STATE FAIR 2015.......

This weekend was all about the Kansas State Fair!  Raelynn has been going to the Kansas State Fair for the past 4 years or so but Terry, Cooper and I have never been.  This is the first year that Raelynn was old enough to qualify to compete and qualify she did!  Raelynn headed out Thursday at 5:30am with a caravan of campers and horse trailers and Terry, Coop and I left Thursday night.  Raelynn showed early Friday morning and she did fantastic.  I was so proud of her.  The competition was hard as her age group is 9-13 so she was competing again 13 year olds.  In addition this is the first year her horse had done horsemanship so he is still learning as well.  Anyway, Raelynn didn't let that bother her.  She came out of the arena all smiles which is exactly what I wanted to see.  We were so excited and we exited the arena with her.  We were taking pictures and congratulating her when I felt Coop hug my legs.  I looked down and there were tears running down his cheeks.  I instantly squatted down and hugged him and asked what was wrong.  Well come to find out, in our excitement we had all left the area but Coop did not follow.  He was watching the other competitors and when he turned around we were no where in site.  Not one of my best parenting moments.  I couldn't help but laugh a little because even when he was hugging my legs I hadn't realized he wasn't there in the group of people with us.  Poor little guy.  I will say as we laughed about it later, he too joined in the humor of it.  The rest of the day we spent checking out the fair and there is so much to see and do.  One of Raelynn's bunnies received a Blue Ribbon as well!  We didn't get back to our hotel until 11:30 that night.  I completely understand now why Raelynn loves it so much!  I can't thank Bonnie, Wendi, Mike and all the others that make the experience so fun for her.  They take good care of her and I am so thankful she is given this opportunity!

Raelynn and Calvin

Raelynn and Baby Blu

Butter Sculpture

Saturday we got up early and headed back to Lawrence to be ready for Coop's soccer game that afternoon.  Coop's team played the only other undefeated team in the league.  The game went scoreless until the end and each team scored one goal.  Therefore, they are both still undefeated.  Coop loves soccer.  It is so cute to watch him play with so much energy and excitement.  I could watch it all day!  Steph and Cody had come over for Coop's game and they spent the rest of the afternoon with us.  It was great to just hang out with them with nothing in particular to do.  It made for an awesome Saturday.  I also had so much time with Hadley since Raelynn was gone.  She usually demands most of her attention, but on Saturday it was Aunt Kristi Time!  Coop also had one of his buddies spend the night, so it couldn't have been better!

Today we cleaned and put out the fall decorations after church.  I managed to get some paperwork done as well and the usual weekly menu and workouts are planned.  This week is jammed packed with things to do with the CCF 5K on Saturday.  I am crossing my fingers for a great turnout!!!!

I BEG FOR 3 DAY WEEKENDS......EVERY WEEKEND!

Another fantastic weekend, but aren't all weekends!  Friday night I had a meeting and came home to a few extra kiddos.  I love that the kids have friends that like to be at our house.  I hope that continues forever!  Saturday started bright and early with a handful of things that had to get done.  Raelynn was suppose to have a horse show but was rained out due to a couple nights of rain leaving the arena too muddy.  So we filled the day by running over to R Bar B looking for magical burgundy boots!  You see, Raelynn's outfit for her state competition which is this Friday requires her to have burgundy boots.  Did anyone know they only make burgundy boots priced at $400!  So the poor people by cheaper boots (By the way, are there such things as cheap boots?) and dye them burgundy.  However, of course, no burgundy dye was in stock so what does any desperate, overwhelmed Mom do?  She grabs her phone and visits Amazon who will ship the burgundy dye to R Bar B by Wednesday and they agreed to dye the boots and have them ready for Thursday evening for Terry and I to pick up on our way down to State Fair so they are ready to go for "The Show Outfit" Friday morning!  Thank goodness for Amazon Prime and super nice and helpful people at R Bar B!  So we left there to stop by Steph's for lunch and then back to Lawrence for Coop's haircut that had to be rescheduled from Wednesday since he had to be at soccer practice when the rest of us had haircuts.  From haircuts we flew home for Coop to change for his soccer game and Raelynn to get ready for her friends' birthday party.  This is when the day fell apart a little.  Coop was all good, but Raelynn could not find anything to wear.  It turned into an ugly yelling match and a horrible parenting moment for me.  I rarely loose my patience, I rarely yell and I rarely regret an entire conversation but this was once of those times I lost my patience, yelled and regretted the entire thing.  I would like to think that will be the last time but I doubt it.  Thankfully Terry showed up and agreed to take her to her party so Coop and I could head back to Topeka for his soccer game which Terry would join us at later.  The good news is that by the time I picked Raelynn up from her party we had both calmed down and as we talked about our earlier argument we both apologized and agreed it was not the best moment for either of us.  Anyway, the soccer game was fun as usual.  I LOVE watching Coop play.  He is so aggressive and works so hard.  I think I love it most because he loves it and you can see it as he plays.  Steph, Cody and Hadley came to the game as well and we ended at their house where they fed us for the second time that day. 

