The Pappas Girls

Heading West

2011-08-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

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!

Dance Recital

2011-05-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

This year we had Kinley in dance - technically pre-dance including ballet and tap. She really loved going to dance each week and showing me and Kendall all the cool moves she learned. So, this spring they really started practicing for the recital. Kinley's class was dancing to a princess song and dressing as Cinderella. They were going to share the stage with a younger class dressed as Ariel. We could only peek through the window to watch them practice, but a couple times they invited the parents in to show us their progress.

Let me start off by saying Kinley has been struggling with new/different situations.

The first day I got to watch Kinley dance, I was waiting for her in the lounge area as usual. All these little girls come running out so excited dragging their parents back to the room. Here comes Kinley, rounding the corner with a frown that quickly turns into tears. I walk with her to the room and she literally blocks the door so I can't go in. I finally shove her in and follow her to the back wall. From here, she proceeds to cling to my leg crying saying she doesn't want "those people" ( the other parents) looking at her. At this point the practice has started and I watch the rest of her class bounce around and smile and wave at their parents:( The parents leave and class continues for a few more minutes. On our way home, we talk about how Daddy and I just want to see what she's been learning, and that's what you do in dance...practice and show people. Its a rough sale, but I let it go.

Needless to say, I was a bit worried when the big recital day drew closer. She did let me watch practice one more time and seemed to do well at the dress rehearsal, but I wasn't counting on seeing her on stage.

I had to take Kinley early, completely ready, and leave her backstage with older girls watching the entire class of 15 princesses - good luck!

We couldn't take any pictures, and we were up in the balcony, so I'll just tell you Kinley did GREAT! She was on the front row and was precious - I may be a little biased. She definitely doesn't have a natural grace about her, but she does have great control of her body.

I hinted to Tom that he needed to have a little flower for Kinley after the recital. Kinley's BFF Bryleigh and her mom came to watch - so sweet. Tom let Bryleigh give Kinley the flower - unfortunately I missed the big hug right before this picture. I think this is where Bryleigh is telling Kinley she looks really pretty:)

I think my little Cinderella is breathtaking!

BFF support is the best:)

Kendall LOVED watching all the dances and having a snack of goldfish. She wasn't quite sure why Kinley was playing dress-up in public:)

Like any job well done, we went to Wendy's after the recital for dinner with the BFF and finished it off with a frosty. Can't tell you how proud I was that she went on stage, danced great and chilled backstage like a big girl!

Big Baby's Homecoming

2011-05-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

So, as promised, a couple weeks after we sent Big Baby to the hospital...she returned! I've never seen Kinley so excited to open a box - not even at Christmas.

She can hardley stand the wiat - look at her glowing face!

There is a band-aid with the Americn Girl logo on the box.

Big Baby came home with a hat and hospital gown on. She had a little certificate that said she was good-to-go and that she needs lots of TLC. So precious:)

This face really says it all.

Now, at the bottom of the box was an unexpected letter. It had my original check stapled to it and basically said Big Baby's "eye injury" was not something that should have happend (not Kinley's fault), so they took care of the bill! I was floored - I mean you expect an expensive doll to be worth it, but this was great!

Graduation and Glamour

2011-04-30T16:02:00.001-07:00

So the day is almost here...Kinley is graduating Pre-k. Really what that means is she starts kindergarten in the fall!!! So, her school had a cute little program that included a couple songs and a slide show of the "graduates" showing their school picture (in cap and gown) and a baby picture. It was super cute. What really got me was when they announced this was the class of 2024 - YIKES - I hadn't even thought of that:)

Here is Kinley with her graduation hat on. Oh, at the end of the program the kids yelled HOORAY and threw their hats, only Kinley took her's off and held it. You could tell she didn't want to loose it:)

Singing during the program.

The 2 pre-k classes coming on stage

BFF graduates

A local beauty school had a day for little girls to get hair, make-up, crafts and walk the runway. It was a fund-raiser for a local group and Miss Teen Kansas was there too.

Kinley posing on the runway (you can't see here, but she barely made it down the runway - she has a bit of shyness right now)

Kinely and Bryleigh after picking out their head band and skirt and getting hair and make-up done.

The girls had a really good time. Kinely got all shy and wouldn't take a picture with Miss Teen Kansas and almost didn't make it down the runway, but it was fun, except when she didn't win a door prize and the BFF did. That's kinda hard to explain.

Big Baby's Day Out

2011-04-21T15:02:00.001-07:00

So, Kinley has had Big Baby since the Christmas before she was born. Big Baby has seen a lot and done a lot, and its taken a toll on her body. She now has a bit of an eye problem. Luckily for her, there is a great hospital up in Wisconsin where she can get it fixed. Kinley made the hard decision to send her for surgery a couple weeks ago. She'd been wanting her to get fixed, but didn't want to send her away - Kinley wanted to be with her.
So, the time has come to send Big Baby away, but first we had a fun night out with Big Baby and Kinley's best friend, Bryleigh.

Bryleigh, Kinley and Big Baby (sometimes known as Alexa)

Having dinner at Wendy's. Can you tell she has put a nugget and fry in front of Big Baby too?

We kept it a secret we were going to a movie until after dinner. Can you tell how excited they were to be seeing Hop!

Having some delicious refreshments during the previews - I wouldn't want to ruin the movie experience:)

Now that Big Baby and Kinley had a great time, we are ready to ship her off and get her eye fixed. We just hope she comes back with 20/20 vision:)

Rodeo Day

2011-04-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

Kinley had rodeo day at school. A few days before the big day, she kept telling me she didn't want "the paper thing we have to wear". It took me a while, but I finally figured out she meant the brown paper bag vest. Ok, no vest.

I managed to snap one pictures right as she waked into the room:)

Aren't they the cutest cowgirls you ever saw? I especially like the pink binky - very tough!

Cowgirl Kendall

Shootin' the cans - she almost shot that kid next to her the first try;)

Pin the badge on the sheriff - not too bad!

Nothing like a s'more treat around a campfire

Spring Break in Texas

2011-04-21T13:56:00.000-07:00

Being a Texas girl, I always want my girls to have bluebonnet pictures. I have a couple years of Kinley, and we were lucky enough to get down to Texas in March. The entire drive down, I didn't see ONE bluebonnet, so imagine my disappointment. I searched everytime we went out, but nothing. I went on a run one day and found one lonely plant. When I got home I loaded the girls up for a picture. I knew the spot wasn't ideal, so I brought towels for the girls to sit on.

Now, before I show you these, I have to say its so much harder to get 2 to smile, or even look at the camera, than one.

Here is the saddest bluebonnet you ever saw. Kinely was already complaining about something getting her leg. Kendall is precious!

Luckily for me, on the way back to the house I saw a few yards with bluebonnets landscaped in the flowerbeds. I boldly walked up to the front door to ask if I could take some pictures in thier flowers - I don't think that gets asked everyday. Anyway, here are the results:)

I really am the only one here, so I don't know who Kinley is looking at

This is a little better - right?

And...Kendall was done.

We stopped at my aunt's house on the way home. The kids LOVED the piano. None of them were even remotely close to making music, but they loved it the same. Kendall and Mason thought they were so cool up on the bench with Kinley and Ryan.

We had a big 1st in Texas...Kinley lost her 1st tooth!!

The funniest thing is when we were going to bed Kinley got all upset about the Tooth Fairy coming under her pillow. She tried to set it beside her bed, but that wasn't far enough away. I asked her if she was scared of the Tooth Fairy coming into her room, and she said yes. We ended up putting it on the dining room table for the Tooth Fairy to find. No problem there - she still got the cash!

The Insect Zoo

2011-03-27T16:58:00.000-07:00

Kinley's class had a field trip to an insect museum on the K-State campus. It was so cool! It was actually an arthropod museum, but no one would know what that was. (That's what the guide told us) They got to touch walking sticks, roaches, millipedes and tarantulas. So fun! I admit I only touched the tarantula, and that was for a nanosecond!

Outside of the building. Pretty neat, but kinda creepy up close. Those ants were HUGE.

Kendall liked these little bugs - that's my girl:)

Kinley's class in front of the bugs native to the area. Some were beautiful and some were down right scary! Kinley is back row, 3rd from the left.

Petting a walking stick that looked like green leaves.

Not touching the tarantula. It was surprisingly soft, almost like fur.

The millipede - gives me the willies!

Yep, those are some really big roaches! Gross!

Everyone had a great time. The kids seemed to really like the bees. They were inside because it is winter. They were going outside in the next few weeks. Not sure if they have a different place to keep them, or they are set free, but interesting.

There was a hallway-like area for the spiders. They keep it dark all the time for them and have a few flashlights out to look at them. Pretty much every creepy crawly thing you can think of was there. I think my favorite was the walking sticks, but the ones they got to pet weren't even from this continent, oh well. Too bad it wasn't the roaches:)

Messy March

2011-03-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Messy March was an event put on by Parents as Teachers in Manhattan. It had all kinds of sensory related, mostly texture, things to do. There was a whole area for little bitty kids, but Kendall wanted nothing to do with that.

Kinley had a great time. She loved this paper pit. It was encouraged to toss the paper, roll in it, whatever. As you can see, Kendall had a great time.

Kinley got to make a bird feeder with shortening and birdseed. She did a great job. We came home and tied it to a tree in the back yard.

Finger painting was another fun thing to do. I think Kendall was sleeping at this point, but I guarantee she would have hated it. She does not like to have anything on her hands - a bit prissy that way.

Kendall has always managed to fall asleep at the strangest places. Here was tons of fun stuff to play with, kids screaming and yet she zonked out. She must really need that beauty sleep - it seems to be working:)

The Big 5

2011-03-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

So, being that Kinley was turning 5, she had a plan for her birthday. K-State Cheerleader theme. Can you imagine how excited I was? Let's just say I had a hard time getting my head around this one. Anyway, I love birthdays and wanted this one to be the best she's ever had. No cheerleading birthday party would be complete without a cheerleading outfit, so I thought this would be something I could make. I probably could have (after many days and lots of tears), but luckily Jim's mom was coming to visit and she's an amazing seamstress! She was so patient with me "helping" and just whipped that thing together. She even put in an adjustable waistband on the skirt! It was perfect and Kinley LOVES strutting her stuff in it. Here are the girls all dressed up complete with pom-poms and tattoos (I know, we really like tattoos right now). Kendall got to dress up too. She really liked shaking the pom-poms. My birthday girl! I can't believe she's 5!! The kids had a great time and loved playing. Funny, the kids really liked a package of balloons I had left out. They must have blown up 15-20, popped some, tied some together, kicked, hit and just played with them all day. Best $1 I've spent in a long time:) Kinley's hunny, Jim, missed the party, but was back in time for Kinley's true birthday. He brought back with him this awesome cradle Jim's dad built and mom painted. We are not only lucky to have Jim live with us, but super lucky he as 4 nieces that his mom likes making things for and makes extra for my girls:) Kendall thought it was a perfect fit! The last 5 years have flown by! There really is no other way to say it. It was only a few days ago I was bringing Kinley home from the hospital; I blinked and now she's 5. She is smart, beautiful, funny (although not as funny as she thinks she is), an amazing big sister, a super help and so loving! I hope she continues to grow with those things in mind. I have loved the past 5 years and pray the next 5 are just as great.

Around the House

2011-03-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

The girls and I got Tom a new grill for early Father's Day. The story of the old one is too long to get into. Of course Tom needed lots of help putting it together:)

Its true that kids like the boxes (almost) more that the present. Kinley and Kendall spent at least and hour playing in this big one. They obviously had a great time!

Take a look at Kendall's tattoo bracelet...

Sometimes, okay a lot of times, my girls amaze me!

The other day I found Kendall stretching with Tom.

What really gets me is this...

Yep, that's Kinley doing the exact same thing! And even crazier, they are 1 month different in age - Kinley 17mo Kendall 16mo

Lydia, Oh Lydia....

2011-03-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

Kinley's preschool has a circus day each year. All the kids are invited to dress up like a circus performer. This year they had a pizza lunch for everyone and then free time to play traditional games from the circus.

Kendall and I showed up a little early to help Kinley get into her costume. I love getting a glimpse of Kinley in her classroom interacting with her friends and her teacher.

Kendall LOVES her big sister!

After much debate, Kinley chose to be the Tattooed Lady! We had a blast getting her all tatted up:) (all I can think about is the old Muppet Show song about Lydia the Tattooed Lady)

We found out Kendall loves her some pizza - 2 whole slices!

This is Kinley and her teacher (Mrs. Jennifer) at the bean bag toss.

