Girls' Day Out

          Mikayla loves Taylor Swift.  So when we heard that she was coming to town, Mikayla asked if we could go to the concert.  I priced out tickets and found them to be a little too high for my liking.  My response instead was the only way we could go is if I won some tickets.  After a valiant effort to try and win tickets, I came up empty handed.  I kept looking on Stubhub to see if there were any good priced tickets available, and there were a few.  Alas, I went back and forth on whether she is really at the age to enjoy and fully embrace the experience and whether or not she would actually be able to even catch a glimpse of Taylor.  So after having a little talk with her about the concert, she came to the conclusion that she would much rather spend the afternoon just having fun at the mall then going to the concert {we are going to try and save that for next year}.  Since we were supposed to have a girls' day anyway, I thought it was a perfect idea.  We headed to the mall with Julie in hand {she needed an afternoon of pampering}.  Our first stop was The American Girl store to get Julie cleaned and her hair fixed.  At first Mikayla was holding quite the conversation with the stylist, but her attention soon shifted towards Kanani {this year's featured American Girl}.  She enjoyed playing with the ice cream stand while Julie was getting her hair done.  After all the styling Mikayla went around the store dreaming of all the things she could add to her Christmas list.  By the time we were done there we were both ready to eat.  Mikayla had this all planned out too.  She wanted to eat at the mall and after lunch she would get a cookie.  We ventured to the foodcourt for lunch serenated by some bellydancers' music.  After lunch Mikayla got to ride on the carousel ride.  It is something she always wants to do when we go to the mall, but I like to save it for special occasions such as this.  There was also some browsing in at the Build-a-Bear Workshop followed by some actual purchases at the Disney Store.  Our afternoon at the mall was completed by enjoying our cookie in the gorgeous outside weather.  We topped off the afternoon by meeting Mike and Noah at our favorite park, then it was off to home to enjoy movie night.

Things They Say Thursday--Sept. 15

     One of the nights that Mike was out of town Noah woke up saying that there were monsters in his room.  I went in and comforted him and thought I had it where he would go back to sleep.  A little while later I see him standing in my doorway and then he comes and climbs into bed with me.  When he woke up in the morning he said, "mom it was so fun to sleep with you."  Who knew sleeping could be so much fun?

Educating...

     As part of the daycare I try to incorporate a weekly theme and work with the children on practical things they will need to be prepared for Kindergarten.  Every now and then I stop and wonder what it is they are learning.  Circle time is where I do a lot of the direct teaching and sometimes it can get a bit chaotic.  It makes my heart warm when I hear a parent say something that they knew they learned from here {i.e., counting in Spanish}.  Last night, however, I was the witness to my own teaching.  I like to ask different questions to the kids before they go to sleep and last night Noah's question was just simply to count.  He surprised me and counted all the way to 50 {only missing 15}.  But even before that, at dinner I was pretty sure I heard him count backwards from 10.  Since I wasn't sure I asked him if he would do it again.  Which he did.  Because I am never privied to what it is exactly that he is learning at preschool I asked him if that is something he just does with me or do they work on it at preschool.  He said just you.  Makes me a happy, proud mom, to one smart little boy.

Flying Solo

     With Mike out of town for five days, it was just me and the kids.  I was sure to pack a lot of fun into the weekend with the hopes there would be little mention of missing dad.  I'm guessing I succeeded because even when Mike called the kids were to busy to talk.  It was a "Hi, Bye, got to go do this thing now" conversation.  Friday night I just wanted to relax, so I made it a special movie night and ordered in pizza.  The kids loved it.  Saturday was a lot more active.  We started out with taking Noah to his sports clinic and followed it up with a trip to the home store and the Cars 2 movie {finally}.  After the movie we stopped by home just long enough to eat some lunch before heading to the grocery store and out to my aunt's for a little bbq.  I know I have mentioned it before, but the kids love it out there because they have the freedom to run around {and Noah knows there is a movie waiting just for him}.  It was a great time visiting with family and eating yummy food.  Sunday we went to the grocery store for the week and then just hung out at home.  The kids played while I took care of things around the house.  That night the kids hung up their banner they made for their dad and we headed out to the airport.  Although a little sleepy, both kids were very excited to see their dad.  Monday was such a gorgeous day that I took the kids to the park.  It was a nice end to a very busy weekend.

Things They Say Thursday--Sept. 8th

     The other night we were on a walk.  Every once in a while I let the kids bring something on the walk with them.  That night Mikayla decided she wanted to bring her baby stroller with a baby.  We did not make it too far before she decided she wanted to run instead of pushing the stroller so she passed it off to Noah.  Noah was being pretty cute when he was pushing the stroller.  We would be walking side-by-side when he would say "Sorry, got to go," and then take off running ahead.  After a little way I would catch up to him only for him to say it again.  He had this huge grin on his face each time he would say it and it continued for the entire walk.

10 years

     Ten years ago today I married my best friend.  He can make me laugh, be a third child, and share all my stories like no other.  God definitely knew what he was doing when he joined these two hearts.  But like a lot of marriages we have had our share of dips and peaks {much more of these}, but altogether they have only made us closer and our relationship stronger.  I truly get excited when I think of where our future will take us.  But for a little trip down memory lane of how we met {one day my kids might ask}, I have shared some of the details below.
     It all started when I was a sophomore in high school and my dad's company was going to be closing his location in Kansas.  They offered him the opportunity to move up to Minnesota and build on some of his current skills.  After what I assume was much deliberation on the part of parents {I don't really remember too much of the discussion}, we moved up to Minnesota.  Let's fast forward through the melting of the four feet of snow that was on the ground when we got there {in April, mind you} to the point where Mike and I actually meet.  I was just settling into my new high school when I decided that I would go and get a part-time job.  At the time I was completely opposed to working at fast food chains, but for some reason one day I walked in and put an application to work at Subway.  Alas I got the job and was assigned to close on Friday and Saturday nights.  It was about two weeks of working there before I met Mike.  He was a shift leader and would be working with me.  I think it was an immediate attraction on his part, but it took him a few weeks before he asked me out.  We went out once and that was about it for a few months.  I was busy with cheerleading, work, and school that there wasn't time for much else.  In the Spring we started hanging out together with a group of friends.  It was not until the Summer though that I actually would call us dating.
     We dated my whole senior year.  Prior to graduation I had decided to move back to Kansas with my parents and go to KU {Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!}.  We spent most of the summer apart, but by the fall Mike had decided he wanted to move to Kansas too.  After a little prodding he also started back to school at KU.  The weeks were spent on campus and the weekends with me visiting my parents.  In the Spring Mike proposed to me in a gazebo at this little park near my parents' house.  Planning for the wedding was set in motion and we were wed September 2, 2001.

Things They Say Thursday--September 1st

     Early Wednesday morning the kids and I dropped of Mike at the airport.  Mikayla kept comparing his leaving with her friend's dad {who was gone for three months}.  She was very sweet and kept saying "I'm going to mss you."  She also asked him if he remembered how her friend had made a sign for when he came back and said, "maybe I should make one for you."  My heart melted.  So looks like this weekend we will be busy crafting a sign to be ready to welcome him home.