The Harding Family

Yep...I am still here!

2017-11-17T10:55:00.001-06:00

Meet your Teacher Night

2017-08-24T15:37:00.002-05:00

Seems like this was forever ago, but I still love the pictures! Addison has Ms. Swope for 3rd grade, Lauren had her last year for 5th grade! We are thrilled to have her again!

Lauren has Mr. Ritter. She was so excited when she found this out. She has wanted him for a few years now!

Lauren was excited to run into several friends she missed over the summer!

Addison is finally in class with her BFF Jenna and her very good friend, Sara.

This is Addison's 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Vacarro. She adored Ms. Vacarro and we did too!

As you can see Addison is pretty excited for school to start! The chaos has set in and we are slowly getting 3rd and 6th grade figured out!

First Day of School

2017-08-16T19:59:00.001-05:00

I still have a ton to say about Summer, but let's talk about the first day of school. Both girls were very excited to start school this year...even though this picture might not convince you. Lauren is so excited to be a 6th grader! Addison is ready to see some of her friends she didn't get to see over the summer months!

These girls know how much I love taking pictures of everything....especially the first day of school. Addison did not want her sister touching her...

Both girls are much happier here...and those legs....wow. Where did they get those long legs??? Not from me of course!

We did not get a picture with Ginger last year...probably because she was toooo crazy. This year was a struggle as well, but I love this one.

These girls take some amazing selfies!

We only had to wait for the bus for about 5 minutes...and it poured. The kids loved it!

Like I said...Lauren is super excited for 6th grade. Look at that smile!

Addison's twin Sydney. They are the best of friends...born about 12 hours apart...and a neighbor right down the street!

Addison let us snap a few pictures in the classroom....

I did a great job of embarrassing Lauren :)

Then I snuck back in to Addison's classroom before heading out!

Then we hit the ice cream shop after school and heard all about their day. Well, Lauren told us all about their day...Addison said school was boring. LOL.

Summer 2017

2017-08-05T16:48:00.004-05:00

Summer has flown by! I can't believe school starts in about 10 days. Where did summer go?

We had a great summer filled with lots of fun and we made so many memories.

Girl Scout camp was back in June. We spent 2 days at camp when it was close to 100 degrees both days. We were on fire, but we still had fun.

Addison was very excited to do the zipline...until she got to the top and the base of the zipline. It was probably 50 feet high...and she decided no way!

Swimming was a must at camp. Addison and her friend Sara had a lot of fun this past year in 2nd grade. They were pretty much the teacher's helper all year long and became good friends.

Addison got lots of mail at camp this year. Thanks to everyone who wrote her a letter. She loved it.

The same week of Girl Scout camp was also Robotics camp (in the morning.) Addison and Sara went the entire week, built several robots out of Lego's and controlled them from an i-pad. On the last day we were able to go see what they created. Both of the girls were so proud.

Girl Scout camp also included a petting zoo one afternoon. Bunnies, sheep, goats, chickens and a pony.

Just a gorgeous picture of Ginger. She is 19 months old now and still acts like a crazy puppy.

We had an amazing vacation in Colorado. We went to Breckenridge and Estes Park.

We did tons of hiking and were surrounded by beauty the entire time.

We took some friends to Girl Scout Day at the K. It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon of baseball.

The neighbors got a new fluffy dog that we just adore. Her name is Maggie.

We had our traditional 4th of July party in our driveway since you can see the Legacy Park Fireworks from our front yard.

I think Ginger wanted to go on a walk....huh?

Addison and I have volunteered every Thursday at Wayside Waifs this summer. We usually pass out the bedtime treats for the dogs every time we are there. Addison and I have had a ton of fun doing this.

H & M opened in Lee's Summit, so Lauren and I did a little shopping. She is growing up so fast.

We celebrated Mark's birthday on the Plaza and enjoyed brunch at Tom Fooleries. It is one of our favorite places to enjoy brunch.

We hit the new ice cream place in Lee's Summit where they roll your ice cream. So yummy.

Mark and Lauren went to the Royals game when the heat index was 112 degrees just to get the Hosmer bobble head....and then they left before the game even started. LOL. It was just wayyyy to hot outside.

Addison has been doing some sewing with Nana this summer. She made this dog bed for Maggie...the little fluffy puppy that we love.

Lauren had her first babysitting job this summer. She loved it. She could be a full time baby sitter for this little guy. He is just 2 houses down from us.

So we let Lauren get a Vera Bradley backpack for 6th grade. She's a good kid and deserves it. Plus, we had an awesome shopping day down on the Plaza together. We also got her some new tennis shoes...women's size 8!!! Crazy!

This dog isn't spoiled at all or anything. We love our Ginger.

Addison joined a soccer team this fall with her friend Kailyn. She was so excited to start practice this week and she did awesome She is a little fighter and a hustler. She even scored a goal while her team scrimmaged. Way to go Addison!

Last night we put up the tent and had a camp out in the backyard. We started a fire, made smores, stayed up late and slept really good since it was a nice cool summer night. Summer is winding down quickly, but we have had a ton of fun and made some amazing summer memories!

Last Day of School...Summer so Far...

2017-07-14T12:24:00.002-05:00

Is it too late to talk about the last day of school...that was almost 2 months ago? No, ok then!

