All Done...Until Next Time!

I'm done.

I passed! And, even better, I got a 92%. Oh yeah, no crying was involved either.

So, that's it until I take my practical boards when I graduate. Which, at the rate I'm going, will be in another year.......hopefully not.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers. I seriously couldn't have gotten through this time without you all. So, be prepared, when the practical comes up I'll be sure to enlist your help again!

Nerves of Steel.....

I don't got 'em....

Today is the big day. 4:30 to be exact....I will be sitting in a teeny tiny cubicle testing my life away. I feel like I know the information, but at the same time, what if I don't know enough, or what if what I know isn't on the test - it'll be some obscure thing I forgot to look up or study? Is this test anxiety or what? I've heard of girls going in there and as soon as the door shuts, they start crying. Oh Lord, I hope that's not me.

Plus, my mama-mode is in high gear because Aidan is sick with a nasty cold and Darby is at the doctor's office as I speak having a strep test done. She spent most of the weekend with 103-104 degree temperatures and a sore throat. Thankfully, I have a good husband who is taking the day off to help me out.

So, there I am. Nerves a-dancin' like butterflies and the Luttjohann curse of "tummy nerves". I'll post tonight with my score......if it's worthy of sharing. If I don't, for some reason, pass - I will have to wait until I'm completely graduated and take it ON THE SAME DAY as the practical exam (the actual doing of hair and such, in front of proctors). You're talking an 8 hour process. SO, I'm really hoping that I won't even have to go there. Really, really hoping.....

Love you all - thanks so much for the prayers. They are more than appreciated!

New "Aidan-isms" and Life As We Know It

The kiddos were sitting at the table the other day and of course Darby was torturing him with something terrible about the food he was eating. I corrected her and he looked at her and said "Guess I won't be listening to your advice anymore!"

We introduced the kids to Bobo's Drive-In last week and Scott's mom, Terri, went with us. She let each of us try one of her onion rings and Aidan shook his head up and down and said "Mmmmm...that's impressive."

Darby had to sleep with Aidan the other night because her bed was, um, incapacitated? and needed some airing out. After about 10 minutes of giggling and whispering I was just getting up to tell them to calm down and get to sleep....Aidan walked out and asked us if we could please make her leave his room because she was "distractin'" him.

He's really into using big words and big phrases these days and, miraculously, picked up reading practically overnight. We were still able to spell words around him without him picking up on what we were talking about. Those days are over.

I'm trying really hard to keep this blog up. I know it doesn't look much like it. But, with my exam, and a possible major surgery, and moving and what-not, it's not leaving me much time for anything else. Pray for my focus to stay on God and not the things that are happening around me. I read a really neat article the other day about Endometriosis and how the pain can become your idol because it ends up being all you think about. I can so relate. You pick the lesser of two evils - stay in pain and unable to live your life, or go on pain meds and float through your life. December 9th I will go in for a consult to just have the whole shebang taken out. Pray for the ability to work this out as I have so much packing and cleaning and "fixing up" to do. It's a bit overwhelming.

I'm off to watch ESPN. I know that sounds ridiculous coming out of my mouth, er, keyboard. But, Scott scored an awesome ticket to the tournament (i.e. KU game - two rows up) and the kids and I've been watching him the whole game. I called him a little while ago to tell him to quit biting his nails. Even on a boys night out I can keep my eye on him. How awesome is that? ;)

Beauty 101...

If I start throwing out big words like anode and cathode, or orbicularis oculi, and maybe even immiscible substances - it's not because I suddenly turned genius and started medical school. It's because these are actual things I have to know to become a liscensed cosmetologist. Hey, I just signed up to do hair!

I will be taking my state boards in approximately 3 weeks and I am a studying fool. I'm taking practice tests (and failing miserably) and making notecards and reading a TEXTBOOK. I know, you envy my life.

Please pray that I can stay focused (how am I supposed to do that when Jon and Kate are about to renew their vows, and the Real Housewives of Atlanta are in such a tizzy, not to mention Meredith and McDreamy are finally together!?!?). My priorities are SO in line! I'm not a good test taker, that is why I'm a cosmetologist. But, unfortunately the state of Kansas thinks that in order for me to roll a great perm or turn people blonde/red/brunette/gorgeous requires me to have the knowledge of chemistry, electricity, and anatomy/physiology. So, I guess I have to follow the law. Speaking of, there are exactly 10 law questions on the test, too - mental note...study law.

If you don't hear how I did on this test, I'm sure it's because I only failed by one point......

