Happy Hump Day!

And for the record, I think it's so weird to say that - hump day. Who thought of that?

But mid-week is here! One more day of school until next Tuesday, and a certain beauty in our house is turning 6 on Friday!

Not sure what it is.....

about wearing mama's bra.....







but apparently, my kiddos think it's the cool thing to do around 18 months of age!

I admit, when my cousin and I used to play dress up in my Grandma Bonnie's old clothes, we would sneak some of her old bras and stuff them with socks.....because she had way bigger cups to fill than I have :)

Last Day of Summer Vacation

The day before school started, the kids and I went to Hutch zoo.



Lets face it, although, the place was very clean and definitely not crowded, it's basically like looking at the animals in your own back yard.





But it's free entertainment that wasn't in our backyard, so the kids thought it was great!











I wish I had planned a little better and brought lunch to eat in Carey Park. I'm sure the kids would have had a blast spending the rest of our afternoon there....but as my dad always says, "Coulda, woulda, shoulda!" So we settled for Spangles.....



And as always, it's about making the kids happy, and Spangles did a pretty good job of that!

Happy last day of summer vacation, loves!

First Day

Twas the night before kindergarten and this girl wanted curly hair.....



So cliche to say, but seriously, where has the time gone? Wasn't she just my one and only baby, and now on August 16, 2012 she headed to kindergarten!



She was very nervous the first day...new teacher, 19 kids in her class (the biggest kindergarten class in 12 years!), and she only knew one girl (she knew four boys, but they don't count anymore :))...can you blame her?!



But she did fabulous and absolutely loved it!



She still gets nervous every morning, even cries some mornings when we pull into the school parking lot and says her tummy hurts in hopes I'll turn around and take her back home, but she always comes home with a smile on her face.



And I just have to note, when we were weighing the pros and cons of public vs. private school, wearing a uniform was a big positive for us. However, once I finally ordered her first polos and jumpers and read all the uniform rules, I was very disappointed she couldn't wear all the bright, colorful, sequiny clothes and shoes that are in her closet.



I was completely over that after the first day though! She totally rocks her uniform, as well as every other kid in the school! They all look the same, and the best part, if she ever argues with me about it, it's the school's rules, not mine!


Reese and her friend, Ava (the only girl she knew in her class)

It was Cru's first day as well. Sending him to preschool was almost harder than sending Reese to kindergarten....just something about my little man being old enough to go to school baffles me.....





He is attending the same three year old preschool that Reese attended - Angel Depot.



Chet took him to his class while I was with Reese, but I couldn't leave without saying good-bye!





He had a blast! Could it be because he adores Ms. Becky or because there are 10 kids in his class and 6 are boys, which includes his good buddies Asher and Cole!



God bless Ms. Becky!!!!

You think you can't wait for the day when all your kids are in school, but I'm not sure that's the case for me. Good thing I still have my lil' side kick to keep me busy....



I'm hoping and praying both kids cooperate and love the whole school year as much as they have this first week!

Family Vacay

It appeared as if someone in our family already thought she was on vacation before we ever left.....



Rough.

Anyways....

Chet and I tossed around the idea of taking the kids on vacation for a while, and as much as we would have loved to have taken the kids to some fabulous place in another part of the country, a) it's expensive and b) three kids five and under on air planes and running through airports sounded like hell! Hence our decision to just drive two and a half hours northeast to Kansas City.

We had a slight change in plans when Chet's grandma unexpectedly passed away, so our first stop was Alta Vista for her visitation and funeral.



Chet's grandma was such a beautiful lady inside and out. Never without her lipstick or a hair out of place and probably the number one reader of this blog.

No matter how many times you tell yourself she isn't suffering any longer, it still doesn't make the loss any easier.


Chet's Uncle Darrell carrying Norma after her funeral....this picture is classic :)

Reese talks about her a lot, and Cru has started asking when she's coming back from heaven. Reese told him all he has to do is reach his hand high to the sky, grab a piece of her spirit, and put it in his heart and she'll be there forever.



We made it to KC, and within the first five minutes of being there, I prayed we wouldn't get kicked out!



We figured it was best to take the kiddos to the hotel pool to channel some of their energy and excitement.





We spent the next day at Crown Center. It was an absolute blast for the kids - Sea Life, Legoland, and Fritz's!




























Lots of napping on daddy's shoulder while on vacation



















That evening we ate at Chet's favorite restaurant - Cinzeti's!



Then back to the hotel for more swimming!





We spent the next day, which was my parents last day there, at the Legends.

While my mom and I shopped with Everlee, Chet and my dad entertained the older two....



Good times at Cabela's and the western store!

We met up a couple hours later at T-Rex...what an experience! I was afraid Cru and Everlee would get scared, but Everlee slept nearly the whole time we were there, and once Cru switched seats with Grandma (he thought the fake smoke would burn him!), we were all good! And I highly recommend going there!












Grammie and Papa's treat to Build-A-Dino

When my patents took off for home, we paid a visit to one of Chet's high school buddies, then spent the rest of the evening relaxing, watching the Olympics, and you guessed it, swimming!



We didn't have anything planned for our last day but making a trip to my favorite second hand store! Then home!




Evee seemed to be over the whole vacation thing at this point :)

I'm very thankful we were able to spend that time together as a family. We made some wonderful memories, and most of all the kids loved every minute of it! Cru has asked every day since then when we are going back to the hotel.







And because you haven't seen enough pictures yet, here are a few random ones!


We ate breakfast at Panera every morning, and the kids thought they were so cool drinking their water through coffee lids :)





Hanging in the hotel lobby