little girls and santa

one of the reasons that we like the mall of the great plains so much is because of this santa. he is so cute and such a nice person. he has such a pleasing personality that kids just love him. in the last 4 years, i haven't seen a kid that has been the least bit afraid of him or has misbehaved while being w/ him. he's just so calm and happy and easy to be around.


here is santa and raven . . . . .


here's santa and riahna . . . . .


here's santa w/ both girls. when i asked summer if she told santa what she wanted for christmas, she said she told him that she and riahna wanted a bike "like mitchell and maxwell have". somehow i don't think riahna cares too much for getting a bike for christmas, but raven is convinced that riahna wants a bike, too.

what an imagination!

it is amazing what a little imagination can do for a little one. we had quite a time laughing at this situation ourselves. we had been to the mall of the great plains in olathe, kansas, shopping for the day. after painting for a while at clay cafe, all the kids were tired and needed naps. (so did some of the adults!)

summer and lucas weren't done painting yet, and they had chosen some really nice old world santas to paint, so we brought the girls back to the hotel w/ us for a while. riahna went to sleep just fine, but raven wanted to play for a while. we didn't have any toys w/ us for either of the kids and their own things were down in their own room. we probably could've gone down there and gotten some stuff, but raven started playing "maple leaf" -- using her sock as her little dolly, name "fussbutt".

here, you can see "fussbutt" snuggled up next to memaw as we're getting ready to take naps. raven just handled little "fussbutt" so gently and tenderly -- it was terribly comical overall.

after my snuggle time w/ "fussbutt," raven put her in the carseat to go night-night. she pulled the blanket up over her and then told me to "sh-h-h-h-h, fussbutt's sleeping!" i was just about to die laughing -- the kind of laugh where you want to laugh but know that you can't so you're trying to squeeze it out your ears. i knew raven would be upset w/ me if i was laughing at her -- but i just wanted to know (b/c inquiring minds want to know) how can you tell when a sock is sleeping and when it is awake. it looked pretty much the same to me!

but raven is such a good mommy, she knew just what fussbutt needed and when she needed it. it was so cute to see how gentle raven was handling her sock while she was playing pretend.

here you can see a pictures of fussbutt on the phone -- she's calling her mommy to see when she's coming back.


it seemed like it took forever for summer and lucas to get back to the hotel, but it probably wasn't but a couple hours. amazing how time slows down when in a hotel room w/ small children!

at least it was entertaining, as jerry and i laughed and laughed over the "little fussbutt" situation. i commented to jerry about how raven came up w/ that name, but that mystery was solved soon after summer and lucas arrived at the hotel, as summer looked at riahna and said, "so how if my little fussybutt?"

crash and burn - thanksgiving night

thanksgiving was a full day, w/ dinner at mickie's house and family time, packing suitcases at memaw's, and loading up in jerry's car to go to kansas city for the weekend. summer and lucas were gone to the chiefs game, so the little girls were w/ us for the day.

family time at mickie's house was great and we stayed there until around 4 or so. then we went back to our house and got our things ready to be gone for the weekend. we didn't try to get the little girls down for nap as we figured they would sleep in the car. i was just about exhausted by the time we got in the car, but no naps were in our near future.

the ride up to kc w/ the girls wasn't bad, but riahna really needed a nap and was determined not to take one. we even stopped at a gas station to give her a break out of the car seat and have a bottle, but no nap was oncoming. she was just pumping her little legs for all she was worth -- her latest nap-stalling technique . . . i can't sleep if i'm still moving.

raven couldn't wait to get to the hotel b/c she wanted to go swimming w/ memaw. she was so anxious and excited and she kept forgetting not to put her feet out into jerry back of the seat, so she kept poking him in the back. after a while, he said, "raven, remember not to put your feet up into jerry's back, ok?"