It's Days Like These.......

Yesterday was the kids' last annual visit to Dr. Cooley's office......Sigh.

Nurse Ellie and I shared a few laughs and a lot of tears as we reminisced over the last 8 years. The middle of the night phone calls for 103 degree fevers and Saturday visits. Oh, and the week Aidan had to go in EVERY SINGLE DAY for Rocephin injections in his teeny little one-year-old booty for a very persistant ear infection - he would cry as soon as he saw Ellie's face for the next year - he just knew she was going to hurt him again. And when Darby had her first seizure 5 years ago? Ellie and Dr. Cooley were there. They were there to take care of my kiddos, they were there to comfort me as a mommy, they were always there when we needed them. I know we'll find a good doctor in KC, but he/she won't be Dr. Cooley. And, the new doctor's nurse won't be any Ellie. They won't remember my babies when they were actual babies. Or, my brothers and me, as little kids. I know it's silly to be so emotional over a doctor's office, but, they were our security when we were facing RSV when Aidan was a baby and when we faced epilepsy with Darby as a toddler. That means a lot to me.

These are the days that are going to be hard as we face our next chapter. But, they also remind us what we have to look forward to when we get there.....new memories, new places, and new friends. Sure, we'll miss all of these things here, but they won't really be all that far away......about 60 miles to be exact! :)

p.s. The kids are super great! They are both very healthy and they had to endure their flu shots. But, we have a rule that when someone gets shots they get to pinch mommy's arm as hard as they want. I think I made out the worst in the whole process!

Oh, Yes, I Did.....

cut

one of these

today!







It was basically the greatest day ever.

And, then, I signed up to take my State Boards, had as close to a panic attack as there can be because I haven't studied in, like, a year, and ruined the moment.

I have to tell you - I did that haircut on a 63 year old lady and I kept snipping off the ends and she'd say "Um, shorter." And, then, I'd snip off a little more and she'd say "Probably a little shorter". And, then, I got brave and cut the whole darn front off. That's a hair cut "first" that I swore I would never do. Never say never, I guess.

Sneak Preview......

of the Martin Family Photo Shoot 2008 (these are just a few of my faves - out of the 293 taken)





















These haven't even been cropped, edited, or nuthin'! Our photographer is a genius! And, so's her assistant!

Happy Birthday Doodlebug!

Happy Birthday Gorgeous Girl!
Eight years ago today, you came into our lives, and we couldn't have been more excited! Your moods have always been contagious (yes, the good ones and the bad ones)! You're so smart and you've always used it to your advantage, like the time you weren't even 2 and I let you put lotion on in the morning and later that evening you came into the kitchen to tell me you could still smell your lotion. (If you hadn't forgotten to put the chair back, I would have never known you had snuck in for more!) You've always entertained us - when you were little with "The Look" and now your Mary Katherine Galligher-esque antics. Your teachers tell us every quarter how fabulous you are - helpful, courteous, caring and well-behaved. (We always wonder if we're talking about the right child when we leave there!) :) But, at the end of every day, I can always count on a hug and a kiss no matter what!
We know that some day you will be something great - once you get past the point of basing what you want to be when you grow up on what requires the least amount of schooling! We love you, little miss sunshine! You are the music in us!

Highs and Lows

I hinted, well actually lamented, a few weeks ago that we had some very exciting, and scary, things going on in our life and I'm so excited to say that I can FINALLY open my big mouth about everything! Wahoo!
Scott has been promoted to Manager at his firm that he's been with for the last four years. This would normally be very exciting news but the hard part is that with this promotion comes the fact that he'll actually be the manager of the Overland Park office. In a season of layoffs and economic uncertainty, this has been a really huge blessing and a very scary transition all at the same time. The possibilities are enormous, however, the losses will be also.
I'm a family kinda girl. I've lived in the same town my whole life. My kids were born at the hospital I was born in and their pediatrician was my pediatrician. So, you see, even though it's ONLY 60 miles away.....it's still 60 MILES AWAY! But, deep in our hearts we always kind of knew this would be where we'd end up. I keep reminding myself it could be a city away or a state like my friend, Sarah, who's entire family lives in Colorado! (Sarah, you keep me humble about complaining!) :)
Fortunately, through this entire process we've chosen to not focus on any one thing, except for God. There were so many pros and so many cons and we knew we couldn't make a decision without Him. So, once we left it up to Him, He showed us where to go. I can't count how many times we thought it wouldn't happen because of this, or that, or another thing. And, the next day that door would swing wide open.
SO, although it's going to be hard, and there are days that I'm going to be homesick and my kids will be homesick and Scott's going to be working very hard...we've chosen to do this together as a family.
I actually had questioned keeping this blog, since OBVIOUSLY, I'm not very good at keeping it up. One night, I was thinking about maybe the next day just taking it down and for some reason I thought - "No, I'm going to need it." And, here we are! You'll probably get to see how frustrating it is to pack up and move to another city for a control freak like myself. And, once we're there, it will be a great way to keep connected with our friends and family here day to day (or month to month since we all know how my blogging skills go).
So, there it is. We have a to-do list that's a mile long and many things to finish up here, but I know we'll get it done. And, according to the kids, once we get there "WOOHOO, Worlds of Fun EVERYDAY!"
Thanks for supporting us and for those of you who've had to listen to me blubber, thanks also. And, for everyone in Topeka, don't worry - I've already had Scott work gas money to drive back and forth every weekend into the budget! :)

