KS State Fair

I have never been to a fair in any other state.

But I do know KS

has the perfect

fair activities

for my boys.

Soooo excited on our

long drive to the "pair!"

Wearing our

"Motorcccccccyyyccccllleeeee"

and tractor shirts!

Nothing better than

feeding and petting animals...

Riding a choo-choo train....

eating snow-cones...

picking out new tractors....

and riding rides!

I thought this was the same ride

that just last week

made him cry.

But now

Mr. Hot Stuff

decided he needed to

put his arms up in the air!

We even took a step up

and rode a ride

that went up

"Higher than Daddy!"

He loved it

and even told me to

"Put your arms in the air Mommy!"

As he screamed like we were on a

roller-coaster!

Usually we like to partake in

the fair food too,

ya know,

(funnel cakes, BBQ, nachos, pronto-pups....)

but we passed due to the heat.

Stuck with drinks, ice and ice-cream.

It was 101 degrees that day,

Most likely the last day of summer.

The next day we turned off the ac,

opened our windows and got out jackets.

Two days later

we had to close the windows

and I was tempted to start

a fire in the fireplace.

Another thing I love about KS~

the fall weather!

It was hot,

but we had a great time!

Jake and I went to the fair

when we were first dating

and had to agree

taking these two

was much more fun!

love, the rockinryans



Trent talk

He is a pretty serious guy~

but he still says

some funny

and heartwarming stuff.

~~At the football game~

I told him it was almost over

he said

"NO! Turn it back on!"
~~The day after going to the fair
the boys were exhausted.
I drug them through WM
whining and crying the entire way,
even after 11 hours of sleep.
Went home for a nap
and they still woke up whining!
I was exhausted
and sick of the crying.
I knew we had to get out of the house that afternoon.
So, off to the gym we went.
As we backed out of the driveway,
Big guy says~
"Is Jesus coming with us?"
Oh my,
I hope so!

~~One day Big guy
looked at his brother and said
"Ohhhhhh, Sean-ee boy, Sean-ee boy."
The name has stuck!

The way he says

"Motorcycle"

is priceless.

He is always coming up with something

that makes me smile!

And who can deny it~

Baby's laugh is pretty heartwarming too!

love, the rockinryans

First and Six

We received a call

and ran right over

to the first football game

for the boys!

This fine young man was

1

yes, smaller then big guy is now

when I first met him.

I would sit in the stands with him

listening to his crying for daddy

as we watched

my boyfriend

coach

with his daddy

at East High School.

Seriously,

where has time gone?

His older brother is now playing

varsity

and me and that boyfriend

now married

with two

energetic boys of our own.

Big guy

thought he was hot stuff

at the game.

Imitating

the way the big boys

sat

and

yelled at the game.

It gave me chills

thinking about

how soon

my stadium seat climbing

boy

would be out on that field.

And how did baby feel

about football?

Talk about growing up....

how can my oldest niece be 6 already?

We had a blast

at her birthday party.

Big guy enjoying more firsts~

bowling

and the arcade.

He dug it all!

Happy B-day Kendra!!

(Their first big-kid party!)

Who is being attacked...

the balloons?

the baby?

grandma???

love, the rockinryans

happy&sad

Happy for wonderful

family

friends

beautiful perfect

weather

making a wonderful

Labor Day.

Happy for dirt

the BEST ever Brownell Parade

and BIGGEST ever

candy haul.

Happy he is willing to try

sad

when he cried

to get off.

Happy Baby!!

Sad mamas camera bit the dust

making her use

the video camera to take still pictures...

did not turn out well....

Sad that JJ is a wanderer...

wondering away from us now.

Hoping for happiness for her.

love, the rockinryans

girls

I found out this week the real reason

my boys love going to the gym.

"Girls there mommy!!!"

Oh.....

"Are the cute?"

"YEAH!!!!"

"Does Sean like them too?"

"OH YEAH!!"

Oh my......

I have been wondering why you two

are so willing to go with me!

What else are you two little schemers up to??

Speaking of girls...

this sweet beauty

wondered up to the right person this week.

What happens when two animal loving

guilty conscious

"do no harm"

people get married?

An open door

(or backyard)

policy applies.

How could she be turned away

in the middle of a field

105 degrees

alone.

We have been trying to find her family

and were not looking for ours to grow.

But.....

as you can tell

she has made herself at home.

She is a lover

and great with the boys.

 She wants Gracie to play

but as you all know

Gracie has always been grumpy

with other dogs.

She is adjusting.

When Jake walked in with her

Big guy yelled "Jordie is here!"

