Mid West Photo Shoot!

Visiting the mid-west would not be complete without a photo session at Portrait Innovations!!

My 2 cuties!

Sweet cousins!

Adorable!

All together!!

Siblings!!

Group shot!!

My super-heros!

The proud mommas and their kiddos!

Proud Uncle and Aunt- who hand-made all the capes!

Nonnie Dee!

My grandma became Nonnie Dee once Addie could talk. We have been to visit her a few times and the kids love her dearly! They were super excited to see her but were a bit bummed that we would have to wait until the morning to see her since she is living in a retirement home and not in her actual home.

Can you tell how happy these 3 are to see each other?!? There was no shyness- they walked into her room and straight into her arms- so sweet!

Taking Nonnie Dee for a ride in her wheel chair- she gave us a tour of the new snazzy home- the kids were huge fans!

One neat thing they have- a putting green! There were plenty of putters and colorful golf balls. Grandma said that she only ever sees grandkids and great-grandkids playing on it.... Great way to wear out kids! They had a blast and had some fairly inventive ways to get the ball into the holes...

Next up- a fountain! The rocks around it were far more intriguing than the actual fountain!

Stopping for a quick photo op after visiting the quilting room and checking out the huge library- where they have 1 entire shelf just for the kids!

The kids have loved trying out all Nonnie Dee's gadgets- they went for a wheel chair tour (riding in it) and one on her walker. Both were loads of fun for them and the kids loving them made Nonnie Dee smile and laugh!

Keeping It Cool

Since the temps are hot enough to cook eggs on the sidewalk (maybe not realy, but it's well into the triple digits) we were thrilled to check out Aunt Cindi and Uncle Steve's pool- perfect way to spend an afternoon with 2 active kids!

Addie loved the little diving board

Taking time out for a snack and a chat with Aunt Cindi

The cutest pool boy ever! He loved scooping out random leaves

This was a favorite- they would climb on the raft and PopPop would push them across the pool.

Addie having a ball! Alden didn't want his picture taken much for some reason- but I promise you, he was there and having a ball!

Summer '11 Adventure!! Part I

It's been ages since I've visited my side of the family.... On Tuesday, we headed out to Dallas, Texas via a lay-over in Atlanta. We would meet my Dad at the airport and drive the 2hours to Palestine and spend a few days with my 82 year old Grandma. A few days later, e would then drive 10+hours to Kansas City with my Dad and spend time with the rest of my family. This post is dedicated to getting TO Texas!!

The kids loved watching the plane land and take off at the Richmond airport!

Once on the plane, it was a scant 1hour to Atlanta. We jumped on their underground train and rode out of the airport- Alden was in heaven riding a TRAIN!!

His head about exploded when I took him to another train, the Marta, and we left the airport and headed into downtown Atlanta!! Since our layover was 4 hours, I was looking for something fun to do with the kids. A childhood friend, Shanda, was actually free that day and would have her sweet daughter with her- score!

Addie and Calla had met once before about 2 years ago- they were shy for a few min, but that was it- they were laughing, hugging and having a blast together in no time! There's no doubt that these two would be great friends if we lived near each other!!

Busy playing with Callas neat little toy

The whole crew- we are only missing the hubby's and Shanda's son, Gus- not too bad! We had a great time with them!!

We made it back to the airport with plenty of time to spare and jetted off to Dallas- sorry, I forgot to take pics on the plane.... As we landed the pilot welcomed us with the news that the local temp, at 6pm, was a balmy 104 and that was without any heat index!!

We had some great Taco Bueno (a fantastic Mexican fast-food joint) and headed out to Palestine.... The kids did great traveling- I was, and still am, super proud of them!

Sweet Friends and Family

Addie's BFF Lainey from school, came to Alden's party- Alden needed his Miss Emily, Lainey's Mom, at his birthday party!

These 2 get along so well- so well, in fact, that Jen and I are nervous.... We can see them scheming mischief and getting into trouble together.... Good thing they have adorable smiles and eyelashes that are miles long!

The sweeties together!

MarMar was in her glory!!

Alden's 4th Birthday Celebration- Part 4

The PARTY!!!! It was Lightening McQueen themed since the Birthday Boy is totally into Cars!

Goody Bags all lined-up and ready to be filled with crafts the kids would be doing.

I tried to embrace the Racing Theme.... Here are pictures of Cars- they were to be colored and cut out- and used for another game...

Wooden Race Cars- there were markers and stickers! The cars came in a kit, but I knew that the kids would not be able to glue them together, so I did that....

There were Cars beanbags and a large box to toss them into

The other side of the RaceTrack was this- were they could tape the Car they colored and cut out in the Design Studio!

The cake! Costco did not make a Cars cake, but they were willing to make this one and I just placed Cars on it- thanks to my nephew Nate!

He was SO excited about it!

The kids had a lot of fun- all 11 of them!

Putting all the practice to use!

Sadly, I was busy having a good time and did not get too many pictures of the kids playing games! Everyone had a great time! At this time, there is only 1 more birthday celebration- one with his other cousins in Kansas City!!

Alden's 4th Birthday Celebration- Part 3

Alden was SO excited that MarMar, PopPop, Aunty Jen AND Nate made the trip down for his party!! Once they arrived, the kids went swimming- PopPop took pictures... We had a yummy dinner from a new local Greek place. THEN Alden got to open his gifts from the family.

Thumbs up for cash!

Since Easter, he has been telling MarMar for his birthday, he wanted a Big Buzz (he had a small one, but he wanted a BIG one- he even tried to get his friend Hannah to give him her Big Buzz)- so he was thrilled beyond words to get a Big Buzz!! And in the blue box are rocks. Yes, rocks. He told MarMar that is the other thing he really, reallllly wanted- rocks. You can tell by his face that he is Super Happy! He got some other cool gifts, but these were his favorites!

Nate showing us a rock he liked- and now Addie and Nate want a box of rocks!

We had cake and icecream for Alden AND PopPop since his birthday is in a few weeks!

The kids woke-up early and played nicely in the playroom- they actually played together perfectly the entire weekend!! It's so sweet to see them have fun together!