Weekly Happenings - 9/14 - 9/20

1.  On Thursday, Peyton had her performance at the varsity football game from her cheerleading clinic.  She did several of the cheers and had so much fun with her friends!  Here she is with her friend Claire after they were done!  We walked to and from the game too which was good exercise but a bit much for Garrison at the end of day without a nap.  The game was not going well for our home team but we still had fun!

2.  Friday brought another fun event - the fun run for Peyton's school which is their annual fundraiser.  Unfortunately this year, the run was curtailed by the rain but the event was still great fun, just indoors.  We had Chick Fil A for dinner in the basement (Peyton is with her friends Addie and Charlotte below - with Garrison as a photobomb!) followed by a teacher dance-off and the ever favorite "pie in a teacher's face" activity.  Peyton chose to throw hers at Mrs. Ernst, her Kindergarten teacher.  Everyone had a great time!!

3.  By the time we got home from the fun run, Grammy & Grandpa were waiting at our house to pick-up Peyton for a weekend of fun!!  Peyton was anxious to get to Clinton to help Grammy the next day at her garage sale and to have her lemonade stand.  She was great help I hear to Grammy & Ms. Debbie and even made $33.  She was extra excited that many customers gave her "tips"!  On Saturday morning, Grandpa came back up to the city to go to Garrison's soccer game and then take him back to their house too for the rest of the weekend.  After the game, Grandpa treated Garrison to lunch at Chick Fil A before driving home.  I think they both had fun with their "guy time."  

After the garage sale was cleaned-up, everyone had fun playing games and having dinner before an early bedtime!  Sunday brought more fun with church, donuts and the highlight for the kids - a picnic at the park for lunch with lots of playtime.  Grammy sent me a picture of their picnic but for the life of me I can't get it loaded - maybe another day.  Peyton went across the monkey bars so many times she got blisters on her hands!  Garrison passed his time with dirt and a stick!!  After Garrison's rest, everyone came back up to our house for dinner before Grammy & Grandpa had to go home.  On their way home, Peyton got to buy her Rainbow Loom that she has been wanting for so long with her Lemonade Stand money - she was so proud and excited!!

4.  Garrison's team had pictures - this isn't a great one but hopefully the professional ones come back even better!

5.  While the kids were away, the parents played!  Saturday was our annual neighborhood deck crawl and it was a great time!  This year's theme was "Geek Out" and we were the third house for the party. We spent much of Saturday buying the drinks for the event and getting our house ready to go.  We had such a great time!  Our house was "Mad Science" for a theme and it wrapped up around 1 when the last few people left.  After a quick clean-up it was time for us to head to bed.  We had a great evening with lots of our neighborhood friends!!

Weekly Happenings - 9/7 - 9/13

1.  On Tuesday, Peyton started dance class at Miller Marley and she loved it!  I was so proud of her because she didn't know the teacher or anyone in her class but she marched in like she knew what she was doing and had a great class!  She is super pumped to go back again next week!!

2.  On Friday, I took the day off and had a fantastic day!  I started the day at the dentist (ok, that part wasn't so great) but then Grammy came up to spend the day with me helping with a few things around the house and a bit of retail therapy.  We had a great time, the highlight being The Container Store which I must visit again sometime.  We also took a break to go to lunch with Peyton at school and she was thrilled to have us at her table!

3.  Saturday morning started early for me with a run, weight lifting session then another 3 mile run.  That's a lot for me but it was with great company and beautiful weather.  Then the day started with Peyton and her friend Cam going to the cheerleading clinic at the high school - they were both super excited!  Here they are with the Husky school mascot!

4.  Next activity was Garrison's soccer game and he played super well!  He was excited that Grammy & Grandma Todd came to watch him play.  He seemed to play even more this week and really went after the ball a few times which was fun to watch.  Overall, he is having a GREAT time and that is the best part!  After his game, we loaded up the cars to go watch Peyton's practice performance from her clinic and then we treated ourselves to lunch at Freddy's.  The weather was gorgeous so we ate outside, a favorite of the kids!

5.  After lunch, we took a quick trip to Scheels for a return but we couldn't pass up a ride on the Ferris Wheel and a little bowling while we were there.  I am still not a fan of heights and was a bit nervous at the top of the ferris wheel but Peyton kept me calm during the ride and assured me all would be ok. ;)  She is a little daredevil for sure and I am so happy she doesn't have my fear of heights!  After rest we went to the playground where Peyton ran into several friends and everyone had a fun time playing before dinner!!

6.  While we were busy having fun at home, Daddy was enjoying 3 rounds of golf and time with his friends Paul & Patrick in IA.  They had gorgeous weather there too for their rounds of golf and had a great time watching the IA vs. IA State game.  From what I understand, Chad even walked away with the "bragging rights" award of winning the 3-day tournament!

7.  Sunday was quiet around the house - we went to church and were greeters (the kids did really well which was awesome so we got donuts afterwards!), went to the playground, got Garrison's hair cut, finished our Family Formation lesson for September and played outside a lot.  All in all, it was a great day!!!

8.  Milestone - Garrison learned to pump his legs on the swing this weekend and he is getting the hang of it!  He loves to say "I am swinging myself" as he practices!

9.  I am both happy and sad with this next one - Garrison can officially say "yellow" correctly.  As much as we worked on it and I wanted him to say it correctly, I will forever miss his voice saying "Lellow."  Another sign that he is growing up so fast!!

Weekly Happenings - 8/31 - 9/6

1.  This week, Peyton was the star student!!  One of the activities for the start student is to make a timeline board from birth to 1st grade.  Peyton picked out her favorite pictures and helped me write the captions as to why she picked the pictures as her favorite.  Of course, Garrison couldn't miss out on the fun so made his own poster.  Peyton was very proud of her finished product and got to present it to her class and have it on display all week!  Other perks of being the star student - getting to have lunch with Mrs. Sims and a friend, sitting in the "comfy" chair anytime she wanted and being the line leader for the week!

