Happy Halloween!

Here's a quick picture to tide you over!

We are...

A cowgirl, a robot & a ghost.

Hope you all have a Safe, Spooky & Happy Halloween!!!!!

Oochie Gucci Coo

*a KISS from Libby*

OMG there's a DIVA in the house. As if we didn't know that already. (see the gold watch she's wearing in the blog title photo?)

Libby's been Miss Clickety-Clicky lately with the ol' computer mouse. Not happy about that, but what can you do. The door to the office doesn't latch shut when you close it (old house) ... So I just walked in to sit down at the desktop computer & I saw this page open (link below).

Okay, true she could've just clicked on an ad ANYWHERE, but how did she GET HERE? Gucci does NOT seem to be the type of company that is struggling for business & needs to advertise with Hotmail (a window I had open).

Click here to see the item she apparently wants to add to her Christmas list. This was the page that was open. This coming from Miss Accessory. I'm not surprised...

Brett's Last Soccer Game

This past Saturday was Brett's last soccer game! Weather improved a lot since the night before (Davis's game) which was nice!

We were all amazed at how well Brett did this season!!! He finally got the concept of the game & really enjoyed himself! Occasionally, we had to remind him which direction was his team's goal (they switch at 1/2 time which doesn't help), but this is a major improvement from 2 years ago when he'd often be found in the back of the soccer goal playing with the strings of the net. Or when he enjoyed watching his shadow run more than he liked watching for the ball. :) ha

But here are some pictures of our little Soccer Stud.

*Click on these 2 photos to get a good luck at his tongue! :)


Brett running in off the field!

I loved how he did this! :)

And here are some of his cheerleaders that came to root him on for his last game!

Davis, Mimaw, Pappy & Libby

Davis's Last Soccer Game

Friday night marked the end of Davis's Fall Soccer Season. Unfortunately, there was a lot going on around town that night, so we only had 3 players who could come to the final game. :(

It was COLD & the field was wet from rain earlier that week. So conditions weren't the best! But Coach Kyle (aka "Daddy" to some) kept the spirits high among our 3 little Soccer Stars.

We then rushed home, kicked off our wet shoes & cleats, and enjoyed our 1st FIRE of the season.

My Mini-Me

So last week I was sitting at the table like so.

I was catching up on e-mail & blogs and out of the corner of my eye I saw a little girl doing this....

I saw her little eyeballs doing sideways glances up at me to either see if I was looking at her or to see if she had it right. I couldn't tell. But it made me LAUGH!

Brett's Robot Party

Here is a link to the pictures of Brett's Robot Party! Click here to see all the photos up on Snapfish! Also, you can go to to my cREaTe blog to to read more than you ever wanted to know about the party details - everything from the decorations, to the menu & the activities. :)

How Brett spent his Big Day (10/16)

He got cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
Went to school where he was treated like a King.
Mommy brought cupcakes to his class.
He got to pass the cupcakes & napkins out to his friends.
He got to wear a crown at school.
His friends each made him a card - all were adorable & featured Brett's favorite things. [We saw a lot of snakes, Blue Angels, robots, & I even saw a whale.]
After school I took the kids to Baskin-Robbins where Brett got to cash in on his "Free Birthday Scoop". [not a member of the Birthday Club? Click here...]


He got "Quarterback Crunch" in a cake cone, but wasn't thrilled with it, so he asked if he could have mine.
I let him.
We then went & window shopped at the Brookside Shops.


When the kids begged to go into the Toy Store to play with the marble run, I let them.
When we got home, Brett took the obligatory "Birthday Banner" photo.


Mommy's friend, Miss Karah, had bought him a balloon, card, lollipop & toy car!
We played catch in the backyard.
He got lots of phone calls & people singing "Happy Birthday" on the voice mail.
Had dinner.
Opened a few presents from us - including a Blue Angel.


I'd say it was a great day. :)

{Birthday Party photos coming next...}

Happy Birthday BRETT PATRICK!

(My apologies... Brett's Birthday was YESTERDAY 10/16... and I had started this post, but never got around to finishing it. But here it is... another one is coming & another one after that. So don't worry... you'll get your Birthday fill!)

Our little Bretty-Brett turned S*E*V*E*N today (yesterday). Brett is our only film child, meaning Davis & Libby were born in the age of digital cameras. (or at least that's when we got ours)

Davis & Libby's photos are all saved on the computer, so I often get to see photos of them as wee little infants.

Brett's so old that I have to pull out the scrapbooks, albums & boxes of photos in order to see photos of him as an infant. So this morning after I dropped him off at school, and I thought about what I was going to write about on his big Birthday Blogpost... I went to get his huge, thick scrapbook of his 1st year of life. (Davis has 4 pages done in a scrapbook, Libby has no scrapbook. They're getting i-books)

So, as I looked at the photos I put myself way back to the Rachel of October 2001.

