Shopping & Having Fun

Last weekend while Daddy was shopping for workout clothes, the girls were "accessorizing"!  When I first saw them doing this, my first instinct was to tell them to put it all away...but when I looked at all 3 of them, I couldn't help but take pictures!  Needless to say, we had a little fun in the accessories aisle!

Who in their right mind would buy THESE hats?

3 divas striking a pose!  Hilarious!

Complete assembles...matching hat, scarf & purse!

Fashionistas!

Emmy's 1st Day of Preschool

Today was Emmy's first day of preschool.  What a bittersweet day.  She wanted me to flat iron her hair so it would "look good" on her first day.  :)  Wow...she just looked so grown up today, I can't even tell you.  I was a little nervous that she might be upset about going, but she did great!  Grady and I both took her to her classroom.  Then, she found her name tag and put it on.  Then, she was supposed to go across the room and find her name on the floor and sit down.  At that point, I could tell she was a little uneasy, but she was a trooper!  Grady and I walked out to the car and I kept telling myself, "you're not gonna cry, you're not gonna cry".  Well, you guessed it...a few tears were shed.  My last baby is now starting school...{sigh}.

 On the front porch...

Yes, I'm going to make her do this same pose right before she starts at K-State!

At school...

First Day of School

Another great summer has flown by and it's back to school!  Friday, August 13th was the first day back for the students in our school district.  Can you believe Macey is already a 4th grader and Jolee is a 1st grader?  They had a great first day, but Emmy kept asking me, "mommy, is it time to go get my sisters, yet?"...she definitely missed them!  Here are my school girls...all grown up.

Emmy starts preschool next week.  I better stock up on tissues...sniff.

Happy Birthday to My Baby!

On August 9th, my baby turned 4...I can hardly believe it.  I swear she looked taller that morning, like she was growing before my eyes.  Uncle D was here visiting from Florida, so he helped us celebrate.  We had a fun day planned...first, pool party with friends then back home for lunch and a yumm-o, home-made ice cream cake!  Then, Grandma Judy came to make the day even more special.  We wanted to take Emmy out for dinner and where did she decide to go?  Stix!...an Asian/Hibachi restaurant where they cook your food in front of you.  She felt so special that day!  And the next day she woke up and asked me, "mommy, am I still 4?".  I know I've said this before, but I want to freeze her at this age!!

At the pool with her peeps

How cute is that?

The somewhat lop-sided, but still delicious ice cream cake!

Lots of hugs...

With Grandma Judy at Stix

Emmy 1st Soccer Practice

Wow!  So much to blog about and so little time to blog!  I've got some catching up to do!

Emmy is playing soccer this fall!  This is her first team sports experience.  She is playing on a 5 & under team and she is the youngest player on her team (but not the shortest!).  Her coach (one of our friends) is awesome with the girls...he has SO much patience!  It is so cute watching these little girls run up and down the field.  I think it's going to be a really fun soccer season.  Here are some pictures of Emmy's first practice.

Makin' A Splash!

The girls have come a long way in the pool this year!  Emmy went from not wanting to get near the big pool to swimming around and jumping in the big pool (with her life vest) and going down the giant slide with me!  Jolee and Macey are having a blast going down the slides and just recently jumping from the high and low boards as well as doing flips into the pool!  There are just a few more weeks of summer left and we are trying to enjoy the pool as often as we can.  Ahh...the days of summer!

