Best Brother and Sister Around

We're frequently asked if Ryla and Noah are twins. It's easy to see how this happens since their just barely over a year apart and almost the same size. The best part about them being so close is just how close they are! These two adore each other. They spend so much time with one another and they just treat each other well. On this special day, Noah was afraid to walk across the grates by himself, so Ryla kindly held his hand as they strolled across the scary grates to the library.

And we rounded out the day with a costume party for the trip across the street to pick Aidan up from school.

Spring Break with Nana and Papa

Time with cousins was only a small part of our Spring Break trip. They had so much fun spending time with Nana and Papa. It's no surprise that when we showed up, Nana was ready and waiting with ample crafts and games.

And Papa was ready to rock and roll with a trip to the Junior College National Championship across the street from their house. Aidan thought this was so much fun...he especially enjoyed the cheerleaders.

While the other two were having a blast, Noah managed to find a way to get himself hurt. I know, it's really hard to believe, but it's true.

It was serious enough that Papa called in some favors and had a nurse friend come over and give it a look. Good news, all was well- just a bump on the head and a little blood that ended with Noah falling asleep while mama rocked our big baby to sleep.

We also had a wonderful trip to the zoo. Aidan's favorite part was getting to see the tigers- they're his absolute favorite animal. And the other two just couldn't get over the giraffe that ate out of their hands!

It truly was a typical Kansas Spring. One day we were having popcicles on the porch, and the next we were catching snowflakes in the front yard!

And we found some new things- Ryla turns out to be quite the lego master, completing her first build in no time, and Papa introduced our munchkins to the most wonderful game of all... spoons!

Cousin Fun

The fun, the craziness, the pure joy of having hours of uninterrupted fun with cousins! This year the stars aligned and all of the cousins had Spring Break at the same time. Our three were thrilled, as usual, to spend a few days with Ben, Harrison, and Lauren. They thought it was even more special that their older cousin Ali was able to come spend some time with all the littles!

It's pretty clear that the boys and the girls have different ideas of "fun."

And who really doesn't love a big 'ol family trip to the movies. By the way, Zootopia is pretty great and you should check it out.

Probably the best part of everything was just the weird, random fun that was had by all. Many thanks to Darrel and Beth for so graciously hosting so much energy at your place!

Ryla and Ryla

It was so much fun to have my good friend Ryla come spend a few days with us! Our Ryla always thinks it is hilarious that there's someone else with the same name as her. Both the boys have such common names that they're used to it, but it takes Ryla a while to remember that she's not Ryla the one and only.

The kids all had such a blast spending time together and got along extremely well. They spent every day playing from the time they got up until we forced them to go to bed.

Ryla, thanks for being such a good friend, and for being willing to make the HUGE drive all the way down here! I'm lucky to have you in my life!

Just a bit obsessed

Ryla loves gymnastics. I know that you know this already. We talk about it, post pics, share videos, and tell stories all the time about her gymnastics obsession. So this one's less for you and more for me. I know there'll be a day when she no longer lives gymnastics, and that's ok. But I want to be able to remember smile and excitement that this brings to her, and I wanted to see just how much of her day and activities were converted into gymnastic adventures. 

Field Day 2016

Aidan loves school. He loves to be with friends, learn new things, and be on his own. But of all the things he loves about school, field day is his absolute favorite. This year, he was pretty excited that mom, dad, brother, and sister got to come watch the glorious events.

He was ready for event #1: soccer! It was a pretty simple event, but he had a blast showing off his skills.

As always, it takes Aidan about 2 minutes to make friends anywhere he goes, so after being at Fern Bluff for a few months now, he's got some pretty good buddies that he loves hanging out with.

The potato sack race was new for Aidan, and his lack of experience showed. But, he never quit!

Then there was that terrible three legged race. If only this pic had been taken a fraction of a second later, we could have had a great face plant shot that would have made excellent graduation fodder.

The tug of war was one of his favorite stations. The contest started out with just the kids, but inevitably, certain dads found their way into the competition.

The water balloon toss was great fun. The best part was when the folks working the event snuck a couple of balloons to Noah and Ryla and sent them sneaking into the crowd of students to soak some unsuspecting first graders.

The younger two didn't get to participate much, but they had no problem finding plenty of ways to occupy their time.