Us girls went to the school talent show. It's always fun to watch all the kids up on stage and meet some of the girls friends I don't know yet.

Traditional last day of school pictures. It's crazy how much these girls change from the first day of school. So much taller, longer hair, longer legs, less teeth, more smiles since it's summer and so much more!

Ginger is always by my side....we hung out all morning while the girls went to school for 1/2 day. Ginger is the best dog!

The girls both had friends over the last day of school to hang out. Addison and Sara became really good friends this year. Sara is a Girl Scout friend as well. Lauren and Lindsay became friends in church class and then we moved into our neighborhood and were surprised to learn Lindsay lived there too. What a great surprise!

All the girls got their nails done!

Then another kid ended up at our house! Addison's friend Sydney came over to play and they girls did tons of science experiments! Addison loves science! They had a blast that afternoon.

We made a trip to Omaha for the weekend. We had a blast hanging out with our cousins and exploring downtown Omaha!

When did they get so grown up? And when did Lauren get such long legs?

The slides at the park were so much fun. The girls went down them over and over and over again.

And Mark caught them over and over and over again....because there was a huge mud puddle at the bottom of both slides. But, that did not stop anybody from sliding down!

We explored some random candy store with all kids of antiques and junk. We had never seen anything like it before and spent a long time in the store just exploring.

We walked around a gorgeous lake.

Ginger puts up with everything from us. She is such a good dog!

Lauren got to hang out with her old friend Cassidy. These 2 always have fun together no matter what they are doing together. And they can pick up right where they left off. They are great friends.

We have hit the pool several times this summer. We have a wonderful neighborhood pool that is a blast to hang out at all weekend.

Addison and I have spent the summer volunteering at Wayside Waifs. Every Thursday evening we volunteer. We fold laundry, make dog treats, read to the kittens, and give the dogs their evening snacks. We love it!

They line up and wait for their treats when they see us coming. It is so sweet.

And the puppies....all the puppies...love them!

Several times this summer Addison has been able to snuggle with the kittens. She loves that as well.

Cute random selfies on my phone. These 2 melt my heart.

And a mom/dot shopping day. It's always fun to run around with Lauren and shop!

There is so much more to get caught up on but that is all for now!

April....May...I really have no idea...just lots of FUN pictures!

2017-06-13T10:17:00.002-05:00

Lauren asked me if I was ever going to blog again....so here you go!

Lauren and one of her many BFF's Paityn. They are soccer buddies, school buddies, and neighbors...plus her parents and her brothers are awesome so we love their whole family!

Lauren had a choir concert back in April. It was a fundraiser for Alex's Lemonade Stand. Their choir did amazing and they raised over $6000 that night. I could not believe it!

Our cousins were in town celebrating Addison's first communion so they came along to support Lauren as well. We loved having them in town.

Addison thought she wanted to give swimming a try, but after a few conditioning practices, we decided maybe next summer!

We wrapped up our Girl Scout year. One badge we earned this year was the pets badge. I let the girls bring their dogs to one meeting...the girls loved it!

This one climbed up here one night when I was not looking. She is not allowed on the furniture in the living room...only in the basement. But, she was pretty cute so I let her sleep there for a while!

Lauren has a fantastic first year in strings playing the violin. I can't believed how much she learned. Her Spring concert was fabulous.

These girls talked us Moms into ice cream after the concert. They had fun chatting and giggling away while us Moms chatted as well.

Apparently Sara and I shop at the same cute little boutique in Lee's Summit that only carries a limited about of each item...yea...we looked good that night!

We didn't get his autograph, but we were pretty close to Cheslor.

Our first game of the year. We love the boys in blue.

We wrapped up another successful Girl Scout Year with an end of the year party at Main Event. What a fun night!

A lot of my girls, including Addison, overcome a huge fear and tried out the ropes course. I am so proud of them. They did amazing.

Lauren had her field trip at the Blue Spring School of Economics. She was an accountant and loved the day. That was my favorite field trip as a kid!

We spent a lot of time this spring watching Lauren play soccer. She did awesome.

We had a tournament one weekend and we were gone from the house for almost 14 hours. We had some time to hang out at Deana Rose one afternoon in between games and go fishing. We did not catch any fish though.

Addison has to find a way to entertain herself since we drag her to all these games....

Mother's Day weekend was also spent at the soccer field...but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I finally let Lauren get an Instagram account and she wrote this amazing thing above. She is the best.

We enjoyed freshly made ice cream from a local ice cream shop. It was sooooo good.

Girl Scout Camping

2017-05-30T11:11:00.001-05:00

Back in April when it rained literally the ENTIRE WEEKEND I took these girls camping. We had a blast. The rain did not stop us from having an amazing, memorable camping trip.

This was my 3rd year leading Addison's Girl Scout troop and our 2nd year of camping. It is definitely a tradition we will continue to have as long as I am the leader.

Addison and I loaded up the car, picked up Jenna, and headed out to camp. Look at those smiles. They were so excited for the weekend.

Shortly after we arrived we took a short hike. I wanted to make sure everyone knew where the tornado shelter was located just in case we needed it. It is outside, in a huge cement tunnel halfway underground. Probably safer than any location in our homes. Thankfully, we didn't need it.