Little Boys...

Their purpose in life is to create as MUCH havoc as they can on their mother's lives. The following is a true story and is in no way to be performed in your own home without supervision:

I'm talking to my friend, Jolene, on the phone and my mother's instinct perks up. Or, maybe it was the sound of the buttons on the microwave...Anyway, I jump up to go check out the situation just in time to see blue sparks emitting from my microwave. Of course, I shriek, right into the ear of poor Jolene and run to open the microwave and remove the offending piece.

Which, happens to be Aidan's METAL THERMOS for his lunch box. And, to think, I stopped it with only 52 minutes and 5 seconds to go. LORD HAVE MERCY!

I explained to my giggling tyrants that under no circumstance should metal ever be placed in the microwave EVER again....all the while, Jolene is giggling at me in the background....And, from now on all items being placed in the microwave must be approved by me. Darby looks at me and says "But, is Aidan's THERMOSTAT ruined?"

Nope, but I think the microwave's is.........

If You Happen To Be Home Watching T.V.

The Titanic is on TNT. Watch for my Aunt Nikki. I think she went by the name "Rose" back in those days.

Darn her for throwing that necklace in the water!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School

Every Thursday (like clockwork) we climb into the van to go to school and Darby screams "My library books!" And, every Thursday I shut the van off, go inside, dig around the laundry and retrieve the library books. Well, today was no different, as you can guess.
I bring the books out and hand them to Darby and Aidan says "Oh, the boat book. I really, really love that boat book." Darby informs him that it is NOT a boat book, it's a very important book about the Titanic and he does not know what he's talking about. She then goes into the story of the Titanic, because she actually read her library books this week, and I'm having to help her with Aidan's questions (like "What the heck's an iceberg?").
She gets to the part about people dying from drowning and freezing and that some people still lived even though they had to swim in the very coldest water you could ever imagine. And, she informs Aidan that it was a long, long, long time ago "even before Grandma Keri's mother was born". Aidan asked her who WAS alive when it happened and Darby tells him "Um, God."

Aidan says "Ooh, Ooh, I know who was......Aunt Nikki!"

So, Nikki, was the water really that cold?

Did You See My Face on the Side of a Milk Carton?

Hello all. It's been awhile. My mother has resorted to checking my friends' blogs to see what's going on in our lives. Or at least pictures of her grandkids.

I'm recovering from a little surgery I had 12 days ago. (But, who's counting....) Slowly, very slowly, I'm starting to feel a little normal again...whatever that means. :)

I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get some pictures up on here. My camera is such a piece of junk and, oh yeah, so's the computer. So, the effort just hasn't been worth it but I feel bad for my children's grandparents so I'll put some on here to ease my guilt!

I just wanted to share these two funny little stories because they are so typical of every day here at the Martin house...

Story #1 - Darby and I were going through her closet on Monday weeding out all of the shirts that fit like they were glued to her body and pants that were screaming "We're waiting for the flood, y'all!" It's been a LOOOOONG time since I've done this and my kids' closets were not equipped to deal with fall weather. So, I'm digging through the closet and Darby's trying things on and I hear her say behind me "You know, Mom, I really don't like these turtle-lips. They're not very comfortable." As soon as I turn around she looks me dead straight in the eye and says "I said turtlenecks, I did, I really did. Turtlenecks." Yeah, uh huh.