And I remembered what it was like to have just Brett. He was the 1st. He is our baby. He was our 1st draft of parenthood. :)

He brought pure joy to the lives of the grandparents, his great-grandparents, the aunts & uncles. {he was the 1st grandchild on both sides} He had the coloring that I adored in people - red hair, brown eyes (perfect combo of Kyle & me). He kept me company for 6 months of his 1st year of life, while Daddy was deployed. (which forced mommy to take a lot of lame photos of ourselves & do a lot of lame things - which will be its own post on another day)
This little guy ROCKED OUR WORLD.

And here we are 7 years later to the day he was brought into this world & he still rocks our world. Happy Birthday, Brett Patrick! We love you!

10 on Tuesday

It's been awhile since I've done a 10 on Tuesday... so today is your lucky day! Since it has been awhile, expect total randomness.

1) This past weekend Kyle & I went to a huge fundraiser for F.I.R.E., which is the "Foundation for Inclusive Religious Education". It is a foundation that works with private, religious schools to help fund aides/paras for children with special needs. (F.I.R.E. is who helps provide Brett with an aide) The fundraiser was "Camp Bonfire" which took place out at Lone Summit Ranch - which is just a gorgeous place. So picturesque & just a beautiful, classy facility! We were so impressed  [we were picturing a more rustic atmosphere]! The dinner was amazing (catered BBQ), there was a very touching slide show & video they had going on (we saw a few pics of Brett!), there was a silent auction, a fantastic band playing, & we were surrounded by some of the nicest, most generous people. It was a nice mix of parents, teachers, paras (aides), principals, and then a good fraction of the people didn't have ties to a school, they were just there to support a wonderful cause & enjoy a great party.  It was a great crowd... so even if Kyle & I only knew a handful of people, we were in great company. Kyle had Southwest Airlines donate 2 roundtrip tickets to the silent auction! Thank you SWA!


2) Brett's 7th Birthday is Thursday! He'll be S*E*V*E*N. Can you believe that?

3) We had my family come up (all but Todd!) from St.Louis last week! My parents, Leah & Eli carpooled up from St.L to KC. Becky & I took turns alternating company & we switched 1/2 way. We got Leah & Eli first! We had a great time with them. While the boys were at school (B&D) Leah & I took Eli & Libby to storytime at the Library. It was such a great time. 25 minutes of storytime & sing-alongs, followed by playtime. What more could a little toddler ask for?

4) Then we switched company and my parents came to stay with us (while Leah & Eli went up to Parkville to stay with the Lewis family).

5) We did get together - all 12 of us - to have a little early Birthday celebration for our soon-to-be 7 year old. We met at Dos Hombres down in the River Market! We brought cupcakes, Brett got to open gifts [check out Brett's new snake shirt from Aunt Reebs, Uncle Jason & Roman!] and we had fun with glow-sticks out in the parking lot (sort of a fun party favor type thing). I love my family!

6) We had another visitor before that... Uncle Jim was in town for business! He & my Aunt Deb live in Connecticut, so any time we get to see them is a real treat! Uncle Jim came over for some chili & to watch the Mizzou/Nebraska game!

7) Libby did her best "my mommy is the meanest mommy in the whole wide world" FACE. This was after I wouldn't let her play with my camera. She had this look on her face for a good 2 minutes... The lip quivered, she squeezed out some tears... It was so sad, it was funny. :) [don't ask about the outfit - it was a Grandma & Libby thing]

8) I bet you NEVER thought you'd hear me say this, but I bought 2 windshield sun shades, for a Class A sized RV! (pictured above is a Class A sized RV just to give you an idea) :) Stay tuned to find out why I bought them! [I know you're on the edge of your seat]

9) Funny story... Last week I was watching the debate with Leah & Kyle. Within the 1st minute or so, I saw a familiar face flash on the screen. I looked closely before opening my trap... then I announced "I know that guy - that guy in the green shirt". Leah & Kyle both didn't really believe me... and I couldn't WAIT for them to ask me how I knew him. I was giddy with excitement - I knew they'd LOVE my connection to how I knew this guy who was on TV in the background of the presidential debate. :) Okay, are you ready for this? I said "It's the husband of someone whose blog I read." You can imagine the reaction that got! :) ha It was priceless. I of course confirmed it by going to her blog... and totally weirded out my husband. Sooo fun.

10) Cute pictures of me & Bretty making cupcakes. He's come a long way... he used to be scared of the mixer, but last week I actually got him to hold it! :) Sweet, sweet boy. Can't wait for your Birthday!

Happy Tuesday to all! :)

Our Crafty Men - Nov. 2005

For a good laugh... head on over to my cREaTe blog & read the post I just did on "Our Crafty Men".

Click here...