Long Time No Blog

Hi Everyone!

A lot of things have happened since the last blog we posted.  Our summer was going great...until Owen broke his arm. :(   I had driven both kids down to Boonville one Friday afternoon and was going to stay there for the weekend to give Sarah a much needed break.  But, about 2 minutes after we got to there, Owen fell off the trapeze bar on the swing set and landed awkwardly.  His wrist was crooked, so we knew something was wrong.  Grandma Cas and I rushed him to the hospital in Boonville and they confirmed that it was broken.  I felt terrible for him.  He'd been doing SO good at the pool and was right in the middle of swim lessons, but all that would have to go on hold for awhile.  We ended up getting a splint put on in Boonville and then he and I drove back to Olathe that night.  Sarah and I helped tend to him over the weekend and then we had an appointment the following Friday to get his cast put on.

Definitely broken...

The doctors were great.  The Dr. that put his cast on was really funny.  He called himself "the cast whisperer."

Back at Grandma's house a week after the event.  We were heading to STL for a wedding and stayed for a night at Grandma's house.

Owen did really well adapting to the plaster cast.  He had all of his friends and family sign it.

Our weekend in St. Louis was a quick one but a fun one.  Sarah's cousin was getting married so we decided to do a couple of attractions while we were in town.  First stop was the Magic House!  That place has grown A LOT since the last time I was there.  It was really neat and took up our whole morning.

The wedding was very nice, and it was great to see all of our family.  The next morning we did the Arch and Science Center.

It's a pretty amazing perspective and the kids soaked it all in.  

The Science Center was really cool!  A ton of activities and everything was hands on for the kids.  

We even got to experience tornadic winds!

A few weeks later, Elsie took week long trip to Boonville to visit Grandma and Grandpa Cas.  Her summer Y-Care program ended two weeks before school started, so one of those weeks was an all-expense paid trip to Boonville!  She had LOTS of fun, and really kept Grandma busy playing doctor, and puppies, and puppy doctor. :)  They also went to Aunt Marilyn's pool and had lots of other adventures.

Elsie's swimming, by the way, has improved SO much over the last couple of months.  She can even do the backstroke and is moving up to the next level of classes for Fall swim lessons.

Elsie started 1st Grade!  Her first day went really well.  She likes her teacher and is picking up right where she left off last year.  Even though it wasn't Owen's first day of school, he got in on the pictures that morning. :)

A couple of weeks ago, Owen switched to a smaller, waterproof cast.  He had the big orange one for 4 weeks and enough healing had occurred that he could be fitted with a smaller one.  This one is bright green!  But, the best thing is that it is waterproof and allows full movement of his arm.  The very first thing we did as soon as it was dry was to go swimming!  The poor little guy had been missing it SO much while he had the other cast and we'd promised him that we'd take him as soon as we could.  He ran right in to the pool and went underwater on his own.  He literally picked up RIGHT where he left off before his accident. It was awesome!  He had so much fun and is fearless.  We got some dive toys and he loves going down to get them and he even opens his eyes under water.  Owen, like Elsie, is excited about Fall swim lessons.

On a sad note, Sarah's Grandma Virginia passed away about two weeks ago.  The funeral was last weekend in Washington, MO.  We left the kids and Millie in Boonville.

Bright green cast!  We have an appointment next Friday to get it off and should be able to switch to a splint for a few more weeks before being totally done.

Owen found a dead fish on Franklin Island!

 Rewind, back to the 4th of July (man it's been a long time since we last posted).  Once again it was a beautiful 4th.  The weather was great and we ate dinner outside and lit off small fireworks during the day.  As it got darker we lit off bigger stuff.  Our new neighbors came over and joined us for the big finale!  :)

Elsie is the only person I know that would put garden fresh basil on a hot dog.  :)

Owen is more of a cheeseburger guy

And last but not least, a Millie update.  Millie is continuing to grow!  She's up to 68lbs now and is EXTREMELY athletic.  She runs across the yard like a cheetah!  She also graduated from Intermediate obedience school.  Congratulations, Millie!

Elsie took this with my phone.

Here's the proud new grad! :)

See ya!
Ryan, Sarah, Elsie, Owen (and Millie)