Vacation-Hays-Day 1

This may be the longest amount of time I've ever spend between two posts. Yikes! Summer has a way of doing this "keep me busy" stuff. Well, summer and pregnancy I suppose. Because pregnancy has kept me busy avoiding the awful Midwest heat, avoiding bending much, and apparently avoiding the blog. Plus, every time I get on the computer, I have to check in with work. And by the time I'mn done with work, I just want to put the computer away. Really, it's all just a vicious cycle. There has been so much happen between the last post and now. Swimming lessons, two small "vacations," our seventh wedding anniversary, Matt's and my birthday-- and back to school shopping. I know that shouldn't make the list of things we've done this past month that are blog-worthy, but in my universe BTS shopping is totally blog-worth! Anyway, we left on our anniversary to go to Hays, America--or Kansas for the rest of you. Matt had work out there Monday thru Thursday, so we tagged along. And don't worry, we found just enough to keep us busy for that amount of time. By the time we got there in the afternoon on Monday, it was lunch and then drop daddy off at his work site. So the girls and I hit up the Sternberg Museum. Some of these pictures are a bit funny--as you'll see!

One of our first stops was posing next to a life-size dig site. Pretty neat!

The famous Fish within a Fish

This was us entering "Colorado" after we'd already been underwater in "Kansas." In case you aren't familiar with old-time geography, Kansas use to be a big body of water--actually, much of the center of the U.S. was. And the shoreline was--yep, you guessed it, Colorado. So as we entered Colorado, our host T-Rex greeted us!

And that's about as far as we got into "Colorado." T-Rex was just too much for the preschooler kids.

Luckily, we crossed a little bridge and hit this dig site. This was set up just for kids to uncover fossils.

Of course, we had to dress the part. This is soooo my kids, dressing up followed by digging!

They loved finding fossils--which, by the way, were adhered to the floor. They were not loose!

As you can see, all five of the girls got involved.

Scrunchie has never doubted that she is just a smaller version of a "big kid" IE--the older sisters!

The girls dug for 30 or 45 minutes. It was in a little alcove in the upstairs of this dome-shaped building. Needless to say---IT WAS HOT! So the girls would've stayed all afternoon, but other kids came and it started to get crowded and hotter. So we visited the Discover Place.

But that was not until we all found some "fossils." Even she thought there was a fossil to show off. So she did!

So professional looking, right?!?!?!!!!

She's pretty sure this was a tooth. I loved seeing their imaginations at work!

Ah, so cute in archeologist gear!

Okay, so the discovery room was okay by my standards--awesome by the girls' standards. This giant spider greeted us.

Bug loved looking at the creatures behind this glass. She was pretty entranced by them all--spiders, lizards and such!

I'm not sure what this is about, but she's cute. She wanted to do whatever big sisters were doing. See a theme here?

 

Bug liked balancing the scales. 

 

Brownie and Bug wouldn't move from their spots forever.

Finally, we were near the end of our museum time. Notice Peach and Brownie being dinosaurs in the background. Poor Bug didn't know what to do, and Boushka was still scared something would roar at her (like T-Rex did in "Colorado").

And here we are again imitating a dino. They don't normally stand like this-- my kids, that is!

We picked up a few goodies from the museum store, visited Sonic for ice cream, and then met Daddy for dinner. We actually went to another hotel for dinner, but it was good. It seemed like everything was homemade and not frozen and pulled out of a plastic bag. Something I didn't expect from a tiny western Kansas town, but soon we found out that we had some good luck in Hays for dining.

After dinner, I'm pretty sure we went swimming. Because I think we did that EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. on vacation!

That one Weekend we were so BUSY!

The weekend before Memorial Day Weekend was a crazy busy, but very fun, one for us.

This was the weekend that people typically graduate! And we did go to a graduation party. We took the three big girls with us. The house was absolutely beautiful! It sits on a lake, is incredibly big, and has a bar/pool outside. I could've just sat on their deck forever! 

 

Matt and I did pose for a picture-- I was trying to capture the beautiful lake behind us, but I didn't do so great.

So I took one from the mid-level deck. So incredibly peaceful!

