DATE NIGHT

Tonight we had a really fun date night! Chris and Nick headed out to their first Kansas City Chiefs football game and Olivia and I had a great "Girls Only" Spa Night! (Little Ben got the short end of the stick and was put to bed a little early!)

These pictures are great....we're not sure who had the most fun! 

FROG HUNTING

The grounds of this apartment are so pretty! We're spending a good number of days at the pool and several evenings on the walking paths. The kids love the frogs and toads that are everywhere! The creek down in the trees has a ton so we headed down there one night to see what we could catch......

The big kids were scared of the frogs at first but Ben was Mr. NO FEAR. The first frog he found was sitting on the side of the path and he bent down to pet it. It didn't move! He started telling Nick and Livi not to be afraid and "See, frogs are nice!" The big kids were quick to point out that his "nice" frog was actually dead.... 

Daring frog hunter

I think these water pictures must have been taken before we met the little girls by the creek that told us they were hunting frogs and water mocassins....

HAPPY SHOPPERS

Just for the record, this is one of my most favorite pictures. Ever. Are these three looking angel-like or what?! We were actually shopping. Yes, SHOPPING. With the rare exception, they are never all happy when we are out running errands. But today they were and I just had to capture the moment. Right there in the Garden Center at Lowe's.....

"CHARLIE CUDDLES"

I think these photos speak for themselves......this dog is one-of-a kind......

BACK TO SCHOOL

On Monday night, Olivia and Nick and I went to "Meet the Teacher" night at their new school, Lewis and Clark Elementary. It was so fun and SO organized!! Nick was the first to find his classroom and he was a little quiet when we met his teacher, Mrs. Orr. She is a brand new teacher this year so she is probably as nervous as he is! Nick warmed up as soon as we found his name tag on his table and started putting away his school supplies. Soon it was time to leave and he was busy playing transformers with two of his classmates. He is going to LOVE kindergarten! Then it was off to Olivia's classroom on the other side of the school. Her teacher, Mrs. Jellison, met us at the door and said, "You must be Olivia! You just barely moved here! Did you get my postcard?" I could tell Olivia was immediately in love with her. Just a very spunky, cute lady who obviously enjoys her job very much. Olivia had a list of tasks to complete on her desk before we were able to leave. I signed up for parent/teacher conferences and to help as a room mom for the class parties. Nick wanted me to be in his class for Halloween so I signed up to help with Olivia's Valentine party. We headed to the cafeteria, where stations were set up so parents could make sure to get everything taken care of before the first day of school. I put money in their lunch accounts, bought school t-shirts, found out about the PTA, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc., etc. Some students had "pre-ordered" their school supplies in the spring so they were picking up these neat little packages with everything they needed to start the year. What a great idea! If I didn't love shopping for school supplies so much, I may consider doing that next year! It was a fun night and really got both of the kids excited to start the year!
Today was the first day of school so Nick and Liv were up early, dressed in their new duds and eager for sprinkle pancakes. Olivia spent most of the morning telling Nick what he should expect at kindergarten. He didn't say much, but he wasn't acting too nervous either. Last night when I was trimming his nails, he told me he was worried that he wouldn't make any friends and that he would probably miss me. My heart broke into a million pieces while I tried to tell him how wonderful school was going to be and that, as long as he was kind to everyone, he would be able to make lots of new friends. We talked about one of our favorite books, Kissing Hand, and the little raccoon in the story who leaves his mommy to go to school. Nick decided to take part of his favorite blanket with him for rest time, thinking that might help him not feel so lonely. OH, WHY DO KIDS HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL AND LEAVE THEIR MOMMIES??????
We had breakfast and took pictures and then we were off, in the pouring rain, to school. The kids were quiet when we pulled into the parking lot and Liv said her stomach was "flickering around with butterflies." Nick walked right into his class and sat down, only looking back once so I could wave to him. Livi did the same when her perky teacher, once again, met her at the door and said,"Good Morning, Olivia!" Chris and I made our way out to the car so I could start crying in private. I am so happy they have a good school to attend and I know how much they love learning. I also know it is good for them to be in the school setting, making friends and learning to work with others. It's just that they are my babies, and it is hard to see them getting big. Kindergarten is always hard for me because it's like the beginning of the end. They will never be home all day with me again. Ever. And that makes me sad. Ben is going to be sad with his kids, too. He has never been without them! He likes the idea of "Ben go to school? Drop off?" so he carries Nick's lunch box around the house with his blanket stuffed inside it. He's tried on the kids' school clothes they had laid out...this didn't go over so well. Nick has been waiting to wear his new Sketchers for a month and to see Ben roaming around in them this morning just about sent him through the roof! I am sure my little buddy and I will have a great time together, once he stops asking "Where Livi go?" every two minutes!I thought about the little rascals every few minutes today day, hoping they were having fun and adjusting well. I think my stomach was even "flickering" for them!!! On the way to pick them up, Chris said," Wow, that day went by fast didn't it? Doesn't seem like the kids have been gone very long!" I just stared at him. It felt like I hadn't seen them in months and I was hoping they would still recognize me.

We arrived at the school and I could not believe the orderliness of the pick-up routine! We had been given a map of how to proceed at orientation, as well as a colored sheet of paper to boldly print our students names on. The colored sheet was hung in the corner of my windshield and as I entered the parking spot, a lady met me with a two-way radio. She radioed Nick and Olivia's names to someone and told me to continue into the lot. As I reached the side walk, there were my two darlings skipping out to a blue square painted near the curb. Another teacher met them at the curb, opened the back door of the car for them and wished us well before she closed the door and sent us on our way. Isn't that the craziest thing EVER??? Valet parking! It must take them hours to get everyone loaded into their cars! I was totally impressed.

