happy birthday, kansas!

Today is Kansas' birthday! 

For school, the boys got to dress up in either Kansas sports gear or as a cowboy or Indian.

Carter is an Indian, complete with real pheasant feathers (that were shot down in Kansas) and Grayson is a KU basketball player, celebrating our big win over West Virginia last night.

Sorry, Bob Huggins, but you lost out on $25,000!

lions and tigers and bears... oh my!

The boys didn't have school on Friday and Jerry decided to take the day off. The temps were forecasted to be in the 50s, so we thought we'd head to the zoo. It was a bit windy, but otherwise a great day to be hanging out with the animals!

 our first stop was to see the orangutans

 then we went outside to check on the chimps -- they were having a party!

 the baby chimp was wrestling and playing with all the older guys -- cute!

 I love his little face :)

 this guy looked like he belonged on the Hoarders show... he probably had 15 treats in his lap and another 10 stashed in his mouth... his mother obviously didn't teach him about sharing ;)

 we went to visit the elephants inside, where the zookeepers were doing some training with them

 (a close-up of what was happening behind the boys... the zookeeper had a big flashlight and was inspecting the elephant's mouth and tusks)

 Carter loves the hippo right now!

 the African hunting dogs

 we loved seeing all the red pandas out eating

 and then to the Tiger Trek!

 the tiger kept coming up to the window where the boys were!

 for some reason, I find it funny to have deer in a zoo...

our last stop was the petting zoo and barn

What a fun day at the zoo!

indoor soccer {wichita wings}

One of my favorite childhood memories was going to the Wings' games with my family. We had season tickets, loved the atmosphere snacks, and knew most all of the players' names. Chico Borja, Erik Rasmussen, and Mickey Thomas were our soccer heroes.

The Wichita Wings have had a comeback in our city after being gone for many years. We decided to take the boys (and Gramps!) to a game tonight, and everyone had a great time...

 waiting for the game to start

 our good buddy, Jared, was there -- he's the marketing director for the arena

 we had great seats!! there was always lots of action!

 Carter was watching for the Wings' mascot -- the Phoenix.
He spotted him from our seats and we went to find him immediately :)

 they were thrilled!

 there were two college-aged guys called the "Wing-Men" who were all painted up and worked their way through the crowd... here's one of them behind Dad

 Carter stood in line not once, but twice, for balloon creations from a clown! Ha!
He was sporting his balloon hat and is holding a big, brown balloon spider in his right hand. Oh, and a Wings fan was passing out balloons during the game, and Carter got one of those, too.
The life of a 3 year old at a soccer game... :)
As opposed to...
Grayson wats intent on watching all the action, was into all the plays, and wanted to stay until the VERY end. So cute!

from the mouths of babes

Carter has Dad's Night at preschool later this week, and his class has been getting ready! These cute question/answer pages about their Dads were just posted outside the classroom today...

 It cracks me up about the peppers! All I can think of is that Jerry loves to take sliced green peppers in his lunch and we usually buy those for him on our grocery runs...
And his favorite chore according to Carter -- haha!!

mclemore's miracle

With just seconds left in the game, KU trailed Iowa State by three... at home! KU currently has a 30 game winning streak going at Allen Fieldhouse, and the pressure was on. When it looked like KU was going to lose, Ben McLemore shot a three (off the glass!) and tied the game, sending it to overtime. The crowd in Allen Fieldhouse ERUPTED!

This was eerily similar to "Mario's Miracle" -- the three point shot by Mario Chalmers to tie up the National Championship game (KU v. Memphis), and KU went on to win it all in 2008.

Thanks, McLemore -- miraculously KU won last night!

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.

jerry and his girls

Jerry has gotten in his fair share of hunting fun over the past 2 weeks, along with his two bffs hunting dogs, Zoe and Molly. Zoe is a hunting machine, and Molly has her sights set on passing Zoe's records. Jerry just raves and raves about his girls.

 Zoe (L) and Molly (R) complete with their hunting gear

 all three were thrilled that we got some snow!

 the girls hard at work

 on this particular Saturday, Jerry came home from a great morning of hunting... obviously, with the large amounts of dead feathered friends pictured... 2 pheasants and 6 quail... AND then we headed up to Lawrence to watch KU play in Allen Fieldhouse... Jerry said it was like Christmas ALL DAY for him :)

these fine creatures are now packed away in our deep freeze -- please come take them!!

happy new year! {2013}

New Year's Eve brought a light dusting of snow to Wichita, but it was the good kind for building snowmen! The boys had eagerly been awaiting some of the fun white stuff...

 they worked hard and built a snowman, who was just about their size :)

 we rang in the New Year in a fun and celebratory way!

nana is an expert in finding lots of holiday goodies to make our parties fun...

 we were greeted with even more snow on New Year's Day -- perfect for snow angels and shoveling!

2012 brought so many fun things, and yet so many struggles. We enjoyed several different trips and the chance to get away and see different pieces of Creation. We were blessed with Jerry's job and yet tried to make sense of the craziness of mine. We had lots of fun with the boys, and enjoyed seeing and experiencing life through the eyes of a 7 and 3 year old. Our hearts ached with one friend who lost his spouse, and those who struggled through (and continue to struggle with) life-threatening cancer and diseases. We are so thankful for the good years that both our boys have had in school this year, and are so grateful for their sweet teachers. We eagerly anticipate the upcoming wedding of my brother, Brett to his fiancee, Claire! We are sad as we know that some of our dear friends will be moving to a different state very soon. We are blessed to say that He provides, again and again.

 

As we look back and reflect on 2012, I find myself encouraged by this verse:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Lamentations 3:22-23

 

...and how about one more for 2013?

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Hebrews 13:8

 

Happy New Year!