St Louis Vacation

The last weekend before school started, I convinced Ethan to take a road trip to St Louis with the girls.  It didn't take much convincing, just showing him what a piece of cake it would be.  Thankfully, it actually was,  the whole time!   We left Saturday morning, stayed in Westport area, spending lots of time in the hotel's outside pool.  The weather was perfect for it -- super hot!   The hotel had a lake with ducks, which intrigued Hayden.  After she swam we had to explore the whole land and ended up hanging with the ducks for quite some time. 

Then all day Sunday we went to the STL zoo and walked and walked and walked.  We love that zoo!  Hayden was very concerned that the animals wouldn't be in their cages and would get her and she REALLY wanted on the zoo train.  Abbie was just excited to see everything.  The girls really did great at the zoo. They got to see the sea lions, penguins, gorillas and monkeys.  

Afterwards I (again) convinced Ethan that we needed to see the arch.  I know the girls didn't understand the excitement behind it but it was a new adventure nonetheless.  Actually, just finding parking was goin to be an adventure we thought! We spent some time under the arch and trying to show the girls how amazing it is.  I know Hayden will at least remember it and when we go back she'll have some idea where we are.  Abbie just enjoyed FINALLY getting out of her car seat and stroller and being able to roam in the grass.   

These pictures are out of order but still capture our little vacation. 

Random Photos

Since I clearly have slacked off in posts...here's a bunch of photos I've downloaded off my phone...with no story to go with them.   

Five for Friday..on Saturday

So it's Saturday...Saturday night at that and I'm just now doing a 5 for Friday post :) I'm determined to get it posted while it's still Saturday and it's getting pretty close but I think we'll be okay, haha.  I realized I hadn't posted in a while and figured this was the best way to just download what we've been up to.  I definitely don't think I'll be able to keep up this frequency when school starts (which is coming WAY too fast for me and not soon enough for Hayden).

And here we go -- why not make it Six for Saturday...

1.  Speaking of school and Hayden, I saw her school supply list this past week.  She'll be going to the Fair Grove Preschool program 2 days a week this year. She is soooo excited. Not sure she knows exactly what she's in for but I know she'll do great!  We're going to take her tomorrow to get some of her supplies.  I'm kinda thinking we're asking for trouble though because she has to hang onto them until the 15th of Aug when she starts.  Kinda like telling her that her birthday is in 2 weeks...every day at least twice a day we'll hear "Is it almost time?"  :)  Love her!

2. And then there's my school.  This coming week is the last week the girls will be here at the house with me :'(  The following week they'll be at the sitter's house full time as I'm back in the classroom, officially starting my time on the 9th with meetings all day. Yuck.  I've been going into the classroom at least once a week to start unpacking boxes and putting everything back where ti goes.  I'm soo ready for the routine and rhythm of the school year and to be with my new students, just not looking forward to the fewer hours with my girls and feeling pulled in every direction.  But, I always manage.  I'm very lucky to love what I do and have an amazing school to be at so that makes those downsides sooo much easier.

3.  Hayden had a huge achievement this week.  We met mom in Bolivar on Wed for Hay to go back with her and stay the night at the farm.  What surprised us was that she ended up staying THREE nights!! Willingly (according to mom).  I knew she would have a great time but really surprised that she managed 3 nights without having meltdowns missing me.  Seriously.  She really did have a great time. Sounds like she spent it just like I did growing up...playing outside with the kittens, adventures with Grandma, running around naked, swimming, and being outside all the time.  I loved that Dad would send me picture texts and videos.

4. Sweet Abbie sure showed her personality while Hay was at the farm. It was really great to have lots of one-on-one time with her and do some bonding.  She is a lovey little one with a determination like something fierce!  She is sooo stinkin smart too.  We've realized that she's able to follow simple one-step directions (put it in the trash, give to daddy, put it in the box, get your diaper, etc) and is excited to do them.  She wants to be involved with everything and so we still hear a lot of squeals and hollering when we don't realize soon enough what it is that she's wanting.  She also LOVES music.  Here's a video of her new dance moves, spinning as well as a video of her singing.  Again, so sweet.

5. Canada... Ethan is gearing up for his last week long trip to Canada for work.  He hasn't been there since last fall which was awful planning...he left my first full week of school, and I had a 10 week old Abbie, and the girls were starting at a new sitters.  We survived. But this year it won't be as bad. It definitely helps that I'll not be at work yet and wont have to have any schedules or routines (although I neeeed to be getting everyone up 2 hours earlier than we currently are, ouch).  This should be his last trip up there so he is going to do a lot more sight-seeing and exploring.

