Totally Tube-u-lar

Chase experienced his first tube ride while on one of our many trips to the lake house in Granbury, TX this year. I was kind of nervous and excited all at the same time when I was putting him on the tube. While we expected him to squeal in excitement like he normally does he just laid there and stared. He wasn't scared or excited, he just laid there looking at the lake and wondering what the heck was going on. He only rode for a few minutes because I was worried about his neck and back. The life jacket had him positioned awkwardly and with the few little bumps we went on I was worried he might get hurt. He loves the water and the boat but needless to say was not all that thrilled with the tube. Hopefully next year he will have more fun and maybe we can get him on a pair of skis!

Tis the Season

Tis the season to celebrate mine and Jonathan's birthdays and anniversary. This year I turned 27, Jonathan turned 29, and we celebrated 7 years of marital bliss! It is soooo crazy to me to think we are that old and that we have been married for that long.

My birthday was kind of a bummer except for the fact that Jonathan surprised me with a new video camera. Presents aren't something he usually does and I loved that he put in the effort. I have been complaining that I hated our huge camera we have and that I would love to take more family videos but that I hated dragging that big thing around with me. Jonathan picked up on my complaining (or should we say subtle hints) and made my day with my new camera...well, almost. I ended up returning the one he got for one that I liked better but it was the thought that counts. I hopefully didn't discourage him from picking out more presents for me in the future. (Like maybe some new diamond earrings, just another subtle hint!)

Chase and I surprised Jonathan at work and brought him a balloon with some warheads, a whoopie cushion, and finger football all attached. They were all gifts I thought he could have some fun with at work and to my understanding they have already been put to good use. His real gift was a laptop that he bought early.

For our anniversary we went with his parents to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. (see post in blog) We also ate at the same restaurant for all three occasions. It's is our ultimate favorite here in Kansas City because it reminds us of Texas. It's called Wil Jenny's. The entire restaurant is decked out in TX pictures. It is fun to look at the walls and see how many places we recognize. All in all we had a great time celebrating these momentous occasions.

Us at Wil Jenny's (waitress=bad photographer)

Chase getting a taste of his first lemon

No sour face, just a big grin

Crandell Family Pictures

It has been several years since my entire family has all been home at the same time and this summer it finally happened. 12 Adults and 15 Children all in tow made for a fun yet interesting photo session. Of course it had to rain on our parade! After hours of prep getting everyone ready and all in the same place to take outdoor pictures we had a lovely summer storm. So off to a tiny screen room (it had the best lighting) we all went to begin the whole process. After gathering in as many groups as we could think of and taking more pictures than you would ever need we decided to try out a new spot. Yep, now onto the family room couch armed with a power light to torture our poor children some more. Once we took another million pictures the storm had let up and someone had the wise idea to head outside to the front yard to add to this wonderful photo session! And as the sun settled so did our family photo session. Let's just say it's a good thing we won't be doing this again for at least another 4 years!!! Anyway, here's how they turned out...

The whole Crandell Clan

Crazy face clan

Howlett Family

Schaub Family

Strom Family

Watson Family

Hoyt Family

All 15 Crazy Grandkids

Grandkids

First word....of course

I have been meaning to update everyone on Chase's first word! He has been saying it for about a month now and I love hearing him say it all the time. What is it you ask? Mom of course! That's right he knows who his favorite is and wants everyone else to know it as well. I find it interesting that he says mom mom mom rather than mama but I will take it either way. He obviously feels to grown up and sophisticated to just say mama.
He has also been doing an army crawl for about the same amount of time. He started by pushing himself backwards and then slowly learned how to pull forward. He is now army crawling around the entire house and always finds the smallest things the vacuum missed. I guess I just have to stay up on the cleaning and vacuum more frequently. The army crawl is a little annoying to me because he can get up on all fours and rock back and forth but whenever he wants to be on the move he lays on his tummy and uses his elbows to pull himself forward. He is a daredevil already and continually crawls and teeters on the edge of things. If he's on the bed he crawls to the end and looks down below and does the same thing on the stairs too! It's a bit frightening for mom and dad but not for our little Chase man. As much fun as we are having watching him grow there are days when I long for my tiny baby too. I guess that means we might be ready for baby #2!