Emily came home...

to see me! Well, she came home to see everyone, but in my head, it's different. :) She blogged about it too! We had a great time just relaxing and enjoying each others' company. Here are some pics of our time together (and some good ones of Rylan, because I like him).

Rylan playing with his Tia, aunt in Spanish. He doesn't even know her name is Emily.

Playing with Papa in the lake...and crying because it was time to get out.

Some sweet corn, and some sweet hair indeed!

One of our best cousins, Kim, came up for the weekend too. We were hot enough to take a dip in the lake. Of course, I left my bathing suit in Chicago. So I had to act like a celebrity and bare the belly...in a bathing suit top and Purdue shorts. Everyone was fine after being blinded by my white skin. Emily and Kim boarded "Big Mabel" by the house, and I pushed/pulled them down the channel because I didn't think I could get my body up there. Well, I was tired on the way back, so we made it happen. And we cracked up the whole way. Uncle Dave had to help pull us in.

Get ready for your ride ladies!

Swimming out in the water with Em, Kim, Roger, and Uncle Dave.

Thanks Uncle Dave!

Summer Time

We have spent the summer keeping busy, as families with 2 year olds do. It is hard to stay still when the little guy wants to run. Rylan had a fear of animals earlier in the spring. He was terrified of any animal, big or small. We have slowly moved out of that phase, thank goodness, because the zoo and the 4-H fair are summer staples.

Rylan checking out the animals at the fair.

We have also spent a good amount of time at the lake and at the new pool at Grandma and Grandpa Kring's house. Rylan has enjoyed swimming to the point where he jumped into the water without warning one time. This is the reason for life jackets.


Rylan jumping in the lake to Papa and swimming back to do it again.

Riding the swing and driving the boat with Daddy.

Checking out the fish Papa caught.

RIP TV/VCR Combo

Before moving to Windsor, the dorm where I spent my sophomore year at Purdue, I purchased this...

I was so excited about my purchase. I paid just over $100 dollars of my hard earned Target money and even used my discount. This TV later spent time in 5 other residences before becoming our bedroom TV. Ryan would always say, "We have got to get a new TV." And I would say, "but this TV is such a good deal. I have really gotten my money's worth."
Unfortunately, after nearly 12 years of function (well, the TV anyway, the VCR stopped working a while ago), my beloved TV finally died. Though I hoped it was a problem with the DVR, the black screen with a green line in the center signaled it's end.
On a Dave Ramsey note, we did not run out and buy a bigger, expensive TV, we have taken an old TV from my Grandma Horein's house to replace "Old Faithful". We'll see how long that lasts.

Birthday and Bedroom

July was a busy month! Rylan turned two! We can't believe he is getting so big. At his 2 year check-up, he was 31 lbs 4 oz, and 37 1/2 inches. He seemed like such a big boy in there, not really fussing or anything. I'm not sure if this is because he is such a big boy or because he has seen the doctor so many times in his 2 years. His ears look good now, so that is a relief!
We celebrated his life by inviting our families over and getting Rylan's big boy room ready. We decided to move him into our former guest room, and keep the baby room a baby room. Originally I wanted a regular twin bed, but was swayed to get a race car bed when we found it at a garage sale for $50! Rylan loves it!
We had a Mickey Mouse Birthday party because let's face it, he loves Mickey! I got some ideas off of the internet and got a little creative. I had fun preparing for his party. My mom and cousin helped me out a LOT with the cleaning and day of prep, I may still be getting ready if it weren't for them. Rylan had a great time. We tried to get him to announce what we were going to name the baby at his party, but he wouldn't do it on command. We just told everyone that were are going to name her LUCY MARIE!
Here are probably way too many photos of these events...enjoy!

Here is the car bed. He loves it!


This is our attempt to organize his toys. We have moved many of his books and toys into his room now. However, they still seem to make their way out to the living room.

Here is Rylan in his "big boy" bed.

This is the invitation I made for Rylan's birthday. I found an example on etsy and made my own. (I'm still deciding if I might make my own and sell them since they were asking $45 for 20 invites. I made 25 for less than $9.)

Here are the desserts I made for the party. It is fun putting it all together. The cake was a little lopsided, but it still looked cute.

Rylan's cake.



Mom has had this cookie cutter since we were kids. Good thing she hangs on to everything. ;)

Opening presents. I saved an outfit for Rylan to wear that day and he ended up wearing his bathing suit the whole time. The rug is now in his bedroom.

The kids having lunch at the cute picnic table.

Backing up...

In May, Ryan, my family, and my dear friends from Son City Kids and Monroe Circle surprised me with a baby shower/thank you party. They all really had me fooled, and I was delightfully surprised! Ryan made up many stories about taking me out to dinner but we had to stop at MC3 on our way to help LeRoy with something. When we pulled in, I said "look at all of the cars...something big must be going on"...HAHA to me.
For background, I helped found and run an afterschool program at our church's inner city outreach building, Monroe Circle Community Center (MC3). We began in 2007 and decided last January after prayer and thinking about what is best for our family to stop volunteering for a while. It was a really hard decision, but now is the time for me to be at home with my family. I miss the kids and the volunteers so much! I really want to get involved again, but I know myself well enough that saying no is really hard, so I have to tread lightly. It is easy to get hooked over there. :)

Anyway, what a fun party my friends threw! They decorated and everything! It was fun to see everyone, and I felt so humbled and blessed to be a part of this group. Here are a few pictures from that evening. Good thing I didn't wear sweats!

Ryan bringing me into the surprise.

Everything looked so nice!

My lovely friends who organized the gathering (I miss them).

Opening all of the little girl presents.

Another zoo...

...in another city.

Despite our zoo membership at Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. We went to our third zoo of the season in Kansas City.

Ryan, Rylan, and I flew to Kansas City to visit the Bellas at their new house. Ryan, Todd, and some guys stayed downtown to go to the Cubs/Royals games and hang out. Rylan and I stayed with Shannon and Lilly back at the house. We played outside, colored, visited the zoo, met up with the boys downtown at the Crown Center, and sent both kids into the church nursery screaming.

It was great to catch up with Shannon and let the kids get reacquainted. They had fun together. Rylan told me a couple of days ago in the car that he wanted to "go to Yiyee's house". (He's still working on those Ls.) The big boys had fun too! We are glad we made the trip!

McWhit Wedding

The day school was out, began the wedding festivities for my long time baton buddy Kara Whitaker and her groom, Joe McClyde (McWhit). Early in Kara's engagement I volunteered to be her wedding day coordinator, taking vendor phone calls, organizing people, etc. This was before I was pregnant and extra snow days pushed back the end of school. It was also after Ryan's annual golf outing was planned for the same weekend.

Kara and I at her bridal shower in December

Anyway, I was so excited, fatigue and no date didn't slow me down. I had a wonderful time enjoying their beautiful day at Notre Dame with their wedding at the Basilica and reception in the new Percell Pavilion. It was so great to share their day, catch up with old friends, and remember why you love someone!
Even though I didn't feel that busy on her wedding day, I only took one picture...here it is...

Kara applying mascara in the "bride room" before walking down the aisle

Congrats to Joe and Kara! You guys are going to be so happy together!

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