We took the girls home and put them to bed, I changed real quick, and then we headed over to our friends', the Mirandas, house for their 10th wedding anniversary. The food was so yummy, and they had martinis. I didn't, but that was the featured drink--and I thought they looked quite tasty. But I enjoyed the appetizers and my water--and the company of course!

The next day we had a softball game (which explains why my husband is wearing a bright pink shirt), in the late afternoon, and then we headed straight to Granny and Grandpa's house (Matt's grandparents) for ice cream. The whole family goes over to Granny and Grandpa's house a couple of times each year for their homemade ice cream and cakes. We always have such fun playing with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas.

The girls gobbled up the yummy treats!

The next day we had another party--a swimming/end of the season party-- at Brownie's soccer coach's house. It was a gorgeous place, and since we didn't plan on having the younger two swim, I bathed them and snapped this picture. It was just too cute not to share!

The girls did enjoy the pool. Though, it was an athletic pool--so the middle was deeper than either end. My girls all learned this the hard way--they had to be "rescued" a little bit. It was scary to watch, but we pulled them in and they were just fine.

And we had to leave early so we could make it to our softball practice. Whew! We were exhausted that weekend, but it sure was fun!

End of the School Year

The end of the school year was so, so busy. This being our first year with one in "real school" sure did shed some light on the crazy that is the end of the year. Kind of makes me worry about when all six are in "real school!"

Brownie's class went to a park for lunch one day towards the end of their year. The park is nearby. Some sisters and I showed up to play too--Brownie loves the monkey bars!

Boushka loved the water fountain. She thinks she's one of the "big" girls, so she was thrilled to be seen with siss and her "big" friends!

When Brownie's class started to eat lunch, we bid them good bye. It was only a few minutes later that they were to head back to school to be picked up. We had a nice time playing with Brownie and seeing her with all of her friends.

Bug was the first of the three to finish school. Since she was only going two days a week (as opposed to 5 days a week like the older two), her school ended first. This was my sweet girl on her last day.

The two littles and I joined her and her class for some outdoor time with ice cream to boot!

We were being goofy taking pictures like this for fun!

Since it was her official start to summer, we came home and enjoyed popsicles while we waited for sissy (Peach) to get off the bus. We also played on our bikes!

There's always a little sister not far behind.

Brownie still had one more day of school, but she sure did enjoy celebrating Bug's last day!

Here's my Brownie and one of sweet teachers on the last day of school. It was the second year in a row that we've had Mrs. L! Peach had her last year--and we just adore her. And it's obvious she loves her job--a sweet inspiration for our girls.

We also played outside with Brownie's class and ate more ice cream. I also started something new this year (thanks pinterest)--I had all the past and current teachers for all three older girls write a little message in Oh the Places You'll Go,  by Dr. Seuss. I plan to give the book to them on their graduation day!

Now on to the Peach! Her May days were so full. I think in all we had two pizza parties, a field trip, a field day, a special lunch with parents and an end of the year party! Wowza! Her field trip was to an environmental lab--so that explains the hat she's wearing. But no little sisters were alowed on the trip!


Her school held a fundraiser a while back and if the students sold a certain number of cards, they were able to take a limo to a pizza place to have lunch. So I met them up at the pizza place to say hi--and then we eneded up eating there, too! But we left Peachy alone and didn't bother her and her friends too much!

During the last week of school, they had a filed day. I came to eat lunch that day with Peach, and then it was on to the activities! I was in charge of just about the most boring one there, but hey, I was happy to help! And I was happy to have my little girl visit my station. In case you can't tell, you step on the skateboard type thing and try to aim the rubber fish to land in the laundry basket. I was right next to scooter cars and several huge bouncy house type things. So yeah, my station wasn't getting much action!!

But the perk of little action left me with some time to sneek away. Not sure I was supposed to do that, but I did anyway. I went clear across the field to see all the kindergarten classes compete in a tug of war. Once the class winner was declared, they had all the kindergarten boys vs the girls. They had tons of fun with this!

A couple days later was the last day of school. I couldn't believe we'd made it through a whole year--our first year with our first-born. I remembered crying this time last year because I knew once Peach went to school, time would just fly and soon they'd all be in school, graduate, and leave me to join the ranks of adulthood.

