Hannah's First Slumber Party

Hannah was invited to a friends house for a slumber party. 

I was a little nervous at how Hannah would do. 

I didn't have to worry long. 

When we arrived at her friend's house, there were 11 girls there. 

It was a busy night for all the girls.  

Games, food, make-up, presents.

They all made it through the night without a phone call home, and not a single one was ready to come home the next morning.

Hannah's already making plans for her birthday slumber party in April.

On the farm.

Old Settler's Day was a bust.

A storm moved in.

After the rain, we spent the afternoon at the farm.

Casen came along.

Matt & Casen spent the day. Playing in the fresh mud from the recent rain.

Mallory spent a whole 10 seconds outside.  Maybe a record? 

Hannah in her not-so-appropriate attire for a fall day. 
But, hey.  Give the girl a break. 

She.

Dressed.

Herself.

Dad must of known that I was completely exhausted. 
He took Mallory for a ride and I took a nap. 

A long nap.  A much needed nap. Thanks, Dad!

The Road Home.....

I made the drive home for Old Settler's Day. 

50 minutes of pure bliss.

The kids slept.

I listened to my I-Pod.

I never grow tired of this drive.

 The long winding roads.

 The sunflowers were still in bloom.

I wondered if Kohlmeyer was gearing up for harvest soon.

 There were large, round bales everywhere.

I secretly wished the kids would wake up so we could run out into the field and climb these bales. :)

 Some nosy heifers. 

They almost seemed put out at the fact that I was taking their picture.

And....just around the next corner.  A glimpse of my hometown.

All Together.

This summer we had the opportunity to get pictures of all the grandkids from both sides of our family.

This was a rare opportunity and a challenging one!



All the Walter grandchildren.



All the Frese grandchildren.



3.

Two of my favorite boys celebrated their 3rd birthdays this month.

Born just days apart.

Michael is so smart.  So inquisitive. 

He reminds me of Matthew at that age. 

Maxton is my happy-go-lucky boy. 

He wears a smile all-the-time. 

Michael

Maxton

Sedgwick County Zoo and more.....

Well after our long trip to Wichita we finally made it to the zoo.  And if I hadn't mentioned earlier, this was one of the hottest days of the year!

I learned that it is so much more fun to take your kids to the zoo when they are old enough to enjoy it and learn.  Matt and Hannah really got into following the map and anticipating what they would see next.

We saw so many interesting things.

Like the chimp that was carrying her baby around the exhibit.

The hippos.

The gorillas.

 

The snake shedding his skin.

So much had changed since our last visit in May of 2000. 

The Pride of the Plains was not even open at the time.

We had a good time.

Needless to say, it was hot!

The kids enjoyed watching the ducks.

And running through the gorilla mist.

There were so many beautiful things.

The koi in the river.

All the beautiful landscaping.

  

And flowers.

They were everywhere.

After the zoo, I called my dear friend, Jen. 

You see, she was in town too.

Our plan was to meet for lunch then she was taking Matt & Hannah home with her.

Mallory had a doctor appointment in the afternoon.

We met up at Kohl's and shopped a little.

Ate a very healthy lunch at McDonald's. (Yeah. Right. But the burger sure was tasty!)

Jen and the crew of 5 headed back home.

I took Mallory to her check up with the pediatrician.

I should have been a little smarter.  Mallory was exhausted.  She was not so nice at the appointment. 

Probably because mom packed too much into 1-day.

But, we got through the appointment.

We drove to Jen's and stayed and chatted for awhile. Then we headed back home. 

Because maybe just maybe we can squeeze one more thing into the day.

Best Intentions?

While on my week long vacation, Mallory had a doctor's appointments in Wichita.  My best friend, Jen, was going to be in Wichita as well.  So, I made a days worth of plans.  You know, it's not like I take a week of vacation that often.  Might as well have fun with it.

Well our trip did not start off so well.

10 minutes into the drive my voice was already starting to raise.  My head was already hurting. And, my patience was thin.

My girls managed to find a way to fight and bicker.
And, they weren't even sitting in the same row.
You know, there is only so much a mother and a brother (poor Matthew) can take.

Then the worst thing possible happened.

We ran into road construction.  We had to wait for what seemed like F.O.R.E.V.E.R.
I kept wondering if I made the right choice, but we trudged on.

Labor Day.

We spent Labor Day in Chapman.  We have been to the Chapman Labor Day Festivities for years.  Since our kids were babies.  This holiday is even more special now that the community is two years past the tornado.  I was still working for EMS full-time and was the second ambulance in that evening.  It means a lot to me to see the community come back stronger.  The Labor Day festivities are one way that growth is happening.  The three new schools are scheduled for completion this winter.  There is now vegetation coming back in the river bed, where the twisted trees after the tornado looked like toothpicks stuck in the mud. We sat on the curb of a street that I walked down during search and rescue.  This was also an area that Todd spent hours volunteering during the debris clean-up.

Lots of memories for the both of us.

 

Todd, Mallory, and I sat and watched the parade.  There was a large crowd.  The sun beat down on us.  It was hot.  But we endured because Matthew and Hannah were in the parade.

Matthew rode the float with his guitar class.  The Fansler's have done a wonderful service to the area by opening their music store and providing lessons.  They are the friendliest, kindest, and most generous couple.

Our now seasoned horse rider, Hannah, rode the route with Jackie. 
She had a lot of fun and has become very comfortable on a horse.

It was day well spent that ended with the hamburger/hotdog meal at the Legion.

Going batty.

We had a little run in with a bat in our house.
Needless to say, there was a moment that I was ready to pack up, leave, and sell the house.  Not looking back for one minute.
Bats are creepy.  They are incognito and surprise you "Boom" when you least expect it. 
Finding out there is a bat in your house as your hitting the sack.  Not the best experience.
I didn't sleep well for days. 
Our little visitor hasn't showed back up.  We've checked the house over.  Explored the attic.  Hopefully he won't return.  If he does......Well, I'll be calling Shelly at Cook Real Estate.

Cole.

My sweet lil' nephew, Cole, is now 14 months old.  He is a walking  running,busy little boy.   It's amazing how fast they grow.  He spends his days at a wonderful daycare and most of his evenings watch his big brother, Dedric, in whatever activities are going on.

He tends to be attached to his mother's hip.  Yes, he's a mamma's boy.  But that's not a bad thing. :) 

First Day of Preschool

Hannah (2nd year of preschool)

No tears this year!

Hannah and her friends, Alec & Troy, ride to school from daycare each afternoon.