It's October.

It's October.  And this summer was realllly busy.  And I have posted anything for a month.  So here's a condensed update.  Early July our family visited the Ozarks with Mark's family.  We had blast and James loved every minute with cousins in the "YoZarks."

 

 Before leaving Osage Beach for home we made one last stop for James' first go-cart ride with Daddy.

The following week, Mark left on a 10-day missions trip to Rwanda with a team from our church.  There were few pictures taken that week as it was a challenge to single-parent but the trip was quite fruitful for Mark and the team!

 Also in July, Elizabeth (far right) and I hosted a bridal shower for our (then) sister-in-law to-be, Anna.  It was such a joy for us to do so. 

We enjoyed the planning portion, making a menu of yummy appetizers and creating coordinating decor.

 In August we celebrating the marriage of my youngest brother Jeff to his bride Anna!

 We love this girl and are thankful to have her in the family!

 Mark and I were honored to both play a part in the wedding party!  We were so grateful for Mark's parents coming to watch James and Clara for the weekend to allow us to enjoy it!

 Then we spent four weekends in a row of continued busy-ness---we were in Manhattan, Sabetha, Nebraska, etc.  It's rare that I have my picture taken.  Mark took this one in a field of sunflowers where his parents live.

 Somewhere in there we squeezed in a last minute trip to the zoo.  Gotta love the zoo...James sure does!

 Then just a few weekends ago we celebrated James' 3rd birthday with a trip to the pumpkin patch, followed by a family party complete with balloons, fried chicken, and a dump truck cake (which was quite well constructed by Mark).

 We love this boy.  He surprises us daily with his creativity, boundless energy, knack for memorizing random things, and growing independence.

 Clara is on the verge of turning ONE YEAR OLD.  Can't believe that.  Just had to include this picture of her from the pumpkin patch.

In addition to having much to do on the weekends, we've (well, mostly Mark) taken on a few home projects, including re-tiling the kitchen backsplash.  I love how it has turned out and we now just need to paint the kitchen to finish it off.  Hopefully some before-after posts to come.....

A Splishin' and a Splashin'

Two weeks ago we took a family trip to visit Mark's sister Gail and her family. They were wonderful enough to watch both our kids for the night so Mark and I could spend a night away from them in a B&B. Such a nice break for us. The second afternoon and night we all stayed together and got to take our kiddos to the pool. James had been to the swimming pool once, when he was about 10 months, so it's about time he try it out again. He was very hesitant, but Mark was super patient with him.

talking it over...a little pre-swim pep talk

all ready to go in her bathing suit!

SO brave all on his own (in the kiddie pool)

splashing Daddy with chilly water!

very first dip in the pool

Good job, James! High five!

Stacia's 40th Fiesta

We had wayyyy too much fun this weekend. Mark's sister Staci turned 40 and this family was excited to throw a fiesta celebration for her! Staci seriously makes 40 look great, doesn't she? Anyway, all of these photos are out of order. Maybe blogger is changing the way they upload...?

Staci was such a good sport about wearing the sombrero and dress I had brought from my Spanish-teaching stash. Here she is with her sopapilla dessert!

Uncle Roy's tractor was out and cousin Jacob helped James stand up on top. He was so proud.

Family gatherings with Mark's family are always a tight squeeze! Garages work perfectly for fitting (mostly) everyone in the same room. We also used my lanterns, Mexican blanket, and chili pepper lights.

Prior to the fiesta the men worked on roofing Roy and Shari's new garage. Mark had a blast and suffered only a little later from a sunburn across his lower back from bending over for hours.

Sopapillas were surprisingly easy to make...and SO good. Here's the recipe Lois picked out and I helped a little with.

There were flowers in the girls' hair....

...and on the tiki torches.

Fresh sopapillas.

After the Mexican feast, Grandpa organized a few yard games; wheel-rolling races and tug of war!

The girls won this round with the help of Uncle Paul.

these two cousins are exactly two years apart. James adores his cousins.

James was very excited about his first pinata experience!

Mother's Day family picture

finished off the party with watermelon...this little boy was thoroughly grubby and worn out!!

Gone Fishin'

James went fishin' for the first time this weekend with his daddy, grandpa, and cousins Brock and Jacob. We had to go visit them to take a few pictures of this milestone!

Brock caught two right in a row! James was very cautious around the fish. He did NOT want to touch them.

Miss Clara was perfectly content to observe from the arms of cousin Jacquie and (below) Aunt Jody.

I'm not sure why I always feel the need to take pictures like this....a bicycle with the word 'tradition' printed on the side.

"Grandpa, can I eat this radish?" Grandpa was hard at work picking lettuce for our salad (and fish) dinner.

The girls--I married into a great family! Lois is doing amazing with her chemotherapy and has just one more round left!

Right before dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's

Story time.