6. And lastly -- we went up to Aunt Shirley's today for a Cantrell get together. Shirley and Bill had been down to Alabama to see Brad and Missy and then had brought Laine back with them. We hadn't seen her since she was little bitty!  It was a great afternoon with the Minichs, Hagers, Mildred & John, and then Brian and Haddie (who is super cute!).  Hayden enjoyed playing with the girls and Abbie was content to wander and explore and do her best to do it all on her own.  We actually were able to get a picture of all the great grandkids that were there with John & Mildred.  NINE great grandkids (all girls) and we were only missing one...Morgan.  Pretty impressive!

Whew...it's almost midnight. I think I just might get this posted while it's still Saturday!

Thanks for keeping up with us! And if you haven't "followed" us yet, put your email in the "Follow By Email" box on the right to get email updates or click on the Bloglovin button on the side to get daily updates as well. :)   And we always love comments (I say we....Ethan I think doesn't notice them and the girls could care less...so I guess I'm the one that loves the comments, haha.)

This One is Dedicated to Hayden Lea-Ann

I know everyone says that kids grow way too fast...and it is sooo true.  Our little Miss Hayden turned FOUR last week!  Those were a fast four years and wow our lives have changed since back then.   It has been wonderful to see Hayden continue to grow into her personality and to see her little sense of humor just explode this past year.

Hayden definitely keeps us busy, entertained, on our toes, and our hearts full of happiness.  She was definitely an early walker and talker which plays into her busy-ness these days. Her creativeness keeps her busy while playing with her Barbies or babies (still a HUGE fans of pretend baby play).

These days she has a lot of "loves" when it comes to what she loves to play with or do.  She loves being anywhere we are, especially me. This summer she's gotten extra attached to me (again) and we're working through that chaos.  She loves Abbie, 90% of the time.  She loves when Abbie agrees to play with her and I know she can't wait for Abbie to grow more so they can really play together.  Hayden also loves being outside. We got her a full size trampoline this summer - HUGE hit. She's gotten so much braver and daring on it (thanks to Ethan). She loves for us to be out there with her and especially loves Ethan to do crazy tricks with her. It's those times that her laugh is the best!

Hayden also has gotten braver when it comes to trying new foods.  She's always willing to try anything new and most of the time finds she likes it...or at least likes the first few bites.  Just within the past few months she's discovered broccoli and cauliflower, tomatoes and sometimes pickles, and then pretty much any meat we give her.  She's also considering herself a salad eater - lettuce, lots of cheese and ranch. Everything is better with ranch she thinks.  

She has also started getting more sassy. Not necessarily talking back, but voicing her opinion very frequently and using a smidge of attitude in what she's saying.  Again, we're working on that (any suggestions??). She seems to think she knows it all, not sure where that comes from (no finger pointing now) and she's very adamant that she's right (again...no finger pointing).  It's been a difficult past few weeks trying to teach her the right ways to show what she knows and reteaching her how to respect and respond to adults.

I often joke that Hayden has the sense of humor of a 6th grade boy and that we have Ethan to blame for it. And it's true.  This girl loves to talk about all those gross things that boys talk about, and then she giggles. She and Ethan have a fun time, while I just shake my head, as usual.  I joke when I say I've spent all summer undoing all the things he's taught her, as we are preparing her to head into preschool this fall. I can just imagine some of the things she's gonna say or do in school...ugh. As a teacher though, I know it happens and as her mom I know it will happen.

Hayden loves her cousin, Talyn. She's become brave when talking to "approved" strangers and asking them appropriate questions. She has started singing back songs that we didn't realize she knew. She hates bedtime - still clings to us and eventually climbs in bed with us when we're not awake. She loves Sofia the First and all things princess. Favorite colors: pink, purple and sparkly.  She has an infectious laugh and loves to use it.

What can I say -- we love her.  So thankful that she's the big sister, our little HooBear, and definitely thankful that we get to see her everyday, watch her grow into the beautiful spark of light that she will be and to be a part of her journey.

I can't imagine what this next year will be like but I'm excited to see!

Five for Friday

Linking up with The Good Life for today's Five for Friday.  

(cute blog if you want to check out another new blog)

I'm actually not sure we did anything "worthwhile" this week that would deem exciting to anyone looking inside our little house. But here it is....

1.  Cousin Time

We went back to the farm this past weekend for the annual Rufenacht Camping Reunion.  That's another post all in itself.  However, Hayden had a blast with her Rufenacht cousins.  She had Tyler, Talyn, Gabriel, Aliza, Aiden, Owen and Eli...although she admitted she really only played with Talyn (surprise surprise).  Those two girls really are gonna be a mess in a few years. I'm envisioning weeklong stays during the summer. Not sure what we'll do when they start driving.

2.  Half Training
Have I mentioned that Ethan and I are doing the Bass Pro Half Marathon this fall?  Call us crazy but we're kinda excited. Ask us again in a few months and our story might change.  We're still 20 weeks away but both working on getting some good runs in during the week.  We have another couple that we sneakily convinced  will be running with so it'll be a good time.  The run is on Nov 2nd early in the AM and we would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have supporters cheering for us during the race and then at the finish line.   Expect more details on that later too.

