Grandbabies at the Zoo

The Phoenix fam came to visit Missouri on October 12. Cousin Ellie and Mama Katie joined us for a visit to the St. Louis Zoo. Silly me, thinking the Zoo was open until dark, didn't get us there in nearly enough time to see everything.

Ian is a train fanatic, and was delighted we got to ride the Zoo train.

Old Iron Works 2008

My camera batteries died right after I took this picture of Papi and Ian at Old Iron Works Days.

Both Ian and Ellie LOVED feeding the fish.

This was our Saturday activity.

Big Picnic

On Sunday evening we had a BIG Picnic in our backyard. Ellie and Mallory enjoyed the cupcakes. The bigger kids were busy playing with Uncles Jason and Nathan.

More Picnic

Pumpkin Patch!

Our Monday activity was The Pumpkin Patch in O'Fallon.

What a great time they all had, and what priceless pictures!

Poor Traci was again ravaged by mosquitoes.

(Hello, Benadryl creme!)

I stayed at the house and cooked an early Thanksgiving meal.

At the end of the day, three tired, dirty little pumpkins shared a bubble bath.

TICKLE MONSTER!

Our Tuesday activity before our Phoenix fam left was a tickle fest!

Andrew and Ian went for a drive. When Daddy told Ian they would be flying home today, Ian said, "Daddy, no! I want to go back to Cousin Ellie's house. I love her!"

Thanks, Phoenix Family. We loved having you all here!

Ah, Summertime!

Ah, Summertime.

Here are a few pix of how Ellie spent her
summer--









In the pool at Gran and Papi's house.
The water was freezing cold straight out of the hose,
but it didn't diminish her joy in the least.



















The whole Freed clan spent their annual week
at the Lake of the Ozarks. Here, Ellie rescues
her Daddy from the spore pit.













Hangin' with Fozzy Bear.














Taking a train ride with Mommy.

July Birthday Party!

Hannah turned 1 on July 14, Ian turned 3 on July 15. Their Mommy produced a party that was awesome!


























Sure, it tasted good, but it turned out that Hannah is allergic to fresh strawberries. Ugh, itcy hives and swelling.
Thank goodness for Benadryl.
















The party was a roaring success, with
arcade tokens for all, kid-friendly foods,
a bounce-house, party favors, balloons,
yummy cake...

...I guess next year we'll all fly to Vegas!

Check out my Slide Show!

Some pictures just have to be shared!

Peek-a-boo, Hannah!

Generations

Father and Son, 29 years apart. I made the yellow costume for Andrew in 1979 from a robe found at a thrift store. (We were poor, but too happy to notice)

Christmas in Missouri 2007

Katie, Jason and Ellie spent the weekend with us, we had a pleasant Christmas morning together.



Having a UMR Engineer for a son-in-law is so handy! Jason even resorted to reading the directions to put together Ellie's new wheels from Granny and Papi.






Ellie was so impatient to get on her new trike, her Daddy had to wait until she was distracted by breakfast to finish the job.









Ellie was our present deliverer. Most of them were given to Granny (whom she loves the most), who then had to get them to the correct recipient.





Here, she gives Daddy the final piece of his coordinated ensemble...





wait for it...















Jason the Deerslayer!









Ellie stayed on the far side of the room.