After we got everything unpacked and organized, the girls settled into some games. The girls split up on their own and began playing games, laughing and talking, and hanging out.

Before we know it, it was time to prepare dinner. The girls were broken up into groups and each group cooked a meal, each group cleaned up the meal and did dishes and each group got the table ready for a meal. The girls get to vote on what we eat at camp, activities we do, and all the fun we have! It really is about letting the girls do the planning, make the decisions, and do all the "work."

Dessert that night was home made ice cream. It turned out really good! Each girl had their own bag of ice, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla. They had to shake the bags until the ice cream formed. They did some dancing and some singing while the ice cream formed. Yummy!

The next morning we had a blast playing the Pie in the Face game.

We also went out for short hike. It was only drizzling at this point and the girls were a little stir crazy in the cabin. Even though it rained all weekend, we had a great time making some incredible memories!

2nd Grade Field Trip to Powell Gardens

2017-05-22T15:38:00.003-05:00

It was a gorgeous sunny day on the field trip. We have never been to Powell Gardens, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chaperone. Plus, Addison loved having me there so that was an added bonus.

The art teacher was at the field trip and had the kids split into groups. They were supposed to look at a flower and draw what they saw. They were supposed to study the flower for a few minutes before they started drawing.

Then we had free time to wander and explore the garden. There were so many fruit trees. Peaches, apples, berries, kiwi, and so much more. There were several vegetable gardens as well. Plus, gorgeous flowers beginning to bloom.

There was a pirate ship to explore.

And this huge silo to explore and stairs that went all the way to the top. That was fun to climb up!

They learned a lot about pollination. They studied it this Spring in science class.

They also got to plant their own seeds for a garden. Addison got to plant a parsley seed. It has already begun to sprout!

The view from the top of the silo was beautiful. Addison and Jenna saw each other a few times on the field trip, but not much as they were not in the same groups!

Addison asked me to take a picture of her posing on the fallen tree. Love this girl and her willingness to pose for pictures for me!

Addison and her buddy Sydney. These two are twins! They were born on the exact same day just a few hours apart. Plus, Syd lives right down the street...they will be the best of friends for a while!

Amazing field trip with these awesome 2nd graders. Can't wait to go back and explore Powell Gardens again.

Addison's 1st Communion

2017-05-05T06:54:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful day! This deserves a post of it's own! Addison worked very hard this year to prepare for her 1st Communion. Mark did a lot of the teaching at home with Addison and her BFF Jenna. They also had to take additional classes to prepare for the big day. Addison did awesome and we are so proud of her!

She wore Lauren's dress for her 1st Communion and looked beautiful. She picked out the bobby pins to style her hair as well.

Lauren looked gorgeous as well in her dress!

Of course, I had to take all kinds of pictures! I love this one!

Mark, Addison and Uncle Pat, her God Father. We were so happy Uncle Pat, 2 cousins, and Grandma Harding were able to make it down to celebrate Addison's big day.

Isn't she just beautiful?

Miss Diana was Addison's teacher for Religion Class every Wednesday evening. She also taught Lauren and we just adore her!

Jenna, Sage, and Addison. These 3 go to school together as well and we all live in the same neighborhood.

It's always fun to have a friend to go through this big day with.

Lauren was asked to be a greeter for the service. Since she was a little nervous, Mark helped her out. They both did a great job. Way to go Lauren!

This was just half of the class! There was a 2nd service a different weekend, and a Spanish service as well. We love our church and they do an amazing job preparing the kids for their big day.

Grandma Harding made the trip down. We loved having her for the weekend.

Gramps and Nana also came to celebrate the big day.

After the service we came back to the house to celebrate Addison. She wanted to keep her cake simple and wanted it to be a cookie cake. It turned out great!

We enjoyed cake and opened presents after the ceremony. It was fun to hang out with family before they headed back to Omaha.

The girls had so much fun with their cousins this weekend. I love this picture I found on my phone for so many reasons. Their smiles, crazy Mark, and all the memories created this weekend.

Way to go Addison. We are so proud of you!

Some of April 2017

2017-05-01T14:42:00.002-05:00

This month (like every month) has been crazy busy. There have some some special and some fun events that deserve posts of their own....but here are some of the pictures from our ordinary days. The details you don't want to every forget.

Addison made a poster for her count down to the Girl Scout Day at the K for selling over 300 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. She wanted some pictures of her and I on the poster. So we snapped a few fun ones, had them printed up, and put them on her poster. She crosses off a day every night. She will get to march on the field at the game, will get a $20 voucher for spending, and 2 tickets to the game! It will be fun!

Ginger and Rosie always have fun playing outside together. They do play rough at times, but they always have fun!

They run and run, then they usually lay around and take a break!

Lauren is rocking soccer this Spring season. She has improved so much this year being on an Academy Team. We are so proud of her!

Her and Paityn continue to be the best of friends on and off the soccer field. We love Paityn's family as well.

Mark an I celebrated 14 years with a traditional dinner at The Melting Pot. It has been our tradition for almost 10 years now.

The girls begged and begged for a baby brother after they spent the morning babysitting Grayson. The girls were a huge help making sure Grayson did not see his Mom while we were all working outside in the yard, in the garage, on the back deck, etc....

