Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Back from Camp

Maddie is back from camp and this is what she has to say... not a whole lot of much... I've been asking and asking about it and she just doesn't have time to tell me.

Finally, almost 24 hours since she's been back she is ready to talk.
Here are her favorite things about camp:

...I bunked by Elizabeth & Whitney. Zoey slept in the other room.

...we went to the chapel and sang songs - we learned a new song..."Jesus is My Friend"

...we went swimming and we had to get on three yellow buses to get there

...I think we had hot dogs for lunch, but I can't remember

...I was in the Purple group. Zoey and some other kids were in the group with me

...I read my Bible, but mostly I listened to my teacher read it

...we had canteen and I had a popsicle - I think this was my favorite thing!

...we went to the campfire and sang songs.

...we learned about Jesus

So, another year of camp is behind us and we missed having Maddie around home, but I'm glad she had a good time.

Ashlyn's First Tooth

Ashlyn has had a wiggely tooth for a while now, but it finally popped out yesterday! She was so excited to put it under her pillow last night. She's watched Maddie do this several times and now it was her turn!




As I was tucking her in last night, she started asking me all these questions - she is so inquisitive.

So it went like this...

Ashlyn: Mommy, do you think the tooth fairy is a boy or girl?
Mommy: I don't know
Ashlyn: I think he is a boy.
Mommy: Why do you think that?
Ashlyn: I just do. What do you think he does with all those teeth?
Mommy: I have no idea.
Ashlyn: He must be building something. What do you think he is going to bring me?
Mommy: He's always brought Maddie money.
Ashlyn: I think I'm going to get a toy.
Mommy: I think it will be money, but we'll have to see!

She cracks me up sometimes. But, I was so proud of her as she slept all by herself in her room (Maddie is at camp) just because she had to put her tooth under her own pillow. And this morning, she came into my room with a BIG smile on her face and holding up her dollar bill! She's so proud, she hasn't let go of that dollar yet!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Summer Fun: Week 2

Last week started out with a picnic in the park with our friends Amanda, Trey and Trent! After lunch and some time in the park we went to see the summer movie "Horton Hears A Who" - good movie by the way.





We even took bread to feed the ducks, but these lonely two ducks were all we found...surprising for Jerry Ivy Park...but, we improvised and fed the fish instead!


We also met up with an old high school friend of mine, Chandra, and her three kids - Mackenzie, Gage and Jace - at the Wichita Zoo! Luckily it wasn't extremely hot that day, so it was enjoyable.





We measured up with penguins, saw scary alligators, posed with every animal statue we ran into, saw all the big animals and the ugly ones too like the wart hog above.

We even fed the baby ducks. They were so fast. It was really funny...you can watch below.



The new tiger exhibit was pretty cool - this one was up close and personal with us.


The monkeys, gorillas and orangutans are still my favorite animals to see. This gorilla was NOT interested in us whatsoever, but the orangutan got down off of the play equipment and walked right up to where Maddie was sitting.



The trip went really well and it was a lot of fun for me to see an old friend and meet her kids, whom got along with mine like they have been friends forever. The only kink in the day was my mistake of letting Brooke out of the stroller early and when she decided she didn't want to walk anymore, she also decided that she didn't want to ride in the stroller and she threw some impressive fits when I tried to put her in. I did end up carrying her just a bit, but I finally forced (or maybe bribed) her to get in the stroller with some ice cream.


This is her - ASLEEP - holding her ice cream and it dripping all over her. Every time I tried to move it, she would wake back up. I finally had to wait until it was pretty much melted until she finally let me have it and she crashed completely.

The week ended with some old friends of our coming over on Saturday. We determined it had been almost 4 years since we've seen JC, Leslie and their boys Cole and Easton. It was nice catching up! The only bad part was the weather...it didn't cooperate very well, so we were stuck inside for most of the day. However, we made the best of it...watching Transformers while eating popsicles (notice the blanket to protect the floor - I'm no dummy!).



We did get to go outside - finally - at the end of the day and the kids enjoyed playing together on the bikes and scooters!

Another fun week of summer. More to come...

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Father's Day

Today was Chris' day... a day spent with family at the lake... with the new jet ski




We had a GREAT time! We love you DAD!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

11 years

Today Chris and I have been married for 11 years! Happy Anniversary honey!

I have been blessed to have such a loving, caring husband that I can truly say is my best friend!



