So behind

As this blog has been badly neglected, and much time passed, I suppose the best place to begin this post is where I left off:
At the end of summer we finally got a few eggplants to show for all our hard work in the garden. Mom made Mary pose with them hoping it would give the illusion that the eggplants were larger than they really were.

After visiting with Uncle Will this fall he informed me plaid was "in" this season. So after rummaging through my dresser drawers I put together this little outfit that I sported all fall.

Mary has been busy, playing the part of "family princess" quite well. She keeps all of us on our toes and insists that I pull her around the yard in our wagon...I believe she has put on a few pounds too!

When the weather got colder we turned to new forms of play indoors. (Mom really seems to hate this game.)

Another new game is our mechanic shop. Mary is the assistant, but I don't have the heart to tell her a saw is highly unnecessary for an oil change.

My favorite storybook this fall was "The Five Little Firemen". Here Mary and I are reading it first thing in the morning. Since Mom and Dad are tired of reading it, I am trying to commit it to memory.


We met our newest baby friend. Mary and I have what Mom calls "baby fever"!

While visiting a pumpkin patch we took a ride on a school bus,

cannon-launched pumpkins,

and made regular fools of ourselves.

We've learned a lot this fall too, but most importantly how to play together.

And pose for the camera.

Family Excursion '09

Mother and Father packed our little car full and we went on a trip. It was both educational and recreational. Here we are in a city made famous by a 19th century author.

Here I am in another city, at the home of President Abraham Lincoln. (Mother and Father must be great friends of his because we were given a tour of his house.)
Here we are at the couch where President and Mrs. Lincoln were married. Can you imagine being married while sitting on a couch?!
Here we are playing in the Lincoln's backyard. Too bad they don't have a slide.

Here I am between attempts to climb to the top of this boy. I know I could have gotten to the top if Dad would have stopped pulling me back down.

Here we are at the old capitol building. One of the many buildings I ran around in.
And this is President Lincoln's tomb. There are guards stationed in here at all times, so I'm on my best behavior.
Here I am in the hotel room, ready to crash after a long day....don't let my smile fool you.
Here we are in the steepest, shortest cable car in the United States. Mary is doing her impression of Cousin It.
At the very top it is very sunny.
Thank goodness Mom and Dad purchased a round trip ticket. This incline looks too hard for Mary to walk down.
After many days in the car we made it to the Northern Woods.
However, Mary was banished to a baby pool for fear of her safety.
Also in the interest of safety, Mary was banished to wearing this ridiculous costume when on a boat.
A family outing on the lake was a paddle boat excursion.
And there was lots of time to try out my new fishing pole.
Mary was spoiled with attention.
We even went to a aqua show.
I had lots of fun with my G-ma and G-pa.
I think Mary got in trouble with Uncle Kris again though.
After many days in the cold up north, we finally made it to the Land of Large Chairs...

to see some dear friends...
and their new baby. I can already tell we're all gonna be best friends.

Summertime Recap

This summer I discovered a wonderful thing, cherries! Although I was warned by Mother that I have to be very careful when eating this delicious fruit. As you can see, I think I did pretty well.

A long awaited milestone was reached this summer, I FINALLY learned to drive. (Thank you for your help Grandpas, because we all know where Mother and Father stood on this issue.)

I don't have much to share about little sis. She was pretty much a sloth all summer.

Hot Summer Days

I guess like always I've got a little catching up to do. So we talked about the big birthday blast, but we skipped over some good stuff too. Like all the people that stopped in to visit. Grandma Kay not pictured

And how happy mommy used to be
And the sweet chair Mary got all to herself...
...pause...NOT!

Well, every now and then I let her alone with company of her choosing.Apparently the baby doll comes with less bruising.

I also got to see a major league ball game with Daddy and Zach Greinke - who wasn't pitching, but was in attendance.Boy that new ballpark is fancy. You could even watch the game from above the fountains in the outfield.Special thanks goes out to my "twin" and fellow popcorn aficionado, Joachim for hooking us up with some company (literally... it was his daddy's officemates).
Overall, I would have to say it was a great time, even though I asked to go home by the 2nd inning. Things did get a little crazy during the hot dog race. Apparently Daddy has this little obsession with Relish. Not in real life, just in the hot dog race. And since the Royals weren't winning, I guess he needed to back a winner. And that he did, screaming like a little school girl when Relish finally pulled ahead down the stretch - much like he says he used to do when the Royals would get 12 hits.Look closely down on the field just over the rail. It was a close one.Relish is having a good season. Hopefully all those rumors about performance enhancing growth hormones are false. That would crush Daddy.
Daddy did say that it was the first Royals game he had been to in a long time that didn't involve misguided fans initiating the Wave during critical innings. Which was nice... I guess...

Now with all the hot weather we've been gettin' a little bit wet.Here's me in total ecstacy
And finally what all you readers are really here for - a super cute picture of my kid sister. Enjoy.