"Happy Birthday, Dear Kayla..."

It was so much fun to celebrate Kayla's 1st birthday Sunday evening. G/G Nelson were able to be here for a visit as well. The last year has gone by soooo quickly! This ice cream cake was a big hit and Kayla loved every bite. Check out Rebecca's blog to see just how much Kayla enjoyed her cake!!

Kayla took off with her new walker/car like she had been doing this for weeks. It had lights, sound, and music !

"Uncle Steve, help me figure this out!"

Kayla played with the birthday balloon for the first 10 minutes.

Look at those smiles. Makes you wonder what they're up to, doesn't it!

Senior Night at the Football Game

Last night was Senior Night to honor the seniors. So, last night it didn't affect me at all thinking about Ryan being a senior, but today it is really hitting me that this is his last year. Where has the time gone? Okay, this is a trivia question. How old was Ryan when he got his first pair of drumsticks and who gave them to him?

During the pre-game show the entire 200 member band parades around the football field on the running track. Here are the two rows of snares passing by. Ryan is in the front row, center snare in case you couldn't pick him out !!

I'm so sorry I forgot to rotate this picture. When I was taught how to do blogs, I didn't learn how to edit the pictures once I add the image. I need to add this item to my 10-page "How to Manual." Trying to get Ryan to pose for a picture and actually look at the camera is an impossible task. Answer to trivia question: Ryan was three and Matt from the Continental Singers gave them to him.

The kids were bundled up for the cool evening. Kayla was decked out with coat, hat and gloves. And heaven forbid if her hat came down too far over her eyebrows!!

Since Joshua wouldn't look at me while I was taking pictures, Bryan accomodated. :)

Happy Birthday, Dear Brian...!

Brian flew home for the weekend to celebrate his "23rd" birthday! His biggest obstacle right now seems to be getting his driver's license changed over to an Indiana license. Let's see....is that four trips you made, Brian??

Who's idea was it to put 23 candles on the cake? The wax is beginning to drip on the cake.

Make a wish, Brian!

I actually got a picture of the boys without goofing off.

One last picture before we say goodbye! Like your Elmo shirt, Lisa!

More Fun Pictures From Indiana

One evening the Kessler cousins came for a fun visit; it was like a party. We had eight children under the age of 7! Everyone had gone to the kitchen to eat and then I spotted little Wyatt guarding over our new baby! He was just checkin' him out!!

Lynae and Kyle are eating their pizza. I was disappointed my camera batteries went dead before I was finished taking pictures.

Stephen helped Max open gifts the cousins had brought. They REALLY hit the spot with a John Deere tractor and trailer and a brand new football. Max was sooooo proud of his new toys.

Kendall is Sarah & Christian's new 2 1/2 month old baby.

This was Max's other football before his brand new one!

And We Have a New Baby in our Family!

Henry Samuel Varner arrived October 3 and here he is....6 days old!

He's such a good baby. His birth was an exciting event and we are so thankful he is here!

Big brother Max, all of sudden, seems very grown up. We had a fun time at the park! Max loves to wear his cap.

Max really enjoys coloring. He will be 2 years old the 18th.

Stephen & Freya with their boys -- Max and Henry. Max is very attached to his football!

A Friday Drumline Gig

Topeka kicked off their "United Way" campaign today, so Topeka High Drumline had two different performances. They started out at the capital. Here they are in the shade warming up.

This one is done....time to pack up and off they go!

Ryan pulls the trailer with the equipment, but what's with the kids riding in the back of the truck???? Oh, my word, and it's downtown Topeka, no less!

Next stop was at the Shawnee County Courthouse. In case you haven't spotted Ryan yet, he is the snare player in the center.

Now this pictures needs an explanation! At the courthouse they had a pen of goats to pet and also a trailer with goats that were there to be milked. Lisa thought this should be an experience for Joshua. He touched "it" once, but then you can see by the expression on his face he's thinking, "What in the world......!" Joshua was given a new box of crayons and coloring sheets when he was done, but it would have taken more than crayons for me to participate.

I Need to Update My Post Before I Forget How!

Joshua showing off his new backpack to take to Sunday School. He gets to go to a new class in a new room in a different building!!

Heading out to the shop to see what's happenin' !

Ryan is putting on a new pulley on the lawn mower deck....and he wasn't the one that broke it!

Joshua is just pretending! Believe me, the forkflift is not running or Joshua wouldn't be sitting there with a smile on it face.

One last picture before going into the house for the night.