2.  Peyton's class also made a Hickory Dickory Dock book and she got to bring it home and share with our family - here she is displaying the page she made!

3.  On Tuesday, Peyton's school celebrated it's 25th anniversary.  I was able to sneak away from work a little early to take her to the event and it was so fun!  We saw the choir, she got to walk around school and show me her artwork (below) and her classroom and we saw lots of neighbors and friends!  It was a great celebration!!

4.  On Friday, Grammy & Grandpa came up to take lunch to Peyton at school.  It was a bit more wild than their regular lunches but I think everyone had a great time - I mean, Chipotle can't be beat!

5.  On Saturday morning, several of my friends and I started a new tradition - Miles before Mimosas and it was great!  We started our morning with 5 miles on the trails (WAY far for me but I made it!) and then enjoyed breakfast and mimosas at Jaime's before starting the rest of our weekend.  It was so fun - these girls are amazing and I count myself lucky to be part of their running crowd!

6.  Grammy & Grandpa spent the day with us and helped keep the kids busy while Daddy & I did some yard work (OK, ok, Daddy did most of it but I helped with the tree limbs at the end).  Both kids showed off their tree climbing skills and overall stayed super busy.  Garrison insisted that he wasn't tired but quickly passed out on Grammy's lap with a little rocking in the afternoon.  They also stayed with the kids while we went to a cooking class for date night!

7.  Speaking of, we had an amazing date night at The Culinary Center Saturday evening where we learned to make salad dressing, Chardonnay poached shrimp, brie and grapes stuffed chicken breasts and creme caramel for dessert.  All of the recipes were fabulous and we had a fun time learning several new things to make!!

8.  On Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to meet our friends the Caltons at the zoo!  It was a warm day but we had a great time showing them around our zoo!!  Peyton & Leah didn't really remember each other but quickly became friends and we had a great morning visiting with their family.  

9.  After the zoo, we drove on to visit Grandma & Grandpa Todd and the rest of the family.  The kids were ready to cool off in the pool and play with their cousins!  Garrison got some soccer tips from Wyatt and Peyton & Whitney were up to their normal charades of playing dress-up, beauty parlor and all other things girly!!  Later in the afternoon, Morgan and Lucas joined the fun and we had a tasty dinner before it was time to head home.

10.  After a super busy weekend until this point, we took it easy on Labor Day.  We started with movie morning watching The Empire Strikes Back.  Check-out Daddy & Son in their element watching Star Wars - can't beat that!!

11.  And I managed to not get any pictures but we had our friends the Schlotes' over for dinner.  They have a son, Reed, that is Garrison's age and he had fun having a friend his age to play with!  Peyton loved helping take care of their daughter, Cate!  She is a babysitter in the making for sure!!  Chad made his awesome stuffed avocados - yummy stuff!  We had a great visit and lots of fun for the evening!!

Weekly Happenings - 8/24 - 8/30

1.  This week, Peyton brought home this note from Evan, who is in her class at school.  Oh boy, who knew this would start in 1st grade!!!

2.  On Friday evening, we got to spend the evening at Arrowhead Stadium!  It was a last minute move but we managed to get ahold of 4 tickets to the Sprint suite at Arrowhead for the Chief's 3rd preseason game against the Tennessee Titans!  Our friends, the Large's, also were going to the game so we started with a short tailgate before heading into the game.  The kids were on cloud nine being at the game and truly took it all in!  They loved sitting in the suite and all of the fun pre-game activities, especially seeing Warpaint on the field.  Daddy's highlight was seeing Eddie George who was in the suite 2 down from us broadcasting for the Titans and Trent Green also in the suite broadcasting for the Chiefs.  Our suite location was awesome - right on the 40 yard line with a great view!  We made it to the end of the game and loved being in the suite when the rain started pouring down!  We almost made it to the car on a break in the rain but still got a little soaked!  We then sat in the car to let the traffic clear a bit and the kids asked about 100 times "Daddy, when are we going to jump in?"  When we finally did get into line, we told them that they didn't need to ask anymore.  About 2 minutes later, Garrison asked, "Daddy, when are we going to HOP in?"  Silly boy!  Peyton passed out on the way home but Garrison chattered the whole way.  We all had a great evening and were excited that the Chiefs (and the Royals in Tampa Bay) walked away with a win!!

3.  Saturday brought Garrison's 2nd soccer game and he did a great job!  These three pictures were my favorite - one warming up with Daddy before the game, one throwing in the ball on the sideline (one of his favorites) and one laying down with his teammates waiting for their next turn to play.  He is having such a great time playing and you can tell by the huge grin on his face!

4.  Grammy & Grandpa spent the day with us and stayed the night with the kids while Chad & I went out with our friends Brian & Angie to a fundraiser at Deanna Rose - Moonshine on the Farm.  It was a GREAT time with BBQ for dinner, ice cream, cupcakes and s'mores for dessert, horseshoes, Jenga, a hayride and all sorts of other fun.  It felt a bit odd being at Deanna Rose without the kids but I can see us doing this again next year!

5.  On Sunday, we started our day bright and early with a yummy breakfast at Big Biscuit.  Then it was off to Frozen on Ice at the Sprint Center!  The kids were super pumped and we had fantastic seats!!  The show was up to Disney's standard and did not disappoint.  We were so close that we felt the snow coming down during parts of the show!  Both kids loved the show and the adults had a great time watching their expressions and reactions to everything on the ice.  One of my favorite moments was when Prince Hans drew his sword to hurt Elsa and Garrison quickly reached for his sword to try and defend her - so fun!!