So precious! I just love her smile:)

Kendall got her turn to play too

The girls had a really good time. Kendall loved all the people watching (a girl after my own heart), and Kinley twirled and bounced her way to all the games.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! We had a great day playing outside since it finally got nice outside. We made a card for Daddy and made sure to tell the people in our lives that we love how much they mean to us and that we love them:)

Bryleigh & Kinley (BFF)

Precious Kinley

My little Kendall

The cutest puppy ever!

This is Kendall's latest "talent". One day Kinley and Bryleigh were playing dogs, and Kendall realized she could do that. She likes to crawl around, stick her tongue out and pant like a little puppy. Hilarious! Good thing she's the cutest puppy I've ever seen:)

SNOW DAY!!

2011-01-12T09:12:00.001-08:00

I can't believe this was our first snow of the season, but it was a good one!
Kinley has been asking/telling me for weeks that when its January and February she wants to make snow angels, snowmen and have a snow ball fight.

Kinley is super excited about playing in the snow - Kendall, not so much.

Kinley making a beautiful snow angel. She couldn't make any snowballs or a snowman because the snow wouldn't stick together. Of course that doesn't mean she didn't try to make snow balls and throw them at her sister who was already crying.

Just a picture from our front yard of the neighborhood and the snow. Not sure what Kinley's trying to show me. Right after this, a minivan came around the corner pulling 6 girls on sleds all tied together. Lots of squeals and laughing - looked like a blast to me!

I do like the snow, but it would be so much better if it wasn't so cold! Maybe next time Tom can come play with us and Kendall would have a better time with her daddy.

Merry Late Christmas!

2011-01-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

I know this is quite a bit late, but that's how life works for me sometimes. Just when I think I have everything lined up and under control, WHAM and I'm all out of whack. So, just rewind a few weeks and enjoy the Christmas season again:)

We started off all the December fun with the Lighted Christmas Parade in Manhattan. Since it wasn't very cold this year, Kinley got to ride on her preschool's float. She also got to have the class pet for the weekend, so he came along with us.

Kinley and Bryleigh posing beside the float before the parade.

Mr. Sean was driving the truck pulling the float, so Tom and Kendall got to have a comfortable ride. Kinley did great the whole time on the float. I was walking beside it, and she only got the scared face once when she couldn't find me, but all was good once I came into view.

Kendall had some alone time to chill before everyone got all loaded up. This is one of her many tricks with her binky.

Kinley had some friends over one day, so we decided to make gingerbread houses with them.
Kinley and Bryleigh working very hard on their masterpieces.

Here's the crew. Kinley, Kendall, Bryleigh and Paxton. They didn't even eat as much candy and frosting as you would think!

The finished products...

Kinley's, Paxton's and Bryleigh's

Since we were going to be in Oregon for Christmas, we decided to do our family Christmas early. Luckily Santa agreed to stop by early for the fam. I let Kinley know that I texted him and he said ok. She asked a few days later if that meant I had Santa's phone number. Haha, she's good! I said yes, and that meant I could let him know how she's behaving anytime:)

Kendall woke up first and truly surprised me. I took her out into the living room to snuggle by the tree lights. She just looked around for a while, but then she noticed the stockings were a bit stuffed. And the presents on the floor - what a good eye for a little one!

She couldn't stand it much longer, so we went and woke up Kinley (she loves her sleep!).

Kinley digging into her stocking.

Kendally got new a new binky in her stocking and a baby with stuff from Santa. Kinley helped cover her up, then Kendall shoved some bottle in her mouth - not the most gentle mom.

So, off to Oregon...

We had a great visit with only one big disappointment - no snow!

Oh well, there's always next year:)

For the first time in my life, as well as the girls, we went and found a Christmas tree and (watched) cut it down. I've always had artificial, and being a central Texas girl, not many opportunities to find a nice big natural tree.

Here's the family walking up a logging road looking for the perfect tree. Kinley is in the middle of the picture with the purple coat on.

The family picture! Kendall did have on cute snowflake tights, but there was an accident early on, so you get the beautiful bare baby legs.

Kinley hopped up on Santa's lap and told him she wanted a pair of roller skates. No idea where this came from, but on that day that's what she thought. (note Kinley's cute tights that Kendall's would have matched)

Kendall got a super soft bunny and coordinating baby blanket she thought was the best!

Grandma had this gate at the top of the stairs to keep the dogs down and Kendall up. Knowing Kendall's love for animals, she spent lots of time here reaching through petting Duke. By the last day or so, she resorted to this.

Grandma had made some sugar cookies and let the kiddos decorate them. It was a mess, lots of finger licking and tons of fun!

One of Tom's cousins has moved to the big house right next to Grandma's, and she and her girls have a horse and a pony. They were sweet enough to let Kinley and Kendall have a ride. Kinley tried to brush one, but that didn't last very long.

Big girl Kendall!

Kinley so excited to ride "by herself"

We really had a wonderful time. We always love seeing the family and letting the girls play with all their cousins and second cousins and anyone else that walks through the doors.

Happy Birthday to Kendall Everlyse

2010-11-13T14:52:00.001-08:00

Its already been a year! I can't believe my little baby girl is officially a toddler:( I have to say this year was amazing. Kendall has been such a blessing and I can't imagine our lives with out her. We had Kinley by herself for more than 3.5 years, but it seems like Kendall has always been with us.

A couple quick fact about Kendall at one year old -
20 pounds
30 inches tall
walking all over the place and trying to run
saying Mama, Dad, puppy, baby, uppy and cracker
absolutely LOVES her sister
adores her Daddy - she gives him the cutest smiles and giggles when she sees him

So, on to the festivities. Kendall had a birthday that would make many of us envious...

The night before her birthday, we celebrated with family and friends. I made a party hat cake hoping Kendall would dig in, but, like Kinley, she just poked it a couple times and licked the frosting. Her favorite gift was the super soft little puppy. She kept hugging and kissing it and continually going back to give it more love.

Here's the birthday spread

This is as dirty as we could get her

Oh, the sweet puppy!

On Kendall's actual birthday (Nov. 4) we took a super early flight out to Vegas Baby (Kinley thinks this is the actual name of the city). We got to see many sights, play with cousins, go to Uncle Tom and Jim's drag races, and just enjoy being with each other.

Here we are in front of the fountains at Bellagio

They were on, but not by the time we got all 4 of us in the picture. You just have to imagine them.

After dinner - starting our night in Vegas Baby!

I think all the celebrating really took it out of Kendall

In front of the pirate ship at Treasure Island

Uncle Tom got a free picture with the parrot for having on a Hawaiian shirt. This was just seconds before Kinley freaked out because Tom got on his knee to be closer to Kinley and Layla. She says she was afraid the bird was going to eat her, but REALLY?

Layla and Kinley on the carousel

We took the girls to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. They all loved seeing the creatures. I like the sea turtles the best, Kendall liked it all and Kinley liked the tiger fish, the sea turtles and when she could see the fish swimming under her feet.
Kendall, Kinley, Zoey and Bailey

We had some extra time, so I took the girls out to Hoover Dam. I've always wanted to go see this, so it was great for me. I will have to go back when the girls are older so we can go on one of the tours that goes inside and through some tunnels

Kinley was so good wanting to look over the edge, but when it came time to take a picture on the Nevada/Arizona state line, here's the result

You thought the first one was bad, right? I was so embarrassed! She threw one of her fits for no reason and this nice lady was trying to take a picture, oh man.

The drag races were really neat to watch, but I didn't have my camera. Not that I could have taken a picture fast enough. The girls got to play at a play place with a tire swing. I would spin Kinley and Layla fast and then stop them and put Kendall on to swing for a bit. She thought she was so big getting a turn on the big-girl swing. We got to meet the newest Pappas, precious Brylie. She is beautiful and has the best silky, shiny hair I have ever seen! Again no pictures; I guess I was too busy snuggling and chasing Kendall off the stairs.

We really had a great time and a well-needed break from Kansas. Thanks to all the family out there and we'll have to do it all again soon!

What a Week!

2010-10-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update of this last week.

Last Saturday I ran the Kansas City half marathon. My goal was to run the entire time without stopping or walking. Most everyone knows - I don't do distance, so this was a HUGE accomplishment for me. Thanks to a couple ladies who convinced me to run and drug me along on the still-dark Saturday long runs.

Here I am with about 300 meters to go. I was definitely ready to be finished!

Kinley told me good job and Kendall actually stayed awake until I ran by and then she dozed off:)

We made it! After we finished and before we could feel our legs.

Oh, I did accomplish my goal...no walking or stopping and in 2 hours and 4 minutes!

Kinley was supposed to have a field trip to Ft. Riley on Wednesday, but the soldiers got orders to deploy and had to pack up, so 3 soldiers (from the Army Mom!) came and talked to them at school. Thursday was supposed to be wear black (the color of the month), but I completely spaced it until I went to drop her off and she looks really obvious wearing a purple dress with pink tights - oops! I tell you what, I've been racking up the mother of the year points lately.

For the past few years we've taken Kinley to the zoo in Manhattan the weekend before Halloween for their Spooktakular celebration. Kids can dress up and trick-or-treat throughout the zoo at local business booths and get to see the animals all at once. Kinley loves any excuse to dress up, and I figure we should get as much use out of the costumes as we can.

Here they are...Rainbow Sparkle Flowers (Kinley's idea - could you tell?)

Kinley at the zoo. I didn't factor in the wind when I made the head band - oops!

Kendall loves animals. Any kind. This was the most excited she got the entire day. You want to know what amazing animal she's loving?

A goat! The little goats that are in the feeding area (don't have a petting area any more).

So, that about sums it up for us this past week. Hope everyone had as much fun as we did!

Oh, guess what Kendall can do:)

More Cousins

2010-10-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

My little sister came up with her two boys to visit this weekend. Kinley and Ryan had a blast! Kendall had fun taking Mason's binky and patting his head, but I don't know how much fun he had. Anyway, we took the kiddos out to the pumpkin patch and here's what we did...

Ryan(6) and Kinley(4) in the hay castle. Their cheeks are pink 'cause it was pretty warm.

Kinley, Kendall(11mo), Mason(7mo) and Ryan in the pool of corn. The older kids LOVED this, not sure why, but Kendall hated it and Mason was impartial.

Me and my girls on the hayrack ride (think it was a bit sunny for Kendall)

Shannon and her boys on the hayrack ride

Are they not the most precious cousins?

We had a great visit! Whenever anyone comes to visit, it makes it that much more hard when they leave. We love seeing everyone and so wished we were all closer.

P.S. Mason had a check-up today and I'm pretty sure he weighs more than my lanky Kendall. If she doesn't get with it, she won't be able to turn her car seat around on her birthday!

Fall Fun

2010-10-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally cooled off. On Saturday it was absolutely amazing - I'm talking 65 and sunny! We played most of the day with some friends and at one point went to a local pumpkin patch. We showed up right as they were closing, but the kiddos still had a great time.

Here's the usual family photo. Not too bad - huh?

Kendall was really proud of her pumpkin and her ponies. She's such a big girl now!

Kinley posing with her pumpkin

Kinley and her BFE (best friend EVER) Bryleigh riding a little train thingy

Kinley launching a horse apple. I wish I could have caught a picture of her face. She was scrunching her face up trying to stretch back as far as she could. I thought it was hilarious.

Sisters coming out of the hay bale maze

The kids really did have a great time at the pumpkin patch. I think we are planing on going to an other one, possibly with more things to do and more time to do it all in. Most important though...as we were getting in the car to leave Kinley says, "Mom, I had a great time!" It was all worth it:)

Kendall has started "helping" me with the dishes. Kinley never really got into the cabinets much. She knew there was one with cookie cutters in it and she just played in that one, but Kendall...she likes opening all the cabinets, slamming the doors, and of course taking things out. Of course we tell her no. Being a smart little girl, she will do it again, wait and look for us to tell her no again and then shake her head no, no, no. Too funny - Tom and I try not to laugh when she does this to us.

Kinley's pre-K class went to the fire department again this year. Kinley let me go this time, so it was really neat for me. They watched a fire safety video about a fire in your house, then they did a little activity practicing what they watched. Kinley did great, although, she's starting to "show off" when people are watching her.

Kendall has mastered walking with the little scooter. It used to get away from her, but she practically runs with it now - until she hits something. I can walk with her holding onto only one hand, but when I let go she just stands and slowly squats down to crawl. I don't think it will be too much longer, but when it happens she'll be gone.

California and Oregon

2010-09-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Our adventures just continue!
We took a trip out to Chico, CA and met up with some friends. Auntie Em came down with her kids to watch our girls for us. I think all the kids had a blast just staying in a hotel since it had a great pool. You know, the most important thing about any hotel:)

Here's Kendall enjoying the atmosphere at a In-N-Out Burger. Well, maybe she had a french fry.