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Mark and the girls. It came up on my Time Hop this month.

I took my little girls to Wayside Waifs to finish up our Pets badge. It is an amazing organization and we had a great tour. Addison and I are planning on volunteering soon.

This little dog stole their hearts. Addison begged for a small puppy. Mark keeps saying No.

I have successfully weaned myself off coffee yet again. Instead I enjoy hot tea from Arbonne. Such a great feeling to be off coffee. I was addicted a little too much.

We spent a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at the Kite Festival. We have not been able to go the past few years due to soccer. I am so glad we made it this year!

Do you see the size of that kite behind the girls?

We enjoyed cotton candy, pop corn, funnel cakes, and a walking taco salad. We packed snacks, the soccer ball, and a kite and just hung out all afternoon and relaxed.

Lauren tried to convince everyone she was injured at her soccer game. Instead she just threw red Gatorade on her head...and stained her soccer uniform, socks, sports bra, and her scalp was red for several days...I was not impressed.

Easter was fun. I love seeing the girls all dressed up. Even if it's only for a few hours anyway!

Selfies like this on my camera make me smile. Such a beautiful young lady!

Still hunting for eggs and loving that they had some $$ in their eggs this year.

I am so proud of Addison and her friend Sydney. They tried out for the talent show at school! They didn't make it, but they practiced so hard and had so much fun while they were doing it. These two are best buddies, share the exact same birthday, and live only a few houses away from each other. Sydney is a great little friend to have.

My walking and running buddy Ginger. She does so much better on the leash than Zoe did. We take Ginger for lots of walks and we both love it.

A Very Busy March

2017-04-04T15:46:00.002-05:00

Spring soccer has started. The games have been a little cold and windy, but we are still having fun!

Paityn and Lauren are the best of buddies and they love playing soccer together.

We had a big birthday party at Dave's Gymnastics. Both girls were invited and exhausted at the end.

Our first game was a chilly Sunday afternoon!

Lauren has way to much fun with the Snap Chat app.

We had a huge storm/tornado come through Lee's Summit. Our glass coffee table shattered out back. Mark had to get it cleaned up that night or this crazy dog would try and eat the glass...she stood at the back door barking at Mark because she couldn't go outside and "help."

Addison and Ginger are buddies these days. Maybe she is starting to calm down just a little bit...ok- not really.

See what I mean...she has a water bottle and ran around the house....she knew she was in trouble...

Although I don't love the minivan, these girls do. Addison's friend Sara and Adriana. We were headed down to Science City for an overnight adventure.

My troop of girls are so much fun! They really are a great group of kids.

Sonia is my assistant leader and I could not be more thankful for her!

After running around Science City the entire night and playing and exploring everything, we set up to sleep in the DNA lab. These girls fell asleep quickly! We had Science city all to ourselves all evening with our service unit. Maybe 150 girls and parent chaperons.

They still had energy the next morning and tried to take it all in one last time before they kicked us out at 7:45 AM. Yes. That was early. Lights came back on at 6:30 and most of the kids were up early!

Mark and his buddies completed the Westport St. Patty's day run. It's tradition. They have to do it every year. This year it was snowing! They loved it and spent the entire day together catching up, enjoying a few beers and some lunch.

Ginger cuddled with me one night as I worked on the computer. When she is tired she is a great dog! LOL!

The girls and I went to a baby shower for an old neighbor of ours. The girls immediately found the baby and started mothering him the entire time...and begged me for a baby brother for days...They would make amazing big sisters....they really would!

Poor Ginger...Mark would not let her in the basement one night....all she wanted to do was hangout out with him...

We started earning our Pets badge in Girl Scouts and will be visiting a local pet shelter next week. It has been a fun badge to earn so far.

I became an Independent Arbonne Consultant. I might have bitten off more than I can chew...but I am having amazing success so far, so it might be worth it all in the end. We shall see!

It has finally been nice enough to enjoy the patio this spring...Addison and her BFF Sydney played outside and then relaxed watching some TV out back.

Soccer season is in full swing and Lauren is doing amazing! She has improved so much and we love watching her!

She doesn't love practice...but was acting crazy here!

Apparently these 2 had my phone...

We had fun watching KU play in March Madness. Too bad they didn't make it to the Final Four and beyond. There is always next year...

April seems to be just as crazy so I will blog when I can! Enjoy!

February- The 2nd Half

2017-02-28T16:56:00.000-06:00

Our Brownie troop had an overnight event called PJ's and Pals. It was fun!

we went to the photo booth and had our picture taken.The girls did not want to clean up when we had to.

Addison saw Lauren's friend Cassidy at the superhero craft.

I took a picture of them

this is A fun game they had. Where you stacked the paper

and cups.And then you try to pull the paper and stack the cups.

the girls had A make over that included eye shadow, lip gloss,blush and nail polish. Addison

loved it and they got little heart tiara's .

this is when it was time to go to sleep. we watched the movie finding dory.

this is in the morning.The girls said they were up at five o clock.I hope they were not.

I wanted some company so I brought the dog.

this is Lauren's performance at a high school with her choir.

me and Addison went to panera.

We had a great date day together!

Lauren and her choir performed at the Comet's soccer game. Yes, she is holding her friend Emery. Lauren is super strong...and Emery is super petite.