 Coop got to help Uncle Cody change the oil on their care and he thought that was the best.  He adores his Uncle Cody and Cody never fails to include him in his boy stuff!

So after a Saturday of getting nothing done that I needed to get done I had high expectations for today.  It is now 11:30pm and I am where I wanted to be at about 8am this morning.  Needless to say I still have so much to do.  I sometimes wonder if I wasn't so insanely organized, if I would actually get more done.  I did manage to get the weeks menu done, workouts scheduled, attended church, grocery shopped, completely gut and clean Raelynn's room, clean all bathrooms, our room and Coop's room, clear through some paperwork, laundry, make lunch and dinner and take a walk to the park with the kids, Steph and Hadley.  Oh yes, after me being over at Steph's twice yesterday, she had to come and visit me because we left Hadley's car seat in my car!  It was not intentional but was sure nice to get out of the house for a little walk and park play.  So the day was great just not long enough.  I still am swamped with stuff for the 5K on the 26th, PTO stuff, continuing ed for work, work in general,  4H projects that need completed, getting Raelynn ready to leave on Thursday morning and the rest of us Thursday Night and I am sure I am forgetting something but that is all my brain can think of.  I headed to bed at 11pm tonight because I was exhausted but my head was spinning with to do's so I figured I might as well update the blog so as long as I am awake I am documenting why, Lol!  Anyway, so in summary, the world really should adapt to a 4 day work week and a 3 day weekend.  I feel like I have mentioned this before!

This morning in church the sermon was regarding the 10th commandment, Thou shall not covet thy neighbor.  Boy is this a hard one.  I don't know that I ever really thought about it because quite frankly I wasn't clear on what covet meant.  So as I realized it is saying I should not want what everyone else has and I should not be envious or jealous of others I realized this is one commandment I break all too often.  I had to ask myself why because although I am often envious of what others have I am also super thankful and happy with what I have.  As I listened this morning and really thought about it I realized I am envious of material things but when it comes to the things that matter, I have it all.  I have a wonderful family that I love more than I can explain, I have everything that I actually need, and I am in general super happy with my life.  It was like a slap in the face.  How dare I every be envious or want what someone else has when I already have so much.  I think I really needed to hear today's sermon because I walked out of there feeling satisfied with where I am and who I am.  I am so fortunate and sometimes I just need a little reminder of how special it really is.

HAPPY LABOR DAY....

Would it be asking too much to have another long weekend like this?  I am a firm believer that with a 3 day weekend every week I could actually feel like time with the family wasn't conflicting with the other 20 things that needed done.  

We started our Saturday off bright and early at Coop's soccer game.  I love watching him play soccer because he loves playing it. He was selected to play on the tournament team again this year so he is very excited for that.  

I have several plans for Saturday following the soccer game but well, none of them really happened.  I had originally thought we would go to the North Topeka Aquatic Center because we hadn't made it there yet this summer and this was our last chance.  The kids decided they didn't really want to go though so then we considered going to the KU Football Game.  That was a go until after the soccer game and Coop was tired and didn't want to go.  Then we thought we would go home and rest a bit and then go for a bike ride.  Well that led to Coop letting me know once again that his bike was way too small.  He was right, it is and Terry and I had said we would get him a new one for his birthday but November is a long ways away.  Not to mention, how likely is it that he can ride his new bike in November.  So it was decided Coop would get an early birthday present and boy did we have an excited boy.  Finally we ended up on our bike ride and had a great day!

