Baylee Boo's Birthday

Baylee turned 9 on her birthday. It is hard to believe how fast she is growing up. This year we did not have a big party since Sydney's birthday is 3 days later. We have decided to have a big party for her every other year and on the off year she can pick any friend do something fun. Baylee's friend, Lily, came over for a date night with Baylee and her Dad. They had dinner, went to a movie and then Lily spent the night. They had a great time! Baylee actually had a birthday weekend starting with the special night with Lily, then on Saturday we took cupcakes to her soccer game, and then Baylee and I had a special night of shopping, shopping and shopping. She got a gift card from one set of Grandparents to Justice and then got cash from the other set. We had a lot of fun going from store to store and she loaded up with new clothes and shoes. Sunday was her actual birthday and Grandpa Risenmay was in town so I made her all of her favorite meals. We had German pancakes for breakfast and chicken from the crock pot, rice, rolls and broccoli for dinner. I also made cupcakes again for her to take to church to share with her class, Travis is her teacher. That night I had made another cake for us to share as a family. Baylee loves cake and cupcakes!

At breakfast with her German pancake.


Jake and Baylee wanted to put their faces in the cake, why not?

What we love about our Baylee...

*She is the best big sister.

*Very responsible, we can not wait until she is old enough to babysit.

*She is a great reader.

*Can run really fast.

*Is really improving on the piano, she is becoming quite a good little pianist.

*Has a great laugh.

*Has a great sense of fashion.

*She is not only my daughter but a great friend!

*Loves to watch shows on TLC. (What Not to Wear, Cake Boss, 18 Kids and Counting)

*A wonderful artist.

*Loves to be organized.

*Is a very loyal friend.

*Says wonderful prayers.

*Loves her family!

We love you Baylee Boo!

Sydney Sue

Sydney is our spunky, sassy and super sweet child. She loves to be the center of attention, she is very social, loves to sing and dance, loves to draw, paint or color, she thinks that every thing has to be her way or no way, and thinks her Daddy is the greatest person ever. I love this picture of her, it completely describes her in every way. I have loved having one on one time with her since the older kids are in school all day, she has become my little buddy. We do not know what our lives would be like without our Sydney Sue.

I love fall!

I love fall and every thing about it. I love the smell of a pumpkin spice candle burning in my house, hot chocolate, soccer games, football on TV, apple cider, pumpkin bread and especially the beautiful colors on the trees. We are so fortunate to live in a place where the streets are lined with amazing trees that turn incredible colors of red, orange and yellow. Every year I walk down to the main street in our subdivision and take pictures of the beautiful fall colors.

Baylee and our neighbor, Emma.

Jake and Syd love to pose.

They really do love each other.

Going to the Pumpkin Patch...

This week we went to a pumpkin patch with Syd's preschool.

Taylor, Jessica, Sydney, Chelsea, Addie and Kate

This was Bryn's first ride on a tractor.


She picked the biggest one and of course I got to carry it.

We love Baggenstos!

Brynnie Girl is 5 months

Our little Bryn is 5 months now. It really has gone by way too fast! Here are a couple pictures of what she has been up to. (I know her Grandmas miss her and love to see her new adventures.)

Bryn tried rice cereal for the first time and was not sure, all she has had is mommy milk.

The second night she was ready to try again.
She goes in for the kill and helps put the spoon in her mouth.

I love her chubby cheeks!

She is not sure what to think.

Yea! She likes it!

We decided to get out the ExerSaucer and she loves playing in it. (This is the one my Montana friends gave me when Sydney was born. Thanks guys!)

She thinks something is funny!
Bryn still gets lovin' from her buddy, Zac.

Brynley puts a smile on every one's face. She is such a happy baby and gives out smiles like candy. She is starting to sit up and we are enjoying every minute with her. My favorite is when she grabs my face and attacks with a big, wet, slobbery kiss. She is so YUMMY!

The Big Flood

We had a really big water leak in our house in September that caused a lot of damage. It happened when my parents were here visiting. My Dad walked into the kids' bathroom and found a ton of water was covering the floor. Water was leaking out from the tank of the toilet. We are not sure how long the water was leaking but it caused enough damage to seep under the wall into Brynley's room to soak her carpet, caused damage to the wall between the bathroom and her room, ruined the floor in the bathroom as well as the vanity. It leaked downstairs into Trav's office and soaked part of his carpet and caused a lot of damage to walls as well as the ceiling in the closet, it also leaked into the downstairs bathroom causing damage to the floor and one wall. We did not realize the extent of damage until 4 days after it happened and the carpet in Bryn's room was not drying out. I was talking to a friend about it and she said to call our insurance company and maybe we can get it dried out and get new tile in the kids' bathroom. That is all I thought, we had no idea it spread everywhere. I knew we had to pay a deductible of $1000 and the insurance company sent out a mitigation company. They came, tore everything out, the walls, carpet, the vanity, and the flooring in both bathrooms. The water also damaged Travis' office furniture. They left 15 large, noisy fans for 4 days and the water was finally gone, as well as the noise.

Three weeks after they took all the fans out, the same company came to put our house back together. They have been here a week and a half so far and still have about a week left until it is all done. We are getting new tile in the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms, wood floor in Trav's office and new paint colors. They rebuilt all the walls and one ceiling. The 3 oldest kids have been sharing a room for over a month now and Bryn has been sleeping in the girls' room. Trav's office and desk have moved out to our family room and the garage is full of boxes. We have all been sharing the master bathroom and our bedroom has a couple of dressers and a crib. Also, to make things more appealing, we have wonderful outhouse in front of our house for the workers since we are down to 1 bathroom. We feel a little like WT but what can we do. I think all the neighborhood kids have loved it! I keep reminding myself that this could have been a lot worst, it is just a little inconvenience. We are grateful for good homeowners insurance, the total cost for this is just under $15,000 and all we have paid is our deductible and then a little extra for upgrades. I will post pictures when all the construction is done and we are back to normal life.

This is where it all started, the toilet upstairs.

Kids' bathroom

Bryn's room and the wall that is shared with the bathroom.
Downstairs bathroom
Trav's office and the door that leads into the closet.

The office closet.

The office window, this is on the opposite side from the closet. The water traveled along the ceiling and down this wall.

Daddy Daughter Date

What a "cool" dad!

Travis and Baylee went to a Sock Hop at church. They dressed up, ate pizza, learned a dance and did skits. They had a great time! Baylee loves going on dates with her Dad.