Day 2: Waterfalls!

2010-07-03T22:54:00.000-05:00

Every time we go to the cabin, we love to go hike the waterfall trail. Ryan has been asking about the waterfalls for a month!

Here is the "rock" that Sean and Ryan always climb up on for a picture. Well, Sean tried several times to get up there with the backpack carrier on, but couldn't quite make it. Oh well, still a good picture :)

Down by the second waterfall there were hundreds of butterflies swarming around. Here is one of the better pictures that Sean captured.

Back to the cabin! Day 1: at the park

2010-07-02T22:48:00.000-05:00

Ahhh....back at the cabin for the better part of a week.

On Friday, Ryan wanted to go to the park in town, he and Eric both had a great time.

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Silly Pirate Ryan

2010-06-27T22:47:00.001-05:00

Notice all the swords and an axe in his pants. LOL

Winter Farm

2010-06-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

We went to the "Winter Family Reunion" on Sunday which is Sean's dad's family. This gathering is HUGE, with over 100 people attending. However, it is in north central Kansas which is pretty far out there. Sean kept telling Ryan that we were going to the middle of nowhere. When we arrived in Palmer, Ryan asked if we were "in the middle of nowhere, yet?" To which Sean said we were... Ryan was thrilled - he told Eric: "Eric, we are in the middle of nowhere!" *sigh* I have to admit, it is beautiful in this area, so peaceful, and a wonderful sense of community where everyone knows everyone else.

While we were at the reunion, Sean asked his cousin, Trent if we could bring the boys out to his farm to see some of his tractors and perhaps a cow or two. Blade and Barrett, Trent and Connie's boys met us out at the farm to show us around. I honestly think this is one of the most exciting days Ryan has had. This farm is SO COOL! Here are Blade and Ryan:

Not sure you can get the scale here, but Ryan is pretty high up

This is the tallest piece of equipment that Ryan could climb up on. He was a little scared to go up, but Eric was pointing and trying to get up there. We sent them both up :)

Eric and Barrett

Ryan about passed out when he saw that they had a 4-wheeler. Blade was nice enough to take Ryan for a ride

The whole time Ryan was gone, Eric was pointing and going crazy. Apparently he wanted a ride too!

I am so jealous - Ryan and Eric got to go for a ride on the new sprayer with Trent. This tractor is HUGE! Check out the video below

This is for my dad :)

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Thank you so much to Trent, Connie, Barrett and Blade - we had so much fun and really enjoyed hanging out and visiting. Thanks for taking the time to show us around. I think Ryan is already planning his return trip.

At the Zoo!

2010-05-30T20:42:00.001-05:00

We LOVE the St. Louis Zoo!! It wasn't really hot but it was quite humid. However, we had the best turn out of animals we have ever seen. We always laugh that we never get to see the Rhinos, and FINALLY, he was out today

We always take a picture by the snake. Eric wasn't very cooperative.

The elephants are always my favorite, and today was incredible! These two girls were having so much fun in the water. There is a spray of water coming out that each was competing to get to. I am not sure how old these girls are, but they are still quite small. What fun to watch!

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beautiful

I absolutely love the tiger shots we got this time

This little camel was just born this morning.

This is the mom. She is always this ugly.

At the park by Grandma and Grandpa

2010-05-29T20:36:00.000-05:00

We haven't been to St. Louis in such a long time! We certainly won't wait as long next time. There is a park by Grandma and Grandpa's house that Ryan and Eric really love

I was not around for this picture.... thank goodness.

Houston....

2010-05-26T13:26:00.000-05:00

I think we have a binky problem

Pre-School Graduation

2010-05-25T22:20:00.000-05:00

Well we have finally made it to Kindergarten. Ryan had his pre-school graduation and it was a lot of fun. They had the kids sing all sorts of songs they had prepared for this special event.

We have a new camera that has this cool feature that allows you to take pictures while taking video at the same time. Sort of. I find this rather humorous, but Sean is less than thrilled with the results. Watch and see what happens when Sean "takes" a picture - haha.

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Grammy made Ryan a very cute, I mean cool, shirt

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Here are all the kids

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Caroline, Colton, Ryan and Brayden

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Ryan receiving his diploma

oh the trouble these four have caused over the years...

Ryan and Brayden and most of their teachers

Guitars and Dancing

2010-05-16T22:15:00.000-05:00

Ryan and Eric are really into FAST music. We all are fans of the Zac Brown band, and Sic em on a Chicken is Ryan's favorite song.

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Last soccer game of the spring.

2010-05-01T22:24:00.000-05:00

It seems that another season of soccer is behind us. I once again was honored with the privilege of coaching. I truly do love coaching and watching the kids grow during the season. It is amazing how much better Ryan is this Spring than he was just last Fall. I once again managed to have a "Bad News Bears" team. We didn't score a goal all season....well until today that is. And to make it even better it was Ryan that scored our only goal!!!! The upside for me is that I can tell my kids all have a good solid understanding of the fundamentals of the game...and of course they have more fun than the other teams because they have nuttiest coach in the league.