And sure enough, I was right. The year went incredibly fast and now here I am sending another baby to kindergarten!

All of our kids in school had two teachers this year--so we made these little picutres and framed them. It has the teachers name in a decorative manner in the center of the page. Then I had the girls draw and/or write some special things about their teacher. I didn't get a picture of any of them except Peach's to Mrs. J! As much as I wish I had the time and patience to teach my kiddos at home, I am also glad that there are other adults out there who can help my kids learn in a way I never could. And I'm so happy that my kids can learn to trust other adults as they branch out in this world.

Here's a picture of the whole class at the end of the "end of the school year" party. These kids were so sweet, and I can't wait to see who will be in her class next year. Her best friend might be moving, but several of the other kids live right here in our neighborhood-- we just need to figure out where and have them over!

Peach gave her teachers their gifts at the party. I love this picture of all the kids gathering around to see what Mrs. J got!

And here's another little gift we gave the para for Peach's class. It's s'mores ingredients. Turns out the teacher had just been given a fire pit for her birthday--so I think this one was a hit!

We ended up having to travel to the doctor on Peach's last day of school around lunch time because of some issues Scrunchie was having. I can't remember now if this was for the infected bug bites she had or for one of her two ear infections (all this happened withing two weeks), but needless to say we were stranded at lunch time. So we enjoyed some heavenly pizza slices at a new place--and then we stopped at the cookie store down the way. This was the day I discovered the best frosted cookies ever--the same ones I had at my gender reveal party! They were so good that we decided to buy a little frosted cookie for Peachy. She gobbled it up as we watched Arthur after her last day of school was complete. It was some nice down time with her!

We finished the night with a movie (I don't remember which one now) and Chinese food. I took these two helpers with me to pick up the food!

And last but not least, the first sleepover of the summer! These girls love their sleepovers.

 

Mother's Day Rewind

I had a sweet Mother's Day, and I couldn't believe I hadn't posted about it yet! The occasion started off with a Mother's Day Tea with Brownie at preschool. She made this adorable placemat where she answers questions about me. In case you can't see her answers she thinks I'm "40 years old," I'm prettiest "on Mondays," "Rice" is her favorite food I make, "the days the girls are not crying or fussing" are the days when I'm the silliest, and apparently I always say "pick up." I sure kind of seem like a Debbie Downer, huh? But she's a realist... just like me!

She made me this beautiful purse for me--I just adore it! She put so much time and effort into making this for me---so totally melts me and my realist heart!

 I love this girl--she's my doll!

Our zoo got a temporary penguin exhibit, so we took the girls to see them. It was a crazy long line, but the girls really enjoyed seeing these little creatures.

Matt was leaving town on Mother's Day, so we celebrated on Friday. The girls got me some really nice gifts including a coupon book full of the sweetest ideas in the world. I mean, Brownie even gave me one for a shopping trip to Target with her. I also got lots of "free hugs" help with chores, and some backrubs! They aso gave me a set of Doris Day movies--I'm a big fan. These girls (and their little sister and brother) are my hearts.  I see them and I just smile from ear to ear.

 Daddy made a delisous dinner for me--I had a hankering for bison. I'm really not much of a red meat fan--preferring veggies and chicken most of the time--but I recently discovered bison. It's rasied in all the right ways in a neighboring state, and it tastes divine! He also grilled these potato boats. My oh my, I love these things so much! And I will never go wrong with salad.

 My beautirful family the night we ate our Mother's Day meal. So sweet to me--these six.

 On Sunday, Matt left town aroud 9 to fly out to... I can't even remember now. It's been so darn long! So we were left to our own devisces--which meant a Doris Day movie and a picnic lunch in the living room. We took it pretty easy the rest of the day. 

 Knowing I'd be alone (well, not alone alone, but without my main man alone), my mom also stopped by. I feel so fortunate to be an adult and share my babies with her. I hope someday I get to share my babies' babies with her as well.



And I'm so incredibly blessed to be a mother, or for this stage in life, a mommy. Or mama.