Welcome Home!

This is my brother and his wife.  They FINALLY came to visit all of us this week.  I have not seen my brother in 3 years and until now  had not met my sister in-law or my nephew who will be 4 in September.  We are so very excited to have my brother and his family visiting.  

We know how lucky we are to have him with us.  He is in the Army serving with the 1st Calvary at Ft. Hood, Texas.  He has served his country well with 2 tours to Iraq.  We hope and pray everyday that he won't have to return ~ just like so many other military families.

Tonight the entire (immediate) family, all 15 of us, got together for dinner and time for the kids to play together.  Below are a few of the pictures from tonight.

Stay tuned, more pictures to share tomorrow...

Read more...

Corporate Challenge

The Kansas City Corporate Challenge kicked off in the month of May. Applebee's loves to have fun and are very competitive when it comes to our challenges. So what is there to do in a sports competition for the non sportsman like myself? Well Table Tennis of course.

Last year was my first year to compete in this event. So this year they decided I should be the captain. Thank goodness they weren't looking for a coach. I don't know the rules, but I can cheer you on.

My partner in crime, I mean doubles, and I went into the event with our normal attitude. We are here for FUN. We did have fun, but did not win. Surprise ~ Surprise.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Sonya returning a serve

Me moving out of Sonya's way to return

Denise (our women's single competitor), Me and Sonya

The medal table - this is as close as we can get to one

A little later in the day our softball team had a game. At this point they were undefeated. Unfortunately they couldn't hold on to that title. They lost and ended up in third. A sad day for everyone. Here are some pictures of their great effort.

This is a friend Adam. He was on the OTHER team.

Read more...

Love Thursday

Love can be found everywhere when you just stop and look for a moment.  Go by and see more Love Thursday over at Shutter Sisters.  Have a wonderful day!

Read more...

Visitors

We are blessed with wonderful family on both sides.  This month we have had the chance to see both of Matt's Aunts from Chicago.  

Over Mother's Day weekend Auntie Barb came into town with Matt's folks to see us, meet the twins and enjoy their second birthday.  It was so much fun seeing her ~ it's been 4 years ~ and letting the kids get to know her.  We talk about her and now they have a face with the name.  Unfortunately the kids were a little "over done" in the picture department by the end of the weekend when I realized that I hadn't taken enough pictures of them with her.  But I thought this picture below was a great one with Garrett.

Can you see all of the books in Aunt Barb's lap?  There were at least 4 here and she had already read 2 or 3 before.  She was such a trooper and didn't turn him down.

This weekend we had the treat of seeing Matt's Aunt Renee and Uncle Ken.  They too live in the Chicago area.  They stopped by Saturday night and had dinner with us.  Avary talked Aunt Renee into a game of Candy Land, in which Garrett and Claire proceeded to help with the cards.  Everyone had so much fun.

Then today we all went to breakfast and on a little shopping spree.  The shopping took a bit out of me, there are just too many options, but the kiddos all got a new toy thanks to Aunt Renee and Uncle Ken.  The weather today started off gloomy and muggy, but it turned out sunny.  So before they left I grabbed the camera and took a few quick pictures of everyone.

Below is a picture of Claire with her treasured new toy ~ a purple ball.  She has hardly let go of it since we left the store.

Thanks Aunti Barb, Grandma Meryl, Grandpa Bob, Aunt Renee and Uncle Ken for coming into town to see us.  We love having visitors and we are so happy to see you. 

Read more...

Busy Weekend

Originally when we were planning for this weekend we had planned on a quite, relaxing weekend just us and the kids.  We knew Matt's Aunt and Uncle were coming in for a quick visit from Chicago and we were thrilled.  But the weekend has turned into much more than that.  So due too being so busy, you'll have to suffer through a couple more of my favorite pictures from last weekends Urban Photo Safari. 

Hope you like them.  Have a happy and safe memorial day weekend!

Read more...