Curtis is NINE!

Curtis is NINE today! Nine is a big deal. Halfway to adulthood. That went too fast.

2010


2011


2012


2013


2014


2015


2016


2017




Curtis is a breath of fresh air, a bit of comic relief, and a crazy cat all rolled into one. He still loves the color yellow and still detests potatoes. He wants to be a pediatrician when he grows up and also wants to have ten kids. He's not a fan of school even though he gets awesome grades. (We have mentioned to him that if he wants to be a pediatrician, then he needs to have a better attitude about school because he's going to be spending a lot of time there!) His favorite mornings are the lazy kind where we don't have to go anywhere or do anything. He has an incredible imagination and writes creative stories. He is done with sports after this baseball season, but is going to learn a string instrument through a school program this fall (instrument is still to be determined).

This year he started a new fashion trend where he tucks his pants into his socks. So far he's the only one who is doing it, but he likes how it feels and isn't afraid to be and look a little different. I love that about him. I enjoy this boy so much and I am so happy to celebrate his sweet life today!

Happy Birthday, Curtis!!!

Wisconsin Visit

The kids and I drove up to Wisconsin last week. Andy joined us a few days later. One morning, the girls got together for pedicures.


Look at Bella's pretty feet!


The bouncy house in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard is always a hit. Money well spent.


We ate breakfast at a restaurant called The Maple Table. It's a farm to table restaurant and they had all sorts of cute little touches like the bottles that these beverages came in.


The weather wasn't the greatest while we were up there: cloudy/rainy, 50's/60's. But we did have one nice day, so we rented two pontoon boats and spent it on the water.










Graydon is wearing one of my niece's hats. Not too long after this photo was taken, that hat blew off. We turned around to try and retrieve it, but sadly could not. Our one casualty of the outing.








Later that evening, it was time to set up for the big birthday party the next day. In addition to the bounce house, this tent has also come in handy for many events.








Lots of candles on that cake because we had lots of birthdays to celebrate.


These four turned 70, 40, 30, and 10 all within six days of each other!


Singing 'Happy Birthday to You."


Curtis + cake = happy.


I didn't get too many photos from the actual party, but here is one.


The next day was Father's Day. My mom got a bunch of paint and canvases for the kids to create on.






I haven't seen my dad on Father's Day since 2006, so it's been a while since all seven of us were together to celebrate.


All seven grandkids were there too!


All of the festivities wore Graydon out.


Bella must have been pretty tired as well to be able to stay asleep in this position.


On Monday morning, we headed out to Verona to visit with the Kilps side.


Cousin time!


S'mores!


The kids had sleepovers at their cousins' house each night.






A Buddy sandwich!


The weather was still a little on the cool side, so we went bowling.


All three kids beat their highest non-bumper high scores!






On our last night, Tom brought up his photo booth supplies and we had a blast with them.






















At the end of the night, we had all of these great photos!


Back home now. . . and the kids decided to have a sleepover in Bella's room. :)


Bella went hiking with a teacher and some friends today. Salty gave her an official Kilps goodbye.


Here is a photo of Mabel that we found on our kennel's Facebook page. It makes me happy. Look at that smile!