They sang the national anthem.

Addison had a great time at the game with her friend Sydney. They are twins and the best of friends. They were born on the same day, have been in class together multiple times, and she lives right down the street from us.

This was my hot date. Even though I spent most of the night talking to some of my friends, I hung out with Mark a little but too!

So, there you have it. That was the rest of February (with some of the story coming from Addison her self.)

February- The First Half

2017-02-17T10:01:00.000-06:00

I know I said I was only going to blog once a month....but Lauren had a birthday and that is a big deal!

Her cake turned out perfect. She loved it!

I have an 11 year old! What? She is growing up sooo fast.

Addison was having fun at Lauren's party as well!

Speaking of Lauren's party...it was at Main Event. She had a blast!

All of her friends were able to make it to the party and that made Lauren very happy!

Cassidy and Paityn are 2 of her best friends. Cassidy has been Lauren's friend for over 5 years now and Paityn is Lauren's new soccer buddy and our neighbor.

The little sisters got to sneak in and play Laser tag. They had fun.

Here is the whole group. They came out laughing, smiling, and so tired since they ran around so much!

I love this smile and her look! We were singing very loudly to embarrass her!

We had a Superbowl party that same weekend! We were busy that weekend but it was well worth it! We love this family and love spending time with them.

Ginger ended up on a leash because she enjoyed some Superbowl party food as well. Mozzarella sticks to be exact...and some dipping sauce. That Ginger.

Lauren loved her gifts from Grandma Harding.

She was so surprised when she received a Polaroid camera from us. We surprised her for sure.

Dinner was Lauren's choice and she chose Red Lobster.

I was able to take the day off and attend both girls Valentine's Parties!

I love Lauren's group of friends.

We went and saw A Dog Purpose and we cried out eyes out. It was a wonderful movie.

And these girls...they are loving Girl Scouts this year and we are having so much fun at our meetings. We have been very busy with Girl Scout cookies and several fun events this Spring.

More to come in February! Stay tuned!

January 2017

2017-01-31T14:47:00.000-06:00

I am going to do something new with the blog this year. I am only going to post once a month and the pictures will be random day to day things from my I-phone. I struggle with keeping up with the blog, but I love to look back at old posts and see what was happening in our life. Some months will be full of pictures and events, and others not so much....

So here is January 2017:

We had lunch with Mark over Christmas break one afternoon. We love going to lunch with Daddy every chance we get (which is not often enough.)

I successfully completed the Whole 30 challenge this month. If you don't know what it is, google it. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it.

We had lots of lazy days this month, Ginger included. The old couch in the basement is the only one Ginger is allowed to be on...

We had a birthday party for Ginger. She turned 1 on January 4th! We celebrated with doggie ice cream and some new toys.

The toys were destroyed within minutes.

The girls had a snow day!

It was so cold, they only lasted about 15 minutes outside sledding in the front yard.

I found this awesome picture on my phone. I love it!

We traveled to Omaha to celebrate Christmas. We tried to travel in December, but an ice/snow storm kept us at home. The girls had a blast with their cousins...they always do.

Addison put together an awesome Daddy Daughter dance outfit.

These two went to the Daddy Daughter dance together. Mark even bought a new tie, at Addison's request. The girl's dress and the boy's tie must match. They had a great time together!

The girls took about 20 selfies on my phone that all looked like this!

We had a slumber party in the living room one Friday night. Addison planned the event. She even made me sign a contract so I would not forget that I had said yes to a sleep over many night ago. Her contract said "Mommy had to be there. We will have fun, talk, watch movies, and stay up late." It was fun!

We were shocked by the news of Yordana Ventura passing away. It was so sad and still is. We watched a lot of coverage of the event and talked a lot about what happened. We have become quite the Royals fans the last several years.

Lauren's choir performed at the Mavericks hockey game. Most of her class was there! They sang the National Anthem and enjoyed the game.

I cooked a lot this month....

Because of this. Now that the Whole 30 is over, I am planning on maintaining a paleo like lifestyle. There are so many foods that upset my stomach and effect my body overall. This was a wonderful reset and an eye opening experience on how food effects our entire body, head to toe, physically and mentally.

So there you have it. January in a snapshot. See you in February!

The Music City Bowl- Go Big Red

2017-01-20T15:01:00.000-06:00

Back in December we traveled to Nashville for the Music City Bowl. Nebraska was playing Tennessee. Mark had never been to a bowl game and of course he loves Nebraska football. Usually bowl games are some where warm and somewhere you have to fly too. Innocently one morning Mark mentioned "tickets are only $35." Wheels started turning and in no time I had the trip planned!

Let's just say....WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!

We dropped Ginger off and then hit the road. It is a little over 8 hours to Nashville, so easily a day trip. We are planning a trip to Colorado this summer, so we told the girls it was practice for Summer vacation.

After we got checked into our hotel we hit a local restaurant for dinner!

Then we hit the hotel pool....which was freezing! The girls swam for a short time! Why do kids love a hotel pool so much?

Then the fun began Friday morning. Mark mentioned that he wanted to get to the pre game festivities early and I am so glad he did. They were so much fun! We started in the VIP Nebraska tent.
This tent included drinks, TV's, couches and chairs, and all kinds of Nebraska decor!

