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.