Late in the 4th quarter down by probably 5 goals, Ryan is determined.

He shoots...HE SCORES!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoying a snack after the game.

I figure I should document all the kids names while I can still remember them. From left to right...Christian, Jake, Josue, Luke, Jordan, Mary , Coach Sean, Tyler, Lucia, Emmet, Brayden, Ryan

Soccer and a SCOOTER!

2010-04-24T22:09:00.000-05:00

I think Ryan's favorite position is Goalie. He is pretty good at it :)

We offered Ryan a reward for potty success - a new scooter. Not bad!

Boys...

2010-04-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

Our boys doing what they do best...being boys!!!

More Soccer!!!

2010-04-17T22:09:00.000-05:00

Always the stoic keeper...

Just chillin'

Not on my watch you don't!!!!

Hustle back.

Are you kidding me??? Look I am hurt!!! Oh wait...no I'm not.

Super lounger

Eric's Tree

2010-04-11T20:40:00.000-05:00

Grammy and Papa came over to plant the tree they bought for Eric. We planted it across the driveway from Ryan's tree. Ryan decided it would be fun to help Daddy and Papa.

Found a worm

Typical men.

Eric finally woke up from his nap to join the festivities

I think this shovel is a little too big

Getting closer...

Ahhh... this one is the right size!

I love this picture :)

The tree is planted - now Ryan can make sure it has plenty of water

We have tons of Red Buds in the back woods

Here is Ryan next to his tree - I will have to take a picture when the leaves come out on it

More Soccer

2010-04-10T20:38:00.000-05:00

Team picture day

Here is Brayden

kites... balls... and more balls

2010-04-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

A dollar store kite is about as good as you think it would be...

Eric is SO BUSY. I swear Ryan was never this busy (maybe I have selective memory)

Ryan is really into basketball right now - he is getting pretty good at dribbling the ball and shooting. Might be time for a better hoop soon.

Easter

2010-04-04T13:34:00.000-05:00

We hosted Easter for the extended family at our house this year. It was a beautiful day :)

Ryan and Eric had matching sweaters that I just LOVE

(I think this binky problem is getting out of hand....)

We brought Ryan's table down stairs and Eric thought this was pretty cool

Sean in his element...

I think we overdid it on eggs this year.

I will have to let the Easter Bunny know that two buckets of eggs per kid might be a tad too many.

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Trying to get these boys to take a nice picture together proves to be difficult, as you can see.

We got the boys foam swords for Easter - they LOVED them!

okay - well Eric loved them until the end of the video, when he got whapped in the face

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Harriet showed Ryan that the winner has to put their foot on the loser to claim their victory

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-03T14:02:00.000-05:00

We have a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt every year. For the past couple of years it has been in our yard as it seems to be the most accommodating. This year the turn-out of kids was amazing - there were SO MANY kids - what a blast!

Here's Ryan and Trever goofing around

Ryan and Trever doing some arts and crafts

After everyone left, Ryan wanted to work on his t-ball skills

I tried several times to get a good picture of Sean throwing Eric in the air.... this is the best I got.

Spring Soccer

2010-04-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

Soccer season is here again - and once again, Sean is coaching. This time our team is green and the kids decided on the name "Lions". Ryan's best friend, Brayden is on the team this year which makes it pretty fun for Ryan. I was totally shocked at the huge difference between fall and spring for Ryan. He is a real go-getter now and it is pretty fun to watch.

Here's the team before the game, getting their cleats and shin guards checked by the ref.

At least Ryan is always easy to spot on the field :) Gotta love the red hair

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Ok, so having your best friend on the team isn't always productive...

This is the pile-up of boys sitting on the sideline. If you look closely you will notice that Ryan is on top of the pile.

Grandma took Eric over to explore the tennis courts.

another beautiful spring day

2010-03-29T13:42:00.000-05:00

It has been a beautiful spring here in Kansas. I love this shirt of Eric's as I call him "buster" a lot.

Ryan is really into "mowing" lately - I have a feeling this interest will go away about the time he is old enough to actually mow the lawn.

I think it is a requirement as a boy to love balls - of every size.

Ryan took a break to chill out and watch who-knows-what. But he seemed to enjoy it.

Vikings

2010-03-27T20:42:00.000-05:00

We got the boys Happy Meals for dinner. The new theme is "How to Train a Dragon" (or whatever the movie is...) Anyway, the boxes turn into Viking helmets

Eric is turning into quite a book-worm like his big brother. He likes to bring me books and climb up in my lap to read. BUT he REALLY likes to sit in this chair with a book :)

Oddly enough - Eric started kicking a ball around the kitchen tonight. I tried to get it on video to show Sean as he was at a soccer game. This was as close as I got, but it's pretty funny. We may have two little soccer boys in this house!

