I'm a real slacker....

A big sorry, to all of you who check my blog frequently, for a very poor month of blogging on my part! It's been a busy summer and these last few weeks, even though we've been home, have felt extra busy at work and at home due to catch up from our trip to Missouri to visit my fam earlier this month and in preparation for the vacation we head out on tomorrow morning at 4 am (not my idea to leave at that time...trust me!!). We are heading to New Hampshire for a week with Mike's family (Nana, Papa, Brad and Christina (Brad's girlfriend)). We are really looking forward to it, so hopefully I'll be able to regain my blog momentum once we're back home...because you know I'll have a plethora of pictures to share! :) We'll just have to see how 12 hours in the car with an active three year old will go...good times...I'm sure! :) I know many of you don't believe in letting your young children watch too much TV, but I gotta be honest, I'm banking on a wide range of Disney movies to keep Ben entertained and happy for the better part of the trip! :) He'll recover quickly....I think. :)

On a side note...we have spent the better part of this month working hard at getting Ben potty trained and I am about to give up and live with Mr. Poopypants forever. He doesn't give a crap (literally!). He'll poop IN his big boy underwear (not a Pull-Up) and be totally fine just "hanging out" in it. GROSS! I've thrown away more pairs of underwear this month just because I didn't want to deal with "poop removal." :) Please...someone...anyone... give me the magic trick! :) Is it possible that he is still not ready? I just feel like every other three year old is potty trained?!

Sorry, that was a long side note, I'm done now. Oh and I honestly don't even have a photo to post right now, if you can believe that. I've been on a picture taking hiatus for the past few weeks in preparation for NH...you're in for it now! Enjoy your week! :)

Trip to MO (4) - Everything else!

This post...as you are about to see...is what my friend, Heidi, would call a "collage barrage." I apologize, in advance, but mostly wanted to share these pictures with my family and obviously, again, had a hard time narrowing down the choices. I have a picture taking illness. I'm not sure what the cure is. Anyway.... the rest of our week in MO was spent swimming, hanging out, playing old school Nintendo games, eating, etc. Ben discovered the game cabinet at my parent's house about mid-way through the week and insisted on Grammy playing every game known to man with him. There is nothing quite like playing Trivial Pursuit with a three year old. :) It was a fun week and very relaxing. :)

Trip to MO (3) - Emma's Dedication

Adam and Jenny had Emma dedicated at the church Jenny grew up in last Saturday evening. It was so nice of them to do it while we were in town. My grandma Schweiss was also able to come, which I know was really special for her. My little brother, Eric, and I stood up with them as Emma's sponsors/godparents. Jenny's sister, Julie, is also a godparent, but lives in Texas and couldn't be there. It was a really nice service and I know that they will raise her to love Jesus and be great role models.

Trip to MO (2) - Happy 4th of July!

The 4th was a good day. We went swimming, my dad grilled out the world's biggest steaks (14 oz filet mignon for each of us...I WAS STUFFED...but it was good!), and we finished the day off with fireworks. Oh and as you can tell from the photos below we had a mini photo shoot with Emma and Ben. It's pretty hard to get a three month old and a three year old to pose together...but we managed to get a few cute ones. There are TONS of adorable ones of Emma though...too many to actually post here!

Grammy and her two favorite grandchildren. Don't they look patriotic? :)

I just want to squeeze her cheeks. I love her big blue eyes too!

Don't these pictures just make you want to break out into song? "God bless America...land that I love...." Ok...maybe not...but they do make me smile. :)

Trip to MO (1) - Another b-day party for Ben!

Since we weren't able to visit my family in May, closer to Ben's birthday, my mom decided to throw him a second b-day party during our visit there this week. It was fun for Ben to open more presents and eat more cake! For the past three years we have taken a picture of all of us in party hats around Ben. I thought it would be kind of funny to post those older pictures below too (even though there is at least one person in each of the photos who either isn't smiling, isn't looking at the camera, or just doesn't look happy....you know how it is when you're trying to take a group picture...it's a miracle if everyone looks normal and smiley at once!).

Ben's 1st birthday - May 2006

Ben's 2nd birthday - May 2007

Ben's 3rd birthday - 2008

(poor Emma wasn't digging this photo opp...of course Ben doesn't look too happy either...but he was!)

His party was a "Cars" theme....very appropriate, as there is nothing in the world that he would rather do than "zoom cars"....all day....everyday!

Ben was trying to give Emma some birthday kisses...but I think my mom had just accidentaly poked her in the eye with the party hat....poor thing! Oh well....I still think they are both pretty cute.

He got some more fun presents...a Mizzou football from Uncle Eric, his first computer from Grammy and Pops (LeapFrog), and some cool cars, books and a Land Before Time DVD from Uncle Adam and Aunt Jenny. Oh and my favorite gift...a Bullfrogs and Butterflies CD and a Music Machine CD from Grammy. I used to listen to these records when I was little, so I am excited for Ben to learn the songs too!

Just a short video of Ben opening some presents. He was a "man on a mission" while opening and very meticulous about tearing each piece of wrapping paper and then handing it to Uncle Eric. (Oh and pardon the weird face he makes near the end of the video...he does this ALL the time and I have no idea why. When I ask him... he says it's because he's "excited"...weird! :))

Happy Birthday, Adam!

Today is my brother Adam's 25th birthday. I wanted to give him my traditional b-day blog shout out and tell him how much I love him. I really love and appreciate his personality (even though we are pretty different!). He is quiet, smart, and hard working...a good golfer, a sports lover, and most recently a great daddy! I spent this last week at home in Missouri with him and I was so impressed with his fathering skills! He changed diapers, gave baths, fed her bottles...etc. He was just very hands on and really attentive and loving. It was neat to watch. I remember him asking me when Ben was little (with a look of concern on his face) ..."so, what do you do when he cries?" I knew the thoughts of being a dad and being responsible for another human being scared him, but I also knew he was excited for that day to come for him and that he would do a great job...and he really has/is! Emma loves her Daddy lots already and lights up whenever he talks to her. Aside from being a great dad...he's a wonderful brother to me too! Mike and I love spending time with him and Jenny...and wish we could more often!

Adam, I hope you had a great birthday! I love you and miss you!

P.S. We just got back from Missouri (after visiting my fam....since July 2nd), which is why my blog has been stuck in June for awhile now. I have so many pictures from our time there that it's taking me a while to figure out what I want to post. I'm hoping a series of posts will be done tomorrow! :)