Snowy Zoo Trip

Mer and I decided to take a trip to the Zoo with Ian, Max and Zoe on a cold and snowy day. We pretty much had the whole zoo to ourselves, but we were only able to see the polar bear and the tigers as it was very cold and the girls were not having it.

It was worth dealing with the cold to spend time with the adorable polar bear. He is so interactive, swimming right up to his visitors at the window and putting on a show of flips.

Thankfully there is an indoor viewing area for the polar bear. It was very much needed and appreciated by everyone to warm up and play.

The tigers were quite active during our visit as well.

Grandpa Steve's Birthday

We had to take an impromptu trip back home with Amy and family in order to attend a funeral. However, the timing worked out right for us to celebrate Grandpa Steve's birthday. Meredith always loves a birthday, with cake and candles.

Max and Ian relaxing in Grandma's rocker.

On our way to the funeral the next morning, Uncle Ian decided to take the "back roads" after it had rained all week. Needless to say, we had an off roading adventure and ended up having to turn around to head back to the paved road. There was so much mud on the car, we had to stop at the car wash before heading back to KC.

Morgan's Graduatin -- Pictures by Meredith & Max

We drove to Topeka, along with Ian and the kids, to meet up with our family to celebrate my cousin Morgan's graduation from Washburn University's School of Nursing. Meredith and Max took off with the camera and managed to take a lot of great pictures documenting the event.

Here is Morgan, with her big smile, celebrating her achievement.

You will notice that Max managed to make his way into many, many pictures while Meredith had the camera. He's pretty much adorable in every picture too.

Max on the couch with Grandpa Steve and Papa.

Morgan with her mom, Aunt Jayne, who is also a graduate of Washburn's School of Nursing.

Uncle Ian snapped this shot of Mer and I.

Zoe had no problem showing off her big smile for many cameras throughout the night. Here she is enjoying some time with Grandma Polly.

Grandma Polly with her granddaughters.

I've been wanting to update my Facebook profile pic, I knew I could count on Mer to snap a good one.

Cousin Matt with his girlfriend, Becca.

Zoe was passed around throughout the night. Here she is enjoying her time with the graduate.

A self-portrait of me with my princess.

Morgan's Dad, Gordon, was very playful with Max. Here they are playing together.

Gordon's sister, Brenda, also enjoyed playing with the kids. Here she is engaging with Max.

This is the only picture the kids got of Meghan, Morgan's sister. She was also graduating the next day from high school.

Uncle Dave also made the trip from Colorado to help celebrate Morgan and Meghan's graduations.

Winter Happenings

Brady came over and spent a few days with us in February while Meg was in Florida golfing. Brady and Meredith were eager to put on their red clothes and head off to school for their Valentine's Party.

The kids enjoyed a cold popcicle after finishing their dinner. Meredith has a difficult time eating meals, so we have taken to rewarding her with a treat for making a "happy plate." Popcicles are one of her favorite happy plate treats.

Meredith just adores Zoe. She loves to hug, kiss, tickle and pose for pictures with her.

In late January we helped Uncle Ian celebrate his birthday. Aunt Amy made some yummy dinner and we enjoyed one of our favorite treats -- ice cream cake.

Mommy's Big Run

After six months of training, today was race day. Meg, Ian, Steph and I headed downtown early this morning to run a half marathon at the KC Marathon. Everyone finished the race and in a time that they were happy with. Meredith hung out with Uncle Brad, Brady and Jesse while Mommy was running. I got to see her along the race course about half way through and then she met me at the finish line.

Meredith was my training partner throughout the preparation for the race. She would get up with me nearly every Saturday morning to head out for our weekly long training run, along with shorter runs throughout the week. She endured up to ten mile runs in the jogging stroller along with her portable DVD player and she NEVER complained. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. She seemed just as excited as me about running and finishing the race today.

We also enjoyed a lot of time with the cousins this weekend. We had everyone over Friday night for a traditional pre-race spaghetti dinner. Then had everyone over Saturday night for a celebratory feast. Meredith had so much fun playing with Brady and Max. Here they are enjoying bath time together.

T-Bones Game

Mer and I went out for a T-Bones game with Meg & Brady and Amy, Ian and Max. Amy was less than a week away from having the baby at the time, but she was a real trooper. Mer had a great time watching the game, playing at the playground, jumping in the moonwalk and eating popcorn.