We took lots of selfies!

There was a pre game pep rally complete with the Nebraska marching band and cheerleaders. It was fun to be surrounded by Nebraska fans.

Addison and I spent some time together walking along the river. The stadium overlooked the river.

Then it was time for lunch, which was basically the best part of the day in my opinion. There was a huge street party with several streets blocked off for the events. This particular food line was the longest....and the girls whined about it being so long. But, all the food was free. All of it. There were burgers, ribs, chicken, duck, dumplings, vegetables, and more. It all tasted amazing.

We stood there in line and watched them cook everything. The time passed very quickly. Coke was a sponsor of the bowl game, so drinks were free as well! Score. Free lunch (drinks included) and an amazing lunch at that.

We headed inside and found our seats and were ready for the game. We ended up being in the shade the entire time, so when the sun went down, it was a little chilly!

The game was not the greatest, but the half time performance was fun!

Then we turned around the next morning and headed back home. Addison was thrilled to see the Arch on the way to Tennessee and asked if we could stop on the way back through. Sure! Why not? So we did!

We had fun taking lots of pictures and creating memories.

Then we had to spend some time along the river skipping rocks and checking things out.

We kenneled Ginger at a new place we found. It is an in home kennel and we absolutely love it! Ginger had a blast and we got several pictures of her while we were gone.

Isn't Ginger beautiful?

Ginger was so exhausted for days after we got home. I know she had so much fun and so did we!

Christmas Day 2016

2017-01-13T14:52:00.000-06:00

Santa was good to us this year. He brought the girls almost everything they wanted for Christmas.

Addison wanted the Lego Amusement park, which was put together in 2 days and still adorns our dining room table. That was her big gift from Santa. She also wanted the Plush Craft pillow kit and the spy bag. She was thrilled on Christmas morning.

Lauren wanted and needed a new bike. She loved the one Santa brought. Lauren also asked Santa for a unicorn onesie PJ's. I have no idea why the kids love these PJ's these days, but they do! She also received some Converse high tops. Lauren was thrilled as well.

She put it on right away and wore it most of the day!

Matching PJ's for Addison and her teddy bear. His name is "Protector Elf, or techty." Techty has been around since Addison was 4. She received Techty for Christmas that year and has slept with him ever since.

After looking through stockings, we enjoy monkey bread for breakfast before opening the presents from Mom and Dad. It is a tradition we have had for almost 11 years now. Lunch on Christmas day is always the same as well. Roast beef sandwiches and chips and dip.

Later in the afternoon we headed to Gramp's and Nana's to celebrate.

Lauren loved her headphones.

Nana made all the girls quilts for Christmas. Such a wonderful present.

So happy to still have my Grandma in my life. 85 years old and going strong!

Gramps made all the girls a piggy bank that locks. It is like an old mailbox at the post office. After several days of practice, the girls are able to open their banks.

While Addison was busy putting together her new Lego set, Lauren was busy organizing presents.

This Christmas this picture is by far my favorite. Last year the girls asked for a new puppy from Santa for Christmas and Ginger has brought us so much joy this past year...even though she is still in the crazy puppy stage!

Christmas Eve Day

2017-01-02T18:07:00.003-06:00

Yes,it is another Christmas Eve.I can not even believe it!I am so ready to tell you all about it! Let's go!Also one more thing,this is not Mommy writing the blog it is Lauren.I said that just for the credit.

We started out the day by baking cookies for Santa and us and a cake for Jesus.But before we started Ginger just wanted to let everybody know she was awake and here too.

Our first cookie that we started making was sugar cookies.Addison why can't you smile for one picture?

After making our cookie dough for our sugar cookies they had to sit in the fridge for a little.While the dough was sitting in the fridge mommy started the Reese's peanut butter cup cookies.Me and Addison started tracking Santa.

When you don't want to bake cookies at the moment and your mom is not looking you become Rudolph .Aren't I cute?!

Finally,the Reese's peanut butter cups dough is done! Now it is time to put the Reese's peanut butter cups in the dough. Honestly,I love this part!

After putting the chocolate in the dough it was time to cut out the sugar cookies.At first we kind of struggled because the dough was very thick but then we got the hang of it.

What? Why is Nana here? Well I have the answer for you. Nana is helping Addison make a stocking for Ginger! Yep,it is finally Ginger's first Christmas!

Oh! I forgot to tell you we made Whoville cookies from doctor Seuss!

Addison what kind of smile is that?

Ginger was very excited for her first Christmas and so were we.

After we got home from mama's house we got the milk and cookies ready for Santa.

Aren't I pretty?

All the cookies for Santa!Yum!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas From Our Home To Yours

2016-12-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas

2016-12-19T15:43:00.001-06:00

My absolute favorite time of the year. I love Christmas. Mark and I go way over the top for the girls and for each other, but we love it! This past weekend it snowed (and iced) and we stayed in all weekend watching movies (some Christmas, some not) played games, and ate junk. It was wonderful!

We finally broke down and bought a new tree last year after Christmas and I love it. It is soooo pretty all light up at night.

We went and saw Santa a few weeks ago. I love keeping the magic alive.

Both girls had several requests for Santa...

Their smiles are just precious.

