Barbie is SAVED!

For some of my readers, you know that last August Jake and I were baptized (full submersion) at our church's Watermark. It took place in an above ground pool at Hartman Arena in front of hundreds of people with hundreds of people. (Luckily, we got to be first!) Owen and Allison got to see it and ever since then, whenever Allie sees an above ground pool she calls it a "baptizer". For example, a few weeks after we were walking down the toy aisles at Target and Allie saw a Barbie box selling a pool for dolls. She got really excited and yelled, "Mommy! Look! Barbie is getting BAPTIZED!!!" Those lucky ones around us at that moment got a good laugh. However, ever since then she's been begging to get one. The other day she got her wish. She was so happy carrying it through the store. Unfortunately, we got home and remembered all of her Barbies were boxed up and shipped to Boston. So Mommy got into her storage boxes and found some that she had before kids and gave them to Allie. Now we hold nightly baptisms for all Mattel figures! :)

After it was realized we had no dolls.

Mommy saves the day!

Micheal Buble

Our pre-date photo. The kids got in on this one... I LOVE IT!!!

Oh, he was GOOD!!!

Tried to take a picture of the big screen. Cameras kept changing and zooming.

This was the closest to him standing still.

He walked to the middle of the arena and sang "Home" from a make-shift stage.

AWESOME!!! That's all I can get out about last night's show. AWESOME!! The opening act "Naturally 7" was a group of 7 black guys singing a-cappella (spelling?). AWESOME! Micheal was hilarious when he talked to the audience between songs. He danced and sang amazingly. This was a last-minute date for Jake and I. We even bought "nose-bleed" cheap-seat tickets, but that didn't matter! It was the best money we've spent in a long time. If you ever get a chance to see him in concert, I highly recommend it to everyone. It was AWESOME.

Father's Day-2010, GWL

For Father's Day this year, we decided to take Daddy to his favorite place... Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City! It was so much fun. We got there early, so we played at the water park before checking in. Then we checked out the room and changed for dinner.

Allie tested out the hair dryer.

Owen rested and watched some T.V. from his top bunk.

We met our friends the Birdsells for dinner at our favorite place, Minsky's.

After dinner, Allie and I were really tired so we started getting ready for bed. The boys headed back to the water park. The next morning we went back to the water park after a quick breakfast. Then checked out and we to lunch at Panera.

My favorite picture!

We then headed home. It was a good trip and we had a lot of fun!

The backseat, on the way home.

Last Day!

Today was Jake's last day of work. He is night call tomorrow night and then off, until he starts his fellowship in Boston, MA on July 1st. The nurses from the hospital threw him a going away party. They bought him a street map of Boston, a Top 25 Best book of Boston (you all know I'm excited about that one!) and a box of "Red Sox" cookies. It makes me so glad to see how appreciated they are to have him and want him back in a year. The countdown is on... Jake flies to Boston in 12 days!!!!

Nate's 5!!!

It's hard to believe 5 years ago, I took this picture. Our friend Eric Price had called us a few days earlier to say that he was at the hospital with Julie and they were having their baby... EARLY! I was so scared for all of them. Thankfully, he was the strongest little baby you've ever seen. And today he is my son's best buddy!

These are a few of the pictures I took from his party today. Happy 5th Birthday, Nathan!

Nathan and Owen, "The Boys"

"The Crew"

Allie and Paige, "The Girls"

Birthday Boy!

Zachary "Heartbreaker" Price

If I can't be nude...

My daughter LOVES the pool! She could live at the pool... as long as she had plenty of sunblock, water, food and mommy to watch her. This evening I took both her and Owen to the neighborhood pool. As we were getting dry, she announces that she need to go potty. I take her into the clubhouse and PEEL her wet swimsuit off of her. She sits for maybe 5 seconds on the potty and declares a false alarm. However, the swimsuit is NOT going back on. So me being the quick thinker I am, I take my cover-up off and put it on her. She looks JUST LIKE A JAWA! (For those non-nerds, a Jawa is a character from the Star Wars series.) She loves it too, because under it she's NUDE! Now I know that for next summer, I'll just buy her a cover-up from my section then I can share it. :)

Fitness 5, 2010

At 7:00 this morning, I ran my 3rd Fitness 5 miler. It's an annual run they hold at the Smokey Hill River Festival. It was my first race EVER 2 years ago. This year I had to run it alone, my husband had to work. However, I still had a pace buddy... Mother Nature.