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the tractor

2010-03-19T20:47:00.001-05:00

Notice that Eric walks away like maybe he has had a few too many. :)

oops

2010-03-15T20:42:00.001-05:00

The perils of learning to walk!!! Eric fell down face first into the corner of the wall. The swelling in this picture does not do his injury justice. It was truly the size of a golf ball within a couple minutes. At least he didn't damage the wall.

Yeah yeah!!! Get it out now. "Why did you let him do this? If that was my kid...blah blah blah"

This was just too funny not to capture.

monkey slippers

2010-03-13T20:38:00.002-06:00

Check out Eric's stylish monkey slippers!!

Mommy hit Ryan in the leg with a toy pretty hard so we had to get out the Lightning McQueen ice pack which made it all better.

passed out

2010-03-13T20:35:00.001-06:00

We went to "Pump It Up!" for Jackson's birthday party. This is one of those places that has a couple rooms full of the bouncy play areas. The kids were exhausted after spending a couple hours bouncing. :)

Random fun outside - and silly brothers

2010-03-07T21:44:00.000-06:00

It was another beautiful day outside and as we headed out to enjoy it, our good friends showed up to play!

Here's the back of Preston - don't you just love the curls? He is a month younger than Eric and I would take a guess that they will be best buddies

We set up the bouncy house so that Ryan and his best friend, Brayden, could burn off a LOT of energy. We tried putting Eric and Preston in as well, but the older boys were too wound up. We will have to try again another time.

At dinner, Ryan and Eric were being way too silly. Ryan had Eric in hysterics as you can see from this video and the following pictures. They really do get along quite nicely.

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I love this picture.

Eric's First Haircut

2010-03-07T21:35:00.000-06:00

Well, the outrageous hair finally got to me, so we loaded up the kids to go get Eric's first haircut.

Sean decided we needed before pictures of both kids while we were still in the van...

This is actually the same company we took Ryan to for his first haircut, but they have recently moved closer to us (yea). Eric thought this car was pretty cool.

He did surprisingly well - as long as he had his death grip on Mommy he seemed pretty calm and quiet :)

How do you like my handsome boy?

More fun and finally we get to go outside!

2010-03-06T22:09:00.013-06:00

Today was a fun day - we played for a bit inside, and then it has finally been warm enough to head outside!

Eric is definitely becoming more steady on his feet and as you can see from these videos, he can walk farther now :)

I love these polar bear pjs! Eric likes the feet and plays with them a lot.

What? am I making a mess?

Fun day and jayhawks

2010-03-03T22:06:00.004-06:00

Daddy is frequently the best climbing obstacle the boys can find. Today proved to be no exception.

Eric makes us laugh with these buckets. They hold a bunch of blocks and what he likes to do is take the whole bucket and dump it over his head. Then as you can see he uses the bucket as some sort of new age helmet.

Ahh!!! This was one of those "waited all my life for this day" moments. Ryan and I made a big bowl of popcorn and sat down on the couch together to watch KU basketball. Does it get any better???

Dutton Family Visit

2010-02-28T22:04:00.006-06:00

Daryll Ann and Martin were coming through the area so the family decided on having a get together at our house. We are somewhat centrally located amongst the Dutton clan so our house makes for a pretty common gather spot. We also got a new camera so all our pictures from now on should look a lot better, at least we hope so. :)

Giggling Eric

2010-02-25T22:03:00.001-06:00

He's WALKING!!! (Finally)

2010-02-20T20:23:00.001-06:00

Ryan and Eric took a bath together. This was Eric's first time in the big tub. It is so obvious that neither of the boys enjoyed this....but Ryan will still not take a bath with the two of them again.

the snowman

2010-02-06T20:22:00.001-06:00

Is the snow going to stop this year? Here is yet another snowstorm. This time it is a little warmer outside so it is perfect snowman snow. We got somewhere around 6-8" and it warmed up to just above freezing for a day or so.

Cowboy Brothers

2010-01-04T20:20:00.001-06:00

For reasons none of us can figure out, Ryan really likes wearing matching clothes with his brother.

Eric

2010-01-03T20:19:00.001-06:00

We have a picture very similar to this of Ryan.

And Another Christmas....

2010-01-01T20:17:00.001-06:00

The Riek's finally get their turn as Christmas. Here Ryan is showing off his skateboarder nutcracker.

Silly Eric

2009-12-29T20:17:00.002-06:00

Another Christmas celebration...

2009-12-27T20:13:00.001-06:00

Grammy and Papa got a turn celebrating Christmas with the boys.

Daddy got a super cool telescope as a combined gift from the Lange's and Riek's. :) Too cool.

