Wesley is 9!

Did a friend filled lunch celebration with Wesley to celebrate her 9th birthday.  

 Avery L, Wesley, Linley and Laura and Pizza Hut was the pick (shock!?!)

 My birthday girl! 

 Silly friends!

Ouch!

While 3 out of my 4 kiddos have had sticthes above their left eye...we almost made it 4 ot of 4 this week.  Beckham was worried that Lennon was going to change the tv channel and yanked the remote out of her hand and caused her unstaedy legs to give out.  She hit the coffee table with apparent force and immediately looked like t his:

I figured there wasn't much a Dr. could do but was frightened when she looked like this the next day:

Yet she still kept smiling

But it isn't any better today:

Thinking we should change her halloween costume to something else so we can incorporate her black eye!

Curly Girlies

The girls always ask me to put foam rollers in their hair and I always come up with an excuse not too.  This weekend I had no excuse since the littles were gone with Jake to Wellington.....so here is the before....

...reminds me of being a little girl...my mom always put foam rollers in my hair!

and here is the after....

Wesley wasn't fond of her curly hair (shocker) and opted for a curly pony and head band! 

The gift of giving

"For it is in giving that we receive."  

St. Francis of Assisi

Since the girls were having such an exciting birthday party and then were headed out on a fabulous Disney vacation, they realized that they didn't need a bunch of presents from their friends for their birthday and that spending time with them was a gift in and of itself.  They opted to instead request no gifts or a donation of much needed items for some of the local animal rescues and humane societies.  (the apples don't fall far from the tree)

 

 

Man, did their friends come through with over $169 in cash and gift card donations, 4 leashes, 12 cans of dog food, 5 dog collars, 2 cat collars, dog and cat toys, dog bones and dog bowls!

My girls delivered their donations to 4 different rescues and humane societies on Saturday and each group was beyond grateful for their donations.  While we almost ended up with a new cat, we resisited and I am so proud of their kind and giving hearts and their friends that made it all possible!

Disney World 2013-Part One

We enjoyed an amazing trip to Disney World and a Disney Cruise the end of September.  My mom, Steve, and Nikki joined our family (less Lennon) on a 4 day Disney World visit and a very relaxing 3 day Disney Cruise.  Here are just a few of our MANY photos.  We could not have had more fun!  

Making the trip 

Beck's first plane ride!

The hotel room-We stayed at the Art of Animation in the Cars Suite.  The resort was top notch and there was so much room for all of us.  

 The kitchen table that turns into this...

One of two bathrooms

Parents bedroom

 Coolest dressers ever (from Beckham' point of view)

Pull out couch/bed

Little kitchenette with mini fridge and microwave

and the super big pool (too bad it rained every day that we were there) that the kids loved

Look out Magic Kingdom...here we come!

Birthday Tailgate

Birthdays were the thing to do in September.  Grayson turned 10 on the 12th, cousin Luke turned 5 on the 13th and Lennon turned 1 on the 17th.  With all of these fun birthdays to celebrate we decided to simply the birthday parties into one big tailgating birthday celebration!

 My beautiful 89 year old grandma and the girls.  So blessed that she can still share

 these special times with us!

 Grandma Erika and Beck, Lennon, Grayson, Wesley and Ayla.  So hard to get a pic where everyone is looking at the camera or has their eyes open.  

 The Zeka grandkids and our little friend Peyton.

 Jake, his brothers and sister Mandy

The extended Zeka family-all cheering on the CATS

My FAVORITE picture of all times...88 years apart but so close in heart.  Love these two!

Happy 1st Birthday Lennon!!

 Miss Lennon Lucille turned 1 on September 17th!  Your day started with a #1 pancake and and a family sing a long of happy birthday!

You LOVE shoes (mostly wearing them on your hands) and despise hairbows, barrettes and anything that has to do with making your wild hair less wild.  You eat with a fork, love to dance and walk only when pushing a walking toy.  You point and scream when you want something and definitely like to share about your your day while at the dinner table.  Your favorite foods are yogurt and nutri grain bars and you say "mmmmm" after each bite!  You still climb up and down stairs faster than I thought humanely possible and like to bounce on the trampoline with your siblings.   Rearranging your shoe closet is still a top form of entertainment for you and you think riding in a car for long trips is entirely overrated.  Your smile is contagious and you are loved so much!  Happy birthday Leni Lou!!