Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Trenton & Lacey's wedding

Trenton & Lacey were married this past weekend, and it was a beautiful wedding.
Here they are taking communion together.
Trenton & Lacey are in our community group, and we've loved getting to know them so much better this past year!
We barely saw the kids during the reception, but thankfully they run around in a pack, so we feel they're pretty safe!
Brothers! Dawson really likes to "pose" nowadays for pictures. Doesn't always produce the best smile, though!
Yum! Wedding cake!
Charlie, Kate, Kellen, Colby, Peyton & Cade

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Happy Birthday, Macy

Macy Maher, the daughter of our friends who moved to TX last year, turned 5 years old earlier this month. She really wanted to have a "Jonesboro party" when they came back for a visit, so Friday night we gathered at Slade & Mallery's to help her celebrate.
Here are Judah and Dawson playing in the sand/water table. We don't have a sandbox, so Dawson really enjoyed this!
Their backyard is a great set-up for letting the kids play. Lots of fun toys and room to run!
Tara feeding Molly, Ashley, and Pamela (showing her crazy face, depsite us begging her to smile normal!) ;-)
Dawson also loved pushing this baby doll stroller around the yard!
Friday had been spirit day at school, so Kellen and Colby were twins with their matching shirts.
A little parachute play!
The brothers on the swing.
Macy with the tower of cupcakes.
She also had a donut cake which was a big hit.
Dawson & Daddy, Chuck & Lindy
The inseparable three amigos---Kate, Colby & Kellen
Molly was supposed to be in bed, but I think she knew she was missing out on some good fun, so she woke up and let us know that she wanted to be back out at the party!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

More Sleeping Kids

So the boys didn't disappoint us again tonight! They're going to love these pictures when they're older!
Then we went and checked on the girls and they were pretty funny, too. First of all, Kellen normally sleeps up in her top bunk, but sometimes Peyton convinces her to come down and sleep with her. Secondly, Kellen often likes to pile up about 4 pillows and sleep in a semi-upright position. Does not look comfortable to me! And thirdly, Kellen's folded hands and the way she laid her hair out on her pillow made us laugh! You can't see much of Peyton, but she's basically curled up with her "mimi" (favorite blanket) and probably is sucking her thumb, unfortunately!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Daw Daw and Owee

We often find the kids in entertaining positions when we check on them before Brian and I go to bed. Tonight was no different, and I just had to post another picture like I did a few months back.

Title Explanation: Peyton was only 17 months old when Owen was born, and "Owee" was the way she said his name. Then, Owen was 20 months old when Dawson was born, and all he could say was "Daw Daw". Hence, their nicknames, which have stuck all these years!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Welcome back, Mahers!

Saturday night we had the priviledge of meeting little Molly Maher, and welcoming Mitch, Tara & Macy Maher back to Jonesboro! They had moved to Texas last June and we've missed them ever since!
Molly was born a little over 5 months ago, and this was our first chance to meet her. She is just perfect---like a little doll! We all sure enjoyed holding her!
We got together at the Gschwend's for an appetizer dinner and to hang out. All the kids, as usual, had a blast. Here is Kate, Colby, Kellen & Peyton.
Tara, Lindy & Kelly with little Molly.
Dawson played in the driveway most of the night with various balls and ride-on toys.
Kate, Colby, Kate, Macy & Peyton. Macy and Peyton are the same age and have been friends basically since they were born. They went to pre-school together and were in the same class together at church for years. Peyton has been looking forward to Macy's visit for months, and is SO excited for when they stay at our house next week!
My fast boy, Owen!
The whole gang of kiddos---12 between our four families! Lots of cuties here!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

We've missed you, Mal!

Thursday night we were blessed with a visit from Mallory and her hubby Chip! Mallory had been our beloved babysitter for a long time. She has always truly loved our kids, spoiled them rotten, and even included the girls in one of her most important days of her life---as flower girls in her wedding last June! Mallory and Chip now live in St. Louis, so it was a big treat to get to spend time with them.
Mallory and Chip met us out at the ballpark to watch Kellen's softball game. Here is Pate being silly with Mallory!
Dawson's quite the little flirt these days!
Kellen batting---she hit this one---she sure is a fast runner!
Chip, Mallory and the kids after the game. Thanks so much for visiting us, you guys! We all loved it!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

A Little Rain Can't Ruin a Good Time!

So Thursday afternoon we headed off to Branson for a few days. We were chancing it with the rain, and honestly, we didn't fare too well in that department! But, all in all, we had a great time together with our family, and fun with our friends that were there as well.
Friday morning we set out for Silver Dollar City and immediately stopped in the gift shop to buy 6 ponchos! We rode some rides with the Fowlers and Gschwends and handled the drizzle. While sitting at some picnic tables for lunch, though, it really started coming down! I only have a couple pictures from S.D.C. because I didn't want to get my camera wet! So after scarfing down our lunch, we made our way to an amplitheatre and watched a great steel pan drum band from Trinidad & Tobago.
They were pretty entertaining, and it was interesting learning about their country and their instruments.
The kids liked their music, too, and we were all thankful to be out of the rain! As soon as it was over, we went to another show (this month was WorldFest at S.D.C.), the Irish Feet of Fire. That was also a really great show! Kellen immediately recognized a couple of the performers as people who had visited her school earlier this spring to do a program on Ireland! She even went up and talked with them when it was over--she was really excited! The kids liked the costumes and the dancing was really entertaining. Dawson got antsy whenever the emcee was talking, but would start dancing wildly as soon as the music began! He was really entertaining the older gentleman we were sitting next to! I left my camera in the stroller out in the lobby, though, so no pics of that one.
We headed back to the hotel after the show for some swimming. Here is Owen, Carson and Peyton having fun.
Kellen, Peyton and Colby playing the indoor pool.
Dawson took a break from kicking his feet and splashing everyone to look at the camera. He's really wanting his picture taken a lot lately---it's cracking me up!
Daddy and the kiddos in the kiddie pool.
The rest of the night was spent having dinner at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill, and hitting the stores at the Tanger Outlet Mall. The kids racked up with some great purchases from Nike, Carter's, Osh Kosh and Gymboree.
Nothing like killing time in the hotel room playing Ninento DS! Dawson, Peyton, Colby, Kellen & Cade.
Since it was too rainy to go back to S.D.C. a second day, we headed to the IMAX theatre and watched their newest release, "Under the Sea". When Brian and I were dating and married before kids, we used to seek out IMAX theatres in every city we visited. We've seen lots of them, and this one was very good! The kids LOVED the movie and were so impressed with the big screen and amazing images. A section of it was even on the Great Barrier Reef, which Kellen has spent much of this year studying in her 1st grade's emphasis of Australia. Our next stop was a quick trip to another outlet mall just to visit the Crocs store. Great deals going on there, and we walked out with 5 pairs of Crocs for $21!!! A great, fun lunch at Fudrucker's finished out our time in Branson. So, we didn't get to do all we had planned at Silver Dollar City, but since we have season passes, we'll be back several more times this year. In the meantime, it was lots of fun just to get out of town, stay in a hotel, swim, shop, eat good food, and just have fun together as a family!