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!

First Week of Summer Fun

Pudding & Popsicles

We spent Monday afternoon with my friends Julie and Dana and their kids doing a little finger painting with pudding! What a GREAT IDEA! It was less destructive to clothing and furniture, just as fun as regular painting and the best part....EDIBLE, which Brooke enjoyed more than using it as paint!

We had such a relaxing afternoon enjoying one another's company and the kids had fun playing together. We even finished off with a popsicle treat! Summer is definitely here!!!

Rock City!!

On Wednesday, Dana and I took our kids out to Rock City in nearby Minneapolis, Kansas. It's amazing how beautiful a place it was. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and spending time with friends, but most of all...letting the kids run. There were no rules... no being quiet, sitting still, or "don't touch that" ...and the kids could just be kids! They had so much fun! It was a GEORGEOUS day and I was awestruck by beauty of God's work!

Isn't God AMAZING!!!!!

Tickle Me

Brooke has a new obsession...being tickled! When I was a little girl I used to love to have my arm tickled. (Okay, I'll admit it - I still do!) Well Brooke has picked up on this as well and she LOVES to be gently tickled on her arm, her leg, her stomach or back - she really doesn't care just as long as you don't stop! It's so cute how she says "tickle me" and if you stop she'll say it again and again until you start moving your hand OR she'll just take your hand and move it back and forth to give you a jump start. It's so cute that you can't help but to do as she wishes and "tickle her"!

Maddie's Dance Recital

Okay, so when we signed up for dance, I had no idea how big of an ordeal it is when it gets time for the recital! Wow, is it a BIG DEAL!!! Being a new mom to the dance world, I was just going into this thinking the girls would have a good time and we would get to watch them do a little performance at the end. Boy, was I wrong!

First of all, we ended up dropping Ashlyn out of dance at Christmastime due to the fact that the teacher told me every time after practice that Ashlyn wasn't really into it and was just sitting during practice instead of dancing. After we talked with her, we determined that Ashlyn's attention span isn't long enough to focus on dancing - plus she really has to work on her "listening and obeying" skills. (This seems to be a work in progress, but we're getting there.)

Anyways, so Maddie was the only one that continued dance and her recital was this Saturday. She had two dances this year...one for tap and one for ballet. She did such an awesome job!!! I was SO PROUD of her for knowing her routine and getting up there and performing it! Way to go Maddie!

So here is what I learned about the process and the BIG DEAL I was referring to...

First, Maddie came home from dance practice a few weeks ago with this package of papers.
One was for professional pictures...which we had to do last week and I had to buy a few of each outfit! One was for purchasing a DVD of the dance recital...which I had to do since Chris and a couple grandparents weren't able to attend the actual recital! And one was for ordering a bouquet of flowers...which I had to do because I didn't want to be the only loser mom that didn't have flowers to give to her daughter.

So, as you can see, it is a conspiracy as to how they lure you into spending tons of money on this one event! PLUS, I had to buy two costumes, new dance shoes (that were tan), the correct ballet shoes (not the cheap walmart ones) and tights! So, I'm sure you can relate to why I am so thankful that Maddie is enjoying it and wants to continue - considering I've spent all this money on stuff that I really don't want to use once! But, I shouldn't complain... the costumes are pretty cute and the girls will have fun playing dress up in them at home! The other process is getting ready for it. We had to do hair and makeup (yes, I said MAKEUP...which Maddie extremely enjoyed putting on and this time not just for 'play') We also had to curl Maddie's hair, which a big 'THANKS' goes out to Aunt Mindy for coming over beforehand and helping us get Maddie all prim and proper! I think that might have been Maddie's favorite part!

So, to get on to the good stuff.... I have posted both of her routines below. Remember, these are from rehearsal night since you cannot take pictures or video tape during the recital (you know, cause they want us to purchase the DVD). In the first one, Maddie is on the far right. The second one, she is on the far left. Enjoy!

Ashlyn's New Do

Yesterday, Ashlyn got her hair all chopped off. We probably cut 6 inches off. This has been a bone of contention in this household as Chris wanted one of his girls to have long hair. But, it was badly needed as most of the hair we cut off was broken and split. Now, she has much healthier looking hair...and Ashlyn LOVES it!

A Busy Week

Prepare yourself, this may be a long blog...

First I have to say... "Shame on me!" I cannot believe that I haven't had time to blog about our Maddie turning 7 years old LAST SUNDAY! She had a great birthday celebrating with our family last Sunday (her actual birthday) and then again with her class at school on the following Monday.

Maddie opening her presents:

Maddie in her "Hannah Montana" wig:

Getting ready to blow her candles out on her Hannah Montana guitar cake:

Maddie's class singing Happy Birthday to her:

However, we still had one party to go, which finally happened this weekend. On Saturday, we had four little girls over for a slumber party. Maddie decided to go with a "cooking" theme this year. So, we started out by making our own aprons.

I made one for Ashlyn and Brooke since they weren't there and Maddie insisted that I put on one too.

Then once we had our aprons on, we started out by making "dirt flower pots" for all the girls' moms for mother's Day! The girls had so much fun crushing up the Oreos, mixing up the pudding mixture and designing their own pots. We even had some extra to eat ourselves.

Of course the best part was licking the utensils...

We also made our own pizzas for supper, followed by baking ice cream cone cakes.

I even got all 5 girls bathed, in their pj's and ready for their bedtime movie by 8:45 pm. We, of course, watched High School Musical 3 and finished off the evening with root beer floats and popcorn.

But by 10:30, all girls were sound asleep in their sleeping bags (including Ashlyn and Brooke, who slept by me on the couch)! The sleepover went really well and I think that Maddie had a fun birthday! One of the funniest parts for me was when the girls all started singing the Hannah Montana song. I was amazed how they all new the words! I even had them sing it for me so I could get it on tape. Check it out:

As for the rest of my week and why it was so busy... it is called preparing for a MASSIVE garage sale! It started out being a small garage sale between one of my friends and me. We do a garage sale twice a year, once at my house in the spring and then again at her house in the fall! It works great and we have good luck selling that way. However, this year, I inviting some other family and friends to bring over anything they might have... you know, "the more the merrier" type of attitude. Wow, did we have more!!!! It almost got out of control and too much. However, we did get it all organized and marked (it took Mindy and I over one full week, working a little each day).

Here is a look at the garage this week while we were organizing. We were playing Where's Dylan? Do you see him?

So, two days of garage sale, one slumber party and a Mother's Day later, I am still moving....slowly though! I did get a small nap in yesterday, but am not getting off to a great start this morning as I sit here still in my pj's, my kitchen is a mess, the laundry room is starting to pile up again and Brooke seems to have caught a bug since she is running a low grade fever...but I'll get there.

I did have a wonderful Mother's Day. The girls made me feel very special and loved - and were really well behaved yesterday, so that was great too! We spent the day with my mother-in-law and Chris' family, which was really nice. However, I didn't get to see my mom on Mother's Day, but I hope to spend a day this week at her house and spend some time with her! I feel very blessed to be a mom to three beautiful children, to have a wonderful mother-in-law that I consider a second mom, and to have the best mom ever - one that supports me and loves me no matter what and has demonstrated to me how to be a great mom!