Happy Birthday Emmry!

We had the great privilege of traveling to Utah to be with family for Emmry's eighth birthday where she was baptized a member of our church.

What fun we had riding on an airplane together as a family for the first time in three years! The kids were so excited to fly and Ryan and I were so excited to cut the travel time, though door to door it still took five hours (half the usual)!

It is not often that we get to spend birthdays with family. We played hard for the 48 hrs we were together, even squeezing in a birthday party with Grammy and Emme's cousins at the Lion House!

We are so proud of our little Emme! It is amazing to see her grow, experience life, and pursue her dreams. Congratulations Emmry!

Princess and the Pea

We must be truly loved for someone to give up their bed in the middle of the night to sleep like this! This is one princess without any trouble sleeping!

Another Casualty

It seems Chanel has been aiding the children in their search for another pet. I think it's a sign that she's tired of being dressed up as a princess, carried around like a baby, shut in boxes, locked in closets, and pinned down under arm and covers at bedtime. At the time I found it, I did think it strange that a gecko happened to be stretched out on the floor outside the girls' bedrooms. But we've had plenty of birds find their way into the house, why not a gecko?

While it did find its way in, it likely did not enter on its own accord. Yesterday Ryan and Braden caught Chanel coming through the dog door with a large new recruit. She came in and dumped it on the carpet. All I can say is thank goodness I wasn't the one home!

Braden enlisted it right away and introduced it into his reptile habitat. Unfortunately, by the next morning the little girls were reporting that the lizard was very tired and had been sleeping all morning.

Better luck next time Chanel!