Kinley, Paige and Matt with feet on both beds. And yes, Kinley is "texting"

It worked out perfect after our time in Chico, that Tom's friend, Nick, was getting married hte next weekend. So, we got in lots of family and cousin time.

One day, I went over to Sarah's house to run and let our kiddos play. Her sister Liz came over with her kids, so at one point there were 3 adults and 8 kids - we loved every minute of it!

Joe, Audrey, Kinley, Isabelle, Abby, Kendall and Jed (Clockwise)

We also got to play in Tom and Bonnie's pool.

Kendall and Daddy loved floating around, but really Kendall liked the plastic baby pool best.

I'm not sure what happend with Kinley this summer. One day she's crying and all scared, and the next she's swimming and jumping off the side and doing flips. Crazy!

Here's the big girl jumping off the waterfall (minus water)

Everyday Grandma goes and feeds the deer. She let the grandkids help when they were there, so here they are putting food in all the usual spots.

The girls get together every so often, and they have been doing projects around the property to help instill hard work into the kids. This Friday, we were cleaning off the driveway. Obviously, the kids helped, but it didn't last all that long, and ironically, the girls were much better workers than most of the boys.

Kendall helping me shovel. She was a BIG help:)

Finally, the beautiful wedding we went to. It was great. All the family was there, the weather was perfect, and Sarah got a great picture of me and the hubby - not an easy task.

Kendall wasn't being cooperative. She thought the hay was much more interesting than smiling for me.

We had so much fun visiting family and spending precious time with them. Can't wait to go back for more fun!

Colorado and Tennessee

2010-09-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

After returning from California and Oregon, the girls and I drove out to Colorado. I got to see some amazing friends from the college days and watch a great alumni volleyball game.

The girls reading some books together in the hotel room.

Here are my beautiful girls in the gym I played in during college. It was strange going back after so many years and seeing how young the college players look - I know that just makes me sound even older:(

After about a week of settling in at home, we headed out again to Tennessee. Tom left a few days before us in his car. He had a doctor's appointment early and didn't know how long he needed to stay down there. The girls and I flew down on Sept 1. Tom was supposed to have surgery that day (which was a blessing he didn't) but the doctor got sick. His surgery was postponed about 10 days which left plenty of fun time for the family.

The main reason we headed back to Knoxville was to get Kendall baptized in our old church. We just really like the way it is done there felt that was the right thing to do.

Here is Kendall after she was baptized looking at Pastor John Wood before her showed her to the congregation.

After church a few friends met us for brunch and here is our family picture. They keep getting harder and harder to get everyone smiling and looking at the camera!

The fun really began after church for the girls. We went out to our dear friend's parent's house where they have Sunday lunch. It is always so much fun for the adults to catch up, and even more for the kiddos to run wild.

So, there was a huge rope swing that went super high and crossed over a creek that was about a 12 foot drop. Of course Tom took Kinley out there - thank goodness I didn't go the first time. The stories coming back included this - Kinley didn't get her bottom on the seat and was just hanging on with her hands one time, and as Kinley was trying to jump off the swing, she didn't let go of the rope and almost got dragged down the drop. I'm sure there were more, but by this time I was completely freaked out and thanking the Lord my baby made it back to the house.

Needless to say, after lunch we all trekked out there and gave it a go. I went and I have to say the initial jumping point was thrilling! My friend Christy went too and squealed much less than I anticipated ( I was really proud of her!). Kinley went a few more time and I tried to catch them as best I could.

Here's Kinley jumping off the platform to take off

Here she is mid-swing, just this side of the creek drop-off

You had to know this was coming...Tom decided Kendall needed to go as well.

The funny part, besides me freaking out, was Kendall buried her head and had a death grip on Tom when they first took off. By the 3rd swing she was trying to grab the rope.

After all that excitement, the kids needed a ride back to the house with a loop around the property for good measure.

What could top off such a great day?

FIREWORKS!!

This was in the middle of the show with big fireworks and little shooters going off from the bridge

Boomsday is a Labor Day celebration in Knoxville with fireworks choreographed to music - I love it! Tom, as usual, hates the crowds.

We had such an amazing time! We are truly blessed with such a wonderful family and great friends!

Oh My, Oh My

2010-07-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

Our week has been crazy busy! Don't get me wrong, its been fun, but CRAZY!
Kendall is more and more brave. She pulls up on everything and has even let go to try and stand alone (ok, this never works). I've seen her contemplate whether she should try to move along something or just sit down and scoot over. So far she has chosen to take a seat.

Somehow both the girls have picked up on the idea that Tom needs lots of help. Here is Kendall showing Daddy how to properly laser his foot.

On Wednesday night we were at the park waiting for my volleyball game to start. Some other kiddos were playing in the splash park, so we let Kinley too. After a couple minutes Kinley comes over to us crying and holding her forehead. I, being tired of the drama, ask, "Why are you crying?" She moves her hand and tells me, "I fell down!"

WOW! I calmly say, "Yes you did."

Amazingly, not one of the 6 adults saw what happened - of course. I'm pretty sure I'm in the running for Mother of the Year for this one. Kinley tells us she fell, but doesn't know if she slipped or tripped. I'm still trying to figure out how she cracked her forehead and nothing else on her face.

As I said she's been pretty dramatic lately, but she was a trooper for this one. We should have some great pictures as the swelling and blood begin to drain.

Kendall has figured out how she can make bracelets stay on. She's too funny!

Kendall loves the bath and shower now. If she hears the water running in either bathroom, she races off. I was filling up the tub and Kendall beat me into the bathroom. She gets really excited and was super proud of herself for getting the shampoo. She actually stood like this for quite a while until she turned around and saw me. I think she was balancing with her belly:)

Always playing catch-up

2010-07-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

Where to begin...
So, the end of June always brings around the US Championships. This year they happened to be in Des Moines and only 5 hours from home. Tom has, once again, been battling plantar fasciitis. Most of the previous 3 months he only lifted and did cross training. He toyed with the idea of competing, ok, it was mostly me "reminding" him that we can get great health insurance when/if he finishes in the top 2. About 2 weeks before the meet he started doing a little technical work and got in a total of 1 running workout. Now with only a week to go, he was still unsure of competing...we were going out there, but not sure about stepping on the track. End of a long story, he lined up and just fell short of his 6th national title. 2nd place isn't bad at all with no training! (And of course I'm ecstatic we get health insurance:)

This is Tom in the 100, I think, although it could be the hurdles.

From Iowa we drove up to Wisconsin to visit with the amazing Draeger family. Tom got in some much needed treatment on his whole body as well as his foot, I got a few minutes alone while the girls played with Danae, and most importantly, we needed a break!

One day in Antigo, I took the girls to the museum with this huge train out front. I was hoping you could climb on and explore, but not so much.
They look so tiny!

We went to Doc's brother's place one day and had a blast! Kinley got to ride the jet ski for the first time and loved it! We played in the lake, ate great burgers, Kinley played some piano, Tom went tubing till he couldn't hold on any more and we went to a water ski show - so cool!

On the 4th we went to some friends of the Draegers for more lake action, but the weather wasn't cooperating. It was sprinkly most of the day and poured at other times. We still had a good time, but the firework show was cancelled:( (fireworks are my favorite!)

We found out on this trip that Kendall LOVES animals. I've honestly never seen anything like this. In Iowa, the family we stayed with had an amazing dog named Bear. He was so great and just let Kendall love him all over.

When we got up to Wisconsin, Kendall was so excited to see the Draeger's also had a dog. They have a minpin. Unfortunately, Zeke isn't so loving as Bear. Kendall had a little run-in with Zeke one night. He scratched her eyelid, under her eye and her lip. Luckily for us she closed her eye quick!

Believe it or not, after this she still wanted to play with Zeke!

So, out to the horses we go. Kendall was super excited to see them and watch Kinley ride. We sat her up on Syce, but she more wanted to be where she could see and touch the horse.

Every time we went outside, Kendall looked all over for the horses. She would practically jump from my arms if she saw them. One night she kept looking over my shoulder and "talking" while I was sitting on the couch. Finally I looked back and there sat Clyde the stuffed horse. She sat on him bouncing up and down and then would lean over and give him big hugs and kisses. Crazy love for horses!

The house we visited on the 4th had a great golden-doodle. She would let Kendall pat her as she walked by and finally laid down so Kendall could love her properly. The absolute joy on Kendall's face while she was loving the puppy was priceless! She was literally glowing!

The girls were precious on the 4th!

(I know I always think so, but truly they are adorable)

To round out this long story, we had an amazing time! We are so blessed to have friends that take care of us, love us and want to spend time with our crazy family. Thanks!

Happy Daddy's Day!!

2010-06-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Just wanted give a happy Father's Day to my wonderful hubby! Kinley and Kendall both love and adore him more than I could have ever imagined. I hope Tom enjoyed his day - I think he did.

Tom with this girls (you can't tell, but both girls have on Daddy's Day T-shirts)

Kinley was super cute this year. She told me a couple days ago she wanted to get Dad some flowers. So, this morning when we were making him breakfast, I let her go outside and pick a few to fill a cup. Luckily, she did great and got a bunch of little daisies.

So, later on in the day, she made him "cookies" and brought it out to him on this "tray" - she truly is precious:)

On a side note...We went to church this morning and it was fine, but I was a bit confused. Last month on Mother's Day, all the moms got neat little pen and bookmark sets, and the wives and moms of soldiers each got roses. I thought this was such a nice gesture, but today was completely different. The pastor only mentioned Father's Day once, and they got nothing! I mean, they could have got a nice pen and bookmark set, too. Maybe, since they are mostly men, they know that men don't really care that much about this stuff as women. I don't know, I just thought it was strange.

Kendall's first Father's Day!

Anyway, Happy Father's Day to all those great Dads out there!!

Kendall's Loose!

2010-06-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Its official...Kendall is on the move!! It took her a lot longer than Kinley, but she's crawling. Its funny, she has done things in a different order than Kinley did. Kinley crawled early, but took a while to roll over both ways and get from the crawling position back to sitting up. Kendall could do everything but actually make the move, until now.

Kendall finally started putting a couple little scoots together on Thursday, but this is the first time she actually went for it across the room. Some people say its better when they aren't mobile, but I love that she can come to me now. I don't have to stop and go to her. I wish I caught her beautiful smile when Kinley and I were telling her how awesome she was. She was so proud of herself, and rightfully so!

And yes, if you have the volume on you hear a track meet on TV - surprise!

The Month of May

2010-06-01T11:24:00.001-07:00

Where to begin? I guess I'll start where we left off...

This was my first Mother's Day with two kiddos! It was wonderful. I truley love being a mother and can't imagine my life without my girls. They make my heart swell even when one is crying and one is whining.

Here is our picture, and no that is not Kinley's swimsuit...its her "bra" she tells me.

The week before Memorial Day, Tom had to travel down to Austin for the NCAA regional track meet, so of course the girls and I went along and spent some time with my family.

Kinley and I out on the boat. She didn't like it at first, and by the end she was yelling, "Opa, go faster!!"

This is Kinley and Leah as they were slowing down on the skateboard after riding downhill from the end of the driveway - we only had one near-crash. Pretty good I think.

Our Memorial Day picture and the first family photo we've taken in a while.

Back at the lake with cousin Leah and second cousin Addison.

Back in the day, Greg, Matt, Lori and I had some monster water balloon fights at the lake house, so it was fun to see the next generation take over the tradition. They needed some help, so Aunt Weesie filled them up and Matt was the all-time target. They still have some work to do to get down the proper technique and attack plans, but they have many years to practice.

Kendall loving on her Aunt LoLo. Kendall loves to give big open-mouthed kisses all over your face. She'll actually grab your hair with both hands and pull you in! She's too funny:)

Here are all the cousins on my side of the family

Kinley (4), Mason (10 wks), Leah (5), Ryan (5), Kendall (6 mo), Emma (7), Holly (10) and Cormac (3 mo)

Kinley went to her best friend's birhtday party at the zoo. It was really fun, and I think the best part for them was eating cake and playing on the play place...who cares about animals!

Kendall super happy with the bite of birthday cake she got!

Well, we are so excited it has finally gotten warm and summer has arrived. We are still trying to figure out what the summer holds for us, but I know whatever it is, it will be fun!

Kinley's Preschool Graduation

2010-05-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Kinley had her preschool graduation program. It wasn't all caps and gowns; more like end of the year program. They sang a little and amazingly Kinley just stood where she was supposed to and twirled her dress a little (of course).

This is Kinley's school picture from this year. Not sure about her smile, but I still really like it.

