Daddy's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza!

We had a few surprises planned for Daddy this year.  His birthday always falls right around the Browns season opener (which his mom always gets him tickets to).  That means he's usually driving to and from Ohio around his birthday either by himself or with his buddies.  This year he really wanted me to go with him...I know how sweet right?!  Since it was his one birthday wish I said yes:)  I'm not a big football fan, but I do like to watch it in person much better than on TV and I've always been a Browns fan because my dad loved them so much.  And if you're wondering...yes we are both from Ohio.  Anyway, we made it a family affair and drove everyone up to Ohio for the weekend.  We even let the kids skip a day of school!  

Friday night started with a special dinner out with his sister, Beth Ann and her best bud Ian.  Beth Ann lives in St. Louis so we don't see her a lot anymore:(  We really liked it when she lived closer!  We went to this awesome restaurant in downtown Cleveland and enjoyed some wine and very yummy food.

 This night actually was Ian's birthday so we celebrated both of the boys' birthdays with a special dessert:)

After dinner we went to the new casino called The Horseshoe.  It's so much smaller than the ones we are used to in Vegas but still nice.  The boys played on the craps table for hours!  We finally pulled them away with some extra dough in their pockets:)

The next day was the biggest surprise...a special surprise birthday party!!!  Keith doesn't get to see his family in Ohio very often so I made sure this time they'd all get a chance to see each other.  The party went great and I actually did surprise him!  That's something I tried to do way back in our dating years, but then ended up spilling the beans at the last minute.

The birthday boy always gets a cake with his favorite thing...no matter what his age.

 The following pics are everyone who was able to come out and hang out for a few hours with us.

  I even got two of his bestest buds to come!!!

 Sunday the four of us tailgated and then went to the Browns game.  Fun, fun, fun!!!

 I liked this large Browns-colored Jenga

 Keith's aunt and uncles joined up with us for a drink.

 Grandma and Grandpa graciously watched all 3 kiddos so we could enjoy the game.  They had a GREAT time getting ice cream and watching lots of kites fly at Edgewater Park.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!

It was a terrific weekend!  We had such a great time catching up with friends and family.  It had just been too long since we were all together.  Thanks to everyone who made a special trip out to see us:)  And thanks to those of you who sent well wishes, cards, and gifts, too.  I know Keith especially was very appreciative that you all took time to come and help celebrate his birthday with us.

First Day of School

 Last week the kids were off to a new school year:)  Kassidy is now in 3rd, Kaleb is in 1st, and Karson started preschool (3K).  They were all very excited to start!  Kassidy and Kaleb are on opposite ends of the building now, about as far apart as you can get in their school.  Kaleb had no problem getting to his class by himself.  Both kids have at least a few kids they already know from previous years so that's helpful.  We have a great carpool worked out with 3 other families in our neighborhood (since we chose to stay at this school instead of moving to the school they re-zoned us for we no longer have a bus).  Now I only have to do morning drop off/afternoon pick up 4 times/month!  What a huge help that is!!!

Our first morning actually went really smoothly.  No one was crabby and we were even ready a little bit early:)

Here's Karson for his first day of preschool.  He attends only 2 days/week when I work.  It's great because he can stay at one place the whole day instead of having to go to a sitters in the afternoon.  He had so much fun the first day he had to show me all around when I picked him up.  He will be moving up to the 4K class this week since he's one of the older 3's so he will be doing a lot more cutting, writing, number and letter recognition, letter sounds, etc.  I can't wait to see what all he learns:)

 My little man is so goofy:)

Summer II

Well we have had a very busy second half of summer!!!  We did many fun and exciting things like the zoo, Dollywood, and a trip to Ohio.  Unfortunately I was not good at taking pics everywhere we went but at least I got some:)

We enjoyed a day trip to the Columbia Zoo with my cousin Stephanie and her two adorable little girls Eva and Julia.  The twins just turned 2 and boy have they grown!  They are just precious, very well behaved, and talking a lot.  Kassidy and Kaleb loved helping hold their hands, push strollers, help feed them, etc.  It was a very hot and humid day but luckily this zoo had plenty of shade.

The boys went into the special bird feeding area with a small cupful of nectar.  These birds were not bashful at all!

