Faces of Ty

 Remember Cate?  Same age.  Exactly.

Water War

 On our way home from Iowa/Kansas, we stopped and stayed with our friends, the Henrys.  Some neighbor girls were trying to be sneaky and attack Nathaniel (oldest boy) with water balloons.  Halle, who apparently had never seen a water balloon, was in awe.  So JD, who can never resist a good water balloon fight*, ran to the store and came back with enough balloons for an entire war.

 A little pre-war pow-wow:

 Before the "GO!":

 ATTACK!!

 RETREAT!!!

 JD told Ty to hide(!)- so he hid behind this chair:

 So much fun!

Thanks, Henrys!!

*Some people may remember some crazy water balloon antics we may or may not have performed in college.  JD and I looked at each other in absolute shock when Halle announced she had never seen a water balloon.  :)

Who IS this child??

Halle does water slides.

And she jumps in the deep end without floaties and swims to the side!

(Don't worry.  We're always right there in case she needs help.)

It's awesome.

Kansas Fun

Parks.

Picnics.

 The Coterie.  {Awesome.}

Crayola.

Kaleidescope.  Dinosaurs.

All-Star Mania.

Halle:  "Kansas trips are fun.  And funny."

Me:  "Funny?"

Halle:  "Yeah. I never know what's going to happen!"

:)

Iowa =

Swimming-

 "Sharing" Papa's smoothies-

 Sticking close to Nana- 

 Playing (?)-

 Mastering new skills- 

 Laughing- (or, in Cate's case- making the others laugh)

 Spending time with family-

Most of all, Iowa = Smiles.  Lots and lots of smiles.

Horses

There was a visitor at my parents' house this time- a little black pony named "Rooster":

 

 Yesterday Ty said, "I miss 'Wooster."

  Cate the Cowgirl liked Rooster, but she confided in me, "I love Cole and Dolly."

Lucky kids.

Mowing.

Great{Great}Grandma's Quilt-

Baby J's Shower-

We had a simple ballgame themed baby shower for my cousin and his wife who are expecting their first baby in a few short weeks!

 JD made the dessert- that makes me laugh every time I think about it!  These were some A-Mazing (tasting) brownies.  He's officially the Brownie King.

 Even the babies sported some eye black for the festivities!

 It's funny to think that by Christmas, we will have four little girls and THREE little boys around!

 Due 3 weeks apart:

 This part of the family has grown a little over the last 8 or so years:

The Juhls:

 A little mid-shower baseball break:

 Maddie, who had been with us in Kansas for several days was very glad to see her mom and dad.  Thanks for letting us borrow her for awhile, Tyler and Steph! 

 Congratulations, Steve and Bethany!  We can't wait to meet your little guy!