Reedy's Mishap

Even though I can barely stand to look at this picture...I had to document the world's largest goose egg. Reed acquired it while driving a big wheel bike off the porch steps and planting his forehead on the concrete sidewalk. It was a very horrible 45 minutes for me until we got some pain killers in him and were able to calm him down. This picture was taken a couple hours after the incident and he's already smiling :)

County Fair

Good times at the Pratt County Fair...always expensive for the parents, but a blast for the kids! I thought Hanna was pretty brave with her ride selection this year - she wanted to go on everything Colby went on. And Liam kept Reed company on all the cute kiddie rides. Snow cones and funnel cakes were a must. Sadly we were only able to win one prize (a giant inflatable dolphin), so everyone fought over it for days.

Happy 4th Birthday Liam!

Poor little guy...for the second year in a row we've been in a brand new place (don't know very many people or very much about our surroundings) and trying to throw together some excitement for Liam's birthday. Luckily Liam's not very demanding, and Pratt has this awesome park with a wading pool, and we met some new friends (The Mullins) just in time to have a little party. And once daddy got home from work, we took him out for a pizza dinner and some birthday shopping. He picked out some pirate toys. Liam is such a great kid. He's always been very quiet and content, never needy. He's got a smile a mile wide and those dark eyes and long lashes melt my heart to mush. I love how he plays and pretends with Hanna (conjuring up every character that she commands him to be). He's been my best little buddy at home for a while now and I'll be sad to lose him to kindergarten next year. I feel bad for always getting on his case about sucking his thumb (though I do worry about the direction his teeth are going in!). I just hope he never thinks that he's anything less than absolutely perfect.

A Midwest 4th of July

I've actually never flown a flag before...on the 4th of July or any other day...but now that we're in a small town in the Midwest, it seemed more than appropriate and it sure looked pretty on our little house! We heard a rumor that the zoo was letting people in at a drastic discount because of the holiday, so the first thing we did when we woke up on the Fourth of July was head off to Wichita to check out Tanganyika (a sort of small but interactive zoo where you're allowed to pet almost everything!). It was way cool. That evening we had a barbecue with the Hopkins and the Heggies and the missionaries and then drove out to the lake for Pratt fireworks...which, I have to say, were a little too close for my comfort. I felt like I was in a war zone and I decided I prefer big city fireworks (the kind that are small and quiet and way off on some distant horizon). But that's just me :)

Hello Kansas!

We made the big move, and now we can no longer say that "we're not in Kansas anymore"... Because we ARE in Kansas! Weird. At first site I thought Pratt was a very pretty little town...green and lush with tall brick churches, gorgeous parks and southern-style homes...clean and quaint. We were all very pleased with the house we had rented but hadn't seen in person (though we had to make some serious compromises to get all our furniture to fit in the small rooms and down the narrow halls and staircases. In the end, everything was organized and functional and by all standards, good enough! We were so lucky to have both our grandmas working hard to get us unpacked and settled in and to add a few homey touches (including new shower curtains and hanging flower pots for the porch). They were both such a huge help and comfort and we were sad to see them go. But, we did our best to plunge right into the community. The kids took swim lessons at the public pool and rode the bus to parks and rec every day. We were warmly welcomed by all the families in our branch and we love them already. One of our favorite activities in those first few weeks was to go down to the river at Lemon Park and catch fireflies...such an enchanting experience! Scott's unexpected fame upon arrival gave us a good laugh...the neighbors and people at the stores and such seemed to already know who he was. We figured out it was because the hospital had been advertising him in the paper and on radio commercials. We like to joke about how he's kind of a big deal :)