Laura Beth comes to town (and Wayne and Lindsey)

Today I had the rare treat of getting to spend the entire day with my brother, sister, and their families.  We spent the early part of the afternoon watching Hunter and Andy play Upward basketball.  When we got back home, Lindsey (Wayne's wife) and Brenda (my sis) went on a little shopping trip.  They were supposed to be gone for about a half hour, which turned into about 2 hours.  Girls and shopping...it just happens like that sometimes.  Wayne and I spent our afternoon with ALL of the kids.  Count them, 1,2,3,4,5,and now 6!  My 3 boys, Brenda's 2, and our newest addition, Laura Beth, which is Wayne's daughter.  This was the first time that the kids got to spend much time with their new cousin, and they certainly had a blast. 
We decided to grill hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner.  Laura Beth is celebrating her first birthday in a few days, so of course we had to get her a cake.  She enjoyed the bright pink icing which stained her face, her clothes, and the bathtub!  She was so cute digging into her cake.
This was a special visit because my little bro Wayne, who is in the Army, is scheduled to leave for Iraq in another month.  I am so happy that we had a day to spend together before his long, overseas trip. We had a great visit.  So wonderful to see all of you, and we missed you Mom and Dad!  I am very blessed to be a part of such a close, loving family.

  

Laura Beth's birthday gift  

Laughing at Aunt Brenda

Loving that fire-red hair!

Trying out her birthday cake.

Brenda, Wayne, and Me

Getting ready to say goodbye

We tried, oh how we tried, to get a good picture of all the kids for Mom and Dad.  This is the best we could do...it's a long story. (haha)