Half Marathon #4

Yesterday I ran my 4th half marathon, my 2nd one this year.  The Hospital Hill half marathon is rated by Runner's World magazine as the 2nd toughest half marathon in the U.S.!  No wonder it kicked my butt!  This was my 2nd time running this race and for some reason, this time was so much harder.  My alarm clock went off at 4:50 a.m. and I rolled over to check the weather...it was already 75 degrees!  Now, this may seem like a pleasant temperature, but when you're running, this is pretty hot!  Thank goodness it was cloudy all morning!  This run takes you through many scenic areas of Kansas City.  The scenery included the Nelson-Atkins Museum, the pretty UMKC campus, the awesome neighborhood of Brookside and the Plaza, just to name a few.  However, some other "scenery" we saw was several people stopping to toss their cookies and a girl on a stretcher getting loaded onto an ambulance.  Did I say this was a tough course?  Anyway, I was never so happy in all of my life to cross a finish line!  Although I didn't beat my goal time, I'm proud of myself and all of my friends for finishing.  Two times running this race is enough for me!  Farewell Hospital Hill...it's been an amazing journey!

At the start line...I am in the middle wearing pink.

Finish Line!

I ♥ this medal!

Our Florida Vacation 2010

We spent a whole week in Florida this month and it was awesome!  We got up bright and early on a Saturday morning and flew to Orlando.  We spent that afternoon and evening soaking up the sun at the resort.  One of my dear friends, who lives near Miami, drove up and spent the afternoon with us.  It was great spending time with her.  On Sunday, Jolee's birthday, we went to the Magic Kingdom and spent the WHOLE day.  On Monday, we returned to the Magic Kingdom to ride the rides that we didn't get a chance to ride on Sunday, and that evening we went to EPCOT.  On Tuesday, we went to Hollywood Studios.  Disney World is so much fun, but those parks take a lot out of you!  We were definitely ready for a little R & R!

On Wednesday, we rented a car and drove to Clearwater Beach where we met up with David.  It was so great to see him again!  Emmy had never seen the beach before and when she looked at it from our hotel balcony she said, "it's winter!!".  We had to explain to her that what she was seeing was white sand!  :)  We spent the remainder of our vacation Wed-Fri relaxing on the beach, hunting for shells, riding a waverunner, going parasailing, and getting lots and lots of sun!  On our final day in Florida, we ate lunch at the restaurant where David works and spent a few hours at his condo.  This vacation was our first vacation as a family of 5 and it was so much fun!

Click on the link below to view some of the pictures.  You'll have to click on the first picture and then click next to see the remaining pics.  I've also written a little about each one below the picture.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=219526&id=549347587&l=8da273615c

Happy 6th Birthday, Jolee!

On May 16, Jolee thought she was the luckiest little girl on the planet...she got to spend her birthday at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World.  When we checked into our resort, they gave her a "Happy Birthday Jolee" button to wear to the park.  Every single cast member who saw it went out of their way to say happy birthday to her.  Some even SANG happy birthday to her!  For lunch that day, we were visited by Winnie the Pooh and his friends, Eeyore and Piglet...so much fun!  And, to top off lunch, we surprised her with a huge birthday cake.  Later that day, we were chosen to be the Grand Marshalls of the parade.  We got to ride in Mickey's limo and wave to all of the people!  We felt a little like celebrities!  I'm sure this birthday is one that Jolee will never forget!

In front of the Princess castle

Jolee getting serenaded...

♪♪ Happy Birthday to you! ♪♪

Serenaded again by this quartet

Tigger came over to visit the birthday girl!

...and so did Eeyore!

...and Pooh, too!

What a yummy cake...mommy had 2 pieces!

Make a wish!

This is Mickey's limo that we got to ride in the parade

Getting geared up to smile and wave at all the people!

Miss Piggy & Kermit rode in the car behind us.

Doing a great job!

Happy Mother's Day 2010

I know Mother's Day is a day we celebrate our moms and thank them for all that they do and have done for us.  I admire my own mom so much and I aspire to be a mom as great as she is.  For me, I not only think of my mom, whom I miss so much because she lives too far away, but I am SO thankful to be a mom myself.  I thank God for the 3 most important gifts I have ever received.  My daughters give me purpose, they give me strength, they make me a better person.

I am so blessed...

Macey made this foil sculpture for me...it is her and I hugging.  

I LOVE IT!

The card Macey made for me

The card Jolee made...home-made gifts are the best!