Lori's Birthday Celebration

Brad, Brady and I went over to help Lori celebrate her birthday. Lori and Teresa made a delicious dinner, the kids played and I brought over some cupcakes. All the kids were excited to sing to Lori. Happy Birthday to an amazing Sister-in-Law and aunt!!!

Brad tried to lay down to take a nap. The kids had a different plan and he quickly turned into a jungle gym

Brady has decided he likes yellow cupcakes, but they have to be plan without any frosting. I had to cut him off at 3

Mallory smiles in between bites

Donate Life 5K

I signed up to run a 5K a couple of weeks ago. Brad came to watch and cheer me on. I finished 3rd in my age group and hope to participate in a few more this fall and improve my time.

The start

Finishing the race

Brad turns 30!!!!

Brad has finally joined the 30s club. Brad turned 30 on July 20th and Rob turned 40 on July 23rd. Mia and decided to throw them a joint surprise party. We were successful with the surprise and had a great time celebrating. My camera ran out of battery so I will post more pictures as I get them. Here are a few from the fun filled night.

Meredith was so excited to wish Uncle Brad a Happy Birthday. Brady was with his grandparents so he missed the party unfortunately.

Steph and Jesse made the 10 hour drive to surprise Brad. What great family we have! We miss them living closer. Here is Steph with Meredith and Lori.

Me, Holly, Kara and Carol

The Birthday Boys

More Swimming

Brad, Brady and I headed out to the Lenexa City Pool. There were some fun fast slides to try and Brad continued to give Brady some swimming tips. No floaties allowed at the city pool so here are some pictures of Brady's new swimming skills.

Here is Brad and Brady going down the slides. I was alittle late with my picture. Brady was on the right slide and you can see Brad's arms on the left slide. Brad would swim over to Brady and help him to the edge.

Brady getting some pointers

Brady staying afloat

Jumping in to Brad

Swimming

We have spent a lot of time at the pool this summer. Brady has concurred his fear of the water and now to say he loves swimming is an understatement. He started the summer wearing his floaties and jumping in and swimming all over the pool. Now with the help of Brad working with him he can successfully swim without any floaties. He can jump in and make to the side of the pool without any assistance. He also mastered jumping off the diving board. I was there to catch him and help him to the side, but he has certainly come a long way. Brad will continue to work with him while he gets stronger and more comfortable in the water. Here are some pictures of Brady and Meredith at the pool.

Visit to the Lenexa Fire Station

Brady's cousin, Bryan, is a captain at one of the Lenexa Fire Stations. He offered to have Brady come and see the trucks. We also got a tour of the station. Bryan is very passionate about his job and it shows by how knowledgeable he is. We had a great time learning and playing in the trucks.





Brad and Brady taking a seat in the truck

Brady all smiles in his Pioneer Custom Builders shirt. Loves to be like daddy these days.

Bryan showed us the infrared camera they keep in the truck

Brady was excited to jump off the truck

Best Buds

Meredith and Brady have been the best of friends lately. They love hanging out with each other and have enjoyed lots of activities together this summer. Here is a picture of them after their Happy Feet soccer game. Their spring league is now over and they have started on the summer league. They are now the on the Silver Seal team. They are gasping the concept of the game and continue to improve. More pictures to come of them on their new team. They have also enjoyed swimming together and being at the gym together when Lori and I are working out.

Happy 4th Birthday Brady!

Brady turned 4 on April 20th. Can not believe how big he is getting. He is now in the 80th percentile for both height and weight. Brady decided he wanted a superhero themed birthday party. We made a Donut cake since Brady still does not like regular cake. The donuts were a big hit and Steph helped me put the superhero figures in and around our creation. There was even a surprise visit from Spider man. He came running in and did not stay long, but Brady was excited to see him. Some of the other kids were not as excited. Poor Meredith was holding on to Brad for dear life and Kate definitely did not recognize her dad in costume. She was shaking in fear :) He was so fast we did not even get pictures.

Thanks to everyone for coming to celebrate with Brady.



Brady dressed up as a Power Ranger with an Iron Man mask


Rick, Brady's grandpa, showed up as Iron Man


Meredith showed off her Bat girl moves


Kate came as Bat girl as well. So cute.


Brady listening to his birthday song


Making his wish and blowing out the candles

Lets eat donuts!

Cherie with her Supermen, Eli and Keenan

Brady finally got to open his presents. he only asked about 50 times before this

A new remote control car!

Brad had a lot of help playing with his new gifts

The big kids playing Brady's new Wii mario kart game

Sweet boy Keenan stops for a "CHEEEEEEESE"

Happy Feet Soccer

Brady started a program at school called Happy Feet. A coach comes in once a week to his school and they play with their 'BOB' soccer balls. Brady seems to really enjoy it and has even made 'player of the week' on several occasions. So when the opportunity came up to join the spring Happy Feet League Lori and I decided to take a break from gymnastics and sign the kids up for their first team sport.

Brady is still getting used to the team environment. At times he will break into his stubborn attitude and refuse to participate and other times he will go and pick up the ball that the other kids are playing with and set it where he wants to kick it, but I think we are slowly getting used to the idea (Not sure if that is wishful thinking on my part, but we will see how the rest of the season goes). Nonetheless they are cute little soccer players in the their shin guards and shirts.

Brady showing Aunt Lori his abilities


Coach Jessie trying to persuade Brady to participate with the team





Meredith and Brady warming up before the big match

Pre-game soccer drills

Healthridge Fun Run

Brady participated in his first 'fun run' at the Healthridge anniversary party. He was in the 3-5 age group and the race was two laps around the track (1/4 mile). He loved racing and was able to run the whole way.

Brady is in the blue shirt in full stride


Meredith ran too


Here comes Brady approaching the finish line.

Happy Easter

We had a great Easter this year. The weather was amazing and we were surrounded by great family and friends.

Brady's first Easter egg hunt was in the playground at his school. I went to watch him in action. He had a lot of fun finding eggs, but really was not interested in what was inside. The eggs were filled with candy and for whatever reason my child still does not like chocolate or any candy for that matter.


The Pre-K and Pre School classes lined the fence waiting patiently for the hunt to begin





Brady so proud of all his eggs he found


Saturday afternoon we dyed some eggs on the deck with Steph

Brady had fun dropping all the eggs in cups and watching them change colors

Our beautiful superhero eggs

On Easter Sunday we were invited over to the Friel household for a delicious meal. After Brady and Kate headed outside for another egg hunt. We are so grateful to have such amazing friends and we are proud of Kara for her achievement of converting to the catholic faith. Good work, Saint Matilda :)!!

Brady and Kate stop for a picture. Kate was more interested in what was in her egg.

Brady searching for eggs in his new batman shades.

Kate in her pretty pink Easter dress