Mike Turns 30!

On October 24th Michael turned 30. Can you believe it we are turning 30? I remember when I was little and 20 seemed so old. Now 20 year olds are the youngins and we are turning 30. I tried to plan something big for Mike for the Big 3 0 (as Kashton kept calling him) but Mike didn't want to have anything to do with it. He didn't even really want me to get him any presents. So we had a small dinner out with Kashton and I and Mike's brother Mathew and a few presents complete with a balloon that let everyone in the restraunt know that he was turning 30. I turn 30 next year and I know it is going to be very hard for me so I understand not wanting to make a big deal of it, but it is a big deal so I wanted to do all that I could.

Boys Camp Out

Kashton, Mike, Papa and the rest of the church headed out for an overnight campout. Kashton had never been camping before and I was a little worried about him not being able to sleep. While I should have been worried about him not sleeping it wasn't for the reasons that I had feared. He had so much fun with the fire and the marshmallows and all the older kids that he did not want to fall asleep. The next day when he got home he told me all about his trip including the fact that "Daddy woke me up when it was still night time."

His favorite part of the camping trip besides roasting marshmallows was going on a hike with dad. He is all boy.

Mike said he would try to help him but he wanted to hike by himself.

Toys All a Spin

Disney on Ice happens at the state fair every year. This year it was Toy Story 3 and Kashton was so excited. Last year we went and sat in the nose bleeds and he wa not entertained at all so I decided this year that we would get seats close up. We sat about 4 rows back from the ice and got to see everything close up. Kashton was much better time this year. Seeing all those toys a twril on the ice made his night. The fact that he got a Buzz Lightyear toy didn't hurt either.

Great State Fair

The fair gets more fun every year. As Kashton gets older and realizes his limits and the things he can do he has more fun and is more wonderful to watch. The excitement on his face when he sees the roller coaster or the fear in his eyes as he goes on the big slide and then laughs afterward are things that I would not miss for the whole world. That is why we make sure and do things like go to the fair or take him with us most places we go. While we too like to have our fun watching him have fun is the most enjoyable thing that I can think of.


Kashton wanted a corndog right away as soon as we got there. We bought him one and I swear it was as big as him.


The roller coaster was his favorite ride. He went on twice before we made him choose another ride to spend his tickets on. He kept looking at the big rides and asking if he could go on those. It still seems like so far away when he will actually be big enough to go on the big rides. And I think mommy can wait!


My little superhero of coarse had to take his picture with the Hulk. And daddy had to get in on the action too.




There is one game in the kiddie area where the kids get to "win" their own prizes. When asked if he wanted dad or mom to win him a prize he told us no, he wanted to win one himself. So off to the kid game we headed. And Kashton won! A blow up Spiderman at that.


This was the ride that he wanted to go on as soon as we walked in the kid area. Mom couldn't go on it with him this year so dad had to substitue and boy did that make for a fun ride. With Mikes weight they zoomed down the slide so fast that I think Kashton nearly wet himself. While he looked scared going down he was very satisfied with his ride once it was over.


We ran into Kason, Kyler, Rafe, Aunt Sarah and GiGi. There wasn't much time for hanging out but any time spent with cousins is a good time to be had.

Seeing The Rest of Branson

The rest of the trip was spent having fun. We went swimming in the hot tub, headed to main street to walk around the 5 and dime (that was my favorite part, they had paper dolls) and look at the train and the fountain show, and just before we left to head back home we took in a show by the group Six. Kashton and Mike made it through about half the show before we had to leave.

All in all it was a relaxing trip made best by the fact that Kashton got to be there with us.

Palace of Butterflies

On the second day in Branson we headed to the Butterfly Palace to look at all the pretty butterflies, see some scorpions, toad and lizards, and spend some quality time with GiGi.

Kashton's favorite part, looking through the magnifying glass at nothing in particular.

We learned that butterflies eat nectar, so this outing was both beautiful and educational.

AGH! Frog Boy!

Branson Dinosaur Museum

We took a mini vacay to Branson, MO in September, for a little time away from it all, with Mercy and Vern (or Gigi and Papa as Kashton calls them). Neither Mike nor I have been to Branson before and it was a very different experience. Mike enjoyed himself as every day we were there was spent golfing, either by himself or with his dad. Kashton also had a great time. We fit a lot of great kid stuff in for him to keep entertained. The first day while Mike was golfing Kashton and I went to the dinosaur/haunted house museum. It freaked me out a little because for some reason I just kept picturing movies like House of Wax.

His favorite was the skeletons because they were real and not just "big fake dinosaurs" like he kept telling everyone.

At the end of the museum was the most fun parts, they had a place where you could color pictures and play on computers and then there was the "dig" where you looked through the dirt for dinosaur bones. We spent most of our time at this large sandbox trying to kill time till daddy got done.

Preschool Bound

My baby started preschool this year. Yes preschool. He has been so excited to learn and the first day of school he could not have been more excited. He woke up early and when I told him that it was still to early to get out of bed he said "Mom today is school day, I can't go back to bed". He is the cutest little 3 year old in his class.

His backpack is about as big as he is.

His teacher Ms. Bry had her baby only a few weeks after school started so he has had a few new teachers since.

Baseball in the Park

Time spent as a family is the best time of all so before summer could officially end we headed out to the neighborhood park to play a little ball.

Happy Happy Birthday Mommy Dear

My birthday this year happened to fall on the last day that the water park was open so Kashton and I packed up and headed on out to get our last sun of the season. We stayed there as long as our bodies would allow and got our last bit of summer fun in.

Leaving the park was a little sad knowing that it would be the last time for a year at least that we got to sun and fun it up together.

After we got home Mike took us out to dinner for a little steak and family time. Kashton loves birthdays so we try not to exclude him from the festivities.

When we got home there was a cake waiting for us (some of us forgot how to use our utensils, or even our hands) and happy birthday to mommy!

8 Years

On our anniversary this year Mike was very sick, we tried to go out and celebrate but half way through the meal we had to leave. Sad little Mike could not even make it through a meal at his favorite Italian restaurant.

I was able to drink an Italian cream soda before we had to head home and get Mike in bed.

Moving Day

In August we moved out of our rental house and in with the in laws while we try to find something that fits our family a bit better. Kashton did a lot of helping and a lot more getting in the way but he tried really hard to be our little helper.

Sparklers and Trouble

We had an extremely eventful Fourth of July this year filled with...

Time at the pool,

a disastrous trip to a carnival in our neighborhood

one that started out fun and ended in tears,

dinner with cousins and sisters and brothers,

lighting some fireworks (the few that were not banned this year),

and watching the firework show in the park across the street. Other then the incident in the park that put a damper on the day we had a wonderful time!