Heading West

So, we finally got everything in order to make the move.  We're heading to Eugene, Oregon.  Luckily we have our house under contract set to close October 3rd, so that's one less thing to worry about.

We decided to make the 1826 mile trip in three days stopping at a couple of my friend's houses (super lucky for us on so many levels!)

Here's what the plan looked like. 

From Manhattan, KS to Greeley, CO in one day.  This day wasn't so bad, and I got to eat at a great local restaurant I haven't been to in forever!  My super great friends Beth and Dave let us stay at their house.  Kinley had a great time playing with their precious daughter Olivia, and Kendall was thoroughly entertained chasing the dog, cat and little Josh.

Day 2 wasn't too bad either.  We headed up to Blackfoot, Idaho to see my awesome friend Jackie.  I have never been to Idaho, so that was an added bonus.  Its been so long since I've seen Jackie it was great to sit in her back yard eating burgers and watching my girls play with her do, and the baby pool.

Day 3 was the roughest on us.  It was by far the longest day, we were DONE being in the car, and truly there isn't much interesting to look at the entire way - until trees start showing up really close to Eugene.  Anyway, we went by a really cool volcano area (not sure what it was, have to look it up later), but in doing so we drove about 30mph for a really long time.  We finally made it to our rental house and were so excited to hop out of the car and be "home". 

Here's Kinley playing with her babies in the living room.

Kendall posing in the new house

So far so good...Our furniture arrived 2 days after us, and thankfully my mom and Michael came down to help with the girls and unpacking.  We did have a few damaged items,but nothing that was devastating - thank goodness!



Riley County Fair

The kids love going to the fair, even when its over 100.  Willie the Wildcat was there and all the kids got excited - until Kendall got too close.  The big kids with Willie after he signed their hands:)

Kinley really stepped in it:)

I think this is Kinley with her puppy - before it popped

As we were walking through the barns, we got to pet a little piglet that was less than 24 hours old.  So stinkin cute!

The girls petting a goat

BFFs deciding what to ride next

In the spinney bears.  They loved going round and round:)

Kendall and I riding the carousel - hard to get her to see Tom and wave at him as we were going by

Look Ma - no hands!

Kendall has a really good grip:)

Love this picture:)

We had such a great time at the fair - sweaty, but fun!  We loved spending time with BFFs and of course eating fair food, riding the rides and playing games.  Loved it!

4th of July Lake Life

Its a long family tradition to gather at the lake for the 4th of July.  We can't always make it back to Texas for the 4th, but this year we did - and it was great!

The little girls had a blast playing in the little pool out front

                                  Kendall just jumped in so quickly, I was lucky to get her clothes off.

         Here are the two bathing beauties.  I wish I could post the pictures of the girls in beads and goggles and nothing else.  They were both so proud of themselves:)

                                     Happy 4th of July (not sure what the girls are looking at)

                                                               My precious little girls:)

 Luckily, the neighborhood my aunt lives in has a great pool.  We spent hours out there beating the heat.  Here is my amazing aunt with the kiddos.

 It wouldn't be a true family get together without some kind of competition.  So, having put that out there...Here's Tom throwing Kinley, and that's Greg waiting his turn with Lee:)  They both went flying!

                      What's a 4th of July without a water balloon fight?  We missed Lori here:)

                                                Love the way Greg is trying to escape

                    The best part for the girls is always the boat.  Looking absolutely precious:)

                 It was a bit windy for Kendall - although she managed to fall asleep a little later.

We had so much fun at the lake this year.  It was great to see my family and spend time with them before we move farther away.  We laughed, smiled and loved being with everyone.  I wouldn't have traded this day for anything:)

Just a funny note - after we got back to Kansas, Kendall kept talking about Poopa and his boat.  That girl cracks me up!

Leah's Baptism

Tom and I are so honored to be my niece's (Leah) God-parents!  Lori and I compiled both our schedules and found July 3rd worked for both of us to be at Leah's baptism.  Leah did such a great job!
                                                  Here she is being presented to the church

                                                                 Leah by her banner.

