Thank you God!

Waking up to rain always makes me want to go back to sleep or read a good book while drinking a cup of hot tea. However, I have kids so staying in bed just isn't an option and reading only includes books with pictures. So when it rains and rains all day the time just seems to drag on. However, Mason decided that since there was no thunder or lighting that he and Ryley should go out and play in the rain. Ryan was going to take them out when he got home, but Mason didn't want to wait. So here are the kids playing outside in their underwear. They had the best time and kept saying "thank you God for the rain, thank you Jesus for letting us play out in the rain!" It was so cute and turned a gloomy, rainy day into something very special!

I didn't know it but their were people looking at the house behind us, I saw them in the kitchen laughing at the sight the kids dancing in the rain in their underwear.

Trip to Warsaw

We took a weekend trip to Warsaw, MO with most of my family (Brandi, Steve, and the girls are in Colorado). We had a great time, the kids didn't want to leave, so we promised them McDonalds (ah the power of fast food!). Here are the pictures of the trip.

I love matching clothes on the girls!

Jodie playing with shoes at the cabin.
Ryley playing in the little sand box, she loves getting dirty.
Mason, driving the "Pirate Ship", so we could find the bad guys and kill them with our light sabers.
Here are the kids burning marshmallows. They didn't want to eat them, they just wanted to catch them on fire. The kids are just like Ryan, they love fire!
Here are the kids with Uncle Tommy. They are all buddies now and even have a secret handshake.

Here is Ryley.

Here is Mason.

We are at the Visitor's Center.

Ha ha ha...there was some old buildings at the visitor's center. Here is Uncle Tommy pretending to use the outhouse. We tried to get Mason to pose, but he didn't really want anything to do with it.

This was taken at the fish hatchery.

At the fish hatchery the kids were allowed to fish and keep two (after a nice long lecture about the rules!). However, we didn't catch any. Mason and Ryley decided it was the worst day of their lives, until they got coloring books, stickers, and tattoos. Then it quickly turned into the best day! Thanks goodness my kids are easy to please.

This was taken on our way out of Warsaw. Mason loved the tank and wanted to climb all over it.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Here are some pictures of Mason trying to find a backpack and lunch box for school. He was so cute trying to decide which one to get. He finally decided on a Batman backpack and a Spiderman lunch box.

Boys Day At The Ballpark

Saturday Ryan, his Dad, and Mason went to St. Louis to watch a Cardinal's game. It was their boy's day out. Mason has been looking forward to this day all year (he went last year too and loved it!). Their day started with a trip to watch the planes take off and land at the St. Louis Airport. They had McDonalds for lunch and went to the game. Mason had a good time and slept all the way home. We girls didn't want to sit at the house all day so we used Saturday as an excuse to go shopping and have a girls day, which worked great because Ryley needed new shoes anyway (her feet grew an entire size overnight!). We went shopping at Target and Children's Place, stopped at Panera for a snack, and had McDonalds for lunch (no way to convince Ryley to go anywhere else). Everyone had a great day and we can't wait to do it again next year. I didn't have the camera so there are no pictures of the shopping trip but here are some of the boys.

Watching the planes.
What a ham!
Papa and Mason are great buddies.
Here is his "I want to go home" mad face. Mason and sitting for long periods of time just don't go together.

Splashing Good Time

Today we went to the Stephen's Lake Splash Park. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the water. After they played in the splash park awhile we went swimming in the lake. They all three loved the water and the best part is it was free!

Jodie liked the water, but not the concrete.
She was much happier on Mommy's lap. Thanks Mimi for taking such a great picture (Ryley wanted to go swim with the fish in the lake so she wouldn't smile).

Mmmm Peas

The face says it all!!!!

Slip N Slide

Mason on his new slip n slide. He loves it!
Ryley on the slip n slide. She doesn't love it quite as much as Mason, she only wants to slide with the water off and Daddy pushing her.
Jodie on the slip n slide. She loves playing in the water!

4th of July

What a fun 4th of July. We had a bbq with our neighbors and shot off fireworks. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful neighbors that enjoy getting together. Thanks to all of you for coming and bringing food and fireworks. Thanks Randy for the big display it was great!! We had a "blast". Here are some of the pictures, I have more, but I am having trouble getting them to attach so I will try later.

Here is Mason with his gun. He loves these poppers.
Ryley with her gun. She needed a little help.
Mason playing with the cool craft Mimi brought. Great idea Mimi! Thanks!
One of the few times the kids in our neighborhood actually all sit together. You gotta love watching fireworks blow up!