The kids had big smiles on their faces and both were so exicted to tell us about their first days of school. It was great. They both love their teachers, made friends, and REALLY enjoyed lunchtime... they have five different meal options to choose from each day and five different drinks as well. That kind of stuff goes over BIG with my kids! Nick told me all about rest time and that he wasn't "that tired" so he and his new buddy just "spied on the teacher" instead of sleeping. He also made friends with another boy who was wearing the same new shoes as he! Olivia was able to name all the kids in her class and was really excited about the rewards system her teacher has for the class. That girl was born to go to school! They both wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner so we headed over there for a little back to school celebration. It was a fun night. We played card games once we got home, had prayers and scriptures and then it was to bed for three tired kids. What a fantastic way to start the school year!

KANSAS CITY: WEEK ONE

We have officially been in our new city for one week! The few days before we left Rapid City we stuffed full with packing, cleaning, doctor's appointments, visiting friends, etc. We were exhausted and relieved when we were finally ready to go and heading down my parents' long driveway for the last time. It was both a happy and sad moment for all of us. We will so miss Rapid City and the life we had made there. But we just know that Kansas City is where we are to be so an adventure is before us!

The drive went really well...three kids, a big dog and a whole lot of stuff made it safely to our destination. We left about noon on Saturday and it took us about 12-13 hours to get here. My dear friend, Ann Francis, had packed a bag of fun things for the kids to do in the car and it honestly saved the day!! They colored and made sticker books and stories and played games the entire way. We stayed overnight in Council Bluffs, Iowa and ended up having to sneak Charlie into a hotel that was very clearly posted as a "NO PET" environment. Good thing he is quiet and black as the night. That made it easier! Much easier than, say, sleeping in a hotel room with kids. That is absolute torture in my book. They were all tired and crying and bleeding (Ben fell out of bed) before they finally fell asleep. All of them were on the floor, leaving two of the three queen-sized beds empty. We should have just slept in tent. All the while, Chris and I just laid there, stared at the ceiling and secretly apologized to anyone unfortunate enough to have been given a room on either side of us.

We made it to Liberty, our suburb, on Sunday afternoon. Since then, the days have all kind of blurred together as we have been checking things off our "TO DO" list. Here's what we accomplished this week:

300 trips to Target for groceries/supplies needed for our furnished corporate apartment
Bought a new car for Christopher
Registered the kids for school
toured the gym
purchased bedding for kids' new rooms
snarfed several orders of fried dill pickles, our new favorite southern food
obtained library cards
completed the inspection on the house
joined Costco
visited downtown KC and Chris' work
Saved the white carpet from a bottle of black nail polish that was carefully dumped in the boys' room
purchased bunk beds for the boys
lined up new utilities and mail
fell in love with the down comforters and fluffy pillows on all the beds
walked a leashed dog 2 billion times...thank goodness for houses with yards and fences
Stayed awake three nights in a row due to the CRAZY thunder and lightening storms that frequent this place
Ben potty-trained himself
shopped for new work clothes with Chris
kids watched hours of tv since their dream of having tvs in their rooms has come true (only temporary, I keep telling them....)
swam daily at the pool in our complex
ate at nearly every restaurant in a 20 mile radius...it's hard to cook with just a pot and a few spoons!
Convinced Chris he is not dying from the humidity and that he most certainly does not have "chiggers"

See, it's been a good week! Throw in a daily nap or two and a couple of family movie nights and our days have been jam-packed. Next week will be quieter with the kids in school and Chris at work. Hmmm....what will I do?! Two more weeks of chillin here and then it's into our new house!

BOYS

I L-O-V-E these little guys!

HOUSE PICS

I am really excited about our house! It's kind of a funny story how we found it...right after Chris accepted his job, I got online to look at houses. I saw this one but didn't say anything to him because he wasn't sure if we should buy right away or rent something for a while. A few days went by and one day when he was looking at houses, he called me into the bedroom to ask me what I thought of this same house! He flew down a few days later and spent two days with a realtor looking a several houses. This house was the first and the favorite! It had only been on the market four days and we just knew it was supposed to be ours! He put in an offer that was accepted right away and then came home with these photos, just as I had requested! Good work, babe! These pics start in the basement and work their way up....

walkout basement

basement patio and yard

basement bath...say good-bye to the purple...

playroom in basement

little room with walk-in closet but no windows...
could I put a double bed in here or is that creepy?

staircase up to main floor

Main floor family room

Main floor guest bath...good bye blue...

windows in family room look out over yard

kitchen....goodbye yellow....

Eating area and doors out to deck

butlers's pantry/laundry between kitchen and dining room

dining room (soon to be living room) and the front door

Office, just to the right of the front door

staircase upstairs, just as you enter front door

our master bed, bath, closet and laundry rooms

someday nursery

Liv's room...good bye pink

kids bath....they like the green...negotiations needed....

Boys room. Bunk beds on order.

The blue shutters (and yellow door) that will magically
become black within 24 hours of us moving in!

I am excited to get all of our stuff in there and see how it looks! Of course, I already have a list a mile long of things I want to change and do to the place! It all takes time and money though...it will be great just to be in our own home again! 

MISS ANN

Tonight I said good-by to one of my sweet Rapid City friends, Miss Ann Mines. I will miss her so! My kids will miss her, too, she is so good to them. Below, Ben leaves a few memories of himself on the hood of her car....

"Knock Knock! Hello?"

 Miss Ann is Ben's "Gum Goddess." He loves gum and she is good about having a continuous supply for him, often in a variety of flavors. Here she is teaching him how to blow a bubble...

Naked child showin off his new skillz...