Casey Boy

4 years ago, this cute puppy was born!

Today is Casey's birthday! (Yes, I even remember/celebrate Casey's birthday. He has a big bone for today!)
The picture above is Casey at 4 weeks. We got him from a great breeder/family in Kansas City. We got to go and visit him even before we brought him home.

This is Casey's dad, Rico. He is 100% English Creme golden. Rico is a great companion to this super nice family, and Casey was in the first litter he sired. 

And this lovely lady is Casey's mom, Chloe. She was SO sweet and gentle. 

We picked Casey up as we left KC on moving day 4 years ago. We arrived in Wichita with him. I can't picture this house without him.

So, here's Casey through the years. It was fun to go back and look at all the pictures we have. He definitely used to be the subject of my pictures. I have so many of him! :) While my pictures are focused on other things these days, we still manage to get some great ones. And, since he is always right where we are, he's in lots of them, too. 

He has always let us know if there is something outside. It started early. Even if it was just his reflection in the window. 

You would not consider a golden retriever a lap dog, but I know he would still sit like this if you called him onto your lap!

Easy guess where Casey sleeps...

Casey LOVES to go on walks. Don't say the word 'walk' around here unless you mean it. 

This is Casey's football. Another favorite of his. He really likes any sport with a ball. Especially if it is being thrown back and forth, or, if he can chase it. 

Casey is such a good boy. He likes to be included, and is always right where the action is. He lounges around, loves treats, is a good watchdog, but is easily scared. :) He is gentle and a good snuggler. Bryan and I love him, and we are happy that Makenah does too. 

We celebrated

It was fun celebrating Aaron and Jenna's birthday on Saturday. We had the whole family together; eating, playing games, opening presents and having dessert. 

When we were waiting for everyone to get here, Bryan was showing my mom and Makenah his new toy. They were both very interested. 

Later, when it was time for cake and presents, I got out my camera, and got sideways looks from people who didn't want their picture taken. I can't blame them for not wanting a camera in their face all the time, but hey, I love taking pictures! So, I took pictures of the one person who couldn't tell me not too! :) 

She got to enjoy cake again! Aunt Jenna wanted to see some cake smashing, and so Makenah dug right in. 

I love when we are together with our families. There is always so much fun and laughing. It was a great time!!

Hooray for the weekend!

We have some fun plans for today. We've got the Billings family coming over to celebrate Aaron and Jenna's birthdays. 

Here's a peek at Makenah, and what I imagine she was thinking while I watched this. 

"How do you even get these shoes on?!" 

"I'll give it a try."

"They just slip on, right?"

"Like this?"

"Mom! Don't just sit there!"

Happy Birthday Aunt Jenna!

Today is a special day! 

It's AUNT JENNA'S birthday!

Makenah is SO lucky to have Jenna as an aunt, and I am so thankful she is my sister. There are so many things that make Jen wonderful.  

Jen is sweet, fun, smart, funny, loving, enthusiastic, and helpful. She is crafty, creative, determined, and confident. She is so talented at so many things, and I admire her very much! Besides all the wonderful character and personality traits that she possesses, she is super intelligent (she is always teaching us new things), a wonderful musician and dancer, a skilled crafter and sewer, a home remodeler, a brave traveler(she's been to so many places, she even went to graduate school in Scotland!), and so active in her church in both music and drama. 

We just love Jenna so much!

And, she's coming home tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Jenna!

There appears to be a strong correlation to skill on fake instruments, and being skilled musically in real life. Evidence: Jenna and Aaron have skills both places. I do not. :) 

After one of her performances.

This is the quilt she made for Makenah. 

We love you!!

Can't wait to see you!

I tried

My enjoyment of yard work is only a recent addition to my hobbies list. It's only been within the last couple of years that I have come to like helping take care of the yard, planting some flowers and keeping the yard looking nice. It's definitely something I like doing now. 

