Steam Engine.

It was a big weekend in Abilene. After years of work, the restoration on the 3415 Steam Engine is complete. The engine made it's debut on Saturday. Todd and Matthew had the opportunity to ride on it's maiden run. The joys of all the hours of volunteering! The train runs the Enterprise route (same as the excursion train). It will run one weekend a month. For more information, check out the following link- http://www.salina.com/news/story/Steam-Engine-at-Abilene-052409

Shelby's Graduation

Our niece, Shelby, graduated from 8th grade at Washington last week. Todd, Matt, and Hannah made the trip to attend the graduation. (It still baffles me that they have graduations during the week.) Anyway, they had a good time and had the bonus of spending the night with grandma. Congrats, Shelby! We are very proud of you.

Shelby and Hannah

Camera phones are convenient but take disappointing pictures :(

Going Fishing.

Todd has wanted to take Matthew fishing for quite some time. They finally had the opportunity at a friend's farm near Washington today. Matthew was a little squeamish in the beginning. By the end of the afternoon he was a pro. I think my boys have found a new hobby!

A visit from the tooth fairy.

Matthew lost a tooth this week. That poor tooth had been hanging aroung in his mouth for a few days. Matthew would not let anyone pull it, because he wanted to do it. After the third day of protest, our friend (Jackie) paid $1.50 for him to pull it and he did. :) Amazing what a little money will make a kid do!

The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most
Just got to keep going
And I,I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on, cause
There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The Climb- Miley Cyrus

Summer's almost here!

School is out this friday. Summer is just around the corner. The new swimming pool is almost ready. With the warmer weather, we got the bikes out for an afternoon ride. The kids love to get on their bikes and go! It's even more fun this year since Mallory can participate.

Mallory

Matt

Hannah

Sit, Dot, Sit.

Hannah loves to work with Dot. Her favorite command is "sit". She knows exactly where to get the treats and loves to praise Dot.

Dream Big....

Proud Daughter

We are all so proud of Todd for all the hard work he put in to getting his MBA, but Mallory is probably the proudest of all.

Independence Farms

Mallory begins therapeutic horse riding this weekend. This is an activity that she thoroughly enjoys. It's amazing what she can do physically and cognitively when she is on that horse. They do amazing work.

http://www.independencefarms.com

Graduation Day

After two years of hard work, it has all paid off. Todd graduated from Kansas Wesleyan with a Masters of Business Administration. We are so proud of him!

Hannah

Matthew

Todd, Matt, & Hannah

Todd with his mom, Rosa Lee.

H is for Hannah

Hannah has learned to write an "H". So now we have the pleasure of finding little "H's" all over the house, sidewalk, etc. She is so proud of them.

Happy News!

Mallory had her post-op appointment today. We had to be at Children's Mercy this morning at 8:15. We started the morning delivering cookies with photo thank you cards to the various departments at the hospital. We then went to the clinic to see Dr. Singhal (we took cookies to the office too!). He said that Mallory "is healing better than most". She can progress to a soft diet and can return to school. We are going to try half-days for the rest of the week. Then back to school full-time next week. After Mallory's appointment, we drove to the Ronald McDonald House and delivered several boxes of cereal with a thank you. What a great morning!

More pics from Hannah's Birthday

I downloaded pictures from Todd's computer and completely neglected getting them posted. These are some of my favorites.

Maxton

such a sweet boy!

always thinking, always moving, always happy

(or at least from his aunt's perspective)

Dedric

My handsome nephew is 8. Soon to be a big brother in June.

He is such a character!

Matthew loves to hang out with Dedric at the farm. They are always working at building some amazing new thing. Dedric has grown to be a wonderful role model for Matt.

Recuperating

Yes, our weekend has been full of recuperating. Not much to post. Mallory is doing well. We're just by her side EVERY minute to keep her from the fridge or from putting something in her mouth. She knows what she CAN'T have and it's frustrating for her. Pain management is better. Sleep is normal. She's back to waking at 4:30-5. So long are the days of sleeping in till 7. We go back to see the surgeon on Wednesday. Praying for a good report.