The Rest of August

To begin with there are Pictures Galore and they keep scrambling up even when organized, so sorry if it jumps from one event back to the other.

 We had our final summer play which was Snow White. It was a bit long and I had to step out with Zoey and Tanner. It was not nearly as fantastic as Dora(I still feel weird saying that). We just had Izzy and Hannah over for the after party. We had coin toss into the wishing well, apple rice krispy treats from Hannah, I made treat bags to resemble Snow White colors, and we made dwarf beards. As always, it was a blast. The kids enjoyed it too. :)

We picked up Grammy and Grampa in St Louis to come visit for a few days. We celebrated Zoey's birthday with presents and cupcakes. Since we failed to do a cake for Baylee, she got a cupcake too. Then Tanner felt left out, so he got to blow out candles too as practice for his next birthday. It was fun to have Grammy and Grampa here for a visit and to hang out with them. Grammy even helped me can some beans while she was here. (Thanks Grammy) Cody couldn't take off from work due to meetings and such. There was also the daunting task of a jacked up septic system. Perfect timing? Grampa got to help with that and Grammy was helpful in watching the kids when I was in and out helping where I could. We do appreciate them coming and spending time. I know we all enjoyed the visit minus the septic issue.

We went hiking one day. That was so much fun and definitely along our line of things we enjoy doing. Time in the wood is so nice. We picked a trail that was moderate or something like that but had a bazillion stairs and we chose to take the stroller, bad choice. Glad we did at times but part of a bridge was washed out from the floods we had. It turned into a real adventure. 

There was a lot more outdoor time from pool time, gardening and canning to picnics and park time. As I sit bundled now, I sure do miss the sun and the warmth. 

One night after dance we visited the traveling petting zoo in the parking lot of our "mall". We got to see a white tiger which was huge but intriguing to watch though a little odd to think there were only two semi stable fences between you and this big cat!

There is also documentation that Zoey is the messiest eater...sometimes to the point of gross. 

We ended the month with getting Momma a new ride! It was time to part with the Acura, she served us mostly well but her time with us had reached it's limit. We got a new Dodge Journey and I love it. The Acura had 3 things that I had grown accustomed to, memory seat settings for Cody and I, cruise control was always on unless you turned it off, and heated seats. Lazy I am! The Journey does have many features the Acura didn't like push start and remote start(love this in the winter) which makes up for lack of heated seats. I am happy with her and I am spoiled! 

Zoey's 1st birthday!

Our stubborn little Zo turned 1! She is so full of life and character, she's sometimes a handful. She definitely makes us laugh and keeps our toes ready to move. She is a sneaky one and uses her smallness to her advantage. These two pictures fit her perfectly. She has never been very cuddly but is always willing to blow you kisses or give hugs and then go about her business. We all know she has lots to do and destroy. We all love this sweet little girl to pieces.

We didn't do much as I'm that mom that says she's one she won't remember. I still stand by that. Yes she still gets presents and such but it's not extravagant. We waited until Grammy and Grampa could join us for her tiny festivities. Happy First birthday Zo!

Baylee is 6!

For Baylee's birthday, we decided to take a mini trip instead of doing a friend party. Have no fear, she was in on the decision. I think it was a great one too. We found ourselves in Indianapolis for the weekend.  We told the kids where we were going but did not tell them anything we were doing just in case we decided to abort mission at any point.

We started off by visiting the Children's Museum, which is ginormous. We had a good time despite the large number of people. While there were some cool things there like digging up bones, little tunnels for the kids to crawl through and things to climb on, a train with simulated train ride, I found a lot of it of mediocre interest to all of us, even Bill Nye, aka Cody. The Avatar display was pretty interesting though. The dollhouses were amazing. The toddler section was probably where the kids ran and laughed the most. Tanner got to sit in a bobcat and was thrilled. There was a slide and sand to play in and there was hardly anyone in that section. I LOVED the blown glass sculpture. I would like one for my living room.

We then headed in the direction of our hotel for some food and the much anticipated swim time. What a great time swimming, the kids probably could have played in the water all night long.

The next day our first destination was the mall. I know most of you are thinking " whoop, big deal". Well for us it is. Our mall has about 10 operating stores and it just so happens I am incredibly cheap so to give in and buy something full price at the mall, it's a huge deal, especially wait for it.....BUILD A BEAR. I knew Baylee would love it. She was a bit shy about the whole process but she definitely enjoyed it from the picking out to the naming and bathing of her Kelsey kitty to an entire outfit. I think Cody may have had a small heart attack when he paid for it, even with my coupon. But she has loved it and plays with it often.

After that, we did shop a bit and Baylee got a crown, button, and stickers to wear. Many kind people said Happy Birthday to her as we walked pass. The diva adored that process. Then we got some food while waiting on Cody's ipad screen to finally be fixed after a year and a half of a shattered screen. It was a good weekend for him too! We then topped off the trip with a visit to a chaotic Chuck E Cheese.(Excuse the bad photos from Chuck E cheese, I had to use my phone that really hates moving pictures. My camera has been acting up sporadically.)Tanner and Zoey got some prizes too, so it was a fun trip all around. Baylee got home to a few presents from extended family as well as one from us. She loved her birthday celebration and she deserved it!

We had a great time celebrating Baylee and the joy she has brought to our lives over the past 6 years. We LOVE LOVE LOVE that girl!

Christmas Dance Performance

Tonight we had Baylee's dance performance. Her class danced to Frosty the Snowman. They did pretty well for not practicing the dance nearly as much as I would've thought and have been working more on competition routines.

 In case you can't tell as I didn't get as good of a video this time, Baylee is third from the left and ends in the very front. Her class got the same costumes as she had last year but in the way of the loaner Christmas costumes, this was a very good thing!

Note to all of my readers.....she has on more makeup than I do....it's a dance team law. Yes it is sometimes odd but it's the life of a dancer and this dance mom is going to have to deal!

Oh you want to see it? Well here you go.

Happy Christmas, we love you all!

2nd Half of July

We had the Bagelfest Parade. Baylee got to ride with her dance team again. She was sitting behind the banner and we couldn't see her well. We learned people just love Tanner and Zoey. They were throwing them hoards of candy and giving them things. Tanner would say thank you everytime and loved waving at people. Zoey had fun sitting in the road surrounded by candy being thrown to her.

There was lots of pool time for the kids and gardening and some canning. We also started with the kids learning how to shoot the .22 rifle. They both love it. Baylee already has her aim down and is quite spot on when she tries.

We had a playdate at the park with Izzy and Hannah. The kids had a blast. Sorry for overload of park pictures, I love park pictures. I can almost always get real smiles because they are having so much fun.

Please note: there are and will be in the future, pictures of Zoey that seem to have nothing going on. It would be documentation that I got a ponytail in long enough for a picture. She HATES, I mean HATES anything to be in her hair or to have her hair fixed. We have to be sneaky and usually have bribes for each hand when it's put in. One day maybe she will let me put fancy things in her hair, until then, she rocks her plain mullet!