Mum festival in Tipp City

We headed up to Tipp City for the annual Mum festival. We used to go every year and we weren't disappointed this time either. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time looking at the vendors and enjoyed some yummy lunch. I got a Philly cheese steak sandwich and Ben had a sausage covered with onions and green peppers and of course we had to get a funnel cake! The girls had a good time and enjoyed playing on the playground and I even got Brenna to ride the mechanical bull! She liked it at first but wasn't so happy at the end! She didn't even get bucked off. Ben said "Well it's either ride until you fall off or until you cry!" I just love that fall is finally here!






Mom, Ben and Natalie waiting for Brenna to get out of the bouncy house.
Go cowgirl!

The mums were so pretty! Natalie's new favorite thing is waving hello to everyone!

Enjoying our funnel cake.

Natalie even sampled some.

Lovin' on Daddy

We tried! This was the best pic even though Natalie's eyes are closed. We brought home a big pumpkin to represent Ben, a medium one for me, a small one for Brenna and a baby pumpkin for Natalie. A good day!

Birthday Celebrations!

We celebrated Natalie's 1st birthday and Ben's 30th on Saturday. Ben's birthday isn't actually until October, but his little brother is getting married then and we wanted the family to be able to come up and celebrate with us so we just combined the parties. Natalie was in a great mood earlier in the day, but I think was a little overwhelmed later in the evening after I had to wake her up from a very late nap and when all the guests arrived! We had some great food. We had barbecued pulled pork sandwiches, potato casserole, green beans, veggies and dip, spice cupcakes, pumpkin gingerbread trifle and s'mores! It turned out to a great night for a fire. The rain stopped and cleared off right about dusk.The guys had a great time in Ben's new "mancave". It's coming along nicely. The bar he has been working on is looking great, and he now has a drum set in the basement too! We had a great time and made some fun memories.



Opening her first gift!

Me and my mother-in-law Vicki

Natalie's friend Charlotte.

Ben with his bar! :-)

Mamaw took Natalie for a walk in her new car. She loves it!

Natalie, Mamaw, Pepaw

There's no bathroom in our basement!

She likes her new shopping cart.

Laughing at her balloons

My favorite pic of the birthday girl!

Enjoying her s'more!

This is when she was not in a good mood! She would NOT sit her in highchair!

I finally got her to eat her cake after everyone went outside for s'mores.

Natalie's 1st B-day!!!

Wow! What a difference a year makes! We celebrated Natalie's 1st birthday today with just Ben, Brenna and myself. We had a great day just spending time as a family and we enjoyed dinner out at Red Lobster. We are having her actual party on Saturday when the family can join us. I did really well and only teared up a little while we sang Happy Birthday to her tonight. I can't believe how much Natalie has grown and changed in such a short period of time. I am really looking forward to what this next year will bring with her walking around, talking, and really developing into the little person she will be. I love you baby girl! Here are some here and now pics to enjoy and a short updated video of Natalie walking.









38 weeks and ready to pop!! I never knew in just a few short days I would wake up with a gush! Literally!

My family complete. A sight I never thought I'd see! Me with two kiddos!

My healthy baby girl! 7 lbs 11 oz 20 inches

I was so in love with her beautiful black hair!

Home at last!

Now my almost walking 1 year old!

Dayton friends revisited

I had my friend Amy visit from Tennessee this weekend. Amy and I were really good friends when we were stationed in Dayton last time. Amy and her family left a few months before we did to go back to her hometown in Tennessee, when we were getting ready to head to our assignment at Lackland. We hadn't seen her in 3 1/2 years! We had a great time meeting at Thomas Cloud park with all of the friends from our old small group. We had a great time and the last count I had on all the kiddos that were present was 19! It was fun to see how much the kids had grown and to see the kids that weren't even born when we left! Brenna had an amazing time with Amy's girls. Macy is 7 and Allie is almost 5, so she was in heaven having two playmates close to her age! It was nice to be with all the people that Ben and I started our Air Force career with. Looking forward to seeing what friends we add to the list while we are stationed here for the second time around!




Natalie enjoying her favorite activity at the park.
Brenna, Macy, Kelsey, Maddie

Me, Nikki,Amy, Emily

We almost got a pic with no kids! Jamie, Emily, Amy, me, Nikki, Natalie (Natalie watched Brenna in the nursery every Saturday night at church)

Gian, Ben, Brent, Ladd

Natalie, Ben

Macy, Brenna

Macy, Brenna, Allie

Macy, Natalie, Brenna, Allie

Me and Amy