This Kid...

"You Don't Know the Power of the Darkside"

Bird Brain

For the last month, we have been preparing for the possibility of adopting a blue and gold macaw.  Yesterday, that became a reality when we brought home Topaz...

We are trying to take things slow and allowing him to acclimate to all of the changes.  He seems to be adapting to the other pets pretty well.  Tonight, we gave him some out-of-cage time in the living room.  He was especially interested in Ledger and said "hello" to him and danced for him.  He rocks from side-to-side and says "rock-and-roll".  Ledger shared his banana with his new friend.

Right now, we are still figuring out how to live together. :)  So far, things are going pretty well.  Let's hope that it stays that way!

Summer Fun

With the arrival of July and the HOT weather, it is officially summer time!!  We are truly lucky to get to spend time with our family at the lake.  And, as an added bonus, the Guy family is going to be staying here for the month of July!

This weekend, we celebrated the 4th of July out at Lake Kanopolis.  Ledger got to see his cousins Jonas, Ronan, and Brogan for the first time in more than 18 months.  This is the last time we were together...

Jonas (left) kissing Ledger, 3.5 months old

This time around, the boys are able to have SO much more fun together.  Jonas and Ledger had a great time going out on the boat, swimming, and riding in the tube.  Ronan shared his prized choo-choo trains with Ledger.  Ledger just loved watching baby Brogan and didn't even act jealous when Mommy was holding the baby!  

Look at that ornery face.

Ledger helps Uncle Josh cool off.

Jonas (left) and Ledger (right) walking to the boat dock.

Oma with Brogan (2.5 months)

Ledger loves "Baby Brogan"

Ledger and Jonas playing with bubbles in the yard.

Aunt Emily makes Ledger SMILE.

Brandy with Ronan (2 years)

Jeremy on the boat with Jonas (4y)

The Guy family.

Oma trying to wrangle Jonas and Ronan.

Captain Ledger drives the boat.

Keep a weather eye on the horizon.

Ronan gets a piggy back ride from Brandy.

We did get a chance to have a little bit of grown-up time too.  Somehow, we forgot to take a group picture with all of us together though.  Here is a video of Josh totally completing a back flip on the wakeboard.

Hot, Hot, Hot

This week, temperatures in Salina have been consistently over 100 degrees.  This kind of stifling heat can only lead to one thing....

...playing in the sprinklers!!

Branson Vacation - The End

We woke up early on our last day in Branson to hit the pool as a family.  Ledger just loves to swim!!

We left Branson after lunch at Fuddruckers and decided to take a different route home.  We drove through Joplin, Missouri to get a first-hand look at the damage that the recent EF5 tornado had done.  Honestly, the devastation was amazing.  Probably as close to a war-zone as I hope to ever see.  It has been more than a month since that area was hit and the clean-up effort is still just starting.

Overall, we had a FANTASTIC vacation and really enjoyed getting to spend some quality time with the Michel and Vanderbeck families! 

Branson Vacation: Day 4 - Ride the Ducks

On Sunday, we got up early and took a 10 a.m. "Duck" tour.  Ledger quickly figured out how to toot his duck call. :)  The tour took us through the College of the Ozarks and into Lake Taneycomo.  Ledger especially loved getting to drive the duck on the water.  Chris actually took his turn to drive the duck too, in honor of his Grandpa Young who drove a duck in WWII.

We had lunch at the White River Fish Co. and then headed back for a nap.  Daddy, Jaime, and Uncle V went into Branson to do some serious shopping while Ledger and I napped.  We woke up a little early and went to take advantage of the Hilton's indoor swimming pool.  Ledger really liked swimming with Mommy!  We did a little shopping at the Landing on our way to dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ.  Uncle V bought Ledger a St. Louis Cardinals baseball hat and he thought it made him look super cool.

On Sunday night, Grammie and Papa came over to our hotel room to hang out after Ledger went to sleep so that we could go "out" with the Vanderbecks.  We had a really great time playing putt putt at Pirate Cove and racing go carts on the Wild Woody track.

Branson Vacation: Day 3 -- Bumper Boats

On Saturday, we decided to split up for lunch.  Pam, Chris, Jaime, and Ledger went to eat pizza at Mazzios.  Chris V, Steve, and I headed to Joe's Crab Shack for AWEsome crab legs.  We even donned the personalized bibs that are pretty much mandatory at Joe's.

After lunching separately, we re-grouped on the main strip to take Ledger on the bumper boats.  We had so much fun the first time around that we actually went again.  This time, we took Grandpa Steve with us too.  We took a lot of fun pictures.  It was hard to choose just a few for the blog. :)

Ledger really loved the bumper boats and all of the coin-op cars the little mini-park had to offer.  He even willingly posed for a few pictures.

Ledger had a good nap after our boat ride, but Pam, Jaime, and I had a little "girl time" at one of Pam's favorite shopping locations in Branson.  That evening we ate on the Landing again at the Mexican restaurant called Cantina Laredo.  Good food!  We finished in enough time to pose for our annual Old Time photo -- this year we dressed as barmaids and cowboys. :)  Ledger stole the show though in his adorable Old Time vest and hat.  I'll try to post a picture after we get it scanned.