Before the graduation program, it was the zoo field trip day.
Here are both classes outside the gate.
(Kinley is second from the right in the pink skirt - her best friend ever is next to her with the sun glasses also)

Kendall and I took a quick stop at the restroom, and when we came out this guy was super close.

Kinley not wanting to touch the snake - she did later after she whined about not getting to touch it.

Kinley taking Kendall down the slide for the first time

My girls at the zoo with flamingos in the background

So, funny story...

After Kinley's graduation program, we were walking back to our car. Kinley saw a little boy standing in front of this rock taking pictures. She says, "Mom, take my picture over here." Ok, I follow her and she jumps up on the rock and starts posing - she cracks me up!

Crazy Busy March

2010-03-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

March has only gotten more and more crazy! We started the month coming home from Knoxville, had a great circus experience, went to Indiana for Tom's meet and that was all in the first week! So, here I am playing catch up once again...

The day after we returned from our long road trip was Kinley's 4th birthday. I really can't believe its been four years already. Let me share a few thing about Kinley that I absolutely love. She is an incredibly loving child. She always hugs and kisses me, Tom and Kendall. At least once a day, more if she'd in trouble, she tells me she loves me. She can make Kendall smile and laugh at any time. She loves to learn, but gets frustrated if she doesn't "get it" quickly. The best thing lately is this.

"Mom, I'm going to beat you." I say, "Kinley, we don't race eating dinner."

"OK Mom so we'll just see who wins."

Anyway, we had a few of our friends over for hot dogs and cake on Kinley's birthday. She got to pick dinner since it was her birthday, so hot dogs it was.

Kinley is puffing up her cheeks to blow out all those candles around her barbie cake.

She ripped through wrapping paper like it was a race (surprised?). What she really wanted was more boy barbies and 3 wedding dresses so they could all get married. We've had many talks lately that only boys and girls get married. Luckily, she got the boy barbies, but wedding dresses are hard to come by. She got a new "hip" barbie car they go cruising in too, or maybe they go on dates. I should probably pay more attention to the barbie world.

So, Manhattan is parade happy. They have parades for all kinds of random holidays. These wouldn't be so bad, but I have yet to go to one when its above 40 degrees!

Here we are at the St. Patrick's Day parade (on the 13th). This is getting difficult to explain to Kinley when things aren't celebrated on the proper day.

The girls on the real St. Patrick's Day

Sometime in the last week or so Kendall found her toes. She hasn't put them in her mouth yet, but I know that will come shortly:)

Last Tuesday Kinley's school had a field trip to the Lazy T Ranch. The ranch is over 150 years old and a few of the buildings are registered historic landmarks.

Kinley and Bryleigh hanging out watching the llamas

Kendall got to pet the super friendly barn cats

Kinley fed this calf. Something was wrong with its mom's udder, I think.

We took a hayride around the property. On the way up to the highest point, the tractor got stuck in the mud. We had to get out and walk the rest of the way while Farmer Ron got it out and brought it up to us. (Since Kinley is such a Dora fan, this was a mucky mud puddle)

Here's Kinley's class

Mrs. Heather, Kinley, Evie, Brady, Tristen, Mrs. Rebekah

Ben, Bryleigh and Cadence

We realized that Tom will be out of town for Easter, so we celebrated a little early. The girls really loved dying eggs and loading up the plastic ones with candy.

Just checking to make sure its a good one

Typical Kinley, as soon as we put the eggs in, she wanted to check and see how they were doing

Guess what Kinley got from the Easter Bunny?

Kendall wanted to find eggs all by herself

My two beautiful girls!

Oh, one last thing.

Kinley came out of her room after we went to the parade.

"Jimbo, guess what's behind my back."

The circus, a road trip and a meet in Indiana

2010-03-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

Last week Kinley's school was studying the circus. They could dress up like a circus animal or performer for the last 15 minutes of school on Thursday. After much deliberation, she decided to be the elusive black tiger. I know, sounds pretty rare. Anyway, Kendall and I showed up for the circus at school and were amazed at all the talent. There was a Japanese acrobat, a man-eating chicken, wild animals, trapeze artists, lion tamers, plate spinners and a bunch of darling smiling faces.

Kinley being a ferocious black tiger with her teacher, Mrs. Rebekah

Kinley and Tristen hiding when they got announced. (she only likes attention on her terms) The funniest thing was right after this pictures they fell through the door - I laughed pretty hard!

My beautiful black tiger

After the amazing circus, we went back home and packed up for a road trip to Bloomington, Indiana for the US Indoor Combined Event Championships.
We drove 3 hours Thursday night and stayed with Kip and Teresa. Both the girls loved getting snuggles from Ms. Teresa!
Friday we got up and drove about 7 hours up to Bloomington. In typical Pappas fashion, the trip had to have a glitch. A mile from our hotel Tom ran over something in the road and popped the tire (I know this sounds so familiar).

Just the facts...
Didn't read the instructions. Got the tire off. Jack collapsed. AAA came and got the tire back on. Had an awful rubbing/screeching sound from the tire. Found Pep Boys open on Sunday. Dropped off the car. Left my cell phone in the car. Went to the meet. Luckily only a dust shield bent and was easily bent back in place for a complete fix.

The girls in our hotel room while the guys were trying to change the tire.

Kinley helping Daddy get all the sand off during long jump. Can you imagine having your own duster-offer? Must be nice!

Tom had a pretty solid meet considering the circumstances. He has had a back issue for a couple weeks now. It mostly bothers him to really round out his back like landing in the long jump and especially high jump. He finished up 2nd by 16 points. And determined to get some treatment on his back.
On a nice note, our trip home was completely uneventful!

Knoxville Trip

2010-03-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

When this opportunity presented itself to me, I snatched it up as fast as I could. We had a plane ticket that needed to be spent, and an invitation to a baby shower in Knoxville. Perfect!

As a treat, the girls and I drove into Kansas City the night before our trip to stay in a hotel. Kinley has always loved hotels, and this one had a pool - the best thing in her world. This was the first time Kendall had been swimming. I guess technically she still hasn't because we stayed in the hot tub (I really don't like cold water).

Here's Kendall floating in the hot tub. Don't freak out - I'm holding her legs:)

Kendall thinks her sister is the most hilarious thing in the world. Nothing can make her smile like Kinley. I know I'm a little biased, but I thing this is the most amazing smile!

Sometime in the last little bit, my big girl has turned into a little person. I don't really know when it happened, but she isn't a "little kid" anymore. She does and says things to me everyday that amaze me. Lately she's been telling me what she wants to be when she grows up.

mermaid

mommy

helper

fairy godmother

soldier

married to Jimbo with 10 kids

Whatever she tells me, I just smile at her and say okay and let her dream. She sees lots of soldiers here because of Ft. Riley, and we've had talks about what soldiers do. I decided to tell her they fight to keep us safe and free. Of course she asks, "If a bad guy comes into her house will a soldier kill him?" So I tell her first, a bad guy won't come in our house, and second, soldiers fight bad guys far far away. She nods and tells me if a bad guy does come in our house, she'll just kick him so he dies -great (can you see my eye roll?)!

The point is Kinley is getting all grown up on me. Here she is at the hotel pool showing me how she can put her face in the water.

So, we made to to Knoxville. I can't believe its been over a year since we've been back. We had dinner with 4 of our friends, including the expectant couple. We had a great dinner and even talked about how first babies are usually late and to hang in there - she looked great!

The girls and I stayed at our friend's house who are grandparents to twins, so the accommodations were great for us. I crashed hard and luckily after a little bit of whining, the girls did too.

I got up Saturday morning to get ready for the shower and got a text that her water had already broken! Major change of plans. Hands down I'd love to see a precious new baby than a baby shower any day!

Long story short, well shortened, I got the girls' pictures taken, hung out with friends, went to church and finally got to go see the baby - a truly great weekend.

Sassy Kinley .....................................Angel Kinley

Big girl Kendall

This is how many of our pictures turn out. Kinley want to be in Kendall's face and kiss her all the time.

Don't worry grandparents, you have even better ones coming in the mail!

Road Trip

2010-02-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

A couple Thursdays ago, Kendall and I picked Kinley up from school and started driving to Texas. Unfortunately, this is exactly when an ice storm hit Oklahoma. We made it about 30 miles outside Oklahoma City when I lost control of the car and ended up backwards in the median ditch. Thank God there was no one on my side of the highway, the cars on the other side were very far away and our car wasn't damaged at all. After I started breathing again, I put the car in 4 wheel drive and drove right out of the ditch. By the time I got to Oklahoma City, I couldn't feel my hands from gripping the steering wheel so hard, and there was no way we could have driven any farther.
We stopped at the first descent hotel and got a room. After some phone calls, crying and more drama, I booked a flight for Friday night down to Austin and was going to bed to see how the roads were in the morning.
We woke up around 9 without electricity. I kept checking in with my sister for the roads and the airport. Around 1 we decided to start driving - good thing since the airport was staying closed until Saturday sometime.
We started driving 40mph and made it home in a "short" 7 hours.

So, the reason we went down was mainly because my sister directs the musical at the high school. This year they did Cinderella. They had a matinee show on Saturday where they invited all the kids to dress up and join in a parade across the stage. Kinley was so excited about this and took a long time to understand that she wasn't going to be in the show - just watch.

Here are all the princesses. My mom, Kendall, Lori, Holly, Leah, Emma and Kinley

Can't forget the handsome prince Ryan

Kinley and Kendall watching the show.

Ok, so Kinley lost interest about half way through, and Kendall slept the first half. Funny thing...when the prince was looking for a maiden to fit the shoe, he came out into the audience and looked around. He was going to try it on Kendall, but the steward said, "Too young, don't you think?"

We had a really great time and the show was great!

On Sunday we had a baby shower for my little sister. She's due on March 13th with her second son. No word on his name yet, but I have faith they will figure something out. My older sister and I keep suggesting names for her, but I guess she doesn't take them too seriously? Probably a good thing. (I keep sending her names to make her smile, and my older sister keeps suggesting names that will spell POO with his initials)

Shannon with a cute onesie she got at her shower.

After our horrendous drive down to Texas, I really wasn't looking forward to driving back. We started back on Tuesday morning after a short visit with a friend. The roads were clear and the girls were great. I think I had to stop more to pee than Kinley did. We had a total travel time of 11.5 hours. Not too bad with an estimated drive time of 10 hours. We were about 3o minutes from home when Kinley told me she never wanted to drive to Texas again, only fly.

This past Thursday Kendall turned 3 months old!

Here was one of her pictures...

And this is when she was done being cute.

I can almost hear her saying, "Enough Mom!"

Fun With the Girls

2010-01-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

Even though it was a good two weeks before it got above freezing, we've been having lots of fun. About a week ago Kendall accidentally rolled over after I changed her diaper. She was loving her tummy time, her head got a bit heavy and went to the side and then she wiggled and got her hips over. I, of course, was super proud of her. She's done it a few more times since then, but I don't think its on purpose yet - just a talent.

Kendall playing... (like the hairline?)

Whoop - there she goes. She wasn't thrilled I was taking pictures instead of picking her up:)

Well, once it got up around 25 outside, Kinley came out with me while I tried to shovel some of our frozen driveway. She has been begging to throw snowballs, but unfortunately the snow was way too dry. So, she made a snow angel!

Then I had to make one with her.

I did tackle her a few times, and once the snow got on her face she decided the dress and tights were too cold. Go figure.

I always think the snow is so beautiful, but I'd like it to go away now. With track season starting, I'm ready for spring and warm weather!

Christmas Craziness

2009-12-31T12:54:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season is so wonderful yet always so crazy. This year was no exception.

We started off the fun by watching the Manhattan Lighted Christmas Parade in early December. Luckily, Tricia had a good parking spot so we could huddle in her car to watch - it was super cold outside.

This is a little out of order, but that's how it goes.
On December 27th our friends Dani and Joe got married in Kansas City. Here is the best-dressed family picture we took including Kendall. Kinley is so happy here because she wanted to go dance.

All night Kinley was on the dance floor. No matter who was up there or what they were playing, she was there. Here she is doing the Macarena (no idea how to spell that). Took me quite a while to get this picture, but it was worth it. Also, she never rotated, but tried so hard to do what everyone else was doing. Obviously got her dancing skills from Tom - oh no, that's not right..I have to MAKE him dance 1 song with me at every wedding.

In mid-December we went to the 2nd annual gingerbread house making party. This year Kinley did it all by herself. I think more frosting ended up on her hands than on her house, but she did a great job, and only asked to eat the candy every 2 minutes.

Ok, so off to Oregon...
This is inside Tom and Bonnie's during the poker party. Kinley jumped rope for the first time. She actually did pretty well. She even helped turn and did great! Later she tried to jump by herself and did great even though the rope was way too long.

