Thanksgiving 2011

Last week we experienced our first and last Thanksgiving in the St. Louis area and I must say, for moving year for year and not knowing anyone, we keep making out like bandits! Last year we lived just a few hours from Steven's sister Wendy and her family. We visited often and made many wonderful memories. Fast forward one year and we still live a few hours from Wendy, plus, a few hours from Steven's sister Tamara and her family. You can't often move 400 miles and have the good fortune of placing yourself smack dab in the middle of cousins galore. This year Tamara's family was able to come from Indiana since Steven was on call and couldn't leave the area. We therefore enjoyed three full days of family, food, and fun. Our kiddos were ecstatic to finally experience a "sleepover", we were overjoyed to finally share City Museum and our favorite park, and Ballard grandchildren 27 and 28 (of 29) were finally able to meet and smile at each other. It was a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend, and once again we are left in complete awe with the many gifts our Heavenly Father gives to His children.

Time Truly Flies

Our Ryley has entered the double digits and turned the "big ten" on 11/11/11. She celebrated with an early release from school, lunch with Mom (plus little ones), and ice skating with friends and siblings. Later we enjoyed cake and ice cream, presents, and a movie night with a few of her closest friends. Steven and I are in complete awe with how time flies and even more so with the amazing young lady that Ryley has blossomed into. For this we take no credit and can only chalk it up to her own inherent gifts and talents. She is kind to all around her, smart as a whip, and her younger siblings couldn't ask for a better "oldest" sister. She loves animals, has her Dad's ear for the piano, and is counting down the days until she can finally have a dog. We love that she loves to read, is obsessed with Pokemon and Pet Shops, and still chooses to watch Scooby Doo over anything else. She is a great blessing to our family and one we will be forever grateful for. Happy Birthday Ryley!

Halloween '11

Halloween ran a little different for the kiddos this time around. Our church hosts a trunk or treat and in years past it has taken place on Halloween Eve. With the excitement of attending that function our kiddos have done very little door to door trick or treating. This year changed however when the activity got scheduled for the week prior, and thus, the Ballard children's first experience with attempting Halloween the "old fashioned way" came a few weeks ago. We began the evening with our traditional pizza, donuts, and hot chocolate followed by a "marathon" of candy excitement. For being their first time running around a neighborhood in the dark (with Mom and Dad's supervision of course) we could not have asked for a more lively and safe situation. The majority of homes were all lit up and a good portion of the neighbors had gone above and beyond to decorate in the spirit of Halloween. It was a fantastic evening with Haley Juliana Ballard winning the prize for "fastest door to door runner 2011". We closed our evening with Steven and I inheriting all candies containing nuts, coconut, or toffee. Hey, once in awhile having picking eaters can actually benefit Dad and Mom!

This year we had two ballerinas, one dog, one cat, and a very serious Luke Skywalker.

Disney World/Cruise '11

We had an amazing family vacation last week. Our initial hope was to surprise the kiddos with a trip to Disney, but first I believe we stunned them. Without so much as them spying a suitcase we showed up at the airport ready to roll. They couldn't believe their ears, literally. It took me getting inside the airport and allowing them time to process the information before they stopped asking me to, "tell the truth", and instead began jumping up and down with excitement. We immediately met up with Steven and Haley in Orlando, as they had left the day prior to drop little Azure off with his sister who kindly agreed to watch over her for the week.

The surprises continued as we arrived the following morning to board the Disney Dream and shocked the majority of my family with our unknown arrival. For fear of her passing out we had forewarned my Mom, and our brother in law was a great help and "keeper of our secret" as we planned this elaborate scheme. I absolutely stunned my older sisters though. It was great! With the exception of one brother and his family, who we greatly missed, the entire Darden clan was on this cruise. It was so wonderful to have family and cousins around to laugh and play with as we enjoyed the magic of Disney and the warmth of the Bahamas.

We completed our trip with a few more days in Disney World. While our kiddos enjoyed all of the parks, I believe at this point the Magic Kingdom was the most "magical" for their ages and heights. The girls are now tall enough to enjoy the majority of "older" rides, and they, along with their Dad, made the very most out of this new wonderful ability. Thatcher enjoyed anything that flew high or had Buzz Lightyear lasers and Haley rode the carousel until I was green in the face. Like all vacations unfortunately the days soon came to an end. As we boarded the plane the kids were understandably sad to leave. I said, "If you lived in DisneyWorld though, would it really be that exciting?.......Ya, I know, bad question. Forget it, don't answer that." How about, it was a fantastic vacation that we'll always remember, and we'll leave it at that!