Eating Our Cake and Wearing it Too!

Jon, Laura and the kids came to town for the last few weeks of June to visit family.  The first thing we did during their week in Kansas City was to celebrate Allie and Claire's birthdays.  They had, had a small celebration on their actual day but this was their big family party.  Everyone gathered at my mom and dad's house for breakfast and to celebrate.  The highlight of the party was the cakes.  The girls didn't dive into their cakes right away but after a while they had fun eating the cake and icing.  I still can't believe they are already one.  

opening presents

Allie enjoying her cake. 

Claire likes the chocolate.  

Roller Coaster Rider

Sam had been telling me that he was going to ride all the roller coasters at the amusement parks this summer.  He got his chance when his friend Aidan invited him to Six Flags for his birthday.  I think the fact that his friends were riding all the rides made sure that Sam would not back down and would ride everything.  He rode all the big coasters at Six Flags and loved them!  He enjoyed spending time with his friends and when he got home he couldn't stop talking about everything they had done.  

They got a little wet on one of the water rides.

Having a great time! 

Amazing World Adventure

While Sam was in Yellowstone I knew Ella would want something to do so we signed her up for VBS at a The Crossing Church.  Many of Ella's friends from soccer and dance attend church at The Crossing and we had heard good things about their bible school.  She had a great time learning bible stories, playing games, making crafts and spending time with her friends.  Bible school at The Crossing is a huge production and we saw many people we knew and everyone seemed to be having a great time while learning more about God. 

Sticky face after her snack.

Bible study

Enjoying the carnival with her friend Lucy.

Each night they have an assembly 

Show Me State Games

Ella's team played in the Show Me State Games 3 v 3 tournament in June.  The girls played their hearts out but unfortunately lost all three games.  Two of the games were only lost by one goal so they were definitely close, hard fought games in the heat.  Ella's coach told her the last game was the best he had ever seen her play so that made her feel better after the defeats.  

Yellowstone Adventure

Sam headed out west again with the science department in our school district to explore Yellowstone.  This was the advanced version of the trip he took last year to Teton National Park and Yellowstone.  This time he spent the whole time at Yellowstone focusing on the northern region of the park.  That area of the park is less populated and gives the kids a better chance to see wildlife.  They were very successful in that area.  He saw a grizzly bear, black bears, a wolf mother and father and their pups, bison, elk, sheep and much more.  
They stayed a few nights in a hotel in Montana.  Sam is proud to say he is the only member of our family to have been to Montana.  They also spent a night camping in Yellowstone.  They went on some amazing hikes, had cookouts, swam in a lake and many other wonderful adventures.  

For the Love of Books

Some of us had already left, but a quick picture before
heading to the theater. 

This past year I was able to join a wonderful group of women in their book club.  The ages of the women vary greatly which makes our discussions all the more interesting.  I have enjoyed getting to know each of them and hear their takes on the literature we are discussing.  They have become friends and I will miss meeting with them each month when I return to teaching.  Last month one of the books we read was turned into a movie.  We decided that was great opportunity to meet in the evening have appetizers and go watch the show together. We had a nice evening out with just the ladies.  

Magical Night at Matilda

I have been wanting to take Ella to Starlight for a few years but have never found the right time to do so.  When I heard that Matilda was going to be coming I decided I needed to make it happen.  Ella has not read the book but loved the movie and she is really enjoys musicals so I thought this would be perfect.  We invited my mom to come along and join in the experience with us, she loves shows at Starlight too.  We were really excited until a few days ahead of time when we began worrying about the weather.  The forecasts were calling for rain all evening, not what you want to see an outdoor show.  
The night of the show rain was still in the forecast so we packed our rain gear and hoped for the best.  We couldn't have hoped for anything better.  The ran held off until the end of the performance and then it was only a few sprinkles until we made it dry and safely to our car.  The cast and the show were great!  They kept us entertained and had some really enjoyable dance numbers.  Ella is definitely ready for another show at Starlight. 

Showing off her program.

Our view of the stage.

Excited to see the show with my girl. 

Great photo with Grandma by the fountain.