The past few days

This picture is from late last week, but sweet and worthy of sharing with our readers. I also want to update our readers on some events from the past few days. Last Friday, the Dalbey family went to the WCA football game. The game was great, we visited with friends, etc... The highlight of the evening wasn't the game or the new campus, but when Preston pulled down his pants on a hillside letting us know he needed to go potty. I stopped him right in time and took him behind a tree. I'm happy he didn't go in his pants and simply talked to him about going potty in the bathroom or private area. We are learning :) Our weekend was fun and we had some great family time on Saturday. Also, Steven and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary yesterday. I can't believe it has been 8 years. Time is flying by. These have been 8 very happy years and I am looking forward to many more. Thank you, Grammie and Papa for watching our children so Steven and I could go out on a date. Ok, my brain is tired and its time to head to bed.

Playing with Friends

I was making dinner for Preston yesterday and needed a place to sit Peyton so she could play. I looked around and designed this little play space. I took the little animal friends from the pack n play and hooked them to one of our little kid chairs.

Then, I sat Peyton down in her bumbo seat and - TA DA.

She loved playing and talking with her little animal friends.

Art Prjects

While I am home with the kids on Tuesday's I decided to start 'Art Class' with Preston. We are waiting one more year to enroll him in preschool but thought it would be a good idea to add in some fun aspects of a preschool class. I am also working on creating an alphabet wall in the kids room and thought this would be a fun fall project. So, we headed out to Hobby Lobby this week (my new favorite store) and picked up the letter A and some fun craft items to use in our decoration. Preston picked out the letter and the 'pom poms'. Oh yes, this project cost us a whopping $3.59 + tax. Not bad.

The finished project - super cool.

Peyton and Mommy

I found this picture on my dad's camera this morning and I thought I would share with our readers. This was taken down in Texas on our vacation. I love Peyton's blond hair.

Drought

While on vacation in Texas we saw firsthand the effects of a drought.
I knew it was dry and hot, but then we saw this - the lake with the dock that lead out to...nothing. The water is very low and this is one of very few lakes that still has water. Many lakes, rivers and creeks are completely dry and many fish have died. I am sad and hope they get some rain soon.
Ok, deep moment: Sometimes I feel like this. I have felt like this the past year. I feel like I am walking out to nothing...waiting for the rain to come and fill up the lake again. Life is dry, hard and just plain difficult. I want so badly to jump in the water, but I know I can't. I have to wait and trust that things will change. One day there will be water in the lake again and the dock will lead me out to something wonderful!

Fishing

Grandad Denton took Preston fishing while we were on vacation. We were in Pratt, KS visiting Aunt Tracey and Uncle John and needed something to do while they were at work. Here are some pics of the proud little boy catching his first fish. I remember the days when my dad took me fishing. I am so glad the tradition will continue.

First, start with some worms

Then you teach him how to cast and hold the fishing pole.

Then the big moment arrives - his first fish!

He was so curious about the fish.

Here he is - my little fisherman waiting to catch another fish.

Oh yes, this is his Sheriff hat he found at an Antique store in Amarillo, TX - perfect.

He caught 3 fish that afternoon - a wonderful accomplishment.

Asleep

I decided to put Peyton in the 'Jonny Jump Up' this morning.

She liked it, she was looking around and turning with her legs and then this happened: Oh well, we will try the jump up again. I guess it was very relaxing.

Button Train

Preston and I had a fun time yesterday playing with some buttons I purchased at an antique store on our vacation. While this design looks like a train I am planning on using the buttons to decorate a cross for my kitchen. I am excited to see Preston using his creativity.

Route 66

Part of our vacation was to visit some fun Route 66 sites. My dad is a Route 66 expert and I heard many fun stories about the 'Mother Road' from his childhood. I really enjoyed hearing these stories as it gave me a chance not only to learn more about my dad, but to hear about life growing up back in the late 50's and early 60's. Our first stop was the Munger Moss Motel.
My favorite part about this sign is that is says that there is a Telephone. I'm not sure if they meant a telephone in every room or for the entire motel? I think almost everyone has their own personal telephone these days :) This is such a cool sign!

