The Party!

For Braden's 8th birthday, he and 3 friends went to Crazy Pinz to celebrate. They played black light putt-putt, arcade games, and then moved on to Ball-o-City. When they finally slowed down and decided they were hungry, we headed over to Chili's for dinner before heading back home. I think the boys had a good time. I arrived back home wishing I had made my chiropractor appt. for Saturday morning instead of Friday. After spending several hours with these four, Jon and I were exhausted! Ryan, Braden, Dylan, and Carter next to the putt-putt volcano.
Strategy is key in golf, just ask these three.
Braden waiting for the others at Hole 2. (The course was only 9 holes, but the decorating was really neat. And the black "putting green" made it almost impossible to see the hills and bumps. It looked really neat with everything glowing too!)
Ryan and Braden shooting some Germans, I think.
Braden on the second of three levels in Ball-0-City. They spent over 45 minutes in there. You can shoot foam balls out of guns and tubes, plus it's like a giant play place with tunnels and obstacles.

Birthday

Before school this morning, Braden got up and opened his presents and cards that had arrived. Grandma and Grandpa got him a cover for his Bible. We're ready now for when Braden drops his Bible in another puddle in the church parking lot!
What is it?
"It's empty."
Yes, Aunt Amanda, that is your card he's holding. And not only was there nothing (meaning $$$) inside, but you wrote about bike safety. Just what every boy wants for his birthday!
Braden and Daddy are cozy and warm under their new blanket. Thanks, Grandma!
Yum! Donuts from Butler's Bakery to take to school! (We still have snow all over the ground, as you can see)

Happy 8th Birthday, Braden!

Braden is 8 yrs. old! Wow! Can you believe it?
He has big plans for his big day. He'll be opening his presents before school I'm sure, since Daddy will be here. We're bringing doughnuts from Butler's Bakery to share at school. After school, we're taking Braden and 3 friends to Crazy Pinz in Ft. Wayne. They are going to play glow-in-the-dark putt-putt, check out the 5,000 sq. ft. arcade, and Ball-o-City. (Pictures will be posted over the weekend) Then we're going to Chili's for dinner! (Mostly because we still have gift cards left over from Christmas) Jon and I will be pooped. And one of Braden's friends is spending the night. **Please pray that Dallas and Raider behave while we're gone. I can't find anyone to come and let them out.**

Below are pictures of Braden growing up. There are so many great pictures, I had a hard time narrowing it down to just those fifteen!

Happy Birthday, Bray! Love you, Momma and Daddy

Memories - part 1

Memories- part 2

Memories- part 3

Update

Yesterday (Sunday) we had our first snowfall of winter. The ground is actually covered with an inch or two. It snowed the hardest during early church. It was funny to see all of the people that had gone to the early service come out and find their cars buried.
Today we had our first 2 hour school delay of the new year...... VERY EXCITING! Braden was sick all weekend and slept until almost 9am!!
I took the four-legged kids to the park today. They enjoyed running through the snow. Raider is getting better with his running, but he still looks like a galloping horse. Once when Dallas was chasing him, she ran under him and tripped him. Raider face-planted into the snow. It was hilarious! He stood up and had snow all over the side of his head. Sadly, taking 2 dogs to the park didn't allow me to bring my camera.
We are supposed to be getting more snow over the next few days. I'll try and get pictures of everyone to post later this week.

A few more pictures of insanity!

This is a 4 1/2 month old!
Sometimes he's a lover. Mostly he's just confused about not being in a cage anymore.
"Dallas, be nice!"
He sure loves to give people (and even the furniture) "hugs."
"Dallas, please come out and play with me."

Yes, I Think I've Gone Crazy!

Braden and Raider at home last night.
Dallas doesn't know how she feels about sharing her home with a horse.
Why Raider? He is named for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Braden's future college.
At least he's too big to get under the places Dallas likes to hide!
Why did I allow Braden to use his money to buy Raider? I have no idea! I do not want another dog right now, let alone a horse. But he looked so sad. He's been at the pet store for about 3 months! Poor guy. It broke my heart, that is the only excuse I can come up with. (Also, Jon needs to learn how to just say no too!) Please pray for us and for Dallas!

Dallas

Dallas "smiling" for the camera.
Dallas chewing her bone (on the furniture!!!)
She's a funny girl! And oh so cute!

Same Old Thing

Absolutely nothing is going on here! Braden and I are busy with school. (Bray also has Hip-Hop, Awana, and basketball.) Jon is on his way to work before the sun and usually in bed around 9pm.
Braden's birthday is almost here! He is counting down the days until he turns 8!!! It's hard to believe he is so old, until I remind myself that we're sharing t-shirts and also pajama pants! Next Friday is his party! At least then I will have pictures to post. In the meantime, here are a couple of the babies: my baby and my puppy.

Why is Braden looking so sweet and Dallas looking a little on edge?
Probably because she knows Braden is planning on doing something like this!

Go Bears!

After being gone all day, Jon is home safe! Peanut got him tickets to the Bears' playoff game today so he was gone before dawn. The weather is supposed to be getting icy today, so Jon left this morning with a change of clothes, in case he couldn't make it all the way home. They had great weather for the game (no rain and temp. in the low thirties). The Bears won in overtime! Jon just got home a few minutes ago and I can hear the rain and wind outside. I am so grateful the Lord held the weather back so he could make it home safely..... Now I can go to sleep!

Congrats Megan!!!!

Just wanted to congratulate my sister (in-law) Megan. She passed her exam and she is now a licensed athletic trainer??? I think. She sent a text and then called me, but I was in church picking up Braden and haven't called her back yet.

But details aside, WAY TO GO MEGAN!!!

A Few More

I forgot to post this picture. I love how embarrassed Braden looks.
This is as close to Bray dancing as I could get. He was just picking a song here. I was instructed NOT to take his picture dancing.

But I Love Him Just the Same!

Jon getting ready to do some Dance Dance Revolution. I've been trying to get him to play so I could take his picture. He finally agreed.
Here we go.
Jon would like me to note that the hand motions and faces are just for the camera.
This is his usual DDR form.
Look at that face! He is in the zone! (And I still love him)

Fast-Action Football (attempt #2)

For some reason, these pictures aren't showing up on my blog. Here they are again. I am so very proud of my $150 purchase that Braden and I got on sale for $34.98!!!