Couldn't pass up a picture of all the siblings. Despite the way it looks, I think Emily stayed in the longest.

I tried the best I could to teach Kendall craps, but it was rough going.

Christmas Eve at the big house is always a blast. Kinley had a great time playing with all her cousins. We added it up, and there are now 25 great-grandchildren and only 2 weren't there.

Kendall showing off a couple presents.

Kinley showing off her presents. Always so silly!

When we made it back to our house in Kansas, Kendall got this bear from Santa - she's super excited.

Kinley go a cool Princess Scooter!

We truly had a great Christmas. It is always great to see everyone and celebrate such an important season, but its also nice to get back into the regular swing of things. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T07:22:00.001-08:00

We went down to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. Thursday we drove out to Marble Falls to my aunt's house. We had a great time with the family - watching football, playing with cousins and catching up, and who could forget the delicious food.

Here's the whole family! Yep, that's Kinley's new smile and Kendall was too tired to bother.

This is my Granny with all her great-granddarlings

Lee, Addison, Kendall, Kinley, Leah

Holly, Emma

Kinley was playing hard with her cousins. Her cheeks are pink because she was hot, her nose is red because they put chalk for the pool cues on their noses pretending to be reindeer (Leah told us she was Blixen) and that's worm cake all over her shir. Obviously she had a great day.

Thanksgiving Feast

2009-11-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

Today was Kinley's preschool's Thanksgiving Feast. I knew we were going to have stone soup for lunch, but there was a whole program that went with everything. The program was cute, the decorations that the kids made were priceless, and the desserts were yummy!

The classes marched in wearing some great costumes. Kinley was the cute kid that saw me, pointed and yelled, "Mama!" Her performance was fairly good, but I'm most proud of the way she acted while the other classes were doing their thing - standing still being a big girl!

This is when she was saying "Mama" and pointing and looking super cute.

Here is part of her class as they were lined up getting ready to sing for us.

After they sang, they held hands while the other classes performed. Of course it was only calm and still for a couple minutes.

This video is the first of three songs they did. Kinley cracks me up with her checking out the crowd. She obviously knows the words, but she's looking at her adoring fans.

Sisters

2009-11-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

One of the things I was most excited for was seeing Kinley's face when she got to meet her new sister. Here is the video of them meeting for the first time. We pulled into the drive way and she was waiting for us on the front porch. Her face just lit up and was so great to see.

We told her to go into the house, sanitize and then wait on the couch to hold her sister.

Kinley holding Kendall for the first time.

They have on matching shirts, but Kendall's cheeks are hiding the "little" part on her shirt.

So precious!

Kendall Everlyse Pappas

2009-11-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

Well, she's finally here! I went in for my c-section yesterday at 11 and Kendall arrived at 11:32am. She was definitely ready to come out. Our precious "little" girl weighed in at 9 pounds and 9 ounces. She's 21 1/4 inches long and has huge hands and feet. Even our pediatrician joked that she took her first step in the nursery last night.
Kendall has been doing great. She is super sleepy - everyone knows how hard it is to be cute all the time. Kinley gets the most amazing look on her face when she sees her little sister. We've showed her Kendall through the window in my room since we can't have any visitors. She smiles, laughs, reaches for her sister and then wants to know how many poopy diapers she's had.

Here is Kendall just minutes after she popped out. I can't remember what its called, but her feet and her arms were purple for a couple hours after birth - nothing to do with breathing, although, she did have the cord around her neck loosely one time.

Here we are with our new daughter. Kendall was crying a little bit until her daddy held her and started talking to her. Can you believe how dark her hair is - I'm still amazed she has hair at all.

This is the cute night-night outfit that Kinley picked out for her little sister to wear in the hospital. You can't see, but she has matching socks, too.

Here we are with our new bundle of joy!

Kendall does have blue eyes, but mostly she's too tired to show them or her cheeks push them closed; I'm still debating:)

Here is Kendall on top and Kinley on the bottom. Just for those of you wondering.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-02T15:06:00.001-08:00

Kinley is one lucky girl! The Saturday before Halloween the Manhattan zoo has a Spooktacular even where the kids can trick or treat and get to see the animals. Kinley chose to dress as a nurse for this day. Her "real" costume is a white witch, but at school they could only dress up as community helpers, so she decided on a nurse.

The family picture at the zoo.

Here is our precious nurse! She barely glanced at the animals, but she was on a sharp look-out for the next candy opportunity.

We had a great time walking around with our friends and looking at all the animals. We got to pet an opossum the size of a cat, a turtle, a goat and a snake (Tom and Kinley avoided this one).

Halloween was so much fun this year. We got together with friends and had a blast! Kinley was so much more into the trick-or-treating this year. She was so cute going up to the house and knocking on the door and waiting. A few times she would forget to say thank you until she started walking away, so she would just YELL it over her shoulder as she was running back to us.
I just thought the decorations were cute at this house. Too bad it was already dark.

And finally, here is the beautiful white witch!

Fall Happenings

2009-10-13T10:12:00.001-07:00

We've had a pretty busy fall so far.

Last weekend we went over to Wamego to the Oztoberfest. That's right...like the wizard of Oz. We walked around for a while and Kinley decided to take her picture with the Wicked Witch of the West. She was completely fine until the witch said hi to her. Luckily Daddy was there to protect her.

We met up with some friends for dinner one night at at local wing place we like. The had expanded next door to make a game room, so of course, we had to go in.
Jimbo, Kinley's hunny, was working with her on her hunting skills. She also played air hock with Andy and skee ball with me. That one was a little tough.

I was working on Kendall's stocking and Kinley, being the big help that she is, decided to "help" me hold the jingle bells. Goofball! (Look close and you can see them in her ears too)

Kyle's parents were in town from Texas so we all went out to have s'mores and good times. Again, Kinley was such a great helper the marshmallows were only completely burned on the outside:)

Today Kinley finally go to go on her class field trip to the pumpkin patch. It got canceled last week because it was rainy. Luckily, today it was only cold and windy.

There was a petting zoo where she got to pet a calf and 2 baby piggies. She just barely tapped the pigs and pulled her had away. I'm not sure why since they were sleeping and not even moving.

She also pet a few goats, but by the time we were leaving, they were a little skittish and that really frustrated her. She just wanted to touch them and they would only get close to the adults.

We took a hay ride out to the beginning of a corn maze. Kinley didn't want to sit by me, but finally during the ride she came over, probably because I had a blanket.

The worker told them a little story about how the pumpkins grow. Kinely got to be the sunshine!

The kids led the way through the corn maze that ended at a little pumpkin patch. Kinley is on the far left with the bright pink coat and hood.

See the pumpkin she picked out by herself!

Besides the cold, this was really fun for me. The last field trip they went to a fire station and Kinley told me I couldn't go. She was just going with her teachers. This time, she asked me to go with her and even wanted Daddy to go too. It really is feeling like fall around here, and we can't wait for more fun things to happen!

Bordeaux, Talence and Paris

2009-09-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Our trip to France was pretty good. I'm just going to give a brief overview and then explain some pictures. When we got to Bordeaux, the weather was great, and it was amazing the day we were in Paris, but in between was pretty chilly and rainy. Tom ended up third at the DecaStar meet. The scores were nothing to brag about, but Tom finished 2 decathlons this year healthy. I'm pretty excited for next year since he will finally be able to start training on time without setbacks from health issues. Hopefully things will come together for him this next year.

I rented a mini van in Bordeaux for us to get around in, and this was very helpful for all of us. Unfortunately, the first day we tried to make a U turn (not using a round about) we (Tom) hit the curb a little too hard and popped the tire. Here's the proof - Tom and Kinley were big helps changing the tire:)

Dr. Draeger and Kinley doing treatment on their "patients".

This is a picture of the track when Tom was doing his pre-meet the day before the meet. You can tell it was a bit damp and cool.

This is the award ceremony after the meet. To get to the podium, they were shoved in little bitty cars and driven around the track. I've never see so many big guys in tiny cars! Oh, Tom's the one in the bright orange shirt.

Here is the family picture at the dinner after the competition. We had some amazing duck and some sort of strawberry cake-like dessert.

The day after the meet, the meet director had arranged for people to go surfing, but that didn't interest us, so we went to the beach by ourselves. It took us about 45 minutes to drive over there, and the weather was pretty nice for a bit while we were playing in the sand. It got a little cooler and overcast when we walked around the little town, had lunch and of course ice cream.

We made Kinley into a mermaid. I have never seen one so beautiful!

The guys made "Kinley" a sand castle, but I think she only put a couple shells on it for decoration. There was much strategizing and planning involved for a castle that a little girl supposedly wanted.

We went back to the hotel and picked up Cliff to go on a tour of a nearby winery. It was pretty amazing! We got to see the whole process and taste 4 different wines. I'm pretty amazed at the effort that goes into a single bottle of wine and the knowledge that people have about wines and wine-making.

Our last night in Bordeaux we went into the city center for a great dinner that a girl we met at the winery suggested. It was a tiny place with a huge underground cellar for the wine. If you wanted any, you went down and picked out the bottle yourself!

This was a huge fountain in the city center. Obviously you can't tell, but it was beautiful with statues and water all the way around.

We flew to Paris on Tuesday and spent about 8 hours trying to see as much as we could. Our first stop right out of the taxi was at the round-about around the Arc de Triomph. We decided we didn't need to go up in it, but looking at it was good enough for us.

Here we are across the river from the Eiffel tower. We both really enjoyed going up in it and seeing the city. I wish Tom could have gone with us.

After the Eiffel tower, I promised Kinley she could ride the carousel that was right across the street. I think might have been the highlight for her.

You probably can't tell, but Kinley is running through a garden that leads up to the Louvre.

Kinley and I in front of the little arc that sits outside the Louvre.

We made it over to the Notre Dame cathedral. Didn't get to go inside, but still got to see the beautiful outside.

As we were boarding our flight, Kinley got to go into the cockpit and talk to the pilot. Unfortunately, this is not the plane we flew home on. After 3 hours of sitting on the plane waiting for the air conditioning to get fixed, we were transferred to an other plane and eventually made it home 3.5 hours late.

1st Day of Preschool

2009-09-01T13:38:00.001-07:00

Well, the day finally dawned when Kinley got to go to preschool. To say that she was excited would not even begin to describe how she was feeling.
Tom tried to wake her up this morning to no avail, but when he mentioned it was a school day, she opened her eyes super wide, then a huge smile popped up and then she sat straight up in bed ready to go.
I made her a special breakfast of banana pancakes with sprinkles (her favorite). She needed a little encouragement to keep eating. She just kept telling me she was ready to go now.

After all the necessary primping, we were out the door. Here is the traditional front door first day of school picture. I know the lunch box is a little boring, but her real one is backordered.

After about 3 minutes of our drive to school, Kinley asked me what was taking so long. She cracks me up!

Big girl heading into school.

This is one of Kinley's teachers helping her put her bag in her little cubby. She was excited and didn't act scared at all. I gave her one last hug and kiss and told her she was going to have fun and then I turned to leave the room. Thankfully, I suddenly felt two little hands grab mine and Kinley is there looking up at me with those huge blue eyes and she says, "But Mom, I'm going to miss you." Aww, I know she's great. I told her I would miss her too but she was going to have so much fun. She went right over to the table where her name was and sat around with some of the other kids trying to figure out what they were supposed to be doing.

When I went to pick her up she was so happy! Her teacher said she did "amazing". I keep trying to ask her what she did, but she won't say. So far I've found out they learned a wash your hands song while they were in the bathroom, they played outside, ate some lunch, and she told Jimbo they painted their hands and stamped them on paper. Maybe I'll figure it out by the time the school year is over. Oh well, at least she had a great time.

Once we got home, she went into her room and found these!

Jimbo's mom made her some amazing wings! I think its funny she knows exactly what they are and how to put them on - no question.

Germany Trip

2009-08-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

SUPER LONG POST!

Our trip to Germany was so fun! Not only did we get to see some amazing things, but most important, Tom won his meet and did GREAT!

The first challenge once we landed in Frankfurt was to catch a train and go to Cologne. We got our luggage, bought train tickets and made it to the platform for our train.

Here is Kinley on the way to Cologne - we are a little bit tired.

This is a shop right by our hotel. Kinley and I liked to look at all the animals out on the street. She would even give them all hugs and tell them bye when we left.

After a short nap, we went to the Dom Kolner. This is a huge, beautiful Gothic cathedral that is right down by the major train station. We got to look inside and it was amazing! There were gorgeous stained-glass windows, beautiful paintings, a mosaic tiled floor and just an overall beauty to the entire church.

