So it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for (I hope!).  Did Reece make it to the top of that rope?  YES…SHE DID!  Holy cow, all this anticipation.  I literally was sick to my stomach sitting at gymnastics class yesterday.  All this build up she had put on us!  It’s way too stressful!  I wonder if she was sick to her stomach like me and the rest of the parents watching.  I had to fill them in on the story about the new leotard and the Barbie Spy Squad movie quote, so they were all pulling for her too.  She didn’t actually climb it until later in the class which means she had already done her conditioning and bar work so I was very afraid she would be too tired.  The last thing I wanted to happen is for her to come out of class disappointed.  That is an awful feeling to see your kiddos try so hard and potentially not get the results they wanted.  Even though I do really believe it is important for kids to experience adversity, in this particular case, I was definitely hoping for the positive because of the build up!   Well she rose to the occasion and although it seemed like she couldn’t go any further multiple times…that little girl pushed on.  I will never forget all the sweet gymnasts in her class cheering for her at the bottom of that rope.  Priceless.  I was so happy for her!  She later told me that her hands were very sweaty from her bars workout just prior, so it was difficult.  Awesome job Reecie!  I couldn’t be more proud of you for sticking with your dreams (and I secretly wish I was that strong).  She even got to call daddy on a business trip to share the good news.  Before bed, she was still beaming from her “best day ever” because she got to wear her new leotard, she got to the top of the rope, she got to eat pizza for lunch, and she got her costume for her ballet recital.  Wow…what a great day!  I love that kids get so excited about these moments in life, big or small.  I did not get a picture of her at the top but I hope you take 2 minutes to watch the video I took of her!  We’ve watched it numerous times.  In fact, at bedtime she had already made plans to watch it while she ate her breakfast this morning.  Hey…why not?  Might as well bask in the glory!  Here is the link to the video on YouTube (copy and paste into your web browser). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3ez22gnW3g

This little gymnastics girl is on a mission.  She wants to be able to climb the rope and reach the top or at least get much further than she has thus far.  This is NOT an easy task at all!  You have to be super strong to climb that thing.  When I watch her do it, I have daunting flashbacks to my days of P.E. class at Scarborough Elementary when we had to climb the rope and it was much shorter I’m sure.  I couldn’t climb that dreaded rope very well so I absolutely hated it!  Well Reece is bound and determined to climb it and she wants to do it TODAY.  No time like the present right!?

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon she stares longingly at the very shiny leotards hanging in the lobby of KGDC Gymnastics and every Tuesday and Thursday I say no to buying one.  They’re $45…can you blame me!?  This past Tuesday, I  don’t know what got into me, but I got my wallet out and bought her a very shiny new leotard.  That moment of weakness has actually snowballed into a very entertaining couple of days!  Last night at Jake’s baseball game she was telling anyone that would listen that she was “so excited about tomorrow” she is going to have the best day because she has gymnastics practice and a shiny new leotard and she is going to tell Ms. Billie (one of her coaches) that she wants to climb the rope.  She has repeatedly discussed her ambitions at length with her siblings to the point where they are all hiding from her now.  The moment I woke her up this morning, she bounced out of bed and said she was SO EXCITED for today.  And this little lady does NOT bounce out of bed.  She’s more of a DRAG out of bed kind of gal.  As I sit here writing, she has asked me about a billion times if it’s time to leave for gymnastics yet.  I’m loving her enthusiasm and determination.  This is kind of awesome!   She has also been having some more businesslike conversations with me over these few days.  Multiple times she has said, Mom…If you can dream it, you can be it and I know what I want to do….I want to climb the rope at gymnastics.  Wow, what profound statements out of the mouth of a 5 year old!  Apparently she didn’t come up with that herself, she heard it on Barbie Spy Squad the movie, but either way, I’m proud she picked up on such a great message.  Reecie, I hope you climb that rope today, and even if you don’t get any farther than you did last time, that is totally ok with me. Keep dreaming!

So as Brian and Jake were off goofing around in Omaha, shooting the breeze with their buddies, drinking Gatorade (or beer) and eating nachos…this mom was going a million different directions, cleaning uniforms, packing food, and applying sunscreen.  Morgan’s team competed in the Challenger Cup at Stump and Swarner Parks.  They went 1 and 2 for the tourney but they they ended on a high note.  They won their last game, 4-1.  It was so fun to watch!  These girls work really hard but most of the time it doesn’t end the way they hope.  To see them so excited for a victory was very satisfying for me.  I like to think that I’m their biggest and most loyal fan 😉   Even Drew was cheering them on!   Let’s call it like it is…he is not great at actually watching his siblings sporting events.  He pretty much wants to eat snacks and play on his iPad, so to get a cheer out of him is pretty ground-breaking.  Morgan even had a beautiful corner-kick assist for a goal.  Yay MoMo!  