I have been looking forward to spring--the first mow, cleaning the landscaping, planting flowers.  I especially like to mow. I also like to plant flowers in my flower pots in the spring and watch them grow. (In the past I haven't shown the drive needed to water them everyday, all through the hot summer, so Bryan saved the day with a drip system to all my plants. That's not cheating, right?! :) 

I usually just get flats from the store to plant. However, for my birthday in October my friend Jacey gave me some tulip bulbs to plant. I got right on it and put them up by the house. I've been anxious to see if they would come up.

I tried.

From the time they sprouted, they have been nibbled on! Ugh! 

There is still some color out there to enjoy, but there are some bunnies going to town on my tulips. I asked Bryan what I could do about that. I didn't like his answer. So, I'm just going to let the bunnies enjoy them. :)

Happy Birthday to Bear!

Yesterday was my brother Aaron's 24th birthday!

We call him Bear.

Now, he is Uncle Bear. 

Aaron is SO much fun! He's totally awesome! Smart, funny (oh so funny!!), laid back, kind, helpful, and easy to talk to. He's a genuine and caring guy, and people just love to be around him! He's a hard worker and a great brother!

Happy Birthday, Aaron! We love you!

Some outdoor sport...

Aaron with Casey when he was a puppy.

One of many Christmas celebrations...

Out a couple of years ago for my birthday at Kobe Steakhouse. 

Aaron is a talented musician--both in real life and with fake instruments too. Ha! (Speaking of music, I should also mention that Aaron and Jenna sang at our wedding. I can get goosebumps and all happy inside just thinking about it. They sang The Prayer, and it was SO SO special! I will always remember how special they made us feel that day!)

This is one of my favorite pictures of Bryan and all our brothers!

Aaron, Mom and Dad at his graduation from Eastern Mennonite University. We flew to Virginia to be there.

I was not kidding when I mentioned that every year seems to be the year that Aaron gets to put up the angel on the tree. 

With tiny Makenah...

He's so much fun! Some Christmas pictures...

With his sweetheart Olivia...

And with Miss Makenah...

We love you, Aaron!

Ah, Ashland

We just got back from our weekend getaway to Ashland, KS! :)

Well, it wasn't the usual kind of getaway, and it was to tiny Ashland, but, we had a great time!

Bryan picked up a weekend gig to be on-call at their hospital, and so Makenah and I decided to go with him. It ended up being really fun in this little town, and we got to spend lots of time together!
It goes like this: He carries the pager, and if the ER calls, he goes in and takes care of the patient. Otherwise, he is on his own. He just has to be in and around town. So, a slow weekend in the Ashland ER made for a wonderful weekend as a family.

We had a great dinner with some new friends when we got there on Friday night. It's fun to make western Kansas and Via Christi connections. We talked for a long time before calling it a night.
Saturday we relaxed around the house, went on a walk around town, had lunch, played at the park, and in the evening ate at the best restaurant in town, Hardesty House. After Makenah went to bed, we snacked and watched a movie.
Sunday was a repeat. Walks, park, playing, and supper at Sam's Pizza Barn. We also frequented the little grocery store and even explored the open range Red Hills around the town.

Here we are at the park...

The fella below grazes right near the park. As we walked by he came right up to the fence to say "Hi" to Makenah. That happened on our walk on 37th St. here in town the other night too. We must look friendly. 

Oh, and on Sunday there was a girl riding her pony at the park. Yep! (But, she was being dangerous on it, and the mother in me could hardly stand to watch. I prefer safety.) 

After we circled around the town, and ended up back at the house, we had put her to sleep. She doesn't usually fall alseep in the stroller, so we were impressed.

This was the view off the balcony of the house we stayed out. A view right down Main St. We enjoyed some beautiful weather and even read and relaxed out there one afternoon while Makenah napped. Another highlight for Bryan, who is a morning person, was getting up early, and enjoying his coffee and reading while watching the sun come up. 

(And, for the Billings who are reading this...this town reminded me SO much of Kensington! I said that to Bryan so many times.)

We will definitely go back to Ashland with Bryan again!