Marlatt Sock Hop '10

This was a fundraiser the elementary school did last Friday evening. It was a lot of fun too. The gym was decked out in 50's style and they had music, dancing, and hula hoop contests for two hours straight. Throughout the rest of the school you could find games and lots of food and treats. I should add that the Ballard children won almost every game of limbo. Alright, so they have a slight advantage in lacking height. It was a fun night that ended with sweaty kids asking for their beds. That's when you know you've been to a quality activity.

Haley J

Don't ask me why I haven't learned my lesson!

What am I going to do with this girl? :)

Cupcake

Pudding

Make Up

Make Up Smeared

Not Nine!

Yes. It's true. Our eldest turned nine years old yesterday. It's hard to believe we've been parents for that long, and yet, we can't remember life without her. She has been a complete joy since the day we were blessed with her and to have her as our daughter is a gift we will be forever grateful for. She wanted a party this year so we paid a local gymnastics place $90 to host Ryley and ten of her favorite people. Honestly, it was the best $90 we've spent in a long time. Here are a few things about Ryley at age nine. She continues to LOVE animals, wants to be a veterinarian, and would love nothing more in life than a dog. She loves reading and is currently engulfed in "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince". She loves playing with Pet Shops, her favorite color is red, and pineapple will forever be her favorite pizza topping. Ryley is growing into an amazing young girl and is the best "big" sister three little ones could ask for. She has set an example of love and kindness for them that her Dad and I will always be grateful for. Happy 9th Birthday Ryley. We love you kiddo!

Halloween 2010

With Grandma visiting the Halloween holiday became a week long celebration of fun events. In Tennessee the schools didn't celebrate Halloween, so you can imagine the shock and excitement that Ryley and Kadyn expressed when their current school announced a Halloween party for everyone. Ryley and her fellow classmates were assigned a report to prepare and offer the same day as the parties. This worked out perfectly since each child was to dress up as the individual they chose to do their report on. Ryley picked Sacajawea and did a fabulous job preparing for and presenting her findings. Both girls had great parties that followed and with Grandma here we were able to switch back and forth, dividing and conquering the day perfectly. We spent the remainder of our week at various parks, feeding ducks, and shopping.

Friday evening came and the kiddos got dressed up for our church trunk or treat. This year we had a flower, 2 witches, and mario. They had food, treats, tons of games, and more candy to fill our kids buckets then even they know what to do with. Steven was scheduled to be out of town so this year we opted out of dressing up. At the last minute however he decided to cancel the interview, and while we didn't have a chance to pull together our costume, we were more than happy to just have Dad with us celebrating Halloween 2010. (We had a really great idea though, so tune in next year to see our best costume yet.) It was a great week surrounded by people we love, and really, it doesn't get better than that!

Counting and trading is half the fun.

Anna and Kadyn

Mitchell and Ryley

Being a younger sibling is the best. You get everything twice!