One of my favorite runs: sunsets, flowers, perfect temps

3. Brownies (yeah, brownies)
I know this isn't that exciting to most to anyone else but I made homemade brownies...from scratch. They even got the nod of approval from Ethan and Hayden. Hayden I wasn't worried about but when Ethan raised his eyebrows and nodded, I took that as they were a hit.  I love brownies.   I was wanting to bake some cookies with Hayden and knowing what was in our pantry our choices were limited. We almost got to make oatmeal cookies but I kept seeing recipes for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and once I saw those, the idea of plain jane oatmeal didn't sound so good.  So while Ethan bought some Nestle chips Hayden and I made these brownies I found online.  (I say Hayden and I very loosely...she was somewhere in the house...I think).   Anyways..the brownies were a hit and today I'm working on not eating all of them...at least without Ethan finding out.  *shhhh*

4.  Summer's coming to an end here :(

Summer Fun 

Yesterday I had my first meltdown.  I told Ethan that it was nothing, but just me thinking about having to miss out on these days with the girls.  I have loved almost every moment of being home and the thought of missing out on these random and quite boring moments make me sad. Because I've been able to see Abbie grow into her demanding personality and Hayden's quirky sense of humor and fashion. I've been able to teach the girls about nature and the world around them.  I have been able to help them learn to be nice(er) to each other and use manners...not to mention all those important things that little girls need to know (like how to brush your hair, how to put on your swimsuit the right way, how to hide brownies from daddy, etc).  I am blessed to have  a job that I love during the school year but wow, I'm gonna miss these girls.  Thinking this is about as much as I can write without getting upset (again) but you get the idea.  Gonna miss these girls.

5. And lastly...mainly because I can't think of anything else to write about, here's several videos that I captured this week. Very random, but very much our every day happenings.

Here, Hayden is showing us her Hoop-A-Loop Skills with a song/dance show

Typical day here...when they love each other, they have a great time!

she loves that she knows how to operate her CD player!

Happy Friday!
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A Little Landscaping

Just some pics from the latest work that's been done on the house.  Ethan chose the week before Abbie's birthday party as the week to make our front yard a mess, in order to build the front retaining wall. 

As usual it was a perfect job for his "eye for precision" as the hardest part was getting it all level. Those first few days were interesting while we both were figuring out how to make the awkward slope of the house cooperate with our plans. 

End of May Photo Drop

I can't believe that today is June 1st.  That means Abbie is less than one week away from turning one! Hayden is 6 weeks away from being 4! And school starts back up sooner than I want to count.

What's new at our house:
Me & E

• Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary! Can't believe 10 years have passed already We spent the day with the girls at Silver Dollar City but will be celebrating later this month with a trip to Cozumel. 
• We have also decided to run a half marathon this fall at the Bass Pro Shops Marathon Weekend, Nov 3rd and we made it official by actually signing up for it!   Eeeeek.  But that was on my 2013 'bucket list' so I am super excited. 
• I'm on summer break and haven't gotten cabin fever too much (yet) and Ethan is still enjoying his work at Accenture. Thankfully they haven't sent him out of the state in almost a year! 

Hayden

• She continues to amaze me and make me so proud. Not sure we could have gotten a softer-hearted little girl. 
• She completed gymnastics for the year and will pick up again in the fall.  At her "meet" last month she placed 1st on the floor, 1st on the trampoline, and 1st all around *we might be just a little proud*
• She LOVES all things girlie: dolls, make-up, high heels, dresses and LOVES being outside on her swings and trampoline. The trampoline is a new addition this year and she loves to bounce, and bounce, and bounce,   Same with the swings - she can swing herself now yet still wants someone to push her again, and again, and again.  

Abbie

• Her personality is getting stronger...and I'm a little scared.  She is definitely full of spunk, she's strong-willed, and determined.  Not sure where all of those come from but such a turn around from baby Hayden!  She knows what she wants and demands it.  Don't get me wrong, she's not high maintenance just maybe aggressive and adamant about it.  This sounds contradictory but she is a pretty easy baby. 
• She's sooooo close to walking. I thought she'd be doing it by the end of May but not quite. She definitely loves to take off holding onto your fingers though and has taken her first few steps, but never consistent.  We're still working on it. 
• Since i've been out of school we've been working on signing more. She can do "more" and "all done"  and she can say mom, dad, go (for the dogs) and a bunch of gibberish :)  
• Still can't believe she's almost one. 
• She loves to be doing whatever Hayden is doing and wants whatever Hayden has in her hands. She usually has something hanging out of her mouth that she's been chewing or drooling on. She's a great eater. She loves trying to bounce and loves trying to sit on Kobie. 

Here's some extra pics from the month of May

Silver Dollar City Trip

    

  

Surprise Visit from Talyn

Springfield Zoo