dksquared

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Little Frog Prince

Frog Prince Degen at Neewollah!

Oh my goodness! Look at these handsome men! This picture makes my heart skip a beat!

I love this picture because Degen's eyes look so green! He's got his daddy's hazel eyes!

I don't care how many girls kiss this boy, he's always gonna be MY prince first!

What a big boy, waving to the crowd!

Pretty as a Princess

Here is Princess Kyrie at Neewollah!

Kyrie & Hallacy

Neewollah photos at last! This year, we were happy that the cousins could reunite for the Kiddie Parade! Our theme this year was Princesses & the Frog! Papa Derrel put together a very sweet castle float with three 'thrones' for the girls and a lily pad for Degen. Nana Billie lovingly stitched princess gowns for the girls, each one unique (of course, Kyrie's dress was yellow) and pieced together a too-cute frog prince costume for Degen. The kids did a great job riding in the parade! (Check back for more photos in new posts!)

Isn't that castle sweet! Papa Derrel hand-painted it!

The princesses: Hallacy & Kyrie!

Yes, that is a portable DVD player on the float next to Degen... you gotta do what you gotta do! (The batteries conked out soon after the parade started.)

Little Easton felt more comfortable walking the parade with her mommy. (We've been there!)

Towards the end of the parade, even Degen was getting into the spirit!

As always, special thanks to Papa Derrel & Nana Billie for all their hard work!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

First Haircut

I shall always remember that Neewollah 2010 was the trip I went to Kansas with a baby boy and returned with a big boy and a bag of curls! On Thursday (10/28), we asked Darren's mom to give Degen his first haircut. We knew his hair had become slightly unkempt as his curls grew longer, but we wanted to continue the tradition of having Grandma Ida give the first haircut so we waited for our trip. Though it was a sentimental moment to have his baby curls cut, we knew that it was (past) time to get rid of his "baby mullet." Degen looks so grown up with his new haircut! I love it!

We didn't get a proper 'before' photo, but you can tell how long his hair was in this photo.

Degen did a great job! He sat on the kitchen table, just like Kyrie!

My big boy!

Monkey Island (which is not our home)

Monkey Island is part of the zoo at Riverside Park in Independence. One of the first monkeys to live on the island went into space. We spent quite a while watching the monkeys frolic around their castle!

Oh no! One of the monkeys escaped!

The swans 'guarding' the moat!

It took me several minutes to try to get a photo of this mama monkey with her baby!

These capuchin monkeys are very cute! I love their curlicue tails!

Just Right!

Families come in all sizes and configurations and should be celebrated for the love they share no matter how they look, but I love the 'perfection' of my family. Two parents & two kids! Two boys & two girls! Daddy & daughter and mommy & son! Or mommy & daughter and daddy & son! Two sets of dark eyes & two sets of light! No matter how I add us up, we always come out just right!

Kiddy Land (Independence, KS)

One of the nicest things about Darren's hometown is the city park! It has a lot of amenities for a small town park, including: a free zoo, carousel, playground, train, miniature golf and kiddy land.

The thing I like best about spending time at the park is that my children are playing on many of the same toys that my husband and his mother played on when they were children. Grandparents and parents follow after their children and smile at one another, sometimes sharing 'remember when...' stories from yesteryear. I feel very blessed that we can participate in this most pleasant of small town experiences.