busy boy...

Oh we're getting busy!

Owen has been maximizing on his tummy time experiences. He's working hard on that little head, and he's getting pretty good with it! He does take breaks from lifting, stopping to suck on his fingers, or thumb.

Here are some times that I've captured of his cute tummy time moments!

I feel like this past week he started perfecting so many things he's been doing, now he's doing them REALLY well.

First he found his thumb and it's becoming a great friend.

Then he really started pushing hard to get his head up SO high.

NOW, every morning we're finding him rolled over in his!!!

Goodness, he's getting smarter and smarter! It's cute watching him figure it all out :)

family fun...

We had visitors from Texas!!! We get really excited when we have visitors from Texas... it makes for a GOOD time! And they are some of our favorite people.

My sister and her fun family came to see us a few weeks ago. My "always have a plan" husband, filled our days with some adventures. We pushed our patience and nerves to the limits and had a fun 2 days with our young families together.

Our plan for day 1 was a trip to the zoo followed by a picnic in Forest Park. We got everyone bundled and loaded up and set out to see, lions, tigers, and BEARS!! Oh ya!

Owen rode bundled in his blankies, pretty sure he was oblivious to the whole trip.

Both of the boy's were loaded, we pushed them along from animal to animal. Tuck was ready for the adventure... Owen slept through most of it :)

The camels were a trip... they are interesting animals. I had a weekend full of CLOSE encounters with these strange creatures. (wait for Grant's Farm pictures... you'll see)

I had to include this awesome shot that Chad took... it's a little too close for comfort of me. However, it's the closest we got of having a picture with all of us in it (see sunglasses). Me, Owen, Chad, Amber, and Tucker. Way to go Chad, great job capturing the moment :)

Gorillas... Chad: "someone has b.o."
Me: "no babe, I'm pretty sure it's the gorilla"
Chad: "I'm pretty sure it's the foreigners ahead of us.... here, take my picture"

Me: "umm... ok"

Parker had the most fun. She collected leaves all throughout the zoo, then she would hand them to us. For us to save of course...

Much like Owen, Parker was slightly oblivious to the animals. :)

Not really, but slightly distracted!

Bears... oh how I wish you were friendly. I would love to hug a grizzly.

REALLY... I love them. They also love me... as a chew toy...




This little guy was cute... he was in his own world. He reminds me of Tucker (sorry Amber), mainly because he had something in his mouth the whole time. He also dragged that blanket around with him. I think he's cute, so I really mean it as a complement.






I really enjoyed the zebra's and giraffe’s. The detail and intricate patterns in their coats amaze me. I think it's so cool how God designed all of his creatures with such detail. Not one of us is the same, neither are any of his other creations. It's interesting how he would put that much work into his animals... animals that we rarely give much thought to. He put so much effort in creating and designing just patterns on these animals... they're amazing! It puts into perspective how greatly he thought of me when he designed me.

And more perspective... how much effort he put into this little dude...

Then gave him to me.... no pressure!

I can't wait to see what kind of design God put in and on this kid!

We had a great time at the zoo. Many laughs, a few melt downs, good times!

get away...

Last weekend we went on our first family get away!

We traveled North to Hannibal Missouri, home town of the great Mark Twain.

We planned this little trip with hopes that Fall would have put a little more color into the world... it hasn't quite done that yet! However, the weather was beautiful and there was still plenty color to to be seen!

We started Saturday off with a LONG walk up to Cardiff Hill. The walk was more of a climb... we climbed up 250 stairs to get on top of the "hill."

Here is the eager beaver who initiated the walk!! I could relate to Owen, the thought alone made me want to take a nap :).

But, we climbed away... and it felt GOOD!

I wasn't kidding when I said 250 stairs.

The top of the hill holds this beautiful lighthouse. It is the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse. It comes with some awesome views of the Mississippi river, as well as the town.

This is obviously the river in the background :)

After the hike we headed back to the hotel. This little guy needed some GOOD rest... not the bumpy kind of rest that he got the rest of the day!

The rest of the day we went from antique shop... to boutique... to museum. We just took in the fun shops and the little town.

And we couldn't leave out eating...

We took turns talking to Owen. Explaining what we're doing...

how long we would be out. Apologizing for making him sit in his seat and for not being home for naps.

He was a trooper. The trip was hard for him, but he just put on his brave face and dealt.

After lunch we headed toward Illinois where we spent Saturday night.

This is just some of the scenery we saw along the way... I love old barns. We past many farms like this, I think they are beautiful!

We visited our friends Pastor Archie and Sheila in Illinois. Went to their church on Sunday morning, then headed home to Winfield. We had one TIRED baby once we got home, he's still recovering. I think we all are!