Cabin Weekend

Every summer our family (on my mom's side) has a reunion at this private lake at my Aunt & Uncle's cabin outside of St. Charles (by St. Louis). It is breath-taking! This was one of my favorite times this summer with Tyler & the kids. It was so beautiful . . . and calm. We just hang out and do whatever we feel like for four whole days! It is so fun. We fish, ride 4-wheelers, ride the boats around, read, scrapbook, EAT . . . it's awesome! I'll post a few more pics in another entry of the weekend . . .

4th of July

How our household is a majority of the time . . .

I'm always a sucker for those eyes!

Would love to be able to have my feet dangling in the water today . . . Miss those summer days!

Too much firecracker fun for Maverick . . .

The Fourth of July was a great time this summer. We had a get together at Mom & Dad's just like our good old-fashioned 4th's that we used to have a Grandpa & Grandma Alloway's. All of Dad's family that could make it came over & we had dinner, swam, & shot fireworks all evening - great memories!!

Tucker's Funny Saying of the Week

Last weekend I went to the lake with all of my girlfriends from high school for our yearly get-away. Every year we stay at Jenn's parents' house near Branson, and hit the outlet malls & the Landing - always great fun. Anyway, Tyler was keeping the kids for the weekend and had taken them to the movie store to pick out an evening's worth of entertainment. They were all upstairs watching their 90 solid minutes of Disney Playhouse, when Tucker came trucking downstairs. He was full of information for Tyler! "Dad, Kim and Randy, (our neighbors) are having a garage sale . . ."

Keep in mind that it is pitch black outside and nearing 9:00 pm. So Tyler takes a look out the front window. "Oh, Buddy, I think they are having a party . . ."

"No, Dad! It has to be a garage sale. There are cars everywhere out there!"

Well, hope they had good luck at their sale! Garage sales are a hit in this neighborhood - they even draw a crowd at 9:00 pm!

Happy Father's Day . . .

June 21, 2009 . . .

We celebrated Father's Day this year at Mom & Dad's pool. It was such a relaxing day. We BBQ'd out and swam all day. It was so beautiful out - perfect for swimming. The kids have all really taken to the water this summer and spent most afternoons at the Country Club pool.

Jon (my brother) and Katie, his oldest

Jon & Ratchel (his youngest)

Lookin' good, Daddy . . .

Tucker hangin' out on the deck doing a little sunbathing

Rayleigh working on her tan

Matthew, my little brother, and Maverick, his "son". Matt is such a great dad to this little boy. He has been with him from birth and Maverick calls him Daddy Matt . . . too cute!

Cover model . . .

I posed for the cover of a magazine for the first time this summer. She is a locally published magazine for women which features stories of local women. This was the Summer 2009 volume. I certainly don't see this career going as far as pharmacy will take me, but it sure was fun. There was a small blurb on the inside that told who I am and what I do, and had another picture of the kids and I. Kenny Felt takes the photos for this magazine, and just happens to be a great friend, which is how I ended up on the cover. I just appreciated how white he makes my teeth and smooth he makes my skin! Good work Kenny!

Dane Jacob

On June 29th we got to go meet Dane Jacob, my Godson, for the first time. Mom, the girls, & I took a road trip for a few days to Oklahoma. He is absolutely precious, as you can see. He was born on June 10, 2009 at 10:11 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20-1/2 inches long. I feel so very honored to have been asked to be his Godmother! Here the girls are showing him off. They could hardly keep their hands off of him. It's so much better playing "babies" with a real live baby!

Molly (L) / Rayleigh (R) / Dane

Mom had to take her turn! Dane could tell that she was a Grandma and settled right in . . .

Leigh pumped so that the girls and I could feed him. We even got to babysit for a couple of hours while Ben & Leigh (proud parents) escaped for a dinner for Ben's job. How lucky were we?!! We got to take turns holding him and even took him on a walk in the stroller - he loved it outside - almost as much as Rayleigh loved pushing the stroller!

Leigh's Goddaughter (Rayleigh) holding my Godson (Dane) - what a special bond! We got a smile out of both of them in this shot.

Dane's first trip to the community pool proved to be a success - this kid loves the sunshine!

Land update

Well, it was a good thought, but you can't see the stakes in the picture . . . Dan, our builder, went out and staked out the house and detached garage the other day (Nov. 5). The house and garage are about halfway back on our land - about where the truck is parked. I am standing at the road to take the picture. The barn (building in the background) is about twice as far back off of the road as the house will be. The pond is behind the barn . . .