I pulled into the parking lot and began to walk towards the registration and first aid shelters. It was starting to spit a little rain. Once I got to the second shelter, it let it rip. We are talking gusts of wind, instant puddles of about 1/2 inch. I was shivering and contemplating how serious I was about this whole thing. This was going to be my last race for at least a year. I had to do it, unless I saw lightening. 5 minutes before the start time, it stopped! I walked with the other shocked runners at the great luck to the starting line. Because of the the down pour earlier, there was a delay of 10 minutes for the gun to go off. It didn't rain the entire run! There were some serious dark clouds moving in. And at mile 4, I heard some thunder in the distance. But as I came around the corner towards the finish line, I saw my first lighting bolt. I kicked it in high and finished in my fastest time yet!

I crossed the finish line, walked by the water station, picked up 2 cups and kept on walking towards the car. As soon as I got back to my in-laws house, it poured again. Thanks Mother Nature, for motivation and awesome weather for my best run yet.

10 Things I'll remember...

About this year's Smokey Hill River Festival.

1. Allie's first road trip in underwear! (We had to stop twice during the 75 minute drive.)

2. Legos, legos, legos (Owen got his birthday present early from Grandma and Papa.)

3. Cotton Candy only comes in one size...HUMONGOUS!! (Allie's stick broke it was so BIG.)

4. Face paint fixes ANY bad mood. (Especially "tiger" face.)

5. Mother Nature makes for a great pace buddy in a race. (I'll blog more about that one.)

6. My almost-6 year old son, 3 1/2 year old daughter and myself can sleep in a FULL BED.

(I didn't say "great sleep", I just said SLEEP.)

7. Target is the best store to visit, when out of town. (I went there twice, within 48 hours.)

8. Need to add Calamine Lotion to my medical kit. (Owen got a bug bite in a "private" area,

and had to itch it in public.)

9. Rope swing in the backyard. (Papa put it together for some impromptu adventures.)

10. It was a great weekend, and we'll be sad to miss it next year. :(

Happy Anniversary, Honey

Ten years ago today, I made the best decision in my life. I knew then it was a good one, but I had no idea how happy and blessed my life would become.

In the past ten years we've been through a lot, both good and bad... but it's always been better with you... TOGETHER!

We may not look like the two young, starry-eyed kids in the picture above... but I still see that guy every time I look at you.

To the boy I married,

To the father of my children,

To the man that I love...

I love you!

Storm the Dam-2010

Me, Steve and Jake

Today I ran the "Storm the Dam" half marathon trail run at El Dorado Lake State Park. WOW! It was a rough one! Horses take the trail we ran along so over half the time I was looking straight down making sure I didn't lose my footing in some hoof print and roll my ankle. As a bonus, I had a good support team during the run. I ran with Jake and our friend Steve. Steve ran this run last year so he ran at the lead and gave me heads up when it came to some challenging areas. Jake ran behind me to make sure I didn't get hurt and was making it ok. Both guys could have easily blown through the course, but they stuck with me. I felt like I had body guards. At first I felt bad holding them back, but the company definitely made the time go by better than if I was solo. This will be my last big run for a while. But I'm very glad I did it.

Thanks to Amy for watching the kids all morning for us!

Maturity Spurt!

Strike a Pose!

When babies go through "growth spurts" it's like they change overnight. I think kids go through "maturity spurts". Allie has been going through one the last few days. We (she) decided no more daytime pull-ups as of last Friday afternoon. We've had our share of accidents (sorry again, Megan!) but have made huge progress. She got her first 2-piece swimsuit (which works so much better for the potty training) and she's been going to swim lessons at the same time as Owen starting today. They are at different levels, but she thinks she's big stuff (see the above picture). This should be an interesting summer!