                                                      Tom and me with our God-daughter:)

                                                  Chad, Emma, Leah, Holly and Lori

MANHATTAN

The big new in our house right now is that we are moving.  Considering this, we decided it was finally time to take a trip up to Manhattan Hill and see the letters close up.  Mostly this was Kinley's request since she heard Jimbo talking about having gone up there, but I wanted to go too.

               Here are the girls, on our way to the pool after, sitting between the legs of the M

Family photo with part of Manhattan in the back

                                                     And of course Jimbo and the girls:)

It was actually pretty neat up there.  I was a little disappointed that you couldn't really walk around the letters - not really sure what I was expecting.  But, there were some hiking trails up there, an historical marker, and a place to park and picnic.

Another Draeger Visit

We took another trip up to see our dear friends in Wisconsin.  We happened to be there for a wonderful anniversary get together.  The location was beautiful, the food amazing, and the best friends you could ask for.

Kendall dropped her bowl of goldfish all over the sidewalk.  I guess its a good thing she doesn't mind eating food off the floor - maybe.

The girls thought playing in this fire pit that had rocks in the bottom was so much fun.

One night Ms Reva, Kinley and I got to roast marshmallows and make S'mores in their fire pit at the house. Yummy!
                              Serious concentrations to get the right amount of heat on that mallow

                                               Reva and Kinley enjoying the final product

 Reva took us over to the Dales closest to their house.  I'm still not sure what that really means, but it was beautiful.  There were huge rocks in a river that made little pools that people were jumping into.  There were all kinds of walking/hiking trains along the river and even a play place and bathrooms.

                                                                  Here's the family

                                                                 Just the little girls

                   The girls hiking with Daddy.  Kendall needed a little help with those big rocks.

                                                     That's better - a nice running trail:)

 Kinley just had to get in the water.  There was a great place to put her feet in along our hike.  Yep, water was really cold:)

 I have never seen so many crawdads in my life.  This was like NY City for them.  They were laying on the rocks in shallow water basking, hiding and fighting.  We're talking hundreds along the shore. 

 One of Reva's horses was pregnant when we got there.  We went out and saw her in the barn with her big ole belly.  It was really cool to see her tummy move with the baby.  We noticed her nipples were dripping milk, so Reva thought she was getting close.  Little did we know it was only hours later "little" Lilly popped out!  Aren't they beautiful!  Lilly is less than 12 hours old in this picture.

We always have so much fun at the Draeger's house, and this time was no different.  Aside from Tom letting the girls pet a snapping turtle, it was great!  So peaceful, so beautiful and an amazing family to learn from. Thanks so much!

Bryleigh's Birthday Earrings

All Bryleigh wanted for her birthday was to get her ears pierced.  I had decided to let Kinley bring this subject up on her own and not force it.  Once Bryleigh decided she wanted her ears pierced, she kept asking Kinley if she wanted her's done too.  Kinley was a little wishy-washy thinking about a shot going through her ears, but she likes to do what Bryleigh does.

When the day finally came, Kinley decided she wanted her ears pierced too.  Ok, here we go.  The girls picked out the same earrings without even talking about it - cute:) Bryleigh hopped up in the chair and was super excited, until the first hole was in.  Then she cried, but sucked it up and did the second one.  Tears of pain quickly turned into tears of joy for that one.

At this point, Kinley starts crying as she's getting into the chair.  I tell her she doesn't have to do it.  Its no big deal.  We can come back when she's ready.  Through her sobbing she's saying she still wants her ears pierced.  It took quite a while to get the markings on and Kinley calmed down enough to do the first hole. 

                                                        The second hole was much faster

                                                     Can't you see how excited she is?

                               That's beauty - no pain, no gain.  Love the tear-stained smiles:)

Looking at each other's ears.

                                                                   Silly smiles now!

They were pretty proud of themselves at this point.

A few days later Bryleigh had her party at a local park.  Complete with Frisbees, kites and lots of fun!