T-giving Break

It seriously seems like we celebrated Thanksgiving over the entire week.  Wednesday, we got together with John's side of the family during the day and Lilly and Raegan (Lilly's cousin) talked their g-ma into a spur of the moment slumber party.  I will honestly say I enjoyed spending time with just Lucy!

Thursday morning I cleaned and did laundry while the kids watched the parade, and  then headed for Great Bend after lunch.  We prefer to travel during nap time, so it's easier on the adults kids. 

Everyone likes to sleep with a boot on their hand right?

 

The house was full, with two hosts, one great aunt/aunt, three sisters and husbands, four kids under the age of 4.5, and one spoiled dog.  I couldn't imagine it any other way!

Friday evening we went to the Christmas parade in Great Bend.  Lilly reported the big horses were her favorite. 

 

It doesn't matter how hard we try, it is nearly impossible to get all four kids looking at the camera at the same time.  Hanna told the kids to "put your hands at your sides," and apparently Lucy heard something different.  I love that kid.  She might be cuter than her sister was at that age !

I am super tired today, but it always worth it to get back to Great Bend and enjoy some quality family time!

Huge Update

Total blog fail.  I just realized how long it has been since I posted a real post. 

Please excuse the totally unorganized, random pile of pictures. 

The girls and I have been trying to have movie night on Friday nights when John is officiating. 

Lilly is totally into the movies as long as they are about princesses or fairies.  Lucy is less than cooperative and usually just annoys Lilly the entire time.

The girls love nothing more right now to dance in the kitchen while I make dinner.  They put on their princess high heels and stomp around like maniacs.  I would totally enjoy it if it weren't so loud. 

We went to Kansas City last weekend to celebrate October birthdays (yay me and Hanna).  We took the kids to the Arboretum in the afternoon to feed to koi and take some pictures.  

 

Now that's a good looking group!

Leave it to my kids to eat the stale bread that was meant for the fish.  

 

Such a cute little group!  I didn't get the "perfect" picture with all four kids looking in the same direction, but we got several cute ones. 

 

Gotta have an auntie Hanna picture. 

Again, with a 4 year old and a 1 year old it is impossible to get one with both kids looking. 

These two crack me up.  

Had to stop to check out the trains.

 

 

 

 

And finally had a little Happy Birthday time.  

 

Yesterday we took the girls to church for Trick or Trunk and a hayrack ride.  I told Lilly we got so much candy we wouldn't need to go again on Thursday.  

She did not agree.



Lets do it Again

How about another post without pictures?  Sounds good.  We continue our crazy busy schedule, that apparently does not involve a camera.  Lilly is currently enjoying Nana Bobbi and Avery in Great Bend and Lucy is loving the extra attention.  I am loving the quiet evenings, but definitely miss my little buddy already. 

I had another eye appointment this week and with both eyes combined I am seeing 20/15!  I think this is the first thing I have ever been "above average" at!  Woohoo it only took 31 years to accomplish! My left eye is still red (bruised) on the inside and a little blurry.  Its not bad and is more noticeable at night.  I would still recommend Lasik 100%.

Hopefully this weekend will be a calm one.  KSU is on the road, Lilly is gone till Saturday afternoon, and my house isn't trashed now like it usually is by the end of the week.  Maybe a little pre-birthday celebration with the hubs will make the to-do list.  

20/20 or Close to It.

I can now do something I haven't done since early grade school. I can see my alarm clock in the middle of the night and watch TV in bed without glasses!  Last Friday I got Lasik on both eyes, and as scary as it was, I am so happy with the results.  Honestly, scary is probably an understatement.  I consider myself fairly tough and brave, but definitely needed the Valium they prescribed.  I was all good and calm until the slipped these creepy things in my eyes that hold them open.  Kinda like the thing at the dentist the spreads your lips and keeps your mouth open, but it was in my eyes!  I couldn't blink, I was defenseless, and the surgeon told me to lay still because my hands and feet were shaking so bad.  The bad part only last 30 seconds but it is a crappy 30 seconds.  Everything actually goes black at one point. The actual procedure only lasted maybe 20 minutes.

Recovery on Friday was pretty rough, especially since John was reffing football that night.  I tried to sleep off the pain and scratchiness but had kids to tend to. Lilly asked several times why I was crying, but it was really just my sensitive eyes watering.  I seriously left my sunglasses on all night, in the house, because the lights were bothering me that much.  I have these super dorky eye guards that I have to sleep in for a few day just to make sure I don't rub my eyes during the night.  I think they will also be handy should my husband whack me with his arm in his sleep like he has been know to do. 

Saturday morning I woke up with pretty much no scratchiness and near perfect vision.  I had a follow-up appointment and they said one eye is 20/20 and the other is close.  My eyes should continue to improve over the rest of this week.  They are still pretty tender from all of the pressure and I look like hell because I can't wear eye make-up, but so far the trade offs have been worth it!

