Labor Day in Kansas

This year we celebrated Labor Day weekend with a birthday party on a beautiful late summer Kansas day. The drive into the big town was breathtaking. The sunflowers, goldenrod, and tall grasses are so pretty. For me there is no sky that compares to the wide open blue of our prairies.

The party was held at my aunt and uncle's house. They have a backyard that invites relaxation and pleasant conversations.

We always bring lots of fun toys out for Evie to play with. This time Joseph seemed to have as much fun as Evie with the Duplo train tracks.

Boys and trains, not many things are sweeter.

The birthday girl and her boyfriend. I can't believe how old we are all getting.

My Oma. So lovely and elegant.

I hardly held Bea all afternoon. It was such a wonderful treat to see Joni and meet her girlfriend Peanut! We can't wait for them to move back in this direction. Bea was so content to cuddle and be snuggled.

Everett was thrilled to have Joseph and Joni play catch/chase the big blue ball.

He loves running and he certainly got his fill on Sunday!

One of his favorite toys is the pink Barbie Beetle convertible. He loves to take the "girls" swimming.

I love Joni's new haircut! She looked so happy and wonderful.

Miss Bea meeting her Joni for the first time.

Evie and Nonni at the Park

The night before my mom had to leave, we went to the park at Everett's new school and played. He has so much fun with his Nonni. He even got to try riding a big, two-wheeled bike!

My sweet girl slept through all the fun, even the game of HORSE that I lost to Russ. No suprises there, although he has an unusual ability to miss the easy shots and sink every single difficult one. It was so much fun to just play--and not to be wearing Miss Bea on the inside anymore!

A family picture. Evie took this picture with him for his first day of school. His teacher made a neat "family quilt" with construction paper squares that the kids decorated during open house.

My silly monkey boy.

Evie and Nonni practicing their balance. Everett had so much fun while my mom was here. She is one of the only adults who can not only keep up with Evie, but can also out run him and wear him out! We miss her so much.

Such different playground equipment than I grew up with. But it is lots of fun.

Of course the slide is always a favorite.

I love this picture of my mom. She is such a light in our lives. And so much fun to be around.

Russ is trying to teach Evie how to make a granny shot. Everett was more interested in just playing catch.

When Bea was born, Evie got super-spoiled. My aunt and uncle got him a Thomas the Train table, and he loves to go up to the playroom and drive his trains around.

Of weddings and humidity

Over the weekend, we attended Russ's cousin's wedding. It was held on a farm in Platte City, Missouri. The weather was hot, muggy, and not exactly desirable, but the ceremony and reception were lovely and very creative. In fact the whole affair reminded me of a recent article in the NY Times about wedding trends. Apparently the new "thing" is to have homestyle weddings. Codi and Simon certainly made their day as fun and comfortable as can be. They had a pre-wedding candy buffet, wandering magician, a photo booth and a mini-carnival set up.

Codi was a beautiful bride, her dress was lovely and she seemed to be enjoying the whole day.

They even had a giant tire swing set up behind the altar. Everett was in heaven and even practiced his sharing. Those are his little feet poking out from the tire.

I think he may have enjoyed the breeze as he was swinging even more than the tire. I know I would have loved a little wind.

My sweet, happy boy. He was so well-behaved, until we tried to get him off the swing! Originally, I had him dressed in a sweet white oxford shirt. He looked like a perfect little Southern gentleman. However, after 2 minutes with the candy buffet, it was apparent that a costume change was necessary.

Yep, in the only good picture of Russ and I, Everett is literally showing his backside. Oh well. My mom, very sweetly sent me the lovely watermelon-colored frock to wear. It fit beautifully and made me feel like a princess. I have to say that my husband cleans up pretty nicely as well. He didn't even take off his tie!

Russ tried teaching Evie how to play with the beanbag toss, but Ev was more interested in using it as an incline board for climbing.Russ is such a wonderful father. I am truly blessed with how patient and loving he is, even in hot yucky weather.

Evie did enjoy the soft dart game though.

All in all, the wedding was about perfect for a very busy boy. He got to play outside and run around and eat candy and barbeque. Life is good.

A partial family picture. Missing are Max, Russ's grandfather, and Cindy, Kailynne's partner. Also missing was the information that my strap had slipped off my shoulder, so I look like a very pregnant floozy in all the family pictures. Great!

While Everett didn't crash until a little after 11, he did sleep in the next morning.

My sweet angel boy. I love him so very much.

A whole lot can happen in 2 weeks

First, exciting news for the Essman family, we are moving! Tomorrow we sign papers on our new house as well as signing papers on the sale of our current abode. In less than two weeks we have not only found our dream home but also worked out the details to sell our current house. As much as we love our first little cottage with Beatrice on the way and Everett growing every day, it is time for a change. We will be moving into an Arts & Crafts style bungalow built in 1908. It is located on a quiet street in a lovely town that has, within walking distance, a library, a post office, a grocery store, the courthouse, a park, a couple of restaurants, and a little zoo! It has four bedrooms, a gorgeous livingroom with attached reading palor, formal dining room, kitchen with a breakfast nook, storage, space, a washline both inside and out!, and wall-to-wall oak floors. I only wish I had brought my camera last time we toured the house, because I desperately want to post pictures! Oh well, soon enough I suppose.

So in the meantime, we have to finish all the little repairs in the cottage and then or maybe simultaneously, start packing. This morning I called to secure moving boxes and on Saturday I can pick them up! I am quite thankful that in the past year we have done some serious housecleaning, it means less junk to move now! We hope to be completely moved in by Memorial Day, which is kinda funny, because when we bought this house we closed right before Memorial day and were working on the property over the holiday.

In other exciting news, I am coming up quite quickly on my 100th post! To celebrate I am going to do a giveaway, as that seems to be the popular thing to do. So check back by Sunday to see all the little suprises I have planned!