On our walk back to the hotel, we decided to stop at Hard Rock Cafe' for dinner.

Kinley was getting tired and didn't want to eat or take a picture with me.

After I let her get down and dance, she perked up for a bit.

The next day we ventured out to the Chocolate Museum. There was a whole history of when people started using cocoa and how its harvested, and our favorite part...the chocolate factory! We got to sample the Lindt chocolate from this fountain. Again, Kinley not into the picture.

This is the "train" we took from the chocolate museum back to the cathedral so we could get back to our hotel. Kinley had been seeing these and was so excited we got to ride in one.

From here, we took a couple trains up to Marburg where the meet was held. Tom had been at the track, so by the time we got to Marburg, checked in our hotel and then walked down to Tom's hotel, he had been there only a couple of minutes.

We hung out for a little then went with the team to a restaurant where the athletes got to eat free all week - good food for us! We said our goodbyes and then went back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.

We got up a little early and met Miss Reva for a day trip to Kassel. One of the reasons I wanted to go here was because this is where the Grimm brothers (of the fairy tales) grew up. I am somehow related to them (Great-Great-Great Uncles or something).

Outside the museum by a poster.

We only got to see the floors of the museum about the fairy tales because the floors with the life and work were under construction. I took this picture of some artwork by the 3rd brother before I was told no pictures - oops.

The town of Kassel was interesting because it wasn't really very old. It was bombed during the war and most everything looked like 50's architecture when everything was rebuilt. We took a little tram to the edge of town to look at 2 different castles.

The first was Lowenburg. It looked great, but was too far away to walk up there. The second was the a very extravagant castle with an aqua duct system coming 1.6km down from it, and there was a big statue of Hercules on top - I think he is a symbol of the town.

Lowenburg

Schloss and Hercules (there is scaffolding on the left of Hercules)

Cute girl in a tree

One of the pools that the aqua ducts ran through.

I don't really know what this building was for, but now its an art museum. We went up to the third floor to see a few Rembrandt and Reuben paintings. Pretty amazing how detailed and long lasting some of them are.

Now, on to Marburg.

We took a tour of the city to see the Landgrave's castle and Elizabeth church. We also found out many other neat little facts about the town. All through town there were different reminders of the Grimm brothers' fairy tales. They would come to Marburg and occasionally stay.

Kinley by the little fountain in the center of town

The seven dwarfs on one of the walls of the castle

Up by the castle overlooking the town. See how the spire is leaning. Its so if it would catch fire it would fall away from the church.

This is Elizabeth church. Our hotel was less than 100m from here, so we walked by at least a dozen times on the way to and from Tom's hotel.

Elizabeth hospital. Elizabeth built this hospital to help anyone in need, and the medical industry is still one of the major industries in the town.

After the meet (I'll post more on that later) we spent the next day at a Roman military base first built 2000 years ago and then in Frankfurt.

The gate of Saalburg. This was rebuilt in the 1800's and they weren't sure how it really looked, but it looks neat now.

The family picture

Frankfurt main train station

Reva and I got caught in the rain storm

Tom and Kinley stayed dry at the cafe'.

This trip was amazing! I had such a great time and I think Kinley did too. I have many pictures of the meet and other things dealing with the Thorpe Cup, but I'll do a separate post about all those.

Perfect Sunday

2009-08-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

Nothing is better than napping with Daddy!
(can you tell they're "watching" golf)

Lots of Fun and a Little Drama

2009-08-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

Kinley and I ventured down to Texas last week for my cousin's wedding. We came in early and surprised my mom. I always love to see if we can truly pull it off. We did some painting at my sister's house, played at the "cool pool" got lots of play time in with the cousins, and went to the wedding. It was really nice and everyone had a great time - especially Kinley...

My aunt and uncle had a pool party/BBQ at their house the night before the wedding. We all had a great time. Kinley absolutely loves the water and never wants to get out. She thinks she is so big with her floaties!

Just a warning...here comes a picture of my big belly! I wish I had measured my tummy with Kinley just to compare, but here it is with a little over 3 months to go...

After that scary picture, here is one of the little angel. She is trying to wait patiently for the ceremony to start. This was the first time I had "trouble" with Kinley. She wouldn't be quiet. She wasn't being bad, but just kept asking questions and commenting during the whole thing. I kept having to hold her lips closed for her.

This is our attempt at a self-portrait. We set the timer and ran!

Now for the best part...

As soon as we got to the reception, Kinley took a sip of water and looked at me and said, "Mom, I have to dance." How hilarious! There was no one on the dance floor, no music and very few guests at this point, so I thought, sure why not. She loved it! She only took little breaks (for cheese and cake) and would try to dance with anyone out there.

Now, the bad part...

This might be a little too much, so just skip over if you need to. On our way home, we got bumped up to first class for our flight from Austin to Atlanta. Pretty cool.! In Atlanta everything went downhill - fast. We were going down the escalator, holding hands, and Kinley just started crying and screaming about her toe. When we got to the bottom, a lady said I should check her foot because the escalator cut her daughter's toe one time. Well, by the time I got out of the way of everyone else, there was blood dripping out of her cute little Croc. I carefully took off her shoe (which had black skid marks on the outside edge) only to find a huge gash (I say this because it wasn't a clean cut) under her pinkie toe around the outside of her foot. Luckily, a woman gave me a clean wash cloth to apply pressure, and someone called for help. An airport worker came over and radioed for the EMT people and then we waited. A really nice woman and her daughter stayed with us the whole time and helped clean up Kinley's shoe, the floor and just gave me someone to talk to. Kinley was crying to hard and telling me not to squeeze too tight, and thankfully she fell asleep. A short 45 minutes later, the EMT guys showed up, cleaned her foot a little and put a quick bandage on it. We followed them to a waiting ambulance that ended up being right on the tarmac with the airplanes (way cool for both of us). Its a little scary riding down the interstate with a big back door with a window right there at the bottom of your daughter's bed on wheels. We got to the children's hospital, filled out some paperwork, and went to a little procedure room. Eventually a doctor came in looked, said definitely stitches and x-rays to be safe (since we don't really know how this happened). We walked up to x-ray and I had to leave her with a nurse and her blanket (Purple). I could hear her talking and saying cheese for the camera. Let me just say now that had I not been alone I would have been bawling this entire time, but I had on my brave face for Kinley.

So, back to our room with the promise of a purple Popsicle when we were all done. The x-rays came back normal, so just the stitches to look forward to. When we first got to the room, the doctor put some numbing cream on a cotton ball and taped it to her toe. This was to numb anything it touched. Next, the nurse gave Kinley some medicine to calm her down and forget what was going on. We had to wait quite a while for this to fully kick in, but it sure was funny to see my 3 year-old trying so hard to put her finger back in a pulse monitor and missing by a mile! Finally the doctor and a nurse came in and set everything up. The doctor held her foot, the nurse was grabbing her leg and laying across them both, and I was practically laying on top of her telling her everything was okay. Once they started, I about lost it! Only the top layer of Kinley's skin was numbed, and because of the jagged shape and depth of the "laceration" the doctor had to stitch VERY deep. She screamed and tried to pull her leg away and was yelling for me to get off her. The whole time just looking at me to help her, and there I was holding her down telling her it was going to be okay. What a liar! After what seemed like a lifetime and 4 stitches later, she just curled up next to me and cried. This was a little strange because she was so upset, but so loopy she couldn't even sit up. When they finally brought her the Popsicle, she would take a little bite, but then just stare at it trying to figure it out.

We had to hang out for a bit to make sure Kinley didn't have any problem with the meds, so this gave me time to text with Tom. We had obviously missed all the flights back to Kansas City, so we needed to be confirmed on a morning flight and needed a place to stay. Tom took care of the flight, and when he called, they we going to charge him! Luckily, a different lady took care of everything and got us on the 7:30 flight in the morning. Jim got us a hotel and texted us the address, so when we were ready to go, I just had to show the cab driver and off we went.

Now, let me just add couple things although I know this is already so long.

1. I haven't eaten since having a soft pretzel on the plane we got while in Austin. Our flight was at 2:00pm. (oops, I forgot Kinley shared some of her Popsicle with me)

2. Kinley hurt her foot around 5:30pm Atlanta time.

3. We left the hospital at 11:00pm Atlanta time.

4. Once we checked in our hotel, I walked over to Denny's, carrying Kinley, and ordered us some food. Kinley was still so loopy she couldn't sit on a stool by herself!

5. When Kiney fell asleep around 12:15am I finally cried. Not just a few tears, but cried. Nothing is worse that your hurt baby.

Okay, so there was our trip. Kinley is doing great now. She doesn't remember the stitches, thank God, and she only mentions her foot in the shower and when anyone tries to look at it. She is running and walking around fine which is great since we leave for Germany in 2 days! I can't imagine having to carry her all the time - just makes me tired thinking about it.

Just Some Recent Stuff

2009-07-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

We have been super busy this summer, and I love it! Here are just a few things we've been up to...

Chillin' at the pool in Oregon

Watching the US Championships in Eugene

Playing on a super cool slide with our cousins

Playing with sparklers on the 4th of July (needed both hands and doesn't like loud sounds)

Went to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico

Took some pictures at White Sands National Park in NM (sure was hot and lots of sand)

Made bird feeders out of the pine cones we picked up in Ruidoso with Aunt Weesie and Uncle Mike

It sure has been fun, and we're not even done yet! We'll try to keep updated better, but I keep forgetting what I was going to do. Hope everyone is having a great summer as well!

Lucky Girl

2009-06-23T16:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning we had planned to go on a walk around the city park, let Kinley play on the new play place, eat our picnic lunch at the track, watch Tom high jump and throw javelin, and then all go to the pool.

We started off great, got 2 laps around the park (lots of sweating included) and then headed to the the bathrooms. When we walked out, we noticed lots of kids and parents around the new sprinkler park with swimsuits on. Luckily Kinley's suit was in the car, so after a quick change and a big smile from both of us (mine for finding I had the camera and Kinley because of any reason to wear a swim suit) we headed back to the new park. We sat down in the shade, applied sunscreen and learned the water was turning on in 5 minutes - so lucky!

Here is the beginning of the adventure...not quite sure what to think of everything yet (much like her daddy).

Oh, maybe this could be fun!

Getting more and more brave every minute

Lovin' the water!

Finally got the water cannon figured out and immediately tried to shoot people. I have to say, she got nailed in the face a few time earlier, so I was glad to see her get some revenge.

Kinley had a blast and of course didn't want to leave for the track, but like I said...we had things to do yesterday. Randomly one of the designers for the park sat by me and stared telling me about the whole thing. Pretty interesting - sometimes more than I needed to know, but great plans and still planning more improvements to all the parks in town.

We made it to the track, had lunch, watched high jump and then Kinley watched javelin from her new personal pool - the ice tubs outside in the hot, hot sun:)

Too Hot!

2009-06-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Kinley has been asking us for a few days to go swimming. We have had every intention to take her, but it just hasn't worked out. A few days its been because of the weather, and today Tom has a couple recruits he has to meet with, but such is life.

Our compromise on the situation was to play in the hose. Kinley LOVES to go "hose the water" with Tom, so this was great!

Just the beginning...

Honestly, I think this shot is funny because the lens on the camera fogged up from the humidity.

She wanted to do it "my own self"

You can just barely see the shadow of a car coming from behind the tree that she was aiming at

Its so much fun to see her play and truly enjoy playing with us. Can't wait until she can play with her little sister:)

West Texas Trip

2009-06-04T13:19:00.001-07:00

Just a warning...this is a really long post!

Kinley and I went down to Texas for my cousin's graduation. We had such a great time seeing all my family and exploring Big Bend. Of course, my nieces needed some clarification between Big Bend (a national park in Texas) and Big Ben (The clock tower in London). One little letter can make a world of difference. Kinley kept asking where was Big Bend, even when we were driving through the park. I kinda think she was lookign for a great big play place.

PART 1 - GRADUATION

Almost the whole family - just missing 3 adults and 2 kidos

Opa & GrandLis with thier granddaughters

Lots of fun things to do around the house before we went to the graduation. I can't remember if they were in a boat or a car, but it sure did fall over a lot.

Jessica Nicole Rush...we are all so proud of you!!

All that playtime at the house made the 3 little ones a bit tired.

PART 2 - BIG BEND AND FT. DAVIS

This is Santa Elena Canyon. The Rio Grande divided this rock. Its 1500 feet to the top and 2.5 miles long. On the left of the picture is Mexico and the right is Texas.

Big Bend was amazing! I have certainly never seen anything like it in the rest of Texas. The mountains at plants were all so different from anywhere I've traveled before. Its hard to believe that this far west is a desert, and if you go to the other side of the state its so lush and humid. We didn't get to get out and hike or anything because the one trail we had picked out was flooded at the entrance, but we did get to take a back unpaved road. The girls thought it was fun bouncing in the back of the car.

