Time for an update?

It's been a little over two years since our last update. To tell the truth, Facebook and Twitter have served as a very good means of documentation and communication for our little bit of Urban living. In searching for pics for the profiles to your left, all I had to do was check my phone for recent Facebook posts. But as one of my dear friends reminds me quite often, not everyone enjoys the world of FB and Twitter; therefore, I am making it a goal of mine to hop back online and update this blog. There is so much to share, so instead of going backwards, I will start from now and move onward!

Grace and Lori

This weekend, Gracie was the flower girl in my cousin Lori's wedding in Kansas City at Loose Mansion. We had an amazing time celebrating with family and welcoming Cody's family to our own. The rehearsal dinner was held at Boulevard Brewing Company downtown...need I say more? Brandon not only enjoyed the tour, he could have led the tour. On a more sentimental note, Lori's gift to Grace during the rehearsal was the same pearl necklace that my sister Carrie had given to Lori when she was the flower girl in her wedding. Grace wore it yesterday for the wedding and will hopefully pass it along to her flower girl some day.

The ceremony was beautiful. Afterwards, we had dinner and danced and danced and danced! Ben and Grace enjoyed spending time with their cousins Brody and Corey from Arizona. Brandon and I sat with Rob and Carrie and got to catch up (while secretly checking the score to the Sporting KC game)! My parents had a chance to see several other family members from out of town as well. 



Flower girl



Grace, Ben, Corey, Brody





Sisters









Dad and Ben

Now that the wedding is over, we will have quite the busy week. Brandon is getting ready for his Hundred Hole Hike. This will take place on Monday, June 25th. If you haven't heard about this yet, please check it out at www.hundredholehike.com. It's for a great cause, as he is golfing for tiny-K, and organization that provides early intervention services to children ages birth to 3 who have special needs. Our dear Molly receives their services - and that in itself, is for a whole other blog post. :) We will save that for another day. Thank you to those of you who have pledged either with your time or your money. Everything counts!

Summer has begun!

Summer has begun, but before it gets any further, I thought I'd update you on what we've all been up to in May! It's been a busy month!

BEN: Ben turned NINE this month! Where has the time gone? Brandon and I temporarily lost our minds and allowed him to have four friends over to spend the night. Wow. Nine-year-old boys have a lot of energy. They played the Wii and Nintendo, chased each other around the yard, and ate nearly everything we had on hand. Other than that, we survived. Since the theme of the party was "video games", Megan made an awesome cake that said "Happy Birthday to Mii" and featured Ben's very own mii.

GRACE: Grace had her end-of-year Dazzler dance recital last night. She danced the following routines: Stormy Weather, Wizard of Oz, Hip-Hop Hokey Pokey, and the finale, Who Am I.
After the show, she exclaimed "I love being on stage! Can we do it again?" Needless to say, her dream of being on American Idol might actually be attainable! Go Grace!

MOLLY: Molly has been very busy chattering away. Although she appears to have her own language, she has some great "real" words as well. She says "hi, bye, hot, pup, kitty, drink, more, mama, dada, and most importantly, hawk (Jayhawk)." I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones she uses consistently! She's walking all over the place in the new shoes that Aunt Stacey and Uncle Clinton bought her.

BRANDON: Brandon turned 33 this month! We celebrated with friends last Monday. We played baseball, barbecued, and of course, played a little Guitar Hero. It was a blast. Happy Birthday Brandon.

ME: I'm done with school! Enough said!

Where did April go?

So much happened in April. Here are the top ten, even if they weren't the "best" ten!

10. Molly visited the ER after falling on the driveway and hitting the back of her head. Thankfully, all is well.
9. Brandon is out of softball for at least two weeks after tearing his meniscus...that little thing that keeps the bones from touching in your knee joint.
8. Ben, too, has injured his knee and has been fighting through it on the soccer field.
7. Bert Nash no longer takes my insurance so I am left without a therapist until I find another, or a secondary insurance!
6. Ben mowed the lawn for the first time - all of it for only ten bucks commission.
5. Gracie is getting ready for her dance performance on May 28th. She's a munchkin in the land of Oz.
4. Stacey and Clinton were married on April 16th. I sang at the wedding and Brandon spoke of resounding gongs. Ben was an usher and Grace was the flower girl. Molly was the honorary flower girl.
3. Grace won first prize in the science fair for her Nail Polish Palooza project. Always go with Sally Hansen if you have a choice. It lasts the longest.
2. Ben's team did well in the Challenger's Tournament and Ben even scored a goal with his left foot!
1. Molly turned one and began walking.

That's April! Welcome May! 16 days of school left!