adventures

we want to start a tradition of having a saturday morning adventure. here are some pictures of our first few...

hiking and "climbin" in garden of the gods. we know now to wear shoes that can get muddy!

cheyenne mountain zoo. amazing.we can't wait to go back

bike ride at garden of the gods. so pretty. wonder what adventure next saturday will bring??

silly girl

cheeeeeese!

a couple of the more creative outfits she's come up with

big girl bed w/ princess light

more recently

reading to apache on the back deck. best buds.

happy girl!

new (really old) shower curtain in the basement bathroom. came from my grandparents' lakehouse. i grew up doing exactly what she's doing here.

daddy's girl...

ha! who is more spoiled?

the toddlers

pat and i are blessed beyond belief by/with/through our parents. the fact that they get along so well with each other is a bonus! we all have so much fun together. we joke that when they get together we have a house full of toddlers. :)

pat and i even got to go on a DATE! (don't you love freddy's hat?)

buddy and sonny boy, making pizzas

cooking class. HA! just showing them a new cookie recipe.

are we stereotypical or what? women in the kitchen, men fixing/installing things...
lala's big girl bed. she is so proud of herself. she got a new chandelier (princess light), too. i'll get a picture of that on here soon.

major rayner and two pretty proud parents.
thank you for coming to visit, abbi-pops, kissy-buddy.
we appreciate you so much.
when can we do it again?

the real birthday celebration

saturday morning - laurel's big birthday/valentine's day celebration with all of her grandparents

she loved opening the presents and all of the attention. who wouldn't?

thank you meme! (please disregard the obnoxious mommy. if i could mute me, i would...)

on the right - the eventual, inevitable meltdown. had to take a break from opening presents...

took some time that afternoon to play with some new toys

mommy's little helper. i love this hat. thank you kissy!

later, after naptime, we had a tea party!

complete with chocolate chip cookie brownie cupcakes. YUMMY!

yep, my little girl!

yep, pops's little girl's little girl!

i think she liked it...

MORE cards and presents?!?

sooo sweet. what a special day!
happy birthday, precious child.
you are loved!!!

officially major rayner

on valentine's day (and presidents' day) weekend, our parents came out to do some celebrating. first order of business? pat's major pin-on ceremony at the academy.

first, col wells made me an honorary lt col, just so i will always outrank pat if he gets cocky.

we had a great turnout. i'm SO glad our parents got to be there!

the swearing, the pinning, and the thanking

major and mrs. pat rayner, laurel "punching buttons" in daddy's office, and friends and colleagues helping us celebrate with a yummy lunch.
we're proud of you, p!

brace yourself

cutest. dancer. ever.

mini-extreme makeover

we lived in disarray for 2 weeks while the carpenter and the painters gave our house a much-needed face lift. here are some photos. i love before-and-after pictures!

our fabulous "new" kitchen. i'm extremely pleased with the new countertops (especially the butcher block section), and i'm amazed what a little crown molding,paint, and hardware can do!


i think it looks like a completely different place!


my nook - before-ish, during, and after

the fireplace - what a transformation!

living in it. a nightmare, but so worth it!

scroll back up and check out the brass light fixture that was in the eat-in area. pat and i replaced it with the drum pendant shown here. it took forever for us to figure out how to install it exactly right, but we did it and i think it looks great!

other projects - the hallway light fixtures, the door knobs, etc. i'm getting handy with a little sand paper and some spray paint!

what do you think so far??

to be continued...

birthday girl

on february 4th, our baby girl turned 2 years old. how did that happen?

looks like it may be time for a big girl bed...

we woke the bday girl up early so she could eat the yummy birthday pancakes daddy made before he went to work

let's get this party started!

I'M TWOOOOO! i loved my pancakes. i was also excited about the cooking stuff that B and Mamaw sent me. do you see the snow outside on the back deck? sooo pretty.

i like opening presents with daddy

thanks for the vacuum cleaner, abbi and pops. it works the best if i stick my tongue out just right...

i was obsessed with my birthday hat. i wore it all day long, wherever we went. what a special day! i can't wait til my grandparents get here so we can REALLY celebrate. :)