I haven't quite decided if I really want to know what you are thinking, Kate.  Sad, ticked-off, content... hmmm... well, one thing is for sure.  CUTE!

The boys had a great birthday party on Saturday!  We had quite the crowd.  It was really fun!  We ended up going to FUN TIME 4 KIDS.  It was a large room with a miniture "town" for the kids to play in.  There was a bowling alley, garage, kitchen, dress up room, music room, camping, train table, etc. etc.  We had 17 kids and 25 adults!  Wow... it was chaos, but everyone seemed to have a great time.

Well, it is official.  2 days before Ryan's 2nd birthday, and he has officially and consistently been climbing out of his crib.  I'm actually a little shocked that we have made it this long before it became an issue.  He woke up at 2:30 last night WIDE AWAKE.  After Mike and I rotated shifts getting him back to sleep, we finally thought he had settled down and fell asleep at 4:30.  At 4:45, we heard someone playing on the train table that we had brought to our room.  Oh boy... the freedom of keeping a screaming, tantrum-throwing child in the crib so you could count to 10 now has been lost.  I suppose now it will make deciding what to give him for his birthday much easier.  He will be excited to find out that he is getting his crib turned into a BIG BOY BED!  (Cheap, I know, but seriously, we've got to take advantage of these types of gifts while they don't know any better!)

I saw this and thought there might be some good things that the environmentalist are pushing for....

An eco-friendly farewell

Some people request to be cremated, with their ashes spread at their favorite place. Others wish for a traditional ceremony with flowers and all of their loved ones present. However, a recent trend is to have a green funeral—down to the casket itself—according to a Dec. 27 article for CNN.com. Choosing biodegradable coffins and green funerals eliminates the use of laminated caskets, cement vaults and formaldehyde embalming, and can include anything from bamboo caskets with unbleached cotton lining to a US$100 cardboard box. With U.S. funeral homes generating more than US$10 billion in revenue annually, the market for green funerals could be quite promising.

Tilt my head, lift my chin, and smile?  This really is supposed to make me look natural?

Aunt Marnee, you want me to do what? 

Shhhh... don't tell,  but I just pee'd.  

I sure love the play mat Nema & Hepa got me!

The Grandmas

Parker sure is a good older cousin.

Kate showing Evan that she has hair too.

Marnee and Parker know how to smile for the camera;

the other two are still learning.

Kate, safe, happy, and content not being too near to the alligators.

Steven, we went on an alligator hunt and we saw an alligator!

They may disappear into the light, but what you don't know is there is an alligator waiting for them at the end of the tunnel...

Who needs a swing set when you can have a tree like this?

Riley and Garrett... we missed you!  Can't wait to see you soon.

I thought I liked alligators, but maybe they are a little scary.  Should we really have our back to to one when it is this close?

I don't think that is more than the 30 recommended feet to stay away from the alligators.

The swamp land... We can see why Shrek thinks it is a cool place to live.

Classic family picture.  Parker with his poses... Ryan trying to get loose... Mike saying, get this over with... Marnee smiling since she is the only one wanting to do this... and Kate.  Well... the expression says it all.  "I'm cute, happy, and content...."

I was interviewed for this article about a month ago and it just got published. I guess the printed version has a picture of me in it, but I haven't seen that yet. Just thought I'd share...

http://www.facilitiesnet.com/bom/article.asp?id=8064&keywords=