A year in the making (talking, more like it) and a couple weeks' worth of work has come to fruition!
After ...
Too bad Dayne doesn't have any babies to play with, huh?
The girls - - who went to bed waaaay past their bed time tonight!
http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214
December 31st - Graden's aunt Marilyn & uncle Dick & Zoe (Graden's cousin's daughter) came to visit us for the day! We hadn't seen them since September, so it was a nice visit! Zoe ended up staying the night - - much to the delight of both the girls!
January 13th: 
Fast forward a few days .... er, .... weeks and you can see that I finally mustered up the energy to clean Dayne's bedroom! It was a MESS! Funny thing though: just a day after I got it all cleaned up I got a hair up my butt to paint it, so I torn it up again in preparation for painting it. I had been planning to for over a year now, so it was long over due! I will post pictures once it is complete!
January 19th - Hunter's basketball Game. Well, the @$$whooping season continues. 41-28 was the final score. The coach's profound words of wisdom during the post-game meeting: "At least we didn't lose by twice as much!" Wow. Basketball lasts a few more weeks. I think Hunter is ready for the season to be over. He enjoys playing, but would appreciate a team that is more in sync.
We went to Joplin, MO to visit Graden's family and so he could go hunting with Dick. Unfortunately, they didn't get any ducks, but we had a great visit! These pictures are of Dick & Marilyn's house. It is on the river and the stream runs through it, with a view of the falls. It is very peaceful there! The kids and I went on a nature walk. Here are some pictures and video:
The kids in front of the Ruestman house.
The Falls - - as viewed from the Ruestman home.
Hunter "Survivorman" crossing the pond.
The kids and me!
Dayne and Zoe - being silly!
Hunter being silly!
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January 24th - Trip to Clear Lake, IA - - Graden was in a wedding for his friend, Mike Vinci. The wedding was very pretty - - the bride looked like Wedding Barbie! It was a winter themed wedding and was decorated very elegant & classy. We had a great time! And to make it even better was that my BFF Jen was there with her boyfriend, Chris (Graden's "fishing wife" - - they spend a lot of fishing tournaments together). Their friend, Adam, and his girlfriend, Renee, were also there - so we had a lot of fun! There was a couple there who didn't know anyone else, but since it as a valuable weekend away without the kids she wanted to make the most of it! She told her husband as they walked into the reception room, that she wanted to sit with the funnest people there. And guess where they chose: our table! They were a fun couple! She called be Britney (she forgot my name) so we called her Giselle "Gizzy" for the remainder of the night. She was a good sport about it! We left Clear Lake about 10am and headed for Waterloo, to pick up our niece, Kylie. She came home with us to stay for two weeks, until we take Donna home on February 8th. (Sniff, sniff .... we will MISS HER!!). Here are some pics from the wedding and car ride home:
Graden and Malinda, bridesmaid.
The bride, Lindsey, and her father.
The happy couple during the ceremony.
That's me and my BFF - Jen "Fer"
That's Jen and her b/f Chris
On the car ride from Waterloo to Lee's Summit Kylie and "Uncle" stayed busy tickling each other! She stayed busy watching Dora and Monster House and singing (her own songs, I learned).
Kylie in the truck - singing and tickling!
Could he look any more like a redneck??!!? I love him though!
Here's a video of "Ky Ky" and Uncle tickling!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn_kvFwb8so