Ft. Davis considered a frontier military post. It was in use from 1854-1891. Many of the buildings are still there as well as the foundation from almost every building ever to be on the post. The troop spent much of thier time fighting different Indian tribes that attacked travelers and mail stations. I guess the lucky thing is the fort itself was never attacked.

Kinley looking at one of the cannons in the armory. We actually got to go into the elisted men's barracks. Usually you just look through a doorway, but there was a class or something that was being led through and they said we could go with them - nothing like the way I would like to live.

PART 3 - MEMORIAL DAY POOL PARTY

I'll share these pictures later.

We met at the apartments my little sister manages to play and have some lunch. The kiddos had a great time! The adults loved the sun and seeing the kids enjoying themselves.

PART 4 - CHICKY STORE

My mom has always taken the kids to the feed store in Georgetown to look at all the baby animals. Sometimes they have lots, and this day we were lucky! Chicks (lots of different kinds), ducks, rabbits, turkeys, and even a guiney pig (don't know if I spelled that right).

Also, a little extra info...

Kinley will be getting a baby sister in November!

Outdoor Stuff

2009-05-13T14:13:00.001-07:00

Sometime last week Jim came home from work and found Kinley and I in the backyard. He said he found a frog in the garage and brought it out to us. Kinley was all good with frogs until this experience. She would look at him and talk about him, but no touching. Finally we coaxed her into petting him just a little. Of course, the frog chose this time to take his first big jump. Kinley let out the girliest, high-pitched squeal. So funny - for me! She came running and didn't want much to do with him after that. Luckily, she's gotten over most of the "fear". She will go in the backyard and come back and tell me the frog must be hiding because she doesn't see him.

So...here is the little guy.

After Kinley and I took our recycling in one day, we came home and washed out the tubs. This was the highlight for Kinley. She loves the water!

Yes, that is her bathing suit top with her panties. I know, great outfit, but just be happy you're not seeing more flesh. We're working of modesty.

So, my mom came up to visit back in March, and we worked in the yard. She brought up some iris and day lilies, and we found a ridiculous amount of gladiolas in the back. We got some beds fixed and we've been waiting for the blooms. We have had 2 dark plum iris blooms so far, and some more surprises. We had great tulips by our mailbox, and these beautiful peonies (we think) we didn't even know were there! We have a total of 5 plant and so far have 3 different shades of pink.

On the side of our house there was this little bed with a couple rose bushes and a small windmill-looking thing. Well, a couple weeks ago it disappeared under this vine, and today we found 4 of these purple flowers! Its great to get beautiful surprises, especially when I didn't even know there was anything alive.

New Friends

2009-05-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

I know my whole life I have heard of people having imaginary friends, but never thought much about it. Probably if I had one my sister would have made it go away or made fun of me so much I wouldn't mention it again. Anyway, Kinley has started playing with a couple. There is Elizabeth, Swiper and sometimes Sheena. I can understand where the first 2 come from...Elizabeth is her middle name and it took her a long time to not say "little bit" and of course Swiper from Dora. Who knows where she found Sheena.

Just yesterday we were at the indoor track and Kinley wanted me to time her. This is new fun for her. She ran a whole lap (200m)! I was super impressed she didn't stop or take a short-cut. Of course just like Tom and me, as soon as she finishes, she asks what her time was. Anyway, after her turn, I was talking with Tom and I here Kinley yelling, "Come on Swiper!" I asked what she was doing and she told me Swiper was running and she was timing him. Its like this a lot. She will have picnics with them, or let them have turns drawing, but she only dances with Swiper while she's watching Dancing With the Stars. She really cracks me up!

This was only moments ago. She likes to dress up will ALL her stuff, then slowly sheds until she just has on a skirt and shoes. She's also been into her swimsuits, so her "bathing suit bra" gets worn a lot now, too. (the bathing suit is around her neck and on both arms)

Just a shot from Easter of our little family.

Church Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

Our church had an Easter egg hunt, lessons and crafts today, so we thought we'd go join the fun. We showed up at the elementary school down the road from the church for the hunt. We got there a little early, so Kinley had to restrain herself for a while. When we walked up, there were eggs all over the ground. It was pretty hilarious watching all the kids just staring at the eggs and continually asking if it was time yet.

Here Kinley is waiting and waiting and waiting.

Once they said go, I pointed Kinley to an empty end of the play ground, and off she went!

Daddy showed her where some eggs were by the play stuff. She thought it was all so cool and loved to see the other kids pick up eggs too.

Here is the goofy smile showing us all her eggs.

After the egg hunt, we went back up to the church for a little lesson, games and crafts. Kinley made this cross. The only thing I did was hold the glue dots and put her initials on.

Right before it was time to go, the kids got to go pet some baby chicks. Kinley was so gentle petting the little black one. She asked me if she could hold a little yellow one, but more kids started coming, so I told her that wasn't the best idea. And yes, we used lots of sanitizer right after this picture!

What did you do!?

2009-04-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

So its been a bit crazy here. A couple weeks ago it was mid 70s and great. We played a little sand volleyball and loved it, but it didn't last since then, we've had a storm with 80mph winds and its snowed twice! Its crazy, I tell you! For instance...today its 70 and its supposed to snow and only be in the 30s tomorrow.

Anyway....

Last weekend Kinley was in her room putting on makeup with Swiper (this is what she tells me). She comes out and I don't even know what to say. I'm stunned! All I could say was "What did you do?! At this time, Kinley just started howling and the tears started flowing. Being the mom that I am, I let her cry while I got a picture before I held her and addressed the issue.

Make sure you check out the chunk of hair hanging down from her shoulder.

Now you know why I didn't know what to say. What can you say to that face? She "luckily" only got a couple chunks in the front, but I told her if she cut her hair again we were going to shave it like Daddy's. Also, the pictures are a little fuzzy because I'm laughing and crying at the same time.

Mom's new shop

2009-03-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know my mom (Sue Cote') has (finally) decided to make handmade nursery bedding and other baby things and sell them. My sister and I have told her for years to do this - she's very talented. She has a "shop" on the etsy site, but you can also email her or even stop by to look at her things for you or someone you might need a gift for. You can get to her site by http://www.goodnightsweetheart.etsy.com/ or email her at goodnightsweetheart@hotmail.com. Hope y'all like her stuff as much as I do!

Here's a peek at some of her things. I also put a link to her shop from my blog.

Woven Ribbon Blanket

Grami's flannel blanket

Shoulder Savers

Happy Birthday Kinley

2009-03-08T15:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Kinley is 3 today! The time has really just flown by. Kinley and I talked quite a bit about her birthday and what kind of cake she wanted. For a while she was telling me she wanted a donut cake. I was pretty excited, since I really like cake donuts, but at the store she decided she had to have a pink cake. We already picked out a couple little ponies to put on top, so that was easy. Funny thing, when we got up this morning I sang to her (no she didn't cry) and then asked her what she wanted for her birthday breakfast...cereal, pancakes, yogurt or a breakfast bar. This was apparently the wrong question. She just started crying and said, "I want birthday cake for breakfast." Too funny, Kinley was all about it being her day and getting her way.

Anyway, the birthday ended up great! It was warm enough to grill burgers and brats and then follow it all up with CAKE!

Here is the pink cupcake cake with a big pony, a baby pony and 3 candles.

Kinley blowing out her candles

Opening her puppy and purse - thanks Andy & Agne

Playing with the baby pony and Big Baby in her new car seat

Even Tom liked the new puppy that moved and yapped

Papaw - notice the balloons!

Kinley had a great time eating, opening her presents, and playing with her friends. I'm sure it will all happen again too soon.

Here is a picture of Kinley a day or so after she was born, on her first birthday, her second birthday, and one from today. Wow how she has changed and grown up!

2006

2007

2008

2009

Catch-Up Time

2009-02-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I thought I'd finally get my computer screen fixed. I knew it would have to be sent off for the repair, but I certainly didn't think it would take more than a month to swap screens and send it back. That being said, I have a lot to catch you up on.

Through some weird circumstances, we now have a craps table in our garage. Kinley loves to go out and "play with the boys". Apparently she has picked up quite a bit of the lingo as well. She can tell you what you're supposed to say with each number and definitely knows seven out.

Can't you just tell who's really in charge of this table?!

Kinley has also been helping me a lot while I'm cooking. Its much nicer now that I have a huge kitchen compared to the apartment. She gets the things out of this cabinet and will usually make us soup or cupcakes, although yesterday she had a fire at a cookout with marshmallows. And yes, they were great!

The day finally came that Kinley needed her first haircut. I was a little scared to trim it up, but like my sister always says...it will just grow back, so here we go, or went.
February 11, 2009
This is brushed out before we went to the salon.

And the back.

Here is the first cut!

The finished look, complete with product and flat iron! Aunt LoLo would be so proud.

So here is our late Valentine's Day picture. This is her "little attitude" pose with her new pony. By the way - the name of the pony on the package was Sweetie Belle. I suggested we just call her Belle. Kinley said okay and then later said that was a princess name so she was going to call her Jasmine. You never know the logic of a 2 year old.

We met some friends at the bowling alley the other day. Kinley has been with us before, but this was the first time she wanted, or was able, to roll the ball. She helped me a couple times, but apparently Mom is no fun.

Amanda let her help and she was done with Mom. Oh well, I have to let go sometime.

Antigo, Wisconsin

2009-02-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

So we took a quick trip, okay it was a 12 hour drive each way, up to Wisconsin to see Dr. Draeger and his family. He is an awesome chiropractor who loves to help people, especially athletes. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Kinley and I got a couple workouts in. Here we are up in the gym before we hit the pool.

Here we are swimming in February in Wisconsin!

The actual reason we went up was for Tom to get some work done. He always feel so much better after one of Doc's treatments.

So, Doc's parents own this amazing bakery in Antigo! Let me explain why this is so exciting for me...the bread is awesome & good for you. They make their bread with flax seed so you get even more good stuff than from a piece of fish. And, its soooo good. We got there just in time to have a fresh doughnut, and Kinley got some yummy cookies.

Kinley had a good time feeding Zeke. She might have made him gain a few pounds, but she had a good time & Zeke didn't seem to mind either.

We went sledding! Kinley and I went down a bigger slope together, and then she decided she was big enough to go by herself. We also really liked being taken back up the hill on the snowmobile. Tom and Chris were of course more daring and had to compete to see who could go the farthest on each sled - that is the ones they didn't break. The amazing thing is that no one got hurt!

Kinley found a pony just her size.

Danae and Kinley painted toes and we were not allowed to interrupt them. Kinley wanted to do big girl stuff all by herself - big surprise!

Oh, and Tom had this small steak at a neat little place in the middle of nowhere.

Kinley's Room

2009-01-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

I might have told some of you Kinley really wanted to paint her room in our new house. This is all she could talk about for weeks! Eventually, after much decision, she decided on pink, "cause that's my favorite." Here I have some before, during and after pictures. We aren't quite finished decorating, so you won't get the full view, but you'll get the idea.

Here is Kinley's room with the previous owner's stuff in it.

Kinley helping tape off the walls.

After the primer, Kinley got started on this spot.

Kinley had her own place to refill her brush, but she kept wanting to put it in the big can. She was so extremely excited she could barely contain herself.

After lots of help, here is the "Poetic Princess" pink room. Can you believe that's actually the name? Kinley loves her new room and has had no problem sleeping all by herself!

Graceland!

2009-01-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

While driving out to Knoxville to meet the movers (another story for a later time) we/I decided to go to Graceland. I have always wanted to go and decided, why not.

Here we are outside the front of the mansion.

Front entry parlor complete with stained-glass peacocks.

Hard to tell, but we were heading upstairs in a hallway that was completely covered with green shag carpeting. It was awesome!

They had converted Elvis' raquetball court into this "trophy" room. Pretty cool and even had some of the more sparkly capes Elvis wore.

So, this is at the back of Elvis' plane the Lisa Marie. I was taking this picture of me in the bathroom mirror when an alarm went off. I turned around to see Kinley laying on Elvis' bed! Luckily we were the only ones on the plane and the guard didn't come and get us, but wow!

I've heard many things about Graceland, and I loved it. I thought it was really neat. Ironically we went on the 8th (our anniversary) which is Elvis' birthday. We went early in the morning and it wasn't really crowded. It took us almost 2 hours to get through everything. It was just enough time to see everything and not too long for Kinley to really lose it. I'm so glad we went, and I'm sure Tom is as well.

