Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene hit Richmond pretty hard over the weekend. The kids did great- they kept themselves totally entertained and played nicely! Thankfully we did not loose power, unlike over 75% of Richmond. We did loose cable and internet- and were without them for 3 days. Teacher Work Week was put off for 2 days since over 50% of the schools were without power. Now things are starting to get back to normal- but that isn't what you want to hear- here are some pictures of the kids during the storm!

It may look like a storage bin (while the kids' played, Al and I cleaned out filing cabinets, closets, containers, etc!)

Pop- out comes an Addie!! They did this for over an hour!!

My pretty girl!

Alden's turn...

Surprise!!

Dinner- eating chicken nuggets like baby birds...

The morning dawned with crisp blue skies- and our yard was littered with small branches. All hands on deck!!

Once the yard was clean, we headed to a park just north of Richmond where some of our dear friends from DE met us (they were visiting family just south of DC). The kids had a blast together!!

Addie works well as a hood ornament....

Happy memories!

Despite the storm, we had a great time and created some fun family memories!!

Alden's 4 year old Stats

Alden had his Well-Check-Up... And he's perfectly healthy, thriving, and doing super well!

He weighs 35lbs- 46%

He is 39.5" tall- 30%

By Perreca and Henderson standards, he's HUGE- our Pediatrician is happy with his growth!

And the other major accomplishment- he can now spell his name outloud! Until now, his "d" and "e" sounded exactly alike. For Alden, his speech clarity has been a bit of an issue, so this is also a pretty big reason to celebrate!

Despite my best efforts, he continues to grow, learn, and become an amazing boy!! We are super blessed!!

Last Day and Fun with Cousins

Tuesday was a busy day- it was our last day, it was Young's birthday, and it was a chance to play with the cousins who had just returned from their Texas funeral!

Happy Birthday, MarMar Young!

Once MarMar left for work, we met Aunt Emily and her 3 kiddos at Penguin Park- what a great way to get out some wiggles before being stuck on an airplane for 3 hours!!

These 2 had a blast together!

Checking out another section- there were 3 different sections and plenty of ways to keep busy!

Climbing, climbing....

Watch out!

So funny- they are NOT in order of age! Kuda is younger than Addie and Anesu is younger than Alden- this didn't seem to bother them at all- they had a blast together!

PopPop and his 2 princesses!

We changed in the parking lot into non-sweaty clothes and headed to the airport.

Alden was VERY into the safety portion of the magazine...

Addie was "cold"...

Our layover was just long enough to grab some frozen yogurt- which was next to our gate- what a perfect way to end a very amazing trip!

Rain and Gourmet Korean

Monday dawned with storm clouds looming so the plans for the zoo were scrapped. Instead, we headed to the indoor mall with a sweet playground!

Since school was in session there, there weren't many kids around and those that were, were little! So what did my kids did? Climb to the highest point and have PopPop take them down...

What better for lunch than a Panera blueberry bagel while watching Clifford!

The men were more adventurous- they went out to the smaller boat that was next to the house- and had lunch there, under the tarp! Alden was thrilled!!

And Hyung-Suk graciously made us a gourmet Korean meal- it was amazing!!

Since it was our final time to see Annie and Ian (who came over for dinner after work)- we took some great family pics.

Water Park!!

On Sunday, after church, we headed to a local, low-key water park. The kids were SO excited!! There were these 2 big slides (which the kids were disappointed to discover they were too short to take advantage of), a lazy river (which was a huge hit!), a fantastic kiddy-area (which we spent a lot of time at), and 4 diving boards (2 regular and 2 high dives).

Spending some time on the zero-entry with Annie, attempting to warm-up- the water was ice cold!

Part of this sweet park!

Loving the lazy river

The diving area! The high dive- both kids went off it! I didn't think they would, so the first time I didn't even have my camera with me! Alden wasn't interested in going off again- he preferred the lower board so he could dive. Addie, on the other hand, went off 3 times total!! It was kinda funny to see how the lifeguards were all totally shocked at how well these 2 could swim- I am so proud of them!!

Crazy hat dance!

Warming-up with PopPop

What do you do after spending the day at a water park? Go to the park behind PopPop's!!

Fun with Aunt Annie and Uncle Ian (aka taking advantage of electricity!)

We woke Saturday morning to no power- a crazy thunderstorm had created the largest power outage in the Kansas City area since the 1950s! After pics at Portrait Innovations, we headed to Ian and Annie's house as they had electricity!

We powered up all our electronics, enjoyed their ac, ate their food, watched movies, had a birthday party and had a fantastic time!

Goin' on a Bear Hunt!

While it was naptime, Addie, PopPop, Uncle Ian and Hyung-Suk (Young's son who is living with them) headed to the playground in the neighborhood. Hyung-Suk, who was once a wedding photographer, loved being the photographer!

My little thrill seeker!

Single-handily keeping 3 grown men in line!

And Alden was passed out on the futon, bless his heart!

Once naptime was over, Addie opened up a hair salon...

Alden finally got to open his gifts- one, from Aunt Emily and his cousins, was a huge hit!

Singing to 2 of the 3 birthday celebrants!

Hands down, the favorite was Henley, Annie's brother's puppy. The kids loved her and are now adamant that Santa will be bringing them a puppy for Christmas...

It was a great day- thanks for sharing everything Annie and Ian!!

Final Hours in TX and KC Welcome!

We headed to the local Sonic and picked up some 1/2 price drinks (the kids' first time- yum!) and headed over to spend some time with Nonnie....

Alden chatting with Nonnie Dee- and making sure she liked her vanilla shake =-)

Addie showing Nonnie Dee her dance recital on Mommy's camera

Family shot!

Early Friday morning- we stopped at a donut shop, shared some with Nonnie Dee, and then started our long trek to Kansas City!

103- yikes! It actually peeked at 105, but I didn't capture it. Moments after this picture was taken, the AC on my Dad's truck decided it was too hot to work- and stopped. Thank goodness the windows could roll down- whew!

What do you do in the heat? Sleep!!

Or stick your feet out the window and sing at the top of your lungs!!

We made it to KC in record time! Sadly, Cephus' aunt had passed away, ironically in Dallas, and they were going to head down there for the funeral- they would stay for Saturday morning and take pictures, but would be gone for most of our time in KC. They graciously invited us over for dinner- the cousins had a blast together!!

Addie and Rudo clicked right away- even though they are almost the same size, Rudo let Addie carry her around...

Cousin craziness in the basement!! Good thing Uncle Ian and Aunt Annie were there to help keep things under control...