We ended our Saturday night with this cutie!  Hadley had her first sleep over with us and she was crazy good.  I could not believe how easy she was.  Cozadd's came over for dinner as well and it took Hadley a little bit to warm up to Andrea.  It was a fun night with family and friends.  However, the evening didn't end there.  Terry had disappeared before our friends left and although I thought it was strange I didn't think too much about it.  I got the kids to bed and then walked into our bedroom.  Terry was drenched in sweat and super dizzy.  It was a little scary.  He couldn't lie down at all without getting very nauseous and his head was spinning.  It went on all night.  I set my alarm for every 30 minutes and went to check on him.  I think we were both a little scared and I was just happy all the kids were sound asleep.  

By Sunday morning he was feeling better and we decided we think he got dehydrated.  Needless to say I think he will be drinking more water from here on out.  We were suppose to join Steph and Cody and their family for some fun at the lake and I was a little hesitant to go but did.  As they day went on Terry felt better and better and by the time we got home he looked and felt MUCH better.  The kids and I had a great time at the lake.   It was so nice for them to include us and it was another fun day with the kids.  Coop saw this little turtle in their garage as we were leaving and of course Uncle Cody made sure they both got to hold the little guy!  What would we do without that Uncle Cody!  :)

Today ended our long weekend perfectly.  I got caught up on emails and paperwork and lunches for the week and menu done and workouts planned and laundry done and projects started and on and on.  The best part of it all is that I did it all without ever getting out of my PJs! So now with a few things still on the MUST GET DONE list I am ready to get back to the chaos of the work week!

SUPER HERO DAY!

Tomorrow is a Super Hero Day at school.  The kids can wear their favorite super hero apparel, or if you ask Raelynn, make up your own super hero.  My kids are so very different.  Coop couldn't decide if he wanted to participate or not.  He finally settled for wearing super man socks.  Raelynn on the other hand was way too into it.  She is Super PJ Girl with her sidekick, Pajama Pup (her build-a-bear).  You may be thinking she is super creative but when it comes down to it, she just wanted a reason to wear PJ's to school!!! 

As we were trying to decide what Coop would be for super hero day he asked me who I would be if I could be a super hero.  I thought about it for a minute and I told him I would want to be "Super Mom!"  To which Coop replied, "Mooooom, you're already that, what would you be if you could be anything!"  I smiled and in my best sweet and sarcastic voice I said, "Awe, you think I am a Super Mom!"  Coop shook his head, buried his face in his hand and mumbled.  "Oh jeez, this is going no where! You're crazy and of course you're a super Mom but don't get a big head about it!"  That, of course was followed by a smoothing of hugs and kisses and continued taunting that I was a Super Mom!  I doubt that Coop will EVER ask me what super hero I would want to be again.

Seriously though I cannot think of a better super hero to be than a Super Mom!  And what would my super powers be? Without a doubt the ability to multiply myself and be in multiple places doing multiple things all at the same time anytime I wanted.  Wow, that would be the best super power ever!

IT'S BACK ON......

