Union Pacific Railroad Museum

We took some time while in Omaha to go to the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.  Being the train buffs that we are, we killed a whole afternoon at the museum.

Omaha Air Show

We headed out last weekend to Omaha for the air show at Offuit Air Force Bases.  We have attended before but Matthew was a toddler at the time.

The show was rained out for Saturday so we stayed the evening with family hoping that the weather would improve for Sunday.

The weather was overcast and warm.
There was a large crowd attending with long lines to everything.
We still enjoyed the day walking the base and viewing the aircraft.

All about my First Grader.

Faith Rocks.

Hannah and Mallory's faith based horse lessons group aptly named- Faith Rocks- is growing! 
It is so exciting to see this ministry provide valuable lessons to a pretty remarkable bunch of kids. 

Gone Fishin'

Todd and I took a vacation day and drove Matt & Hannah to Washington to go fishing.
The weather was absolutely beautiful.
We started off with a picnic and then headed down to the boat dock for a little fishing.



Hannah's trophy fish.

First Day of School!

Hooray! The first day of school has come.
The whole family was ready to get back into the school routine.
Especially Mallory. Especially because she started middle school.
Yikes!  Not sure if this mom can handle her babies growing up so stinkin' quick.

Our first day of getting around for the school bus went remarkably well.  The kids were eager to get ready and were even being a bit goofy while waiting.

Matthew moved to a different school this year.  This will be the first year since he was 3-years old that he will not be in class with his dear friend Lilly.  I'm sure they make up for lost time at recess.

Hannah's off to 1st grade.  She was so ready to get back to school!

Hannah loves to take her lunch.  She hurries up to get ready and then packs her own cooler with lunch for the day.

Even Dot was ready for the school routine.
She took to her duty of bus watch immediately.

Mallory was eager to see her bus driver, Wanda.

She even made sure that Wanda knew to take her to the middle school since she is a big kid now.

Matt and Hannah stayed busy while I finished getting ready for work and then we were off to start the day.

Hannah was disappointed to learn that 1st graders still go to daycare after school.

Matthew's Baptism.

Matthew made the decision to be baptized this summer.
He gave his testimony in front of a church full of people.

My name is Matthew Walter. I am 9 years old. I have known Jesus for as long as I can remember because my parents have taken me to church since I was little. I have gotten to know Jesus through my parents, church, and prayer. I like to be around people that know Jesus, like at youth group and church camp. It makes me sad to know of people that do not know Jesus. The bible to me is more than just a book it’s my guide through life. It’s comforting to know that Jesus is with me all the time, and is like a really close friend, especially when I’m sad. I have a friend who doesn’t know Jesus and I want her to know more so I tell her about him. I want to be baptized because I choose to follow Jesus and want others to know it.

There were 18 people that gave their testimonies and were baptized at our church's Baptism Event.  In one word, "Amazing".

After the testimonies, everyone heads to the swimming pool for the baptisms and a pool party.  It was a bit chilly but still a spectacular event!

Batting for Down Syndrome!

Some friends and I took the opportunity to play in an overnight baseball tournament.  All proceeds from the tournament went to the North Central Kansas Down Syndrome Society.

My main goal for playing in this tournament was for Mallory's best buddy, Noah.  His parents organized the tournament and do an awesome job of raising Noah.

I'll have to admit, I had not played ball in almost 10 years.
Man alive, was I sore the next day!

Too much.

This is what happens on the ride home
when you've had an extra fun day!

Hannah's Dream

Miss Rodeo America.
That's what Hannah is aspiring to be.

Cowgirl Up.

At Hannah's request, we signed her up for Mutton Buston at the Central Kansas Free Fair Rodeo.
We were at a loss of how to prepare our cowgirl for this event.

She was pretty excited to wear her number and you have to admit that she makes a cute little cowgirl.

Hannah never backed down from this opportunity.

Getting ready to head into the chute.

And here it is.  Her attempt at mutton buston.

Not an 8 second ride, but I admire her for getting out there and trying this.

The bonus for the night was the belt buckle awarded to all the participants.

We stayed for the rest of the rodeo and enjoyed our evening.

Hot, Hot, Hot

It is too hot to ride horses.
So what do you do with little cowgirls when it's this hot?
You let them bathe the horses.

That's right.  Horse lessons have continued despite the heat.
You can't keep these cowgirls away.
Yep.  They've got the fever. In a bad way.

Hannah with her boy, Giz.  Gizzer,  Gizzy Boy.
She has all these pet names for her horse.

Now that's some serious horse love.

Cowgirl with a rockstar attitude.  Could be trouble.

Getting ready to braid Giz's tail.

Bath time just may be a little too much fun.

That's my girl!  Leaving her mark everywhere she goes. :)