Yahtzee

2008-12-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

So we were playing a couple mean games of Yahtzee last night. I'm not so good. Anyway, we were talking about it today in front of my 6 year old neice, Emma. Tom was saying I was still bragging about getting Yahtzee last night, and Emma says, "Aunt Kimi doesn't have a boat. A Yahtzee is a boat, I know and Aunt Kimi doesn't have one." She cracks me up!

Merry Christmas From Texas

2008-12-26T07:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! Just thought I'd share some Christmas fun from Texas.

December 23

For quite a while Kinley has been begging me to go skating. I'm not exactly sure where the idea came from, but we decided to give it a try with my sister and her kidos.

Here are Holly, Leah, Kinley and Tom before we hit the ice. Of course by the time we got all laced up, it was time for a break to clean the ice.

This is Lori, Leah, me and Kinley on our first lap. Kinley was great walking on the skates on dry land, but the ice was another story. She tried really hard holding onto the rail, holding hands and me holding her, but one lap was enough. Luckily, Tom also was in need of a break, so they sat on the side and helped with everyone else.

Traditionally, after Thanksgiving we go up to BLORA to see a great light display, but this year we got to do it closer to Christmas. We were afraid of lines, but we must have timed it great. The only line was leaving through the light tunnel. We really love seeing all the displays - especially me.

The cool light tunnel you drive through when you leave.

December 25

Look what Santa brought Kinley!

The first shot of her face when she looked into the living room. This one cracks me up. She's not sure what to think.

Tom and Kinley opening up their stockings.

This is probably the best reaction she had all day!

So, outside we went to play with all the new stuff! Kinley got all her protection on to ride her bike. Let me tell you, she's not such a good driver. She doesn't understand yet how to steer, and she was getting really frustrated trying to pedal. Oh, I haven't mentioned she woke up with a terrible fever around 2am and was feverish all day - this did not help all the chaos.

After some old fashioned bike riding, she decided to drive the bee car. Did I mention she's not such a good driver?

Ryan got this cool 4-wheeler and was giving his cousins rides, and I want to say again this was probably Kinley's fault. Luckily Tom the traffic cop was right on the scene.

I guess Kinley got her license revoked because she caught a ride with Ryan back to the driveway.

For the last Christmas celebration of the day, we went out to my aunt's house for my dad's side of the family. We had a magnificent dinner! After we opened our gifts, Tom couldn't resist my silky-soft hat and scarf.

We had a great Christmas and just want to say thanks to everyone for such a special day!

What a week!

2008-12-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

As they say, when it rains it pours. This was definately true for us this past week. We thought things were finally falling into place, but they were beginning to fall apart. First, we found renters for our house only to have them cancel at the last possible moment. Second, Kinley and I went to pick up my mom from the airport, and on the way home slid off the road into a ditch. We got a wrecker to pull us out, but my car wasn't driving so well, so we called a friend and left my car in Topeka. Tom was just able to pick my car up today, and get it back to Manhattan. We drove down to Texas in Tom's car only to get here and take it to the shop to get the brake pads and rotors changed. Our friends have been trying to help Tom move out of the apartment, but one of their cars broke down and the other got in a wreck on the icy roads in Manhattan. So, needless to say things are not going well. I pray that we can only go up from here.

Warm?

2008-12-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

I was working on the computer trying to get Tom's passport updated, and Kinley says to me, "Mom, I can wear these 'cause they can keep me all warm." I turned around to this...

Now, I don't know about y'all, but I think I might need a little more to "keep me all warm."

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chirstmas!

2008-12-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I love Christmas. One great thing about living in Kansas is that its so cold it helps get me in the Christmas mood. This weekend was very Christmasy for us. On Friday night we went to the Manhattan Christmas Parade. It was soooo cold, but great fun. Somehow, the men found better things to do - big surprise.

Kinley got tuckered out with all the excitement of the parade, so she had to nap to get her second wind.

We thought this truck with antlers was really cool!

The big fire truck!

Little cold during the parade, but lots of fun.

Santa waving at Kinley! She always says - That's my friend!

Saturday night we had a gingerbread house building party. We got together and here are the results. Not to shabby for amateur.

Kinley and Tom worked hard on their house. Ok, Tom worked hard and Kinley ate the candy and put a few on the house.

Tom & Kinley's finished house (it collapsed not 2 minutes after the picture)

My attempt at a cute little country house.

Couldn't leave this out...Tricia and John got Kinley a great new "dancing skirt". It came with a light-up feather boa, a feather crown, and the skirt plays the nutcracker music. I wish I could have got a picture of her face when she first realized what it was, but that's how it goes. This was Sunday after church. You can tell she thinks its the best ever!

New House

2008-11-19T14:32:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally decided we've had enough of the 1 bedroom apartment. We've looked for a while, hoping our house in Knoxville would sell, and finally found a house that would work for us. We are still praying about the house in Knoxville, but know that a house is what our family needs. We don't get to close on the house until the 19th of December, but here is a sneak peak.

The house from inside my car - it was cold and rainy.

An actual back yard! And this is only about half of it.

A kitchen with more than 1 cabinet - this should be fun!

And of course our cute Kinley. By the way, she can't wait to paint her new room. Our conversation usually goes something like this, "What color do you want to paint your room?" Kinley: "Um, maybe brown, or something?!" Keep in mind the color changes, but a lot of the time it is brown. Who knows.

Belated Halloween

2008-11-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

I know its a little late, but we've been pretty crazy around here lately. On Halloween we went over to Mr. John and Miss Tricia's to trick-or-treat in their nieghborhood and have a party. Kinley was super excited to get candy from people. We only made it to a few houses, but she had plenty of candy and already asked for me to carry her, so we called it good.

We decided to dress up for our party, and convincing Tom to wear a costume was a chore. He kept thinking up great ideas, but not realistic with 3 days to pull it off. We finally came up with this...

Here are the guys playing a few hands of blackjack. Not sure who came out on top, but we had a great time!

Zoo Spooktacular

2008-10-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

As we did last year, we went to Sunset Zoo here in Manhattan for a day of fun. They let the kids dress up and trick or treat from sponsored booths as well as see all the animals. Kinley had much more fun this year getting the candy, but it was a little scary at first. Before we even got into the zoo a lady gave Kinley a bracelet and a piece of candy, and Kiney just started crying. I don't even know why. I guess it wasn't what she was expecting. Anyway, once we went into the zoo, she had a great time.

There was a nice little play area Kinley played on for a while. She wasn't so sure about the wiggly bridge, but she loved the twisty slide.

The highlight again was the petting area. She didn't use a brush this time, but her hands worked just great. We gave her a handful of feed, but the goats ate it before we could even blink let alone take pictures. Before we made it to this area, we got to see a lady with a snake. Kinley actually pet it! I was really proud of her, although she didn't want to go in the little Dracula Dressing Area that was a little spooky.

Kinley and Tom in the petting area.

Pretty Toes

2008-10-17T18:51:00.001-07:00

Kinley and I went to the mall so I could get a pedicure. This was the reward to myself for working hard in Knoxville. I chose black paint because my sister and I were talking about it and how cute we think it looks, especially in the Halloween season. I let Kinley pick out a color to hold and she chose many shades before setteling on a clear glitter. I had her go find a pretty pink one, and she went toward the neon section. We both soaked our feet and got our legs massaged and then our toes painted. Kinley has gone with me a few times before, but she usually just soaks her feet and gets them dried off. This was the first time the lady painted her toes too. This is not something she'll get often, but its fun every once in a while.

We also decided it was close enough to Halloween to wear the seasonal clothing. Don't worry, we didn't wear matching outfits. Just my toes matched her outfit. She's pretty cute if I do say so!

Kinley's new pose

2008-09-28T13:08:00.001-07:00

We have been in Knoxville for a few days now, and its been busy! My friend Christy came down from Cincinnati to see us, and she taught Kinley a new trick.

This is now how she poses for pictures. She's still working on putting the hip out a little to show the attitude.

We got a chance to play with some old friends. Here are all the cuties lined up like angels - we won't tell you how long it took to get them all to look at the camera:)

I've told everyone for a while now that Kinley is a big girl, and she really believes it! I guess all the time in the weight room really has been paying off for her.

Ok, I'm kidding. She is too young to be in the weight room. She does her lifting out at the track!

Just Being Kinley

2008-09-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple cute things from Kinley I thought y'all might want to see. I think they are really cute, but I am biased.

No, she's not going. She's heard us talk about Vegas and now when we ask where we're going she says, "We're going to Begas!" She is just like her dad.

Pumpkin Patch - Manhattan Style

2008-09-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

There were signs for a Pumpkin Patch this weekend, so I thought we'd go check it out. I have to admit it was disappointing. There were a few pumpkins lining the sidewalks by some fruit stands, and then a bunch of arts and crafts tables. Some of the stuff was neat, but I was thinking it was going to be more to do with pumpkins. Anyway, we took a quick look and then let Kinley pick out a pumpkin.

This is it her little pumpkin! I thought for sure she'd go for a big one, but she immediately wanted a "cute little one."

Cook Out

2008-09-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

We had a cook out the other night while Kyle's parents were in town. We had delicious steak, potatoes, beans, bread and can you tell...

Daddy helped Kinley roast her marshmallow, and you can see she fit it all (or most of it) in her little mouth.

We had a great time sitting in the cool night air around a camp fire just enjoying being around each other.

Kinley Getting Married

2008-09-14T17:26:00.001-07:00

I know she's only 2, but she keeps telling me she wants to get married. She just watched Aladdin and then The Little Mermaid, and they get married. I'm pretty sure she likes the fluffy dress and all the frills, but one thing she's noticed they have is a vail.

It all started like this...

I have decided that Kinely is going to be an angel for Halloween and I will wear a headband with devil horns - yes, I do like to get dressed up. I found a package of horns attached to a red boa. She wanted to wear them in the store still on the package. I didn't care, so sure. Once I got them on her, she said, "Look Mom, now I'm married!" It took me a while to understand, but she meant she had on a tiara with a red boa vail. She does have a great imagination.

For days now, she has been asking me for a vail so she can be married. Yesterday I found a headband and some tulle to make all her dreams come true. This is the final product - of course once she had on the vail, she had to put on her dancing dress, dancing skirt, and dancing shoes.

You might think this outfit is complete, but like any blushing bride, she turns to me and says, "Mom, I need some flowers to get married." No joke! The saying goes that every girl has been planning her wedding since she was 5; well, I guess it will be 2 1/2 for Kinley:)

Chiefs Game

2008-09-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today we got to go to the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Oakland Raiders. Now, I know some of you are thinking why - since we know how these teams are, but Tom was honored before the game as an Olympian, so we went. We actually had a great time. Our friends, the Janvrins, met us there and we got to do some pretty neat things...

Tom and Kinley on the sidelines before he was announced. If you look really close, you can see some of the Kansas City players warming up on the field. (The big guys in white pants and red jerseys)

A wrestler from Missouri that attended the University of Missouri, Tom and Christian Smith (800m ran for K-State) were the three Olympians out on the field. Here is Tom on the big screen when they were announcing him. I have to say he got the loudest cheers - might be because they said he was the first American decathlete to make 3 Olympic teams.

Oh, little bit fame - we got to see in person - American Idol David Cook sing the national anthem! Kinley did great with the "rockets red glare", but the "bombs bursting in air" was a little scary.

We finally made it to our seats, and Kinley had a great time going back and forth between Teresa and me. She did get into the game. She likes to clap with everyone and here she is yelling.

I love watching football and this was fun. I'm not going to go so far as to say this was a great game, but it was fun, and I'm thankful for the opportunities, like this one, that we have had.

Kinley at 2 1/2

2008-09-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

I know its been a while, but its been pretty crazy. Kinley is officially 2 and a half. So, here are some things Kinley has been doing lately.

1. Kinley is potty trained! She still wears diapers at night, but the rest of the time she is great. Of course we have to do the tt potty dance and say how proud of her we are, but we don't mind. We are super proud of her!

2. Kinley dances all the time. She likes to put on tulle skirts and fancy shoes and dance around and around. She sings too. This is not one of her better talents - no surprise, I am her mom.

3. Kinley is counting all the way to 19. The only funny thing here is 15. Kinely says five teen. Makes sense, all the other numbers work that way. I think she stops at 19 because she doesn't know 20.

4. Kinley is still tall. We have just started to wear some pants. I pulled out some 3T I got on sale, and some of them look like she can't grow any more or they will be too short. None of them are too long - that's for sure.

Well, thats all I can think of for now. Really, we are so blessed with such an amazing little girl. She is everything we could have ever wanted - and more. Hopefully the next 2 1/2 years are just as fun as these have been. Kinley will be so excited because then she will be able to have gum - one thing she looks forward to.