Firefighter Combat Challenge -- Tyler

Today, we went to Tyler to watch Uncle Steven participate in the Firefighter Combat Challenge. Abby got dressed out to participate in the kids' area but ended up "chickening" out.

Here he is running through the course..

Uncle Steven dragging Randy through the finish line. These guys are something else to be able to compete like this. Running in their gear, dragging 175# of deadweight for over a hundred feet, running stairs, and much more in the heat.

Isn't She Pretty?

Abby and her new sparkling earrings....

Chocolate Ice Cream

After going to Jumpin' Place, we went for ice cream cones. As you can see, Riley had just as much on him as he did in his tummy. Nothing beats chocolate ice cream on a hot summer night.

Jumpin Place Fun

Last Friday night, we met up with Will, Lauryn and Kathryn at Jumpin' Place. The kids had lots of fun.

Monday Night Volleyball Games

Riley found entertainment at Monday night's volleyball game at China Spring. Nothing beats being the clown in the stands.

Here's our volleyball girl...standing at end of the drill line helping her coach get the balls. This is what the rest of her volleyball season will look like.

She went to the doctor today -- there is a small fracture on the outside of her foot that will take 4-6 weeks to heal. She was told today that there should be no running, jumping, bouncing, or dancing on her foot until she returns to the doctor at the end of October.
Courage, determination, pride...that's what our girl is made of.

Abby Gale Margaret Peters

We are so blessed for this little lady to be our little girl.

She is the sweetest thing and can definitely bring your smile out.

So smart, yet so stubborn, so determined, and so sweet and loving. We love you, Abby Gale and we thank God each night that he blessed our family with you.

Little girls dance their way into your heart,

whirling on the tips of angel wings,

scattering gold dust & kisses in our paths.
-- Author Unknown

40th Birthday

A 40th Birthday this weekend-- mine.

It's hard to believe that Aaron and I are both 40 now. It certainly doesn't seem any different than being in our thirties. It is just another number -- age doesn't matter. It's all about how you feel, act and what matters most is enjoying each and every day to the fullest.

Aaron and I spent my 40th birthday first at a volleyball tournament watching Blaine play (I hated to leave once we knew her team would be playing twice again later that afternoon but we did. They ended up coming in second place in the tournament), then Aaron and I left the littles with Mema and we headed out of town to Dallas.

We went shopping at Sam Moon, ate dinner at Razzoo's (mmmm mmm good), and then walked around Grapevine Mills Mall. We spent the night and then went to breakfast this morning and then to a Texas Rangers baseball game, along with the rest of the leadership team from my work. They played the New York Yankees and won the game 1-4. It was a lot of fun but the funny thing was -- even though we were only gone for one night, we were really excited to get back home to our three kiddos.
Here are a few photos from our weekend.

18 Months Old

It's hard to believe but Riley turned 18 months old yesterday. He has grown and changed so much just in the last month. He posed for a few photos before we went to the doctor for his checkup. He is a handsome little guy. This checkup was so different from the 15 month appointment where he screamed his head off getting on the scale, checking his length, letting the doctor check him out, getting his shots, which basically means he was upset for the whole thing.
At this appointment, he sat right on the scale, stretched out for his length, let them measure his head, was chatting it up with the doctor when she came into the room to examine him, let her look at everything without a single fuss (only time that a tear was shed was for the single immunization that he received). His doctor was completely amazed with how he is developing.

At 18 months old, Riley, you are doing the following things:
eating on your own
drinking good from a cup without a lid *until you get bored with it and pour it out
throwing balls very well
pointing to various body parts
understanding requests to go find things and bring them back, like your shoes
knowing our dogs names (which is an undertaking with how many that we have ...except for Holley -- you keep calling her Cocoa on purpose I think)
giving really good hugs
your kisses are much better these days... we get a real pucker now and you are even pretending to blow kisses our way
pretending to use a phone (means we are setting a bad example of being on phone too much)
know what sounds different animals make -- cows, ducks, dogs, cats, horses, chickens (Dr. Brewer thought your horse sound was so funny - you had her laughing)
you love books -- we had to read through 3 of them at the doctors' office - when she saw this, she gave you another book for your collection
you will eat just about anything -- except you have come not to want to drink your milk
saying many different words and making little sentences
getting a little possesive about things at times
you are going potty really well (we are excited about this!)
and so much more... we are very proud of you.

1st day of school -- 8th grade

Here is Blaine's first day of school photo for the 8th grade!