The land is brush-hogged and ready to measure elevations for house placement. This was done on Oct. 27 - the true "First step" of our land being altered getting ready to build!! It's finally here! I started this process last April 20, whenever we found out that FEMA had placed all of this land in a flood plain! We have since, provided them with the appropriate paperwork and the land that was falsely placed in the flood zone has been cleared. This process took us from April 20 to Sept. 29th! We've been movin' and shakin' on getting things rolling every since.

I'm back . . .

Well, I took quite a break from blogging, but I'm gonna give it a shot again. After I lost the baby, it just took the wind out of my sails for a while. Just wasn't in the mood - but I'm bound and determined to "heal", so here I am again. I have documented memories - just not "publically" so I'll do my best to catch everyone back up to speed. Lots and lots has happened! I have taken back up scrapbooking again, so a lot of it has been documented there - I love pictures & I love the one evening a month that my mom & I escape to scrapbook, so it has really become a favorite thing of mine to do. She and I go once a month on a Friday night, and go to a local church to work on our scrapbooks - it's really a fun time. It's the one time each month that we get to catch up without kids climbing all over one, or both, of us. Adult conversation is such a blessing sometimes! :)

Not to be outdone, Tyler has discovered a new hobby as well. It's so nice that each of us now has something to allow us to "escape" every now and then. He has taken up bow hunting this season, and he loves it. He enjoys going with a great friend, Mike Green, and despite the fact that he has yet to see the "tirdy-pointer", he has enjoyed getting away for some guy-time. No deer yet, but I'm not giving up hope. He swears that he is hanging the antlers in our new home - but he has lost his mind! I keep reminding him that he will have A LOT of garage space that the big game heads will look great in! Some things I will compromise on, but this one - well . . . dream on!

The kids are all great. They are all very independent (I have no idea where they get that!), and are searching every day for a new way to express that independence. Tucker played peewee football this year for the first time! He was a head smaller than everyone else and had no idea what was going on out there, but he sure was fun to watch. The girls are getting so big - it's hard to believe that they are reading TO US now at bedtime instead of the other way around. Sometimes, I just wish I could hit the pause button - it seems that you don't even get a chance to fully embrace these stages before it is time to move to the next phase of life. They are already in FIRST grade - I have to stop for now, before I go getting all emotional and can't type anymore!

More to come later . . . I'll do my best, I promise! Thanks to all of you who haven't given up on me!

Carrie is ENGAGED!!

Yep, you read it right! Andrew Lance proposed to my sister last Friday night, July 3, at the end of a Royals Baseball game. There were fireworks afterwards, and during the display, he asked her! He had talked to my Mom & Dad about a week ago, so they had to keep a secret for the WHOLE week! She was so excited that she had to call me before they even got out of the parking lot! They have been dating for about 7 months now, and I just think he is great - so I am very excited for the two of them! No date yet, but I'll keep everyone posted . . .

CONGRATULATIONS TO CARRIE & ANDREW!!

Kenyon's Wedding

Kenyon Barker was our nanny for the girls for the first year of their lives. She was the biggest blessing that God could have brought our way after they were born. In fact, her entire family - Zach, Dana, Kristin, Kenyon, & Colin - were all the biggest blessings in our lives whenever we lived in Baldwin! I worked at Zach's pharmacy with Kenyon - it was all a fluke how we came to know one another, but it was one of those instances that you are certain that God had planned for you from day 1. From the moment that I stepped into their pharmacy looking for a job, they took Tyler and I in as their own and made us feel welcome as part of their family. Zach and Dana (or two of their family members) came once a week on Thursdays and kept the girls for us until they were a year old so that Tyler & I could go have an evening for ourselves. We usually ended up going to dinner (the only peaceful dinner we ate each week without someone crying or needing something) & then to the grocery store, but it was so nice to have that time. It was the best "baby gift" that we have ever received - a break! Anyway, Kenyon found the love of her life the year that we left Baldwin City, and they got married this past weekend! In fact they got married six years to the very day that we brought the girls home from the hospital - June 13! The wedding was beautiful, and we felt very honored to be a part of it. Kenyon looked beautiful - of course! - and we couldn't have been more excited for our reunion with them! It was as if we had never left, we just picked up right where we left off! We miss them dearly, so it was a wonderful weekend spent with the most wonderful company!

Molly's ready to "meet" Kenyon! They don't remember Kenyon because they were so young. We talk about her and their times with her a lot, but they are excited to find out what she looks like!

Handsome man . . .

The wedding took place at The Simpson House on the plaza in Kansas City - it was a beautiful venue!

Dana taking a quick pose with the girls when we first arrived! She came running over to us - it was so good to see her again!! She looked beautiful as well - she was absolutely glowing with delight for the occasion!

Dana & Zach look on as Kenyon & Peter exchange vows . . .

