Desert Habitat

In one week we will be off to Arizona. We are excited to be able to attend Grandpa McMillan and Sally's wedding. Riley and Reece are counting down the days too. Jake made the mistake of telling the boys we were flying to Arizona way back in August, when we booked the flights. All we've heard since is, "I can't wait until it is October!" Or, "October is my favorite month!" I am not quite sure if they are more excited to fly on a plane or actually go to Arizona. At school, Riley is learning about habitats. They were discussing the southwest and specifically, Arizona. His teacher told them it was a "desert habitat." Then Riley held up his hand and excitedly told his class that he gets to fly to Arizona soon. She said it was so cute and he was so proud of it. It is amazing how much he has come along at school. In preschool, he participated in class, but usually when asked. Now, just two years later, he is so anxious to participate and share with his classmates and teacher. We can't wait to see our family and friends real soon!

Happy 3rd Birthday Brevin!

Today my nephew, Brevin, turns 3! I know, I know. It sounds as though I am making all of this up, because everyday it is another one of my niece's or nephew's birthdays. Well, I just happen to have 18 of them, and most of them come the second half of the year, and four of them this week alone. So, here we are, and that should do it for at least a couple of weeks. Brevin is the youngest of four, that belong to my brother, Aaron. Happy Birthday!

Jake Update

Today we went to the hospital to see how the MRI's on Jake's lower back looked. This was one of the best visits we've had since we've known Dr. Pollack. She didn't even have to go into any detail and just said everything looked great. This was such a huge relief!! This is now 2 visits in a row that have been easy going without another load of stress dropped on us. Last month we went to have Jake's head checked out, and we just noticed some of the existing tumors were slightly more plump from the previous check up. This is something to watch out for, but nothing to fret about. So, as we stand, we will go back in 6 months to have more MRI's. This is a huge step for us in the right direction because we usually have to go every 3 months. We don't know if he has reached a point where the tumors have stopped growing or if all of the radiation has done the trick. Only time will tell...

Happy 1st Birthday Alexander!

Today my nephew, Alex, is the BIG 1!!! I can't believe how quick that year went. Happy Birthday and eat a lot of cake for me! (Alex belongs to my sister, Joanna, and is the youngest of 4)

Happy 12th Birthday Breanna!

Today my oldest niece is the Big 12! Happy Birthday Breanna. I was just a freshman in high school when she was born, and I remember being on cloud 9 knowing that I was an aunt. Today, I'm pretty sure that she is officially taller than me. I hope you have a great day! (Breanna is the oldest of my brother, Aaron)

Happy 5th Birthday William!

This is 2 days late, but my nephew just turned 5! Will, we were all thinking of you, and can't wait to see you next month to celebrate! (Will is the second oldest of my sister, Joanna)

Riley is a Wildcat

So we just got back from Riley's first flag football practice. It was pretty humorous. However, at the end of practice coach sprung on some pretty upsetting news. Riley's team will be the Purple Wildcats! This was disturbing to most of us parents. My "bad mom" mode kicked in as I explained to him why being a wildcat wasn't exciting to me. We've never talked bad about the other Kansas team in this house, we have just brainwashed our kids to cheer "ROCK, CHALK, JAYHAWK! GO KU! He didn't understand the whole K-State vs. Kansas thing. He doesn't understand the betrayal part of it and just responded, "Well, we have to do what the coach says." That's my boy. He was also the only 6 year old boy standing still in line, and paying attention to every word the coach said. We will have to put some KU blue on underneath his uniform, so we can stay loyal. Rock Chalk! (Pictures to come once games start.)

Summer 2008

Riley graduated Kindergarten. This was his teacher, Mrs. Wessel and his best friend Tyler. They got to make and color their own hats. It was sooo cute!

Riley and his 2nd year of T-ball, and him showing off all of his missing teeth. This summer he lost 6 teeth and that makes a total of 8.

Reece as one cool dude on a road trip to Wichita, and helping his team win a water race at his cousin, Aidan's party.

Riley trying on Grandpa's Father's Day gift to make sure it's the right size.

Riley turned 6! I can't believe how fast it went. He had 2 parties. One with family, and the other with his school friends and cousins that live close by.

Summer 2008 (continued)

Fun at the Gardner Auquatic Center!

Kline Family Reunion in Wichita. We went to Sedgwick County Zoo, The Kansas Cosmosphere and more. This is a picture with my Grandmother Kline.


Reece holding his brand new cousin, Owen. This is cousin #18 and grandkid #20!

Summer is over and school is back. Riley is now a BIG 1ST GRADER!!!

Here I Go!

Here I am! I am finally starting a blog. This is due to a little pressure from my best friend Andrea, who lives 1000's of miles away. She eagerly wants to see updates and pictures of my kids, and I have fallen in love with her blog and being able to see her family grow as well. Another reason is to be able do something with the many pictures I take of my kids, and they always seem to sit in my camera or in my computer. So here I am. I am clueless at this point and will be learning as I go. A goal I have is to try to take more pictures with Jake and I in them. We'll see how that goes. Wish me luck!!