Jordie is Gracie's cousin

who looks the same, but bigger.

So, thinking she would be around for only one night,

we let him think she was Jordie.

Well....a few nights later

she is still here,

so we have shortened

(and tried to be original)

her name to "Jordie Jr."

or "JJ".

She seems to be a natural hunter,

maybe trained.

She is kennel trained

and doesn't make a peep at night.

She has had puppies

in the not too distant past.

She is just letting out her true personality

like it was pent up previously,

like she never got to "just play".

She loves to cuddle

and please us.

We are hoping her true family

is looking for her

and will find her.

But we feel

she is now with her "right family".

Welcome to the family JJ!

We hope you like it here!

love, the rockinryans

obstacles

If I was told

"Run to that tree and back"

I would pick tree "A".

What about you?

This morning we had our boys out

training for their "Big Race".

"Run Mommy!!"

"OK, run to that tree and back to me.

On your mark, get set, go!"

And they ran, and ran and ran.

They made it to tree "W"

before we yelled for them to turn back.

I think they would have ran straight through

that creek,

tagged tree "Z"

and ran happily back

if they wouldn't have been stopped.

And they did this over and over.

They did not complain

they didn't quit

I never heard "I can't".

In fact, I have NEVER heard those words come

out of their mouths.

If there is something big guy can't accomplish on his own,

I hear

"Help you, mommy."

When I approached him about entering a race

he did not respond with

"Oh, I can't do that!"

or

"I don't want to, I am too slow."

He was immediately up for the challenge.

He met it with excitement and optimism.

He is working hard for his big day.

OK, so he doesn't really comprehend what will happen on that day,

but

to me, that would be even MORE scary!

But not him,

"Excited mommy"

is usually his response when I bring it up.

Oh, and "where did those squirrels go?"

and we are side tracked......

I was shocked today when he finally found the courage

to go up and down

this big slide

all by himself.

On his tummy

straight into the rain water

and sand

at the bottom.

 His buddy is a little different.

He is fearless.

He loves to climb and go fast.

I didn't think much of it when I snapped these pictures

at the park this morning.

Just some buddies hanging out.

Then tonight I attended my weekly

Bible Study.

We are only on our third of ten week series.

But it is intense.

And through the study

I envisioned these pictures of them.

And this one of me.

I was definitely NOT having positive thoughts.

I wanted to quit.

Probably 18 out of 20

of the obstacles

I looked at and thought~

"I can't do that!!"

And the voices in my head saying,

"Just go around,

you are too weak

too fat

too short.

What made you think YOU

could do THIS??"

But those other voices

won the race.

"Your leg is only stuck up to your waist,

at least your face is out of the water!

and

Your 3 biggest fans are waiting for you

just around the corner....

make them proud,

they LOVE you~

no matter what!"

As adults

why do we have

so much holding us back?

Why those heavy chains

negative voices

self criticism?

When we are told to run

why don't we just RUN?

We ask

"How far?

What is at the end?

WHY?"

Wouldn't it be great to be free like a child?

To not worry about

how I look

if I am too slow

if I will win.

Our study is teaching us how to

"Break Free"

from those things holding us back.

For the entire first week of the study

I couldn't stop singing

"Break Free From the Chains"....

by Wilson Phillips.

A few weeks ago someone said something to me

that negatively impacted me

for an entire week.

Her one short sentence

threw me into a tail spin.

I thought about it constantly.

It brought negative energy to everything

I did

all

week.

I almost quit things

because of her

and what she said.

Then I saw her again

a week later.

I didn't want to talk to her.

She approached me with arms wide.

Embraced me

"I have been thinking about you all week!"

she said.

I thought,

"Oh yeah, I have been thinking about you too!"

She continued with

"Thank you so much for sharing what you did.  I have been praying for you all week. You are a strong and special woman.

Thank you so much for being here."

GULP!

My heart sank.

I wasted all my energy on negative thoughts

for a WEEK

on a woman who had been praying

for ME.

Wow, what a wake up call.

I realized then and there

that I must break free from

these negative thoughts.

There are other chains

around me that also need broken.

But through perseverance I know I will overcome.

I will run when asked.

I will not question.

I will be positive in the face of obstacles.

"Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people".

Isaiah 57:14

It will be a very humbling journey.

But I know in the end

my heart will be free.

Just as a child's.

Then I can relax

"On the beach Mommy!"

not worried about obstacles ahead.

Oh,

and I am ready to sign up for

next years

"Mud Run"!

Crazy......

love, the rockinryans