So here I am again, blogging.  I keep thinking how I am missing out on documenting so many amazing things but its just finding the time to do it but I guess you just have to make time so I am!  Summer was awesome!  Summer is by far my most favorite time of year.  The weather is warm and there are no bedtimes.  It doesn't get better than that.  We spend endless hours at the baseball fields and every Saturday at a horse show.  I am actually learning to enjoy the horse shows too!  Raelynn took lessons all last winter and it has made a HUGE differences in her riding, courage and confidence.  She still loves everything about horses and her competitions and it is so rewarding to see our investment in lessons and horses paying off.  This summer was a little odd though in the amount of rained out shows and eventually her fractured hand/wrist.  We had so many rained out shows that our last horse show this year is all the way into October.  We are usually done by early September.  Raelynn also wrecked on her new bike she got for her birthday and fractured her wrist or lower part of the palm of her hand.  She did this on July 12th and she is still in a splint.  Ok, so maybe some of the delay in her recovery was because I ignored her constant complaints of pain for the first 4 days but what does one expect when she complains about body parts hurting ALL the time. Anyway, long story short, after multiple days of complaining I finally stopped long enough to look at the injury I thought she was just being a drama queen about it but it was incredibly swollen and black and blue.  We visited the doctor the next day and finally after 4 sets of x-rays and what seems like an eternity in a brace, she says it is finally feeling better.  We go back to the doctor tomorrow and cross our fingers, she will get to take the splint off.  She is more than ready!  Anyway, she missed a few shows due to this but I let her ride this past weekend and she didn't miss a beat and is right back in her element.  This was the majority of Raelynn News over the summer and now she is back in school.  She was scared to start 5th Grade, scared of her teacher and just plain scared to grow up.  I expressed her fears to her teacher at our before school conferences and she seemed sympathetic.  I never expected how wonderful her teacher would be though.  We had told her that Raelynn enjoyed helping in the classroom and literally that very night we went in to drop off school supplies and meet the teacher, her teacher asked her for her help with a new student.  Instantly you saw Raelynn relax and agree to help and jump right in.  Literally I was shocked, her teacher didn't miss anything we told her.  She instantly connected with Raelynn and these first 2 weeks of school have been a dream for her and for us.  She does not have any friends in her class this year but that seems to be a good thing.  There has been no drama nor has she felt left out. It is truly a wonderful start to the year.  Now the thought that this is her last year in Elementary School makes me tear up but I will try not to think about that any sooner than I have too.

Coop had a fabulous summer as well.  He played baseball and now is in soccer.  The kid lives for sports.  He loves soccer, baseball and basketball and according to him, if he was allowed to play it, he would like football as well!  He is so intense it is incredible fun to watch him.  He is also laid back enough he doesn't get upset over much.  We had the best cardiology appointment in early August than we have ever had.  The leakage around the valve her received last year had completely sealed up and the doctors said he look great.  We had been expecting a surgery in September due to the amount of leakage they had seen 6 months ago.  Now they were telling us he looks great and doesn't even have to come back for a visit for a year!  We have never went a year without a visit to cardiology.  It was an incredibly free feeling and even Coop recognized the excitement of that.  Coop is still a very laid back kid but that sometimes causes a little conflict between he and I.  The boy does not have a "hurry" speed and sometimes his lacadasical attitude makes me what to scream but all in all he is still my sweet boy.  Cooper loves school as well and is doing well, at least doing well except for last Friday.  Last Friday he had a little trouble paying attention in school.  I am not a big fan of misbehavior and we let Coop know it was not acceptable for him to ever causes problems at school.  I made him write apologies notes to the teachers, apology notes to the other boys who got in trouble with him, a journal entry about his day and how it made him fee and his numbers from 1-150 in even numbers because that is what he was suppose to be doing at one time he got in trouble.  All in all I think I got my point across because he has been great this week.  It could have also been impacted by the fact that if he misbehaved again we would pull him from soccer!  "No!  Not Soccer!"

Terry is diligently working on the basement in his free time on weekends.  Finishing the basement has became a huge issue lately because Raelynn needs to move her bedroom down there and I need a place the kids can hang out with the friends.  Therefore we finish the basement or move and well, moving is not an option right now! I truly can't wait until it's done because it really will open up so much more room for us.

Tonight was a great night.  We didn't have anything going on and we were able to come home, work outside for a bit, make dinner, do homework and get ready for tomorrow and everyone still in bed by their bedtimes.  That does not happen very often around here but it sure is nice when it does.  With the kids both so self sufficient and Raelynn's love for cooking, I will say the school nights have seemed much better than last year as well as the mornings.  Raelynn now makes dinner 2X per week and loves it.  I love it too because cooking is not my favorite things to do.  So basically everything is fabulous and I have the best family ever!  I guess I could have just typed that and summed it all up there!

THE FAMILY I LOVE!

Dinner on the deck, compliments of Raelynn