Oktoberfest

Yesterday afternoon we celebrated with friends at the Elder's annual Oktoberfest!  The Elders are a wonderful family we've enjoyed getting to know these past 3 years.  They have a farm north of Wichita where we've gone to "get away" for various fun activities:  playing polo, watching the tractors and combine, as well as bringing in the new year.

Here's Gracie getting ready to go.

When we arrived, Gracie was quick to take in the scene.

She found lots of things to explore:

A pair of oversized ice cream churns powered by a miniature diesel John Deer tractor,

We all thought they were cool...and the homemade ice cream was delicious!

Sack races (we were spectators only)

Unfortunately, we are having problems uploading the rest of our pictures.  Gracie really enjoyed the hayride -- she sat contentedly on Dean's lap and watched the older children around her duck under passing tree limbs and bounce around on hay bales.  After the ride she checked out the ducks on the pond and the chickens in their coops.  Then she enjoyed a yummy homemade pretzel while we waited for the traditional German meal:  homemade sausage (brats), barbecued pork, sauerkraut, potato salad, and bread.

We took advantage of the fall setting to take a few family photos.  These are our favorites:

Auf wiedersehen,

DD&G

Daddy's Home!

Yes, Daddy is finally home to both Gracie and Mommy's delight!

Dean spent last week working in Phillipsburg, KS, a small town about 4 hours northwest of Wichita.  This was the 3rd of his 4 weeks away from home working in small towns.  He works these shifts in coordination with Docs Who Care, an organization who helps small towns keep their hospitals and clinics staffed.  In return for Dean's (along with Marc's and the other fellows') hard work, Docs helps fund the International Fellowship.

We are very glad to have the majority of these weeks behind us.  Our last "week" will be in Ashland, KS, over the Thanksgiving long-weekend.

While Dean was away, Gracie sent him a "lego" message:

She also enjoyed doing "girl stuff" with Mommy...like having a tea party, playing with her purse and wearing a hot pink bracelet while sporting her ponytail unicorn style.

                                                        

Who would have ever thought so much pink and purple would be in this Kubacz house?  

Oh, but we are loving it!  She is such a joy!  And so considerate -- well at least in salutations.  Not even the see-saw or "boppy" (a.k.a. potty or toilet) are left out -- they, too, receive a wave and "bye bye"!

Bye (wave), bye (wave),

DD&G

Celebrations

Today has been a day FULL of fun!

The morning started by celebrating with Cliff & Dee Ann on their recent marriage.  We are blessed to know them and happy to see them starting life together as husband and wife.  Gracie enjoyed the yummy brunch buffet while Dianna enjoyed visting with friends, many who no longer live in Wichita but traveled back to share in this special day.

After a much needed nap, Gracie played on the playground outside of our apartment building.

For those of you who knew Dianna as a child, you might recall a similar shot from 30 years ago of another blonde girl happily holding a soccer ball.  Quite the resemblance!

Only a few inches more...

Gracie loves drinking out of water fountains any chance she gets.

We left the playground for a quick visit with some friends who were in town for the wedding...always great to catch up with those we miss.  But we hurried home for the second party of the day.

Yep, Hailey Carrigan is officially 1 year old!

Look how she has grown!

Stephanie did a great job decorating -- a lovely pastel jungle theme -- fitting for our upcoming trip.

Gracie and Eli had fun playing with the party decor.  

And helping unwrap (and try-out) all of Hailey's gifts.

These two really have fun together.  

And now that Hailey is walking she'll be right there with them, too!

A 1st birthday wouldn't be complete without...

CAKE!

Hailey wasn't so sure about it but ...

Eli & Gracie sure were!

Yum, yum!

We are very blessed to share life with the Carrigans and are thankful for their friendship.  We look forward to many more celebrations with them over the next months, and years!

Joyfully,

DD&G

Pumpkin Patch

Yeah for Pumpkins!

Gracie had fun today at a local pumpkin "patch."  One of the churches downtown sells pumpkins every year to raise funds for youth missions.  Since moving to Wichita, we have visited the pumpkin patch, which is really just the church lawn covered in pumpkins of various shapes and sizes, each October.  Last year Gracie was quite small, so we were excited to see how she would respond this year.