Weekly Recap

 Apparently my goal should have been to blog every other week.....

We continue to run like maniacs between work, school, dance, football, and oh man the list goes on and on.  How about a few pics dumped from my phone to recap.

Lucy has decided she likes to drink out of a straw.  Good thing I get water every day from Sonic!  

We tailgated with the Brownbacks last weekend at the KSU game.  Lilly was so happy to get to hang out with her uncle Grant, even when he tried to feed her peanuts without shelling them first.  

We are also just at the beginning of our calving season.  So far we have three calves out of the expected 26 that John and I own.  The girls love checking the mamas and steers every weekend.  I love that our herd is tame and we get quite close.  One mama usually rubs on John when we go to visit!

Three Week Re-Cap

Yep, haven't blogged in three and a half weeks, good job me.  I guess when you work full time, have two small kids, a husband who works  odd hours at times, numerous weekly commitments, and are trying to enjoy what's left of summer, something just gets put on the back burner.  Too bad it couldn't be cleaning and laundry.  

We got together with my side of the family to celebrate Dad, John and Abby's birthdays.   

 I love love love how close in age the kids are.  They all play so well together.  We were able to swim at Abby's, get some quick shopping in, and let the kids run for several hours in the backyard. 

Lilly was chosen as a "role model" for the Early Childhood Special Education program that is part of the Holton school district.  I knew she would love school, but had no idea how much!  

The biggest challenge in her starting school, kinda silly I know, was her backpack.  Her school supply list mentioned that it had to be at least 18 inches, so it would hold her folders.  The problem comes when your kid is only 32 inches tall.  Over half of her body was covered with backpack!  And to top it off, my dislike for all things "character" came into play.  Every stinking bag was covered with some kind of cartoon character or princess.  Want something cute without a character, get ready to spend big $.  I eventually gave in and gave her the option of Hello Kitty or Minnie Mouse.  Best I could do.  

How cute was she on her first day of school!

K-State football kicked off this past Friday, and unfortunately it didn't go as planned.  Naturally I obsessed all week on what we were going to wear, have to look cute as a family you know!   

It was 100 degrees at kickoff, which wasn't even until 7:30 PM.  Luckily Lucy stayed home because holding her the entire time with the ridiculous heat would have been a nightmare.  I am all for doing things like this as a family, and am somewhat adamant about it, but within reason.  

Lilly loved looking at all of the new additions to Bill Snyder Family Stadium

She was so excited to be back at the football games and was literally all smiles through the first three quarters.  She was constantly on the lookout for Willie and begged her grandpa to get her purple popcorn like he always did last year.  If only she would have stayed awake to watch the fireworks at the end of the game. 

Things around home are the same old same.  Lucy destroys everything she can  and I follow her around cleaning up after her.  She really is turning into quite the little terror, but a sweet and funny, and incredibly smart terror.  

Lilly continues to want to do everything her mommy and daddy do, and then some.  Payed off for me though, because my car got a very thorough washing!  

Just when I start to get ahead around the house, something new comes along.  John is back to officiating football on Friday nights and Lilly is back to dance one night a week.  I am super excited because Lilly, Olivia, and Zoe are back in class together, which means I get to see their mommy's at least once a week!

I am so ready for things to slow down around the house, and for the fall weather to get here.  Until then, my new goal is blogging at least once a week.  Probably won't happen, but I suppose it's worth a try.

Quick Trip

We took a quick little over-nighter to Manhattan last weekend just to get away and do something different.  We kinda goofed with the order we did things because it was hot and muggy the day we went to the zoo and not so warm the day we went to the pool.  Oh well, the kids didn't seem to mind.

This guy was quite friendly.  He was in area called the Outback where you could walk around and see animals that weren't caged in.   

These guys were in there too, but weren't as friendly.

 I tell her to strike a pose, and this is what I get.  Silly girl.

 The kids had more playground time than they could ever have wanted.  It was nice because we were the only ones playing when we were at the zoo.  

 A little better pose from Lilly this time.

 I am always so amazed at what she can do with such a skinny little body.  She climbed the wall almost all by herself, I was down below just in case, and it was easily 6 ft to the top.  She did another one later that went higher! Also amazed me how well she problem solves!

 We went to the splash park and pool on Saturday. Lucy just kinda toodled around the outside, she got wet, but didn't directly play in the fountains.

 I love this picture!  Lilly had such a good time spraying other kids, splashing me, and chasing her sister. 

 We spent several hours at the pool just splashing, and floating the lazy river.  

After a quick stop for ice cream in Aggieville, we jumped in the car, girls fell asleep, and we headed for home.  It wasn't the kinda of vacation we are used to since it was only one night, but it was great to get away and take the girls somewhere new!