Happy 4th Birthday, Simon!

Here is a not so great shot of Simon's Thomas cake. Grandma worked very hard to make it look exactly like Thomas.

Gifts galore!

The Jump Bus was a hit at the party. www.jumpbus.com

Enjoying cupcakes at school.

Simon's birthday celebration lasted for 3 days. Wednesday was his party at school with cupcakes, Thursday was his actual birthday and he got to open his presents from Joseph and I, and Saturday was his actual birthday.

Sarah's stats

Sarah had her six month check up last week and here is the info:

17 lbs 4 oz.
27 1/4 inches

So far, she is built like her momma!

Harry Potter fan already?

We went with Grandma to Outback for lunch. This is a tradition that was started with the release of book 4, I think with some family friends. Since they were not able to come, Joseph, Simon, Sarah, and I carried on the tradition instead.

Our family photo

Can this count as our Christmas picture this year?

Look who is sitting up big and strong!

Sarah has been sitting inconsistently for about a week but over the weekend has gotten strong enough to do it independent for several minutes at time.

A trip to remember.

Joseph, Simon, Sarah, and I spent last Friday through Wednesday on vacation. The main purpose of the trip was to attend my birth-brother's wedding in Beloit, Kansas. It was a wonderful trip for me since I hadn't been back to Kansas in 14 years. Although my birth parents, Jane and Dave have been to Kentucky twice to see me, this was the first time I had seen the rest of the family since my trip 14 years ago.

I truly am blessed to be included in this wonderful family. Most people are lucky enough to have one family...I have two. Each family member welcomed Joseph, Simon, Sarah, and I with open arms and I will treasure this trip always. I will not let it be another 14 years before I return!

About the trip in general...we flew into Kansas City on Friday morning which is the nearest airport to Beloit. We then had to drive 4+ hours to reach our destination. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner and Saturday was the wedding. It was a Catholic wedding and reception. The mass was at 2pm and the reception immediately followed the ceremony. The reception lasted until well past 1am. Us Catholics know how to throw a party!

Sunday we enjoyed brunch with the family and then headed to the farm so Simon could ride on a tractor with my birth father, Dave.

Monday and Tuesday we spent in Kansas City so we could enjoy a few more pre-school friendly activities. We began our journey home on Tuesday evening only to be delayed into Chicago O'Hare due to weather conditions.

Since the weather was so nasty, they delayed the flight for 3+ hours and needed volunteers to give up their seats until the next morning in exchange for $250 flight voucher per seat, a hotel, and food vouchers. So we couldn't pass up the offer and we spent the night in Chicago. We now have $750 worth of airline vouchers. Where is our next trip Joseph, back to Kansas...

I wanted to end with a big thank you to Dave's sister Lindy. She so kindly gifted frequent flyer miles to Joseph and Simon so we all could be there together. (Originally only Sarah and I were going to go to the wedding to save money on airfare.)

Enjoy the pictures!

A few more fun photos from the trip

Joseph and I did our best to keep Sarah and Simon occupied during the ceremony.

Sarah did really well on her first plane rides.


Simon's ride in the big tractor!

Sarah had her first dip in the pool at the hotel in Kansas City. Here she is modeling her bathing suit!


Simon's favorite part of Kansas City.

Do you see the resemblance?

Field Trip

I chaperoned a field trip last week with Simon's school. All four classrooms went along with all of the administrative and therapy staff. We went to the Explorium which we have been to many times but Simon enjoyed it more because he could share the experience with his friends.

THOMAS!

Simon had great time at the annual Day out with Thomas at the KY railway museum. Since Sarah is still so little and it was so hot, we decided that this year that Joseph and I would stay home and Simon could spend the day with Grandma. I think Simon would agree this was better since Grandma is easier to convince when it comes to all of the Thomas loot they have for sale.