she sat there for a little bit and then said (in a very pathetic voice), "jerry, you don't have to yell at me . . . i'm just a little girl." it was so comical because jerry is about the last person on earth who would be yelling at her. he wasn't even talking in a loud voice or sounding impatient. she's just learning how to use things to her advantage. i just about choked to keep from laughing at the face jerry was making after being admonished by a 3 year old -- it was really quite comical overall!

jerry was very anxious to get to the hotel b/c he wanted to watch the chiefs game at 7. we were just getting to the hotel at 7, so by the time he got our stuff up to the room, the game had started. raven wanted to swim and riahna needed a bottle and a nap, so jerry got to keep riahna while i went swimming w/ raven. i'm not sure what happened w/ jerry and riahna, but jerry was quite tired out by the time i got back from swimming as riahna was still determined not to take a nap and had cried most of the time i was gone. she was asleep as i entered the room, so i got the "don't make a sound or i'll strangle you" look.

after swimming, raven and memaw had a nice, long, hot shower and got ready for bed. it wasn't too long before summer and lucas got back, but they were quite wound up after the game and all. they came in a talked for a while before going on to their own room

it was probably about midnight by the time they got to their own room, their things carried up and the girls moved over there -- the girls didn't take long at all to just crash for the night. as you can tell, these are 2 tired little girls. the 2 tired grandparents are not pictured!

summer and lucas at the chiefs game

well, again, it's chiefs game time. when told about the possibility of chiefs tickets this year, lucas jumped all over the chance to see the chiefs play the broncos. neither of them had ever been to a pro-football game, so i was sure it would be an experience. summer wasn't too thrilled at the idea of going on thanksgiving, but w/ dinner being at noon and the game being at 7 pm and w/ us spending that weekend in kc anyway -- it all worked out just perfect.

here is the happy (and adorable) couple at the game. again, they were threatened upon pain of death to take pictures for me to show on my blog and to scrapbook -- so they did a good job, too. so far, i've had success w/ 2 out of 3 kids, so we'll see if scott can live up to the standards set when he goes on new years eve!

h-m-m-m-m, these pictures are very reminiscent of the days when summer used to take pictures of herself all the time. i bet i have about 100 pictures that look almost identical poses at just different ages. i always knew when summer had held my camera for me when i got the film back from developing. now w/ digital cameras, i don't have to wait to see who was holding the camera!


almost, but not quite good enough . . . .


there, that's perfect. that's the one that mom's going to want.


here i guess they imposed upon their neighbors at the game to take their picture for me. to hear them talk about the game, it was obvious that lucas had much more fun than summer did and he probably would've had even more fun if he had gone w/ someone else -- but that wasn't an option.

i thought summer would have fun if she would just go w/ the flow and enjoy watching the crowd, the people, and the game. there is usually plenty of action to keep a person busy, even if you're not a football fan. according to summer, she would've had more fun if they had left at half-time. that way, she was still having fun. but after half-time, the crowd had too much to drink, it was terribly noisy in there (hello? the noisiest stadium in the nfl!), and she was ready to leave.

lucas, though, was probably NOT ready to leave, so that's where the problem came up. i had told them not to worry about trying to hurry out of there, b/c no matter when you leave you're not going to get out of there in a hurry. a person might as well just wait on the game to be over and let the crowd clear out a bit before trying to get out. i find that it works much better for me/us to just wait it out rather than trying to make a run for it.

for the future, i'm sure that summer would probably not care to go again but that lucas would jump on the chance for tickets should they become available again. who know, maybe scott and lucas could make each other a deal or something -- after all, that way they could each go to 2 games. that is if we get another chance like we did this year!

thanksgiving w/ my family

thanksgiving was with "my family" this year, as we are in the habit of trading off on thanksgiving and christmas. we are together and celebrate both holidays, but it just depends on what day and time that we're together. last year, we had dinner w/ jerry's family in nevada and then left from there to go to kansas city. this year, we were hosting dinner at our house . . . except that with my back problems and physical therapy -- i was just too miserable to have everyone at my house, so dinner was served at my mother's house. we still did most of the cooking, but just ate and hung out at my mother's house at the farm.

