Forever in our Hearts

Click Here to See This Week's Photos

Since we last wrote an update, we had the opportunity to celebrate Kennedy's second birthday.  Whitney and Puma were able to stay a couple of days after the party and they spoiled the heck out of Kennedy.  They got to go eat McDonalds, go to the splash park and even went to the movies.  They saw the movie Despicable Me 2.  Once again, she was completely still during the movie.  She was even quoted as saying "again" once the movie was over.  Since then, Kennedy has become completely obsessed with Despicable Me.  On her actual birthday, she didn't feel well, so we postponed the family celebration until that Friday.  We took her to see the movie again.  She just loved it.

When we were home in Amarillo, Kennedy took a toy away from Emma, Whitney and Nate's dog.  She kept calling it "Sulley," one of the characters from Monsters, Inc.  Although it it definitely not Sulley, it does look a little like the character.

We recently got the news that Jason's Grandpa wasn't doing too well.  His struggle with lung cancer was taking a turn for the worse.  We headed to Amarillo to visit him.  He seemed to rally a bit and we had a really nice visit with Meme and Grandpa.  We are so, so thankful that we were able to make it back home.  On the morning of Sunday, August 11th, Jason's Grandpa passed away.  He was a great man and will be missed dearly.  It is difficult to capture all of the emotions in words, but Jason did write a short poem to honor Grandpa.

Through this journey of life,

you marched to your own beat, 

and the melody of it sounds so sweet.

Now we take the baton in this, the medley of life.

You are a splendid model of a patriarch,

having made tremendous deposits 

of wealth in your bank of kin.

Although you are departed, 

your investment continues to grow,

as your blood pumps through our veins.

You will be missed, but there is comfort knowing 

that your essence is within us.

In this time, it is heavy letting go of your hand

the physical is now withdrawn, 

but with the reminiscing breath,

we can smile as your spirit resurrects.

In the pictures, you will see an angel.  It was hand painted by Grandpa towards the end of his life.  It is truly a treasure.

Kennedy's Second Birthday Party

Click Here to See this Week's Photos

We had Kennedy's party to celebrate her second birthday this weekend.  Her actual birthday isn't until Wednesday, but we went ahead and celebrated early.  We were fortunate that we had much of our family in town for the celebration including Puma, Pops, Grandma, Papa, Whitney and Nate.  They made it in on Friday evening and the fun began right away.  We had a good chat that then some of us walked down to the lake where we watched the fireworks.  On Saturday morning, we kicked it in full gear to get ready for the party.  At eleven o'clock folks started to arrive and Kennedy was acting like she owned the place.  She is such a lucky girl.  She had lots of people over to shower her with love.  Rachel elected to have a carnival theme and it was a big hit.  On Saturday evening, we headed out to the Grapevine Botanical Garden to take some pictures.

On Sunday, it turns out that Kennedy didn't feel so well.  She vomited a couple of times this morning and afternoon.  Shortly after lunch, Grandma, Papa, Pops and Nate had to head back to Amarillo.  Puma and Whitney are staying for an extra day or two.

Another week in the books

Click Here to View This Week's Photos

Kennedy has really been enjoying the iPad lately.  Since buying Monsters Inc. was such a hit, we decided to get her Despicable Me.  She has really enjoyed that movie too. With the sequel in theaters, we are thinking about taking her to see it sometime soon.

We got an accident report from school this week.  Kennedy had apparently tripped and when she fell, she got a carpet burn on her face.  We had planned on taking her 2-year pictures this weekend, but changed our minds.  That turned out to be a good decision with a carpet burn on her face.  We'll be sure to make up for it this weekend.

On Saturday, we went to a wedding southwest of Fort Worth.  The wedding was in Godley and the reception was in Granbury on the lake.  While we were there, we made a stop by Gordon House.  It is a historical home that was built in Grandbury in the late 1800s. This house is a historical home and just so happened to be the house to some of Meme's relatives. We made sure to snap a quick photo on the phone while we were there.

On Saturday evening, we met up with our old neighbors, Nathan and Amy.  We met in the old downtown area of Grapevine.  Kennedy and Conrad had a good time running around the old train station.

Terrible Twos, 2 year molars, or Ear Infections?

Click Here to See this Week's Photos

Kennedy got sick this week.  She was sent home with a fever on Tuesday.  Other than being a bit cranky, she seemed just fine.  Then we discovered that she was breaking in all four of her two-year molars.  Rachel stayed at home with her on Wednesday and we took her back to school on Thursday.  Turns out that her fever came back, so she wasn't able to go to school on Friday.  We ended up taking her to the doctor and the doctor confirmed that she also had two ear infections.

On Saturday, Nina and Mark watched Addi and Kennedy while the parents got to go out to a movie. We saw "The Heat." It was nice to get out and enjoy a movie at the theater. After the movie, we checked in and the girls were doing fine so we went out for a drink. We enjoyed getting a little adult time with Matt and Courtney.

Sunday was a bit challenging with Kennedy. We don't think she is back to 100% as well as the "terrible twos" are starting to set in we believe.... She was pretty much unhappy from the time she woke up till she finally crashed. Hopefully this coming week will turn out better than the past one.

A weekend at home...finally!

Click Here to View this Week's Photos

This weekend, we didn't have anything specific that we needed to do so we were able to explore some of the activities near the house.