Next stop, some Route 66 sites in Oklahoma. We stopped briefly in Tulsa to visit a memorial and take pictures. Here is the Oklahoma 66 sign. Ok, I know this is a Route 66 sign that was part of another building and was moved to another location. I also know the sign was restored but that is all. Nevertheless, a cool sign. Now, let us enter the State of Texas. First, we stopped in Amarillo to see a part of Route 66 that has been preserved. These strip has cafe's, antique stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc... a very cool site to see. I wish they preserved more of Route 66. We made a stop just outside of Amarillo to Cadillac Ranch. Some guy half buried these cars in the group and visitors can stop and spray paint them to their hearts desire.

Preston really liked the cars. I wish we had bought a can of spray paint :)

Last stop was in Shamrock, Texas. Here we have the old gas station and cafe that was the inspiration for Ramon's body art studio in the movie 'Cars'. Here are some old gas pumps.

Finally, a great view of the building. I really like that art deco look. I am sure we will have many more Route 66 adventures over the years.
These are just a few from our travels the past week.

Home from Vacation

The Dalbey family is home from our Vacation. While we had a nice trip, it is always good to be home. For our Vacation this year we headed south to Texas for some time with extended family and then onto Kansas to see my sister, Tracey and her husband, John. We also did some fun Route 66 touring and Antique shopping. I plan on several posts to document our adventures.
For now, I will leave you with a sweet photo of Peyton in her beautiful hat.

Happy Birthday

Yesterday was Preston's 3rd Birthday!! I am so thankful for this little boy and all the life he brings to our family. We are currently on vacation in TX and I will post more pictures later. For now, stay tuned to a more proper Birthday post and Vacation updates. Oh yes, Wednesday was Grandma's Birthday and today is Grandad Denton's Birthday. Happy Birthday!

Peyton rolls over

Peyton can now roll over!!
She did it today for the first time all by herself while I was at work
and then did it for the camera this evening at home.
Steven and I are so proud of her. Check out the video.

Saying Goodbye to Friends

Steven and I love living in St. Louis. We love the fun activities/events St. Louis has to offer, we love having our family close by to visit and we love our dear friends who make life full of love, honesty and laughter. Over the past few years some of our dear friends have moved away. This has been hard. First, it was Christi & Doug who moved to Arizona. Christi had been my friend from 7th grade! Then Megan & Scott moved to Tennessee. Again, hard to see them go. This summer we have had to say goodbye to two sets of dear friends. First, we said goodbye to Leah and Todd who moved to Dallas in June. Leah is my dear friend from College and part of the group of prayer/accountability friends who helped me make it through some difficult years. Todd was the friend who accepted Steven instantly and connected with him in so many ways. I think they both have the most compassionate heart I have ever seen. Leah and Todd's son, Eli, was also Preston's buddy and he misses him a lot. Now, in less than 2 weeks, our dear friends Drew and Lindsey are moving to Maryland. We met them 2 years ago in Spain (on a MTW Missions trip) and bonded instantly with our personalities, interests and life experiences. OK, I thought Steven and Todd were similar...Steven and Drew are like brothers.

While all our friends are moving to new places and we are excited to see where life and the Lord take them, we still miss our face to face time with them. We miss sharing together, praying together, being silly together, crying together, etc... I still don't know what to do this Halloween because Leah and Todd always had the party at their house. I am going to miss Drew making me laugh at SLYnet meetings. I still miss having Christi & Megan around to talk about life face to face at Einsteins.

OK, I guess this blog post is just a way for me to process all the change going on at the moment and to let my dear friends know how much I love them even if I don't get to see them on a regular basis. I am also SO thankful for the friends I still have who live in St. Louis. I have Emily, Carolyn, Mollie, and others. I need to do a better job of connecting with these ladies who do live in St. Louis. Steven also had friends like Todd D, Josh and Eric. We are still very blessed. Hey, even though some friends have moved away, I am also thankful that these friends now live in cool and exciting places and have asked us to come and visit them. We are going to take Drew and Lindsey up on their offer to come to Maryland next summer. I have never been to Maryland.

Bottom line, friends are important. I am thankful for such great friends and long for the day when we can all live together in the same place and have endless time to be together :)