In between these soccer games, Drew was playing so hard with his StrikeZone Bulldogs.  They were competing in the Spring Fling Tourney at 3and2.  On Saturday I witnessed the craziest game I may ever see in 8 year old baseball.  The game went 9 innings and 2 and a half hours long, an hour over time limit, since tourney games can’t end in ties.  This all occurred immediately after they had just played an intense game.  These boys had been playing solid baseball from 9:45am til 2pm.  I’ve never seen anything like it!  3 extra innings where they started the last batter on 2nd and 1 out on the board.  I feel like we had the whole complex watching us.  In the end, the opponents came out on top by 1 run.  The boys were bummed but they had done all they could, they had to be exhausted!  Plus, there was still more ball to play on Sunday.  Honestly, I was just thanking my lucky stars that Reece had enough fake animals to play with, coloring pads, snacks, and a friend to keep herself occupied for that long!  We made it just in time to get to another soccer game.  Talk about a long day!

By Sunday afternoon, they went 2 and 2 for the tourney and missed the finals game by a few runs so we headed home.  To make my sad little boy’s day even more awesome, I made him get a haircut.  This was the cherry on top of his ‘horrible day.’  That’s what mom’s are supposed to do right…make them miserable!?  Listen…I have limited time to get everything done and getting him a haircut had been on my list for weeks so when my afternoon freed up a bit, I jumped on the chance. 

He grew to love his haircut over the next few hours and we made it through the crazy weekend.  I have a super awesome baseball flip flop burn/tan line to show for it!  I’ve decided to embrace it and wear it proudly…

On Friday, April 22nd, I picked Jake up early from school so he could gather his things and travel to Omaha for the weekend to compete in a soccer tournament.  This didn’t take long because truthfully he had his bag packed for days.  He was beyond excited.  He loves most sports but he adores soccer and out of town tournaments are the high-light of the season for those kids.  Here’s the kicker…I wasn’t able to go.  This is absolutely killing me that I can’t go.  I haven’t missed an out of town tournament yet and my plan was to never miss one!  Honestly, I hate to miss a game of any kind that my kids are competing in.  However, reality set in and someone had to stay home to cover the soccer tournament Morgan’s team was playing in, Drew’s baseball tournament, and Reece’s soccer game.  WHAT!?  I’m thinking I definitely got the raw end of this deal!  Typically we pack the whole family up for these out of town tourney’s and miss a few events here in KC but that was impossible this time.  I would’ve loved nothing more than to take him myself and spend my weekend with him but as it turns out, only dads were going.  Boys weekend.  So I sent my little soccer player off to Omaha with a bag of his favorite treats, freshly cleaned uniforms, and a special note from me.  It melted my heart when he said he wanted to take the note with him and read it from time to time to remember me while he was gone.

Throughout the weekend he and Brian were so good about updating me on all the games, and activities going on in Omaha.  I was thrilled every time my phone lit up with a text.  I was like a crazy pre-teen that just got a phone for the first time!  They boys had a great time hanging out together at the hotel, Dave & Busters, and one night the coach had arranged for a Mexican food truck in the parking lot of the hotel to feed everybody.  FUN!

Most importantly, the Fusion Academy boys competed in the U11 Silver division and won all 4 of their games.  Take a look at our adorable champions! I Couldn’t be more proud of Jake and his teammates.  They work so hard.  But, I’m not going to lie, I was totally bummed that I wasn’t there to be a part of it.  Another life lesson…I can’t be at everything…it’s physically impossible and maybe a note from mom really can make a difference.  You rock #16.  Go Fusion!

Angie was our life saver when I was working.  After Morgan was born, I took a 4 month maternity leave and went back to work at Hallmark full-time.  That lasted for several months, and then I decided to try a 60% part-time schedule.  Then as I had more kids I backed down on my hours to 50% part-time and then eventually went to a part-time on call schedule (project work).  The last time I did a project, Reece was just turning 1 I think. Overall, 15 years of service with Hallmark.  With Brian’s hectic travel schedule it was just the right thing to do for our family.  Finding quality part-time daycare is really difficult!!  After a couple daycare providers, we finally found Angie and she is like part of the family now.  She has the kindest heart, a wonderful family, and loves her daycare kiddos like they are her own.  Last week she had a birthday and Reece and I stopped by to give her a birthday treat, flowers, and just catch up.  Thank you Angie for taking amazing care of our kids and happy birthday!