NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS!!!!

As your kids get older, their milestones seem to take on a whole new meaning.....

A couple Fridays ago, we had just finished dinner, and the kids were begging to head back outside for a little more play time before baths.....love spring evenings! I hadn't heard any talk of teaching Reese to ride her bike without training wheels, but apparently Chet had because when I got outside, he was taking her training wheels off!

Lets do this! I guess.

We thought it might be best to start in the grass....



Everything looking and going good so far!

However, less than five minutes later, cue the tears and cue the cuss words!



It was a disaster, to say the least! Chet was frustrated, Reese was totally discouraged (sometimes I think she's afraid of hard work) and had pretty much just given up.....after five flippin' minutes! I mean, the attitude on this girl can be wicked....have no idea where she gets it from.

Putting the training wheels back on was not an option, so we decided it was best just to ignore her.....





Happy faces!

Chet was doing all the teaching, but I was giving all the orders....I told we were going to accomplish this this weekend!

First thing the next morning, they were back at it.....



There were more tears and more frustration.

But it didn't take long before there was a break thru.....more like, a let go!



She didn't even know he had let go. She was just riding.....



Jayden stopped by to give some encouragement.....



She was riding and loving every minute of it!



You should see her now! She's even rode home (well, to Grandma's) after school.



And my favorite part.....hearing her tell people, "My Daddy taught me!"



Daddy's, ahem, encouraging tone, must have really motivated her!



Very, very proud milestone we will never forget!

Picnic with Friends

***I've tried for three days to upload pictures using the new blogger, which, by the way, I've already used to post and uploaded pictures, but it absolutely will not let me! So, I switched back to the old version until they switch me back....for good (I think it's May 1?).***

My friend, Tiff, was on vacation last week, and since the weather was beautiful, I invited her and Hunter (Reanna was in school) to join us for a picnic and play time at the park.







Even though it was a bit windy (paper plates, napkins, food, wrappers were randomly flying across the table) and Everlee got herself into a bit of a mess (picture sweet little girl squishing handfuls of what looked like dried refried beans in between her fingers and stepping in it and rubbing it all over my legs!), the kids had a blast!









Thank you, Tiff and Hunter, for joining us and putting up with our chaos!

Grrrr.....

Seriously, new blogger!!!!  I've got so much to share.....why won't you let me upload photos?!?!?!

A wedding we will never forget

A couple weeks ago, my cousin, Amber, got married.  She asked Reese to be her flower girl.  Reese was, of course, thrilled....another opportunity to walk down the isle in a fancy dress!  The ring bearer, Malachi, made her job even better!

Amber was a gorgeous bride!  Wedding Barbie all the way!  Her colors were gorgeous as well.  Can't wait to see all of her professional pictures!

All week the meteorologists had been forecasting severe storms (as in tornadoes!) on Saturday.  I was worried.  Very worried!  Chet and I decided it was best to leave Cru and Everlee at home in case something did happen, so a huge thanks to Chet's parents for spending the evening in our basement protecting our babies.

Anyways, we had made it through the ceremony without much weather action.  Or so we thought....

As all of guests were lining up outside the church to send Amber and John off, the rain and the wind really pick up.  Chet finally grabbed Reese and ran to the van with her.  I followed soon after, and we immediately called his parents to see what the weather was doing in McPherson (we were in Smolan).  At that very moment, there was a tornado headed right for us!  It was in Marquette and it's path was Assaria, Smolan, Salina, and so on.  The reception was in Salina, by the way!

As much as I wanted to b-line it for home, we decided it was best to get Reese back in the church and to the basement.

In typical fashion, the men stood out back of the church watching.....and this was the view!

Ahhh!  Take cover!!!

There were only about 20 of us that stayed at the church to wait out the storm (bride and groom included).  The rest went onto the reception.  As soon as we knew we were in the clear, us smart ones (all the women!), came out to do a little watching for ourselves.  Funnels were spinning everywhere!
  

97 tornadoes touched down in Kansas that day!  97!!!!
  
Honestly, I think Reese would have been better off outside watching the storm instead of keeping her in the basement....it was scary for her, to say the least!  She cried a lot.  And the saddest part, she kept asking about Cru and Everlee.  Love her heart!  It definitely didn't help matters that my mom was freaking out and kept saying we were going to buried under a demolished church.

We hated to miss the reception, but we felt it was best to get home.  The sirens went off at the reception three times - every guest in the hotel took cover....in the reception all - I think we made the right decision!

Definitely a wedding none of John and Amber's guests will ever forget!

Soccer: Week 3

Thank the lord we are almost done!

Ok, I shouldn't start on such a negative note.....

Soccer is starting to get better.  I guess.

The hour long hassle of getting everyone and everything ready is still a giant pain the the a*s, but the kids' attitudes, participation, and skills are definitely getting better.

What a trooper she is!


On a totally different note.....any fellow bloggers disliking the the new blogger?  I worked on this post for three days, and it still has issues!  Ugh, so frustrating!!!

Easter 2012

Easter weekend was wonderful....celebrating Jesus' resurrection with egg hunts, family time, and delicious food!!!

We kicked off the weekend with Saturday's Optimist Club egg hunt. We've went to this for the past three years, and by now, the kids know what to expect and know what friends will be there, which is what makes it so fun!



Everlee's first egg hunt!!!! Well, first one she's actually participated in.



After a little instruction from Grandma, she was good to go!



Cru had things figured out too.....



.....figured out there was actually chocolate under those wrappers! I think he ate about ten pieces while sitting there.

Reese's age group was across the park, so Grandpa took her. I was worried about her being shy and hesitant, but boy, did she make a hall!



Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa for helping since Daddy had to work.





Almost all the people were gone, and my kids were still picking up pieces of chocolate....



Our bag of candy probably weighed 10-15 pounds! ALL was thrown in the trash!

Onto Sunday.....

Instead of Sunday school, the kids had an egg hunt at church.



Everlee knew exactly what she was doing!



The older kids hunted across the street at the park.



Since there were only three kids in Everlee's group and what seemed like 100 eggs, the big kids came over to help!






Our pastor's beautiful daughter, Maggie, whom my kids ADORE!!!! They refuse to leave church until they see her. She is such a sweet heart.









After church, we headed to my parent's house for lunch and more egg hunting with Ty, Audrey, and Charlee.


Charlee Mae....isn't she the cutest?! And getting so big!


Little girls :)


Big kids!







Cru and Everlee took a short nap, then we headed to Chet's parents.




Cru and Cheyna playing with Cru's new glow-in-the-dark soccer ball!


Reese and Casyn playing with squinkies!

So thankful Reese is old enough to know that although Easter egg hunting and the Easter bunny is fun, it's really about Jesus! So thankful for our families! So thankful for our children who make each and every holiday so much more special and memorable than I ever thought possible! So thankful for Jesus Christ who died and rose again to save each and every one of us!