They both wrote a letter to Santa.

Lauren agreed to pose for several pictures for me (the girl that will never cooperate for pictures unless it is a selfie...lol) I love this one. She is growing up way too fast.

Oh, and we can't forget Ginger. She is almost one year old (January 4th) and we love her dearly. She has been an incredible dog to our family this past year.

Christmas is less than one week away and we are all very excited. Stay warm and Merry Christmas everyone!

All About Lauren

2016-12-15T13:14:00.001-06:00

I finally sat down and pulled pictures off my big fancy camera. Lately, I have not been taking as many pictures with that camera since the I-phone takes such great pictures and I can throw that in my back pocket.

Lauren spent all fall playing soccer. She has practice twice a week and games on the weekend. She played in a few tournaments as well. So, I am officially a soccer Mom driving a minivan...sigh...

Lauren loves her new team and she has made lots of new friends. Her soccer skills have improved tremendously as well. We are so excited for her.

We even had a few games under the lights at a few of the local soccer fields (well not exactly local to Lee's Summit, but in the KC Metro area.) We definitely traveled a lot more this past soccer season, but we wouldn't change it for anything. We have had some great family time...Addison has tolerated being drug to soccer game after soccer game very well!

We went to the pumpkin patch sometime in the fall when it was apparently warm enough to be in shorts! Lauren is such a beautiful little girl.

With a lot of energy!

Lauren is also an amazing sister. We started a new tradition of going down to the Plaza lights the night of Thanksgiving. The weather was prefect this year and the Plaza was packed. We were right in the middle of it all and seemed to love it.

Lauren started playing the violin this fall and we had our own special concert at home one night. Too bad Lauren was sick and missed the school concert. She has learned so much about music and the violin. We are so proud of her!

Oh, and one more soccer picture where Lauren took the girl out...but didn't get caught! Lauren definitely developed some more confidence and fight out on the soccer field this past season. I can't wait to see what Winter and Spring soccer bring!

Lauren also joined the choir this year. A big thank you to my Mom who picks her up every Tuesday after choir practice to Lauren can have this opportunity to participate in choir.

We also enjoyed the 5th grade musical this week. Lauren was a swan (from the 12 days of Christmas.)

She loved it! I mean, look at that smile in that picture. She had one line in the musical, a dance that the 7 swans performed, and several songs that the entire 5 grade and choir sang. We really enjoyed watching her class perform.

She had a blast as well.

This is Lauren's new soccer buddy, Paityn. They are on the same competitive soccer team since they were both born in 2006. However, Lauren is in 5th grade and Paityn is in 4th grade. And as an added bonus...Paityn and her awesome family live right down the street from us. We are very excited to have met them and that we have new family friends. Paityn has a brother in 5th grade and a brother in 2nd grade. These 2 adore each other! Can't wait for Spring soccer when we get to see them more often!

Christmas Traditions

2016-12-07T08:14:00.002-06:00

For the past several years we have gone to see The Nutcracker. It has been a fun Christmas tradition for our little family.

This year we changed it up and went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra at the Sprint Center. It was quite the show! Mark enjoyed it the most, but us girls liked it too.

We had fun talking selfies waiting for the show to start.

Then we headed down to the Plaza to have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. We waited...and waited...and waited for 2 1/2 hours to be seated. Lauren insisted that we stay and wait. It's tradition.

It was a gorgeous night, so we walked around for about an hour. We went to the Russell Stover store and got some chocolate to snack on until dinner. We browsed through Way Fair and then Barnes and Noble.

Still waiting...LOL. Finally at 8:30 we were seated...and starving. We got a bread basket and an appetizer and we were good!

Last night I took the girls to Christmas in the Park at Longview Lake. The girls were sad we missed it last year, but apparently were a little bored this year...so maybe this was the last year? Who knows!

Then we stopped at the Magic Tree.

But I told the girls they did not need to bring coats...they were freezing...So we left!

I love the Magic Tree. Maybe next year we will bring coats.

November Happenings

2016-11-18T11:47:00.002-06:00

We have done a whole lot more....but these are the pictures from the camera on my phone so here you go!

We refinished Addison's dresser. She wanted white furniture for her room, so we made it happen. She loves her new room. It has come together very nicely.

Lauren joined the school choir this year. Her first concert was last week. It was a lot of fun seeing her and her friends and several friends from other schools as well. Can you find Lauren in this picture?

Addison had a birthday party with her BFF Jenna.

Mark took Lauren shopping and she found a Christmas dress and some new pants! Yea Lauren, and Yea Daddy!

My Girl Scout troop volunteered and put together Thanksgiving bags for families that are unable to purchase a Thanksgiving meal for themselves.

Lauren was in charge of picture taking....

Remember, she takes the best selfies :)

The girls painted murals about what they love about Girl Scouts. Most of them love the field trips, snacks and their friends. Such a great group of girls.

The girls got fresh new haircuts. Don't they look great?

Addison has spent a lot of time this fall preparing for her first Reconciliation. Last night these three girls did an amazing job. We are so proud of all of them!

Soon, I will get pictures off my big camera of a few events, including Lauren's wrap up of fall soccer. She is still playing through the winter months, and practicing once a week rather than twice a week. We are definitely enjoying the break from games on the weekend, but our weekends seem to fill up fast with lots of other things.

