We recently took a trip up to Missouri to visit my family. On the way, we stopped at Kathy and Aaron's (Kathy is John's cousin) in Dallas and spent some quality time with their two boys.

Here's Jake. He's five and a half and already (alas!) a Dallas Cowboys fan.


It was a little more difficult to get a still shot of Andrew. This was the best I could do. :-)


We arrived in the Kansas City area earlier than we expected, so we took the opportunity to surprise my darling Grandmother. She was very excited to see us--she even provided us with the opportunity to cut down her rosebushes!


When we finally arrived home, Mom and Dad had just gotten back from some function or another. They looked so good that we just had to take a picture.


The Thursday after we arrived, Mom, John, and I decided to take little Katie (our niece) to her preschool Halloween party. The opportunity of seeing cute little kids running around in costumes was just too good to pass up.

Here's John taking the ladybug to school. Though it doesn't look like it, they're having a good time.


Katie's little brother, Caleb, came along, as well. Enter the penguin and his Nana.


She's having a good time, I swear.


After we returned from trick-or-treating around various classrooms, the preschoolers sat down for some debriefing. The younger siblings of the preschooler, however, got to play.


And attempt feats of daring.


Several times.


But, things finally settled down and the little insects eventually reverted back into little children, complete with smiles.


Later that day, John and I went down to my sister's house to hang out with her, her sick husband, and her kids. We gave Noah his belated birthday present from us, Tyler and Jerilyn--a massive Stitch whom he immediately dressed up as a cowboy.


The present went over well (Stitch would later go trick or treating with us) and was a hit even with Noah's older brother.


Here's John with Audrey. For those of you who were praying for her this summer, look how well she's recovered! Thank you for your prayers: we're so grateful to have our beautiful girl back.


Stay tuned for some cowboys, jedis, witches, and bumblebees. . .

Texas A&M vs. Utah State

A couple of weeks ago, John took me to my very first Texas A&M game at the Aggies' home stadium, Kyle Field. I received the full A&M experience: first we went to watch the band line up. Before every game, the band marches from its barracks to the stadium. All the band members are part of the ROTC--for those of you overseas, the corps provides military training in college for those who are planning on a career in the military (although sometimes students just enroll for the grueling experience). A&M started as a military school and continues a proud military tradition to this day. John's cousin, Mills, was in the ROTC band during his time at A&M.

Here's the line-up. . .


. . .and the kick! Listen to the melodious tunes of the Fightin' Aggie Band.


Though we were excited to see the band, we were there to watch football. And when Kyle Field called, John had to answer. . .


Some shots of the stadium and the game. Although there were some tense moments when we dropped the ball (literally), our cause prevailed and we triumphed over Utah State.






So there you have it! I could go on and on about the traditions I encountered during my first game, but I'll let John tell you about it person. We had a great time and we hope to go again this season!

Texas Time Travelin'

Over Labor Day weekend, Mom and Dad moved our stuff down to Texas from Missouri. With Steph and Jeff's permission, they brought along Seth and Noah for their first glimpse of Texas. Most of their exciting adventures are well documented on Papa and Nana's blog (www.papaandnanao.blogspot.com), but here are some additional photos to help you picture the experience.

Preparing for the trip. These two photos were taken at Mom and Dad's pond in Missouri, where we were practicing looking tough and wearing cowboy hats. Note: we did not give Seth that black eye. He gave it to himself. Long story.





In preparation for the journey, Steph bought the boys real cowboy hats. Because of those hats, they were allowed past the border; here they are, posing at the farm.


As is the way with our family, most vacations are accompanied by some sort of manual labor. Here are Nana and Noah unloading our kitchen boxes. Noah was very conscientious about packing the old farm plates (to be replaced with ours) correctly.


Relaxing after a long day's work. . .


And enjoying some fun in the sun at Aunt Ann and Uncle Charlie's pool.


Sunday morning brought out their Western best. Watch out, cowgirls!