Yes Ryan loves Batman, such a boy.

Playing in the snow

2009-12-26T20:07:00.001-06:00

Trever and Trudy came over to play in the snow.

Trever brought a saucer sled so we all took some runs down the hill in our front yard.

I wanna play with my brother!!!

Christmas Day

2009-12-25T20:04:00.001-06:00

Ryan kept telling us how all he wanted from Santa was drumset with two drums and a cymbal in the middle. Here is how we started our day Christmas morning.

Ryan was very helpful in handing out gifts.

We got a lot of snow Christmas Eve. We got a white Christmas this year.

Daddy I think your vegas sweatshirt fits me just right.

Christmas with the Lange Family

2009-12-20T20:01:00.014-06:00

Our first of many Christmas celebrations was at Grammy and Papa's house with the Lange family

As expected, Eric found the paper and bags way more exciting than the actual gifts

Ryan got a really cool soccer shootout game that he and Daddy had a good time playing

Of course, Eric wanted to play as well

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A picture with Santa

2009-12-19T22:15:00.006-06:00

Our annual trip to see Santa

Yes, Eric has his tongue out - figures.

I love this Santa - he is so friendly and so real!

Vegas Trip!

2009-12-13T22:44:00.018-06:00

FREEDOM!

My company Christmas party was in Vegas this year, so we begged Grandma and Grandpa Riek to watch the kids so Sean and I could escape for a few days.

We couldn't believe how cold it was in Vegas - and cloudy! This was the view from our window

The Bellagio is hands-down my most favorite hotel to visit. And it was all decked out for Christmas so it certainly did not disappoint :)

I should have had Sean stand next to this soldier to show how huge he was

They had huge candies hanging from the ceiling

There was a beautiful holiday display set up and most everything was made out of flowers

The reindeer are all made out of nuts - wish we had zoomed in so you could see it

This polar bear was HUGE - maybe 15 feet tall, and all made out of flowers - so cool!

And one picture from Caesar's Palace

We went back to the Bellagio at night so I could watch the fountains (again)

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Figures the sun comes out on the day we are leaving! Beautiful skyline

Santa visits De Soto

2009-12-05T22:13:00.005-06:00

Santa comes to De Soto every year to see all the kids. Ryan and Daddy went last year right after Eric was born, and this year I was able to come along too! Grandma Jean and Grandpa Leroy also came along for the fun. It was great! The high school band and chorus put on a little concert and then the tree was lit. The highlight of the event was watching Santa arrive on a fire truck!

Eric's First Birthday Party

2009-12-05T22:10:00.013-06:00

We had quite a full house for Eric's first birthday party. It was great to have ALL of the grandparent's here to help us celebrate. The party had a farm theme - complete with a cool rocking cow for Eric

We got Eric a big cupcake just for him. As you can see he enjoyed it! Quite different from Ryan who wouldn't touch his little cake on his first birthday (didn't want to get cake on his hands)

Snowmen reading music

2009-12-05T22:09:00.005-06:00

Ryan loves all the cool singing snowmen that we have from Hallmark. I think they are his most favorite holiday decoration we have. Today he decided that they should have music to look at while they are singing, so he lined them up on the piano in front of the Christmas carol piano book :)

Messy Guy

2009-12-03T22:08:00.004-06:00

I have to say Eric is NOTHING like Ryan in the eating department. Most notable is that Eric actually eats... and eats... and eats. The other major difference is that Eric is quite a messy eater. Ryan is painfully clean and likewise... painfully picky!

Eric's First Birthday

2009-12-01T21:39:00.005-06:00

Eric is ONE! We gave him his new shopping cart before bedtime and both boys seem to think it is pretty cool

Thanksgiving at the cabin - Day 3

2009-11-29T21:17:00.003-06:00

Sunday it was time to leave the Cabin. Grandma and Eric were having fun in the kitchen

Thanksgiving at the Cabin - Day 2

2009-11-28T21:13:00.010-06:00

We took our annual trip to the waterfalls on Saturday. It was nice weather and the kids had a great time climbing on the rocks and trees.

We bought these inflatable superman shirts for Ryan and Jason - they are absolutely hilarious

The older kids pulled out the Twister game - I can't remember who won, but they had a good time

Thanksgiving at the Cabin - day 1

2009-11-27T21:11:00.012-06:00

The whole family went to the cabin for Thanksgiving this year. My brother and his family was there as well as Javier and his family. There were LOTS of kids to play with, so Ryan and Eric had a great time. Sean and I enjoyed visiting with everyone and having a chance to relax.

Jason and Ryan found our old Stadium Checkers game - it was quite a hit

Playing May I - as you can see, Sean was not doing so well

Eric's first Thanksgiving dinner - he LOVED the cranberry sauce. Mommy will now have to share.

PJ Boys

2009-11-21T21:10:00.001-06:00