Halloween Fun

2016-11-06T09:04:00.003-06:00

Mark and I were both able to take the day off to attend the girls parties!

I love seeing Addison and her friends!

Lauren and her friend Osa (and one of the few pictures of Lauren she let me take!)

There were several games set up in the gym. This one was trying tying to get the spider to the web!

Then it was time for the parade of all the kids around the school! This is Addison with the triplet cats! Sage and Sierra.

Lauren would not look at the camera and smile...oh well. I still love this picture!

Then it was time for Trunk or Treat at the school. We live so close to the school we just walked up there!

Lauren and her friend Lindsay. I love this picture of Lauren.

These girls went to all of the cars probably 6 times. They had tons of candy.

We also carved pumpkins after school that day. Mark is now the official carver of our house. The girls and I can clean out and prep the pumpkin. Mark is super carver (I think you can probably tell which two he did!)

Sunday afternoon the neighborhood had a Halloween party. We had food catered from a local Mexican restaurant. It was so yummy. There were games, candy and a parade

Then finally it was Halloween night!

We enjoyed some chili with the neighbors before heading out for the night to trick or treat.

We started out with this crew but ran into so many friends and neighbors throughout the night. Legacy Wood is an amazing neighborhood to trick or treat in. Houses are decorated to a tee. We even have a haunted house in a garage that all the kids loved.

The girls ended up with way too much candy as always, but we had a fun night with all of our friends!

NWMSU Homecoming

2016-10-31T13:32:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we decided last minute to head to Maryville for Homecoming. We have not been back as a family ever, so Mark and I were both very excited to get the girls there and show them around. We didn't have soccer, or swim lessons, or anything this weekend. And as you can see, it was a gorgeous day to be outside...

The Phi Sig house was our last stop of the day since you can see the football game from the front porch. The girls were so impressed with the huge house that Mark lived in. Well, not this exact house....but it was his fraternity house...

We left the house at 6 AM, stopped for coffee and donuts, then headed to Maryville. We arrived in plenty of time to find a parking spot on campus and a front row seat at the parade.

There were lots of bands, some floats (both large and small,) clowns, dancers, and a few other things represented in the parade.

Lauren recently taught me how to take a great family selfie. Thanks Lauren!

A picture of horses as we had to send the picture to Jenna (Addison's BFF.)

After the parade we toured the campus. Roberta Hall is where all the sorority girls live. The doors were locked, so we could not get in. I really wanted to show the girls where I lived during my college years.

Then it was off to the library, which now has a full functioning Starbucks. That is awesome. The rest of the library looked the same as 20 years ago...like the exact same desks still on the 3rd floor where we studied!

We hit the science building for Addison and got into one of the lecture halls. The girls thought it was awesome.

We had lunch in the student union, which is much nicer than when Mark and I were there. It now has Chick Fil A, Einstein's Brothers, and a chinese food place as well. The girls enjoyed the all you can eat buffet. Oh my...so glad that was not there when I was there!

Addison and I spent some time hanging out in the shade after lunch...Leaves create so much fun.

Then we had to take the girls to the Kissing Bridge and gross them out by kissing.

The campus was absolutely gorgeous. The colors of fall were beautiful. Both girls took lots of pictures!

We fed the fish and the ducks for a while and just relaxed along the pond.

We went into as many buildings as we could and the girls soaked it all in and loved it all.

Then we headed to the house where you could watch the game from the front porch, or the 3rd floor balcony, or the 2nd floor porch as well. It was awesome. There is no alcohol allowed in the house, or on campus. So, each game day this truck and trailer are parked on the street where all the college kids hang out and celebrate the game. It was crazy.

One of the younger guys gave us a tour of the house and we found all of Mark's old pictures. I seemed to enjoy them more than the girls did. We all enjoyed looking for all his friends and their pictures as well.

We hung out in the game room for a while....that was fun!

We watched the game for a while as well, before heading back home.

The Pumpkin Patch...Maybe The Last Time :(

2016-10-22T14:30:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday afternoon we went to the pumpkin patch. It was a gorgeous warm day...maybe too warm since it was the middle of October. I asked the girls if they wanted to do the pumpkin patch this fall, or maybe a different event locally. They begged for the pumpkin patch....so off we went.

I am sad to say they might be getting too old for the pumpkin patch. They were a little bored with the activities and really just wanted to go pick out pumpkins. Or maybe they were just hot! Who knows?

It was still fun! We got pumpkin donuts right when we arrived and devoured those quickly. We went and saw the pigs and the goats, and played in one of the barns for a while.

They tolerated me taking all the pictures that day...because they just grow up too fast.

We really enjoyed the sunflowers and walking through all of them. Even though there were bees on the sunflowers, they did not bug us at all.

Addison really wanted to take some sunflowers home and apparently you can. So at the end, her and I went back and cut several to make a bouquet to take home.

Really, you can't have too many pictures like this, right?

This year we got lots of pumpkins and found some very unique ones. We got orange, white, blue, green and even a red pumpkin. Plus, we found a football shaped pumpkin.

I am hopefully this is not the last visit to the pumpkin patch. Maybe, just maybe, I can drag the girls back next year....on a nice cool fall day!