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Ethan, Peter's son, also joined them for family vows - it was absolutley precious! How thoughtful for the two of them to realize that it was a whole family union, and that Ethan is very much a huge part of them as a couple!

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Mr. & Mrs. Vrooman!

The reception was a blast. The drinks were cold, the dinner was amazing, and the dancing was, well . . . crazy as usual! We danced the night away, sometimes inside on the dance floor, sometimes outside under the stars - it was just a beautiful night. Conversation was fantastic, meeting so many of their other friends, and putting faces with all of the stories that we had heard in the past. They had cheesecake for their wedding cake too - my FAV!!

Rayleigh thought the wedding was beautiful - she loves brides!

Zachary, "Baby Zach", has grown so much since the last time that we saw him! This is Colin & Jenny's son. He is exactly one month younger than Tucker, so the two of them hit it off, to say the least.

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Ornery & ornier . . .

My little lady-like gymnast had a blast at the reception

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Kiera is Zachary's little sister - 19 months old here. Didn't she make a precious little flower girl?!

They both used to fit into her arms much differently! What a beautiful sight for my eyes, to see them all back together again - knowing how much Kenyon has to do with us being where we are today! If it weren't for her, I probably couldn't have finished pharmacy school! What a blessing!

After the wedding, we headed back to crash for the night at the Marriot, litterally across the street. The kids loved this because we got to get up this morning and hit the pool first thing before heading home. Only bummer of the day . . . we think Tucker left his "doggie" at a sports store where we stopped to buy Tyler some shoes. I have to call them in the morning to find out if they found it, but of course, we didn't discover it missing until time for bed. He cried himself to sleep tonight - it was so sad! I'm just praying someone found it and turned it in. He has had it since he was six months old, and the thought that it may be gone is truly devastating. Say a prayer to St. Anthony for us that we find it tomorrow! We seem to really have trouble with stuffed animals and weddings! Long story . . . for another time!

Happy 6th Birthday Molly & Rayleigh!!

Can't believe that we are already celebrating birthday #6 for the girls!! Seems like just yesterday that we were driving back and forth to the NICU! We celebrated with a party at the Kangaroo Gym in Joplin - one of their favorite places. All of the kids had a blast. They wanted a Taylor Swift Birthday party, so Grandma Nita hooked them up with guitar cakes of their very own for the party - they were awesome, as usual. The girls' favorite friends got to come too, so they were happy.

As far as milestones go . . . Rayleigh has lost 5 teeth up to this point, and Molly has lost 4. They have chosen this year to cut their hair a little differently than the others, too. Both still weigh within a few ounces of each other, however, and are still looking very similar to the untrained eye. They both are reading on their own fairly well, also. It has become a huge help this past year that they are old enough to bathe themselves, as well. It has cut bath time for Mom and Dad down tremendously. They also have both experienced their first slumber party this past year at a friend's house and did great. They can pour their own drinks, pick out their own clothes (Heaven help us!), and even have CHORES - we take turns emptying the trash cans and gathering the laundry. They can also make their own bed (nice that there's two of them to help each other). They have become quite the grown-up little ladies. Rayleigh, in particular, loves being the little mommy - house is her favorite thing to play. She pushes her baby everywhere in the stroller & takes the car carrier with her every time the car leaves! Molly also enjoys pretend, but is probably the more athletic of the two. She tires of "house" and wants to go outside to play with Tucker. This past spring was the first time that the girls chose to do something separately. Molly wanted to play soccer and Rayleigh did gymnastics instead. They did very well, and I think they each enjoyed their own little shining moments instead of always having to share that. I loved it that they developed their own opinion & then stuck with it. Just one more sign, though, that my little girls are growing up too quickly!

After Kangaroo Gym, we went to Olive Garden, their choice, for some lunch before heading home. I think they had a great day.

Ready for our party!

Molly jumping away!

Let's race to the bottom . . .

Daddy getting in on a little of the action

Conner & Great-Grandma Bome

Silly Rabbit, this part isn't just for kids!!

You want me to climb that?! Actually I did, and I had to push 4 kids to the top in the process. No need to get up and run tomorrow morning!

Family fun

Notice this sign - it was hanging outside of the inflatable that you will see Grandma Sherry on in the next picture!

Caught ya!!

More Birthday Pics . . .

Rayleigh & Molly

Make a wish . . .

Rayleigh concentrating on those candles!

Molly taking a shot at it as well

What one doesn't think of, the other will!!

Don't want to think about these two when they are sixteen . . . aren't they cute together, though!

Grandma Nita, Mom, and the kiddos . . .

Me & my posse . . .

Rayleigh is bushed!!

Our little family . . .

Grandpa Gail & Grandma Nita celebrating with the kids . . .