Story #2 - Aidan is REALLY, and I mean REALLY, into sounding out words, asking us to spell stuff, spelling things to us. He's a never-ending walking dictionary these days. Today, he comes running into the living room and says "Mom, guess what!! I can spell something all on my OWN!" Of course, I'm waiting with baited breath, ready to be so proud of all the hard work I've put into making him a little genius and he says "I can spell ok. O---K! Woo Hoo!!" I'm so proud. Can anyone say "gifted"!?

Changes

Change is inevetible. Merriam Webster defines change (in the noun sense) as an alteration, transformation, or substitution. I cannot count on all of my appendages the number of changes that happen in a single day at our house.

But, last week Scott and I were presented with one of, if not THE, biggest change we may be facing in the very near future. As much as I would love to spill details with you all, I just can't yet. But, trust me, I will as soon as the time is right.

In the process of life, we are faced with so much uncertainty and that is very unappealing for a control freak such as myself. But, some things are just not in our control. We can, however, choose to hand our control over to The One who is. And, that's just what we've decided to do. Our ultimate goal in this life is to live according to God's will and not ours. And, so, we've chosen to hope, believe, and trust in that. Our prayer is that whatever happens, wherever we are, and in whatever we do - God will be right there with us. We come to you all asking for prayer for wisdom and discernment for Scott and I, doors to open where they need be, and shut where they need be. We'll be right there on our knees with you!

I was given this song this morning and I just can't help but let it wrap itself around my weary heart:
I will praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
(In case you're wondering....that's Casting Crown's "Praise You in This Storm".)

Thanks so much for being there for us! Thanks for being interested in our lives and thanks for loving us so much! We appreciate it beyond words!

For You, My Dear Jolene.....

So, I got "tagged" by my dear friend, Jolene, to fill this out on my blog like 2 weeks ago. And, I'm actually getting to it! Although, a teeny tiny bit late! But, I DO have an excuse. As of last Tuesday I am officially a cosmetology student again. I'm having mixed feelings about it, so, we'll wait until I'm more comfortable again to talk about it. Anyway, here you go Jolene! Love you!

About me: A-Z
A - age - 29 ....at least for a few more months
B - birthday - October 26th
C - candy or cake - Either...in chocolate
D - dessert you love - See above
E - easiest person to talk to - yeesh, depends on what i'm talking ABOUT!
F - favorite song - right now I'm hooked on all the songs from the living proof live event from a couple of weeks ago!
G - gold or silver - silver
H - habit - y'all know this one and I'm trying to quit
I - instruments - flute and piano in grade school
J - job title - mommy, student
K - kids - 2 - i think - i lose track some days!
L - love or lust - love
M - married or single - married
N - next to you - everything that needs picked up and put away
O - one wish - to be beth moore's very best friend
P - person you called last - my brother andrew
Q - quotes - mostly scripture right now, and mostly the ones about anxiety and being scared
R - reasons to smile - my family and friends
S - steak or pork - definitely not pork
T - turns you on - really? i have to answer this?
U - unique talent - triple folding my tongue-it's genetic?
V - vegetable - i heart carrots
W - woke up at what time - 6:30-scott has a breakfast every wed. morning so i get the kiddos ready by myself
X - xrays I've had - last year when that idiot ran a red light and hit me and they had to check my insides....i think that's it
Y - your favorite color - PINK!
Z - zodiac - i'm not into zodiac, but i know i'm a scorpio...i think

Do you feel like you know me better!?!?
Sarah, put that baby down, it's your turn to fill this thing out!!!

The Finality of it All....

Dear Scott,

You deserve this! You put your trust in God to get you through this and He prevailed! It's been a long, long road and there were SO many times when you questioned your path and the strength you would have to make it, but you remained steadfast in this battle - relying, sometimes, solely on the prayers of our good friends and family members.

Darby, Aidan and I are so proud of you! We love you Mr. C.P.A.!

Now get back to work!!

Growing Pains

Someone is turning 6 tomorrow and I don't know who it's hurting more......



Him: Who realized lately that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are really NOT giant, talking, kung-fu-ing turtles in "real life".
or
Me: Who realized lately it's been a long time since I've heard a story about Ericka Bericka. She's gone and I doubt she's coming back.





Him: Who's figured out he's too big to be held much more than 30 seconds anymore.
or
Me: Who hasn't heard "Iholjume" "Iholjume" ("I hold you me") every 30 seconds in years.






Him: Who's a little scared about starting Kindergarten next week.
or
Me: Who's a little scared about him starting Kindergarten next week.





HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBA!
You are the most hilarious little man in our lives!
I never thought that I would literally get excited about certain cars driving by, Lego Indiana Jones, or soccer - but, here I am, a mustang lovin', playstation playin', soccer mama - thanks to you!
Your unconditional love for your sister is so amazing - who else can get punched in the arm and turn around and ask her what she wants to play next!?
You can be anything you want to be and, no, YOU do NOT have to do your wife's taxes when you grow up!
We love you to the moon and back!

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

Cousin #5 came last Tuesday! I'm sorry I'm so long in posting, but I have been "under the weather". After a weekend of being poolside, I'm much better (and redder)! :)
Scott's sister, Angie, and her husband, Jared, welcomed Easton Dean (6lbs. 14ozs) on Tuesday night. I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say that when Angie got to the hospital she was halfway done laboring - and within 15 minutes he was born! Mama and baby are healthy and from what I hear he's been a great baby.


Marley is doing well and it is so emotional for me when I spend time with her because she reminds me so much of Darby. Andrew really has turned out to be a great daddy! (Not that we expected anything less!) :)
We are so excited to have all these new babies join our family and we're anxiously awaiting our friends, Sarah and Matt's, baby boy due in August. We're also very glad to not be the parents getting up with the babies all hours of the night!


Our "babies" seem to get bigger and bigger every day. We enroll in school next week and it's sad to see the summer coming to an end. (And, even sadder enrolling our baby-baby in Kindergarten!)




Scott is taking this week off for a little "vacation". We don't have anything planned but since it's a week off for the first time in two years, we're going to appreciate it. He took his fourth (and, hopefully, final) test this morning, so pray that this journey is over for him!

She's Here!

Marley Jaye was born at 10:14 this morning after a LOOOONG night! 8lbs 12ozs. and 20 inches. She's doing great and Andrew and Ashley have done amazingly well. Now, we're just waiting on Angie (Scott's sister) to have our new little nephew any day now. Hopefully, not tonight. I'm tired.

Please Forgive Me....

I know, this blog sucks.

Or, maybe it's me that has the issues. I seem to have lost interest in just about everything lately. The kids and I mostly hang out....at home....together....all day. Which is totally cool with me. But, they're getting tired of it, for sure.

I've really been struggling with my foot. I won't go into all of the disgusting, warty details. But, just to bring you up to speed, I'm now back to my original doctor because the THIRD doctor that I'd been passed off to was a complete idiot.
Everything came back, and then some, and so for awhile I honestly have felt very hopeless. This is very sad to say, but, I never in a million years would have felt pity for someone who had plantars warts. They just sound so, blah.....But, now that I've been dealing with them for 2 years, I have so much sympathy for anyone else who has gone through this. Google plantars warts some day when you're REALLY bored. I met someone who had them for 15 years. FIFTEEN! That's half of my life right at this moment.

I don't want to be that girl that every time you talk to me - all I talk about is my foot. (For those of you who've had to put up with that - I'm sorry and thanks!) So, I've kind of avoided this blog out of fear that that's the only thing I have to talk about. Hope you all don't mind that I'm bringing it up now. I actually have an appointment next week to discuss where we are going to go with treatment options, I've obviously exhausted all of the "normal" options and so, off we go with some "out of the norm" treatments. They include using formalin (similar to formaldehyde), immunity boosting injections, mumps injections, and bleomycin (a chemotherapy) injections. If all else fails, I do have the option of having a heel "transplant" which would totally stink. Especially, since I'm trying to go back to school. Can't do a lot of hair on crutches for 4 months. Not to mention the pain that my doctor is trying to control at the moment is no where near what it would be going that route.

So, there it is. There's where my mind is at. I'm sorry for the lack of interesting (or not so interesting) stories, pictures, and what-not. You know the cartoon character that walks around with the grey cloud over his head? That's been me the last couple of months. But, Thank God, I'm starting to feel the warmth of sunshine!

3 Down, 1 To Go!

So..........

Scott passed!

One more test on July 21st.
And, then, hopefully he'll be done! Wahoo!! :)

That's the Night the Lights Went Out......

