Ryan rockin’ his new Favre jersey on his 5th birthday. Go Vikings!

The pictures from the party are a bit chaotic, kind of like the party itself! I would have liked to get a photo with all the kids wearing their costumes but that would have been a bit like herding cats! Ryan didn’t have his costume on long anyway, he gets so hot – he sweats more than an adult, I swear, he had to take it off before long.

The marshmallow toss was a hit, anytime you can chuck something into a bucket and maybe eat a couple while you are waiting in line…well that’s pretty cool.

Happy Birthday on Tuesday my sweet little baby

Ryan’s Pre-K class went to Cal’s Market in Savage yesterday. I had something come up at work so Brad ended up taking him. It looks like a neat little place, they had a petting zoo, a maze made out of hay bales and everyone got to take home a pumpkin. The photo above is when they sat on the bleachers and the guide told them all kinds of different facts about pumpkins, Brad said he was very into answering all the questions!

He is having a birthday/Halloween party tomorrow so he is really looking forward to that…I think we have about 10 little boys (and 1 little girl!) coming over, should be fun!

Happy Birthday to the firstborn Shramek kid, Owen Glenn! And here are a couple of pics of his little sister and brother on their last day in the States, at least for a while.

11 Years Ago

10 Years Ago

Today!

We love you, son!

Because Kel and her family are about to move a long, long, long, long ways away here very soon – we had an early birthday celebration this weekend, in conjunction with Elias’ dedication.  Payton will be 11 on September 26th and Eli will be 1 on October 8th. Elias managed to get his hand in the cake right off the bat but he wasn’t real sure what to do with it after that…I’m not sure he liked the frosting (it was pretty sugary!) and Payton had a handful of blue frosting smeared on his neck before too long. It seems like yesterday when Payton was the same size as Elias and he was the only show in town! Now he has several cousins to share the spotlight with

It was a fun weekend, lots of family and of course lots of food!

Evidently Nate and Ryan were blinded by the sun because in every photo I snapped, they are both cock eyed and squinty – still cute though! We now have a 5th grader, 2nd grader and a Pre-K kid!

You were probably expecting to see a picture of Payton, right? Nate is usually the guy that goes along, doesn’t make waves…he’s a pretty chill guy. He had his first flag football game of the season last night and he scored two touchdowns.  And there was definitely a bit of showboating going on in the end zone..he ran one back from mid field and when he got to the end zone he dropped the ball, ran with his arms out stretched and then air bumped his best bud. It was cute, but as Brad says, “Act like you been there, son.”  But the best thing was after he made the second one, and he realized is big brother saw him make it , he was just beaming! Payton cheered for him and Nate was about to burst. So, so cool to see that between my boys. 

Have a great Labor Day Weekend everyone!

Brad and Grandma Darle

Payton at the skate park next to Grandma’s house. The boys really had a lot of fun over there…it was designed by Tony Hawk and built by grant through his foundation. Cool!

Apple Pie (aka Ryan). Climbing trees, chasing bunnies, looking for grasshoppers – summer on the farm! 

We drove over to Des Moines on Sunday for Grace’s baptism…isn’t she just the cutest??

Ryan and Zoe. She is 2 1/2 and not much shorter than he is!

My brothers and their girls. Pretty sweet.

Best pals.

Mr. Busy Man (Elias) – it was hard to get a picture of him because he is always on the go

Nate adores the baby cousins..he loves to hold and play with them. I think he would be a great help if we had one more. NOT happening, I assure you, but he is a great helper!!!