Like manual labor, every vacation also has to have some connection with airplanes. We dined at an airport cafe on Sunday and, lo and behold, they were holding a raffle for a plane!


In a coup d'etat for Uncle John, he had dug up two bins and a box of legos from his childhood. The boys were in lego heaven, plus we promised them that they could have a cosmic battle before we went back home. Noah and I were on the castle team, while John and Seth were armed with a pirate ship and some sort of militant caribbean island.






On the last night, we had a wonderful family meal--chicken divan, courtesy of Kay. Here we are at Tom and Kay's; thanks, Seth, for snapping this picture.

In mid-August, all the family got together to celebrate Papa's 65th birthday and Jackson's 1st. Of course, Audrey was in the hospital at that point and we spent most of our time at Children's Mercy. But since Audrey was holding steady on Sunday, we decided spend a day at Nana and Papa's and unwind a bit. Jackson (in the first picture) lives in Santa Barbara, California, so he's not quite sure what to think of the Midwest yet. But drop him in a puddle and he becomes your best friend!


Swings and Rings: glimpses of other resident monkeys on the property. . .










Papa and the kids showing off his birthday present: a cedar glider hand-made in Jamesport, MO by the Amish. For his first b-day present, Jackson received a hand-made child's rocker.




Exploring the laws of physics as they apply to balloons.


Ye old hitching post: with Jackson in California and Caleb in Missouri, the two boys don't often get a chance to talk business. They're obviously grateful for the opportunity to catch up on bean prices and hog shares.


Jackson and the neighboring cows finally noticing each other.


Katie also took her first ride around the block on Papa's motorcycle. She was very excited to go, but when she got back. . .let's just say she's not ready to be a biker chick. Here's Nana comforting her upon her return.


Of course, if Katie gets to wear a helmet, everybody should get to wear one. Right, Seth?


And Noah. You look almost as tough as the bike behind you, dude.


Papa, Jack, and the cakes. One of the cakes is honest about the age it's celebrating. Can you tell which one?


To cap it all off, Noah, Alex, Katie, and I made this video to show Audrey while she was in the hospital. Since she didn't get to see Alex during her visit from California, we thought she'd appreciate seeing her on video.

Trip to Missouri, Part One

As many of you know, John and I had a long trip to Missouri. In the middle of it, while I was staying with family and John was on a fly fishing trip to Colorado, our niece Audrey (12) had a heart surgery that involved several unexpected and scary complications. I'm delighted to say that she's doing better now--in fact, she left the hospital yesterday--but it was a long, sobering ordeal. Before we get into that, though, here are some pictures of our time with family before Audrey's surgery.

After hearing my brother, Ryan, preach our first Sunday in Missouri, we all went to get pizza. It was a lot of fun, although Caleb--Ryan's youngest--took to eating plateware because the pizza didn't arrive soon enough.

Audrey and Katie (Ryan and Joy's daughter) hanging out.


Nana and Caleb, Ryan and Joy's baby boy.


John and Caleb--all babies in our family eventually get used to being passed around.


Caleb taking matters into his own hands.


Noah and I, photo courtesy of Noah.


You can get a lot of bang for your quarter if you're willing to pile on the kid's corvette.


Here's Audrey during her long rest after surgery; she looks beautiful even with the ventilator tube.


Papa and Nana with Jackson, Tyler and Jerilyn's boy--who's soon to be a big brother!


Jackson interacting with the older kids at the hospital computer.


While Steph and Jeff were at the hospital with Audrey, John and I got to play Mom and Dad for a little bit with their two boys. Here are John and Noah after Noah's first grade orientation night.


Of course, we couldn't act completely grown-up. One morning, we let the Seth and Noah do their own hair, complete with mousse and hairspray.


That's it for now. We're so grateful that Audrey's home and doing better. We'd like to thank everybody for their prayers and especially Steph and Jeff's church for taking such good care of them.