So, last Thursday we were expecting SEVERE storms. So, "dangerous" they were comparing what we were about to get to the storms here in 1973 that produced tornadoes. If you know me, you know that I am deathly afraid of storms and, more importantly, tornadoes. I developed this fear when Scott and I lived in our mobile home years ago and anytime it rained it sounded, well, like rain hitting a metal roof....you get the picture. I won't even go into what hail sounded like. So, I got my storm strategy in action...1. Build a dam in the basement to prevent more flooding and prepare the spot in which we'd get on our knees and cover our heads...check, 2. Pack all my "valuables" in my purse, along with the flashlight, 2 candles and lighters (big purse!)....check and 3. Keep my eyes glued to the weather reporter (whose voice was shaking - doesn't help)....check.
We ate a quick dinner and waited out the disaster, ignoring all the other things I had wanted to get done that evening. When the storm "hit" it was all of 60 seconds of sideways rain and that was it. Yep, BIG STORM! However, apparently, the winds took out our power so for about an hour and a half we were in the dark. We decided to go hang out on our enclosed porch, which we never use, but turned out to be quite the entertaining spot.











Darby entertained us with some dancing....











And, just when we were trying to figure out sleeping arrangements for the night (I can't wait until our kids outgrow the "fear of the dark" stage)......











The lights came back on!











It actually turned out to be a fun evening! And, I did not die of a heart attack, anxiety attack, or any other attack resulting from my irrational fears. Chalk that one up as a good day!

Summer Fun

Well, aside from cleaning up the 3 inches of water we got in our basement on Monday (we were going for the indoor pool-but 3 in. doesn't cut it), we have been having lots of fun this week.
Our neighbor's little boy, Nathan, came over last night for fun with the water hose. I was watering my plants and within 3.5 seconds had 3 children staring at me with swimsuits on. (They're like Superman-run into house and voila! swimsuits!). p.s. Yes, I DO realize that Darby's swimsuit is a wee bit small - we're retiring it today.






We've been making weekly trips to Scott's parents restaurant for free lunch/breakfast and down the strip there's a little grocery store with a pay phone outside of it. I don't know what my kids' obsession with pay phones is all about, but they love them. I'm not a fan - what with people putting drug needles laced with HIV in them. I know, I know - I'm paranoid and I'm okay with it. But, it's kind of cute to listen to them "call" people and have conversations with them.

Today, we went downtown to the capitol with our friends Jenny and Emily to have a "brown bag" lunch and dance to The Exceptions. They do this weekly and thanks to overcast skies, today was the day to go. (It wasn't at all for the free hot dogs, chips, and pop. But, that was a bonus!) My poor friend Jenny realized after we parked, walked, and sat for about an hour that she still had the change in her pocket that we were going to put in the meter. Oops! She is now the lucky owner of an $8 parking ticket. I did offer to pay for half of it! :)









If you look really closely, in that last pic they are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I swear, they did that for a half an hour straight. They had a blast.





This last picture is SimonBob being really grateful that his human mama is too busy (okay, lazy) to finish folding laundry. ;)
If I could be any animal I wanted, I'd most definitely be a cat!!

New Rule at Our House

Your sister is NOT allowed to eat your two remaining bites of strawberries for you, while Mom is out of the room, so you can get up from the table. Even when "she's actually bein' nice to me, for the first time in a loooooooong time, though".
And, it was only 8:30 a.m.
That's all I'm going to say about that.

Weekend Fun

We are recovering this morning from a super busy/super fun weekend! Friday morning we met my friend, Sarah and her daughter, Camdyn, at the zoo and had a great time. It was our 2nd time at the zoo in one week, but the kids really enjoyed it all the same.










Scott took Friday off because he had a CPA exam that morning and so, we got some good family time in. We had to go update our cell phones/plan and the kids did a great job being patient through the process so we decided to surprise them with something they've never done before. Lake Shawnee has paddleboats that you can rent out for $3/half hour. Darby was excited but, Aidan was actually a little scared to get on one. Afterwards, he said "That was really great, after all. I'm glad I didn't get scared anymore." He's the one who didn't want to get out of the little boat when we were all roasting from the sun. Figures.











On Saturday, Scott took Aidan to his "summer camp" for church in Solomon, KS. It was only a day camp for the Pre-K/Kindergarteners. They had a lot of fun. Darby and I ended up helping Andrew and Ashley move out of their apartment and into their new house in Montara. It was so hot outside. I think we were all sweating by 9:45 a.m. But, they got moved and the house is really cute.








Yesterday, we ended up spending the entire afternoon and evening working in our yard. I'm really bad about planting things and then deciding I want them somewhere else. So, I transplanted some ivy and a wisteria "bush". Scott's working on getting our back yard to start looking like a back yard. It's going to take a lot of work so we're glad for a good start.

Well, it looks like we're about to get some really bad storms, so I'm off to watch the weather.......

Hope everyone had a good weekend!