On Friday evening, we met up with our old neighbors, Vanessa and Walter, for dinner.  We met at the Central Market in Southlake.  We were able to sit outside where they had some live music and a playground for the kiddos.  The kids had a great time playing, which allowed the adults to have a nice conversation.  Grapevine also has a small firework show that they put on every Friday night at the lake.  We hadn't been since moving and had some time, so we headed to one of the parks along the lake.  We arrived a few minutes early, so we tried to take a picture while we were waiting.  The flash made Jason blink, so he looks pretty goofy.  Once the fireworks started to pop, they sure captured Kennedy's attention.  As soon as the show was over, she started to say, "again."

On Saturday, we were invited over to our neighbor's house to go swimming.  Kennedy had a blast swimming and jumping in to the pool. We then had them over to our house for some pizza to round out the evening

On Sunday morning, Jason and Kennedy went out for a bike ride.  They headed out to the one of the trails near the house.  Along the way, they were able to see the lake, ducks, a crane, and several other people and their dogs.

Later that morning, we took Kennedy to her first movie, "Monsters University."  We met Matt, Courtney and Addison.  Kennedy had been watching the original quite a bit over the past couple of weeks.  We purchased it before we headed out to Nebraska.  She was pretty familiar with the characters and when they first came on the screen, she got very excited and pointed at the screen.  Kennedy absolutely loved it.  She didn't hardly move the entire time.  These are some of the greatest moments of being a parent.  Just seeing the magic and wonder in her eyes makes you feel so good.

Wedding Weekend

Click Here to See this Week's Photos

We had a short week at the office this week because we headed up to Nebraska for a wedding.  Rachel's cousin, Jon, got married to another Rachel.  Yes, her name is now Rachel Kime.  Pretty funny to think about since that is also our Rachel's maiden name.

We headed out on Thursday morning.  We were a little apprehensive about the flight because Kennedy hadn't been on a plane since last March (when she was 8 months old).  She did great though, we weren't on the plane for long before she fell asleep.  That sure made the travel a little easier.

Once we got to Grand Island, we rented a car and drove another four hours to Valentine, NE.  That evening we met up with the rest of the family at Duane and Danita Kime's house, just outside of town.  Their property backs up to a small canyon, so they had prepped the back yard area for hosting the wedding service.

Friday we helped out with setting up the reception venue. Danita had hired a baby sitter to help entertain the kids while we busily turned a bare building into a decorated reception hall ready for 400+ guests. That evening we gathered at Duane and Danita's for the rehearsal then headed into town for the rehearsal dinner. I wish we could say that the kids were perfect angels, but they are Kimes, so that wish did not come true. That evening, Grandma and Grandpa Kime watched Brody and Kennedy so we could have a night out together. Tracy joined us too and we had quite a fun time letting loose!

On the day of the wedding, we wanted to make sure that Kennedy got a nap in.  We were thinking that it might put her in a better mood during the wedding service.  Since we were so close to the South Dakota border, we hopped in the car and drove her across the state line.  It was a success, we got her to sleep and now Kennedy can say that she's been to South Dakota. Now we just have to make it to North Dakota and Kennedy will have been to all the states from top to bottom (well in a row in the center of the country anyways). It was a beautiful wedding and we sure enjoyed our time we got to spend with family. We wish we all lived closer so that we could see each other more often, but we make do with what we can get!

Here are some pictures from the wedding rehearsal

Busy, busy, busy...

Click Here to See this Week's Photos

The new daycare has been working with Kennedy on potty training.  Well, at least they have been working with her to get some time sitting on the toilet.  It didn't take her long to get the hang of sitting, but she has gone several weeks without actually using the toilet.  That all changed this week.  Sure enough, she has used the toilet on two different occasions!  Pretty exciting news.  We'll have to start working with her some more at home.

Kennedy has also learned how to apologize.  The little stinker has figured out that when she's in trouble, all she has to do is give you a hug and say "I sorry."  It hasn't taken her long to understand that this makes things better and she can be back on her merry way.

We've been working with her quite a bit on saying "please" and "thank you."  Her Mom and Dad are pretty proud of her because she's been getting pretty consistent about saying "please" and "thank you" without being prompted.

Like most toddlers, she has gotten to where she loves watching cartoons.  She especially loves the Disney Junior channel.  Her favorites are "Chuggington," a show about trains, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," and "Sofia the First," a princess show.

Kennedy had her first hair cut recently. She didn't really care for the cape much, but didn't actually mind the actual hair cutting. We were able to put some toons on the iPhone to keep her occupied while Rachel's stylist worked quickly on Kennedy.

Rachel was in Florida last week for a conference. Dad and Kennedy had a pretty good week, even if mom didn't approve of some of their dinner choices. The weather in Florida was not very sunny...in fact it was storming every day and Tropical Storm Andrea came in at the end of the week. Rachel still had a good time re-connecting with some of the regulars at the conference, but was ready to get home by the end of it!

This weekend, we headed over to East Texas.  Jason's company sponsored a charity event hosted by some local aviators.  We met at someone's personal hanger at a small county airport.  They also had a women give a presentation about her record breaking flight around the world.  She holds the world record for the fastest flight around the world.  It was pretty fascinating listening to some of the challenges she faced.

We also headed over to the neighborhood water park.  They have several splash areas for small kids.  Kennedy absolutely loved it.  We foresee heading back several times over the summer season.

This upcoming week will be quite busy for us. On Thursday we head up to Nebraska to celebrate Rachel's cousin, Jon, getting married. This will be Kennedy's second time flying, but we are definitely more nervous about this trip. We will have to report back how she does. It will be fun seeing all the cousin's kids together. Braydon, Kennedy, and Brody will hopefully get along well together!