Chris and I have celebrated our anniversary over the years in some very romantic and unique ways. I will never forget our 2 year anniversary when I received a package at work that had a change of clothing in it along with a small tape recorder with a message for me. It began with the theme from Mission Impossible (sung by Chris), followed by instructions that I was on a "mission" to find my husband! I first had clues that would lead me to my destination and then I would have to perform a task before I would get my next clue. He led me first to the house of the couple that introduced us - Alan and Adrienne. I then had to hula hoop for a specific amount of time before I got my next clue (all of which were small little tapes that Chris had recorded). My next clue sent me to an older friend's house - Morris & MaryAnn - and there I had to stuff as many marshmallows in my mouth before I would receive the next tape. (At all destintions, by the way, I had my picture taken doing these rediculous tasks). Then my third clue took me to my grandmother's house, where I had to hopscotch down the sidewalk to receive my fourth and final clue, which led me to "Table 25". Chris and I met while working at Red Lobster in Hutch at.... Table 25. There my husband was waiting to have dinner with me, with a rose and a smile! I think he was pretty creative with this one!!!

Another memorable anniversary was our 5th year. Chris wanted to do something special and arranged a weekend away together. He had secretly worked it out with my mom to watch Maddie and then picked me up from work on Friday afternoon and wouldn't tell me where he was taking me. We ended up going to the Castle Inn Riverside, a bed and breakfast in Wichita and staying in their Royal Suite.



This anniversary even got a surprise... it came nine months later and we named her Ashlyn! (NOTE: Never rely on an ovulation calculator on the Internet).

Last year we celebrated our ten year by taking a week trip away to California. We had a wonderful time sight seeing (without children) the city of San Fransisco, the vineyards of Napa Valley (our relaxing and spoiling part of the trip) and the Pacific ocean at Monterey Bay. Out of all the beauty we saw..the Golden Gate Bridge at sundown, the entire city of SanFransisco from the top of Coit Tower, the lush wine vineyards from our seats on the Napa Valley Wine Train, the beautiful ocean crashing up on the shores along the 17 Mile Drive... my favorite memory was our experience at the Martini House restaurant. For those of you that don't remember... you can get a recap here.

We have made some awesome memories over our 11 years of marriage...

...buying our very first house on 17 Harvest Lane in Hutch
...the birth of our first baby, our daughter Madison Grace on May 3, 2002.
...living in my grandma's house for 6 months, while our house was being built on 41st street
...our trip to Virginia Beach with our good friends Chris and Holly and their family
...the birth of our second daugther, Ashlyn Reese on February 25, 2004
...our numerous trips to Vegas with family celebrating Chris' mom's birthday
...the birth of our third baby, our daughter Brooke Elise on December 15, 2006
...the decision to move to Salina so Chris could start working for the family business
...the tiny rental house that we lived in here in Salina while we looked for a house or a spot to build
...buying our current house on Presley Dr and spending four weeks updating it before we moved in

...and of course there were many, many more that I can't obviously list.

We're excited to see what new memories we'll make in the future. We feel extremely blessed to have one another, our three beautiful girls, a healthy and happy home, a loving church and a wonderful and supportive family!

Monday, June 15, 2009

A Good Monday!

Today was a lot of fun packed into just a few hours! We drove to Hutch this afternoon to visit our friends Brandi and Shawn and their two boys Dalton and Zach! The girls went to Brandi's daycare when we lived in Hutch...in fact we talked about it today...Brandi has watched Maddie since she was 18 months old and both Ashlyn and Brooke since birth! So, that's a lot of time with my babies. And, the girls miss Brandi, her husband Shawn and their boys SO very much. They ask about going to see Brandi a lot, so I shouldn't have been surprised that they wouldn't stop asking "When are we leaving?", "Will we be there soon?" and "Are we almost there?" today from the moment they woke up!

Brandi and I didn't really have a plan for today, we just wanted to get the kids together to play. So, we decided to hit the park...but not before stopping by Sonic for a slushy. We first went by the Hutchinson Zoo and the kids had fun seeing typical Kansas wildlife...


The Easter Screech Owl



Watching the Red Fox

we poked up our heads like prairie dogs...



were eaten by dinosaurs...



or maybe just used their mouths as a slide...



and we dug up their bones...



we hatched from a dinosaur egg...



we climbed the spider web...



and we even led the ducks!



Once we were done at the Zoo, we went over to the play equipment. The kids had a blast playing together - even Brooke kept up with the bigger kids.



Peek-a-boo - where am I? (Answer: check the first hole in the slide)



Once we finished the park - we headed to the firestation to see Shawn since he was working. The kids had fun playing in the firetrucks...



and posing for the camera as firefighters...




even mom got her turn...



Before we left the fire station, Shawn showed us a tree next door that had recently been hit by lightning. A lot of the bark was blown off the trunk and branches and thrown many yards away. It even caused a hole in the branch where it directly hit the tree. Isn't it amazing how powerful lightning can be?



The day was a good one and the girls had such a good time visiting with the Hobbs! They didn't even make it home before crashing (even Ashlyn in the back)...



and it ended with a full double rainbow in the sky!


This was taken right outside our front door!