Dean's brother, Jonathan, and his girlfriend, Audrey, joined in the adventure.

They are visiting from Oklahoma City, and we were glad they could come along.

First, Gracie wanted to touch the pumpkins.

Then she wanted to hold the pumpkin,

which quickly lead to dropping the pumpkin.

So...

she moved on to some that were more her size.  

She thought the multi-colored, oddly-shaped gourds were quite interesting.

Eventually, she tired out (actually she tripped) and laid down.

A wagon ride let Gracie rest while we continued to pick out our favorite pumpkins.

Uncle Johnny pulled her while Mommy and Audrey filled the wagon.

Posing with our pumpkins

"Wee Be Littles"

We thought this sign was fitting and made a cute background.

Earlier in the week, Gracie had another surprise package waiting at the PO Box.  

We skyped with Papa Jeff while she opened her gift.

Checking out her new Dr. Seuss books.  Thanks Papa Jeff!

And she liked the packing, too!

We sure love this sweet little girl who genuinely enjoys exploring the world around her.  

And we are so thankful that God chose us to be her parents so we could participate and watch.

Proud of our little pumpkin,

DD&G

"New" to G

Gracie has been blessed with lots of "new" things this week.  

We believe in reusing and repurposing things...and when it comes to kid's clothes and toys we are all about hand-me-downs!  This week Gracie had a BIG surprise at our PO Box:

Dianna's cousin Aimee and her daughter, Charlotte, graciously keep us in mind when cleaning out Charlotte's closest and have kept little Miss Gracie dressed to impress.  Timing was perfect as she is outgrowing the bulk of her current wardrobe and as the weather is cooling off.

We've been wanting to get Gracie some legos for a while now.  Yesterday, we found just what we'd been looking for at a kid's consignment shop downtown.  

And Gracie has been loving them!

As mentioned above, fall weather is slowly setting in...we enjoy the cool mornings and evenings.  But to Gracie and Eli's delight, daytime temperatures still allow for playing in the fountain!  

Today they had fun running and splashing while we all watched.

Grace & Peace,

DD&G

Riverside Park

Fall is finally here!  And today was a lovely fall day, perfect for an outing to the park.  We are blessed to have several city parks within walking distance of our apartment.  Riverside Park has quickly become our favorite for many reasons...

Swinging

Sitting

Chasing "ducks"

Mommy and Gracie walked to the park today while Daddy had breakfast with a friend.  But instead of going straight home, Daddy surprised Gracie by stopping by the park to play, too.

Running to Daddy!

Riverside Park has a great fountain area where kids can play in the water.  Usually Gracie likes to watch others play while keeping her distance to insure she stays dry.  Today, however...

 she stuck a hand in...

then she decided to walk a little closer...

until eventually she was all wet!
This picture doesn't show it, but she really was excited about it!

Daddy seemed to be the right spot to rest and dry off.

Before we left, she heard an airplane and looked up to see it.  She's not learned to say airplane yet, but she did say "bye, bye" and wave as its sound faded away.

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Date Night

Last night we had a date night and heard Need to Breathe play at the Cotillion in West Wichita.  They are a South Carolina band who is currently touring with Taylor Swift (she was not playing in Wichita...this was a NTB only show).  We thoroughly enjoyed their music.  

If you've not heard them then we encourage you to check out some of their music. 

http://www.needtobreathe.net/

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Well, we will close this post with a few more pictures of G and her friends...

trying to catch up for our month of no posts.

Riding the horsey, on loan from the Carrigans.  Gracie really enjoys pressing his ears and rocking to the clippity-clop and neighing.

Reading, reading, reading.  

This book is from Papa Jeff, and it's one of Gracie's (and Eli's) favorites.  We are still perfecting how to "orient" our reading material...as you can tell, we haven't quite got it yet.

A railroad track runs parallel to our apartments, and the kids love to watch the "choo choo" go by...especially when that means climbing on the couch to see.

Well, as you can tell, we are truly blessed with a happy, healthy, active little girl who is growing and changing with every day!

DD&G