holidays with my family are usually loud and rowdy, but everyone has a real laid-back routine. we eat, we talk, we play games, we eat, we nap, we play games, we laugh, we joke, we make fun of each other and other people, we eat some more, we laugh, we have a great time.

so far, this year has been no exception. we had a great dinner, talked and laughed, raven rode the motorcycle, riahna played on the floor and napped -- fairly typical, except for a couple a new guests this year. summer brought her friend ina, from russia, who was very quiet and seemed fairly overwhelmed by so many talkative and curious people. we invited jacob and the boys to join us, as amanda was getting ready to have company at their house in the late afternoon. i'm sure that gave her a nice break to have the little ones up and out of the way while she was getting ready for dinner.


above is 1/2 of the family room at my mother's house, showing everyone here except for stormy, riahna, jerry, me b/c i'm behind the camera, and my mother (who is no doubt dithering about something in the kitchen). summer is hidden behind galen's head.


jacob is taking a dose of good-natured razzing here, it looks like. joey was quite interested in that spray bottle of hair spray of raven's and the turning coffee table. enough to keep a kid entertained all day!


here's jerry, who was on the other side of the 1/2 circle pictured above. joey had been over to get some hugs and kisses from "gra-pa" as he explored this new place and the people/toys there.


stormy had a good hold on riahna, who really needed a nap but was determined now to take one. she has now reached the point of fighting naps by singing until her little tired eyes close anyway and then she kicks her feet to keep herself awake. to get her to take a nap now, a person has to hold her where she can't kick her feet!



just a picture of summer, since she wasn't shown in the previous group picture. she and lucas were getting ready to head out for kansas city and a football game and we were going to come up later w/ the girls and meet up at the hotel. it made for a long day, but was lots of fun.

another year, another thanksgiving, another round of things to be thankful for. we have been very blessed and we are truly grateful for what we have and who we have.

surprise riahna!

sorry sweetie! watch out -- raven has the camera and she's looking for up-close and personal pictures of everyone in her world.


this is riahna mae on thanksgiving day, laying on the floor and rolling this way and that or trying to scooch and scrunch because she hasn't quite figured out how to crawl yet. they keep prompting her by putting little toys and things out in front of her, but i just think of the times they are going to wish she didn't know yet how to crawl when i see that!
those days will come soon enough! already she can get wherever she wants in the walker, so it won't be long now! watch out world!!

jerry takes a ride during harvest

while jerry might have been raised on a farm and spent quite a bit of time there, things have certainly changed over the years. when my brother was harvesting beans next to our house, jerry said, "you know, i've never been on a combine w/ a cab." i convinced him that he should go out and ride around for a while and he jumped on the chance.

we walked down the lane and down the road a bit to where kirk was parked. he had no cell phone signal in the field, but could go to the end and talk. we stood around a talked for a bit, and then i told kirk that jerry would really like to ride in the combine. kirk easily agreed, and he's usually really good to give rides and talk about what's going on. he has a john deere 9650, so it's pretty big.

i think jerry thought that it would be a fairly tight fit in the cab as he probably wouldn't have a place to sit, but he was surprised to find out that this combine has 2 seats in it. much better for men, who seem to have a fear of being too close! i went ahead and just walked back to the house, as jerry would be like a kid in a candy store w/ too much money to spend and i wasn't sure how long he would ride. i didn't want to just stand down the road "waiting" so he could enjoy his time riding and talking.


there is no secret of when this is moving along, as the fog of dust and the hum of machinery warns a person well in advance. i stood on the carport on the east side of the house and took this picture from about 300 yards away. i just thought it looked neat to see the combine making headway through that cloud of dust w/ the sun shining on the side of it.


jerry didn't know i was out there taking pictures (probably because he was so absorbed in riding in the combine and talking) i was amazed that i could actually "see" him in the cab in this picture as these were taken from so far away and then zoomed in. he only rode a couple rounds, but he was gone a couple hours. they had a breakdown, and jerry being the mechanical-minded guy that he is . . . just couldn't help but stay and help see what the problem was and find a solution.



