MISS CONGENIALITY

Kate is so much fun!  So, while sitting at the doctor's office, she begged me to take her picture.

And then she asked me to take it again.

And then, we needed a selfie together!

And then she needed just one more picture.

And then she needed to practice selfies!

We love this little girl!

SMILE AND KISS

It doesn't matter that he just went to the dentist!  I am still in love with this smile and this kiss!

THE BIG ONE ZERO

I cannot believe that Dawson has turned the big ONE ZERO!  He is know 10 years old ... and I remember so very clearly his dramatic entrance into this world (better than the other 2 girls in fact.)

Dawson's birthday party invitations

His cake was a 'naked' cake, which means that the sides aren't frosted

 This was a pumpkin roll cake.  5 layers with cream cheese in between each one.  Delicious!

 A side view of the cannon, bombs, and force field tower

(translation courtesy by Brandon)

The boys were so excited to play laser tag!

Thumbs up!

Kate needed a picture with them, so her she is center stage!

Are you ready to rumble?

I wasn't able to get pictures in the dark... but afterwards, all of the boys were red and quite sweaty!!!  3 games of laser tag will do that to you!

See Dawson for exhibit A

We were rushing a bit to squeeze everything in, but sang a quick happy birthday to Dawson and then opened presents while the boys ate cake!!!

Daniel

Jeris

Evan

Teagan with his arm around Dawson (I thought it was a nice touch!!!)

Sam

The girls!

That night, we ran to Wendy's for Dawson's birthday dinner ... Tracy (Jordan) and Laura (Sam) met us there. It was again quick, because we were having a family birthday party for him! It was slim pickings - just Tracy, Jordan, Laura, Sam, and Kathy, plus our 5! Dawson was spoiled as usual. Here is a picture of his loot!

From mom and dad - 4 shirts, 2 pants, Cannon Brawlers account, and gold for another computer game!

From Faith and Kate - Perplexus game!

From Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Kelly - a new warm coat for those freezing Idaho winters!

From Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Jerry - a new lego set!

From the Atkinsons - cold, hard cash!  Yes, you are spoiled Dawson!

We loved you from the minute we found out you were joining our family!  You definitely made a splash for your entrance!  You continue to charm us with your witty comments, your sweet hugs, and that dashing smile!  We love you Big D!!!  Happy 10th birthday!

AND AGAIN

We have had so much rain, it is just crazy!!!  Our city is not equipped to handle the amount of rain that we have been getting in such short bursts of time.

But, I guess to actually appreciate, I'll give you before and after pictures.

Before rain

After rain

But then we had a welcome surprise!  A fire truck, which stayed there for quite some time.  They were working on the drains that are in the road. 

They even had a police escort. (Not sure why they were there, but they came and stayed for about 5 minutes as well.)

They are driving SO slow.  But if anyone else went through, it would continue to push up the water and debris on our lawn.  Again, we were so lucky that we did not get any flooding.  I know many others that have been flooded twice in a 2 week time period.  We also have to worry about the south of town where the Charlotte Fire was; there is still not adequate plants and trees to help with the water.  It has been quite sad for this area!

Our new motto: "Rain, rain, go away!"  I'm afraid it can't come again another day, as we cannot take more rain in the next month!

P.S. We received another flash flood alert for Thursday.  They sent out another truck that worked on the drains for a couple of hours.  I hope that they have figured out and officially fixed the problem that we are having so that next time it rains, we will be good!!!