See that one on Keith's back?  He wouldn't get off even when Keith tried to exit that area:)

No, these are not stuffed animals!  They really did look like it though in person.  So cute and cuddly:)

Gotta have strong arms when you have twins that want to be held at the same time!

Kaleb showing off his muscles.  He really did enjoy the ride even though it doesn't look like it.

Big helper Kassidy always ready to hold a twin!

Mommy and Karson

Feeding the giraffes was so much fun!  I had no idea how long their tongues were!!!

Future dairy farmers?

It was so great to see Stephanie and the girls.  Thank you for driving to meet us for the day!!!

These next few are just candids of the kiddos...

Kaleb being tickled by big sis:)

Our family took a 2 day trip to Tennessee.  Here's our view on the way up the mountains.

Here's our cool cabin in Gatlinburg, literally on a mountain.  It was actually very big inside and super clean.  It was such a great getaway, very relaxing.  It's always good to not have any schedules, phones, emails, jobs, etc so you can just spend time together.  We had a super fun time and can't wait to go back:)

Entrance and kitchen

Dining/family room

Master suite

Deck off dining/family room

Downstairs game room

Kids room, too

Downstairs bathroom-the kids LOVED this heart shaped tub!

Deck downstairs...very nice!

Kaleb's favorite game

Kassidy's favorite game

The next day we went to Dollywood.  Kassidy rode her first big roller coaster (finally tall enough!).  She absolutely LOVED it!!!  Kaleb was tall enough for a few smaller coasters/rides.

Steam engine train ride

Kassidy diving me

Kaleb driving daddy in a pretty purple car...haha!

This picture does not do justice to how big bald eagles really are.  They are beautiful animals!  Dollywood has a huge habitat with bald eagles that are injured or rehabilitated but cannot live on their own in the wild.

They next day we went to Dollywood's Splash Country.  Of course it's a waterpark!  Kassidy again was tall enough to ride everything and pretty much did, even a few body slides!  She is braver than me:)  We finally convinced Kaleb to try some slides with a mat that you ride on your tummy and some with inner tubes and he just loved them.  He immediately was all smiles and said that's awesome, let's do it again!!

The kids and I headed to Ohio at the end of July.  It can get pretty busy when it's just me and the kids so I really didn't take a lot of pics at all.  I must do better next time.  The cousins had a ball playing together like they always do:)  I'm so glad they're close even though we live far apart!

This is the new stadium at my old high school.  It is being renamed in honor of my dad who coached and taught there many, many years.  He had such a positive influence on so many kids in this community!

I was able to go to the 4th 5K Run/Walk for Hope in honor or our dad while I was home.  Everything went smoothly, lots of people participated, and the weather cooperated!  You can check out more details and pictures at jimhausersarcomafoundation.com.  Afterwards, we went to Chet and Matt's for pizza and poor Karson was just too tired to eat anymore!  He literally fell asleep sitting up!!!

My sisters and Mom and I.

We also went to see Grandma and Grandpa when we were home.  They treated this kids to some fun at Memphis Kiddie Park.  This is the same place that Grandma and Keith went to when they were little...pretty cool:)

This is probably Kassidy's last time riding anything here...too tall now!  She loved showing Karson around though.

Gotta have a pic of me to prove I was there:)

These are from earlier in July when my oldest sister came down to visit on their way to Myrtle Beach.  My two nieces were in the National Dance Competition and did such an awesome job!!!  We are so glad they made time to stop and see us.  We had a fun time swimming and having a cookout, having a sleepover, eating donuts in the morning, and just hanging out:)

Here's all the Hauser Granddaughters...only 4 of them!  Those boys really have us outnumbered now:)
Olivia, Maddie, Kassidy, and Sara.

And here's 10 of the 13 Hauser grandkids...we made spaces for the missing 3 still in Ohio.  13 grandkids, 12 years and younger.  What a great group of kiddos:)  We love you all so much!!!

Olivia, Alex, Maddie, Ben, Kassidy, Evan, Kaleb, Ryan (not pictured), Sara, Austin (not pictured), Kyle, Karson, and Brayden (not pictured).  Hopefully soon I can get a pic of all the grandkids together:)

Stay tuned for back to school pics...