for this day, the solution was to put the combine in the shop, order parts, and call it a day. while they intended to be harvesting on thanksgiving, that option wasn't an option after this afternoon. nothing like a "forced" holiday for family fun time!

jacob's chiefs game

this year presented us w/ a fairly unusual circumstance -- we had the opportunity to buy 1/2 of a set of season tickets to the chiefs games. now, these aren't just "any tickets" -- but tickets at a good location in the stadium. the deal was just too good to pass up, but jerry and i didn't really need and couldn't really afford to go to 5 chiefs games.

the solution? some chiefs tickets as christmas gifts! great idea! everyone was happy, we all had some adventures, and the games were all spoken for. with 5 sets of tickets and 3 kids, we planned to keep 2 sets for ourselves and then give 1 set to jacob for christmas, 1 set to summer and lucas for christmas, and 1 set to scott for christmas. we talked to the kids about it ahead of time and they picked the games they wanted to go to and it all just worked out great.

jacob jumped on the game between kc and the oakland raiders, the sunday before thanksgiving. he was pumped for the game, and obviously had a great time. he went up to kc the night before the game and stayed w/ derek, his best friend for years, and then went to the game on sunday. he had an absolute blast!

jacob at the game . . .


derek at the game . . .


jacob and derek together at the game, threatened upon pain of death to take pictures for my scrapbook. i must have been convincing, as jacob did a great job on getting me some great pictures to post and scrapbook. they had a great time, the game was really good, and everyone was very happy!

there was a little girl . . .

raven marie -- november, 2006

there was a little girl
who had a little curl
right in the middle
of her forehead

when she was good,
she was very good.
but when she was bad . . .
she was horrid.

need i say more?

it's a 3-fer!

well, as you know, deer rifle season started saturday morning (11/11/06) at sunrise, and jerry got his deer at around 6:45 am. not even much after deer season had started. that led to quite a bit of good-natured testosterone smack-talking going on around here about who was where in the line of manlihood.

jerry said, "well, come on, pups. i've shown you how it's done." i would say that was the challenge issued and scott wasn't about to let a challenge issued like that get past him. so he definitely had to go out and show jerry up!

sunday evening, after the deer campers across the road had packed up and gone, scott and jacob went deer hunting while jerry and i went to town. we stopped by summer and lucas' house after grocery shopping and scott called while we were there. he said, "tell jerry to be prepared to be shown up. i shot 3 deer tonight within 10 minutes!" (and yes, for those wondering, scott DID have 3 deer tags, so he's legal to do that). he got a 6 point buck, a button buck, and a doe.

summer, lucas, and girls loaded up to come out and eat taco bell for dinner and see the deer, so lucas started snapping pictures before i got home.

this is scott w/ his tongue hanging out to match the buck that he shot.

here's a better picture of scott, but pretty much the same pose from the buck.


here's scott w/ the pose of "king of the deer hunters." here's where i started taking pictures and jerry was in the audience for scott to tell the story to while i was trying to take pictures.


here's scott posing w/ all 3 heads of the deer instead of just the buck.


obviously he was pretty revved up as he started telling the story of how he ended up w/ three deer and it sounded something like this . . . .

"well, this deer right here . . . "

"and then this one came out like this but i couldn't get a good broadside shot at it . . . "


"and as i reached to get my gun . . . "


"and then this one came out . . . "


"and i just went . . . "


"huh-huh, did she just take my picture?" well, duh, what did he think i was doing there w/ that thing that kept flashing every few seconds?


"anyway, i only had 6 shells (as he holds up 5 fingers)"


here's a shot of the enthralled and helpful audience that watched him clean his deer.


no, raven didn't get to stay out there and watch (much to her disdain as she thought she must be missing something spectacular!). thankfully, though, jerry was kind enough to help scott finish up as there was a good storm moving in and it needed to get done much quicker than the 1-man show was working.