Reece and I are learning golf for the first time this summer…YIKES!!  This family loves the sport but we could probably use some improvement.  Fortunately, we are using this summer to get better.  We are taking private lessons at Lake Quivira, the boys are playing the Par 3 league at Overland Park and the little Jr. League at our community golf course, Falcon Valley, the golf academy at Burning Tree in DeSoto, and boys are doing the LQ league and golf team where they compete in matches against other country clubs.  It sounds a little ridiculous when you put it all into writing doesn’t it?  You would think we were trying out for the PGA tour or something.  Nope…we’re definitely not…just making the most of the time we have this summer.  I’m just happy to have my first set of clubs and maybe someday I’ll actually get to play a round.  😉  Here’s a few little video clips…

 

 

 

We received a nice surprise visit from my Grammy D and Aunt Kathy yesterday!  They are in town for a few days and stopped in to see us.  We are so blessed to have a 92 year old Grammy and we adore her!  So so happy they made the time to step into our chaotic summer household for a little bit.  They probably needed a nap and a soothing temple massage after leaving this mad house…

Look at this beautiful ballerina!!  She performed in her 2nd dance recital at the Music Hall over the Memorial Day weekend.  I know I’m a little biased, but she was amazing!  She knew that dance and was even able to perform it by herself without the music for grandpa who was unable to come to the recital.  I was really proud of those little girls getting on that giant stage to dance and sing.  They worked really hard to learn that!

Here’s a YouTube link to one of her rehearsals if you want to check it out.  It’s pretty precious!

Our little spunky 6 year old has been asking to get into cheerleading.  The thought of adding one more thing into our family schedule makes my stomach turn.  Some of her Kindergarten buddies are on a cheer squad and I know the amount of time that takes so we settled on trying a cheer camp instead.  Keep in mind, she also plays soccer, has gymnastics 4 hours per week, just finished ballet, and is learning golf this summer.  The first week of the summer she did a  camp with her buddy, Macy, at the high school we feed into, Olathe Northwest, and she had a blast!  The last day of the camp they performed for us and it was SO CUTE!  They did a chant and a routine to music…pretty good for a 4 day camp!

 

We spent our father’s day weekend at Field of Dreams in Basehor, KS and Brian wouldn’t want it any other way.  These cuties LOVE baseball and competing in tournaments is fun for the Bulldogs.  Since our team is comprised mostly of multi-sport kiddos, we don’t get the opportunity to enter into very many tournaments due to schedule constraints.  So, when we do get to go out and play and support our bulldogs…we are there…even in super HOT weather.  We won 3 out of the 4 games we played which brought us home with a 3rd place finish, medals, and a cool trophy.  Jake big-heartedly gave the trophy to John, a teammate who unfortunately broke his hand in a league game just prior, and couldn’t play and will be out for the rest of the season.

The first team we played was from Emporia and Jake came in to pitch.  The first pitch he threw the guy hit a homer.  Not really the way he wanted that to go!  Coach had to remind him that he was throwing strikes which is what he was supposed to do.  And hey we won the game anyway so no harm done!  It’s actually pretty cool to see a 10 year old hit a home run.   And Jakers, I think you are the cutest little pitcher in the world 🙂

The parents on our team gave us a sweet and super cute family gift for Brian’s time coaching.  We have a great group of families!  Go Bulldogs!

 

If this is any indication of what it’s going to feel like when my children leave home for college, I’m doomed!  This mom has been crying off and on all afternoon!  I’m trying to pull it together, but not having Morgan here is absolutely killing me.  As Morgan would say…she’s the glue that holds this family together.  I’d like to think I’m the glue but, she may have a valid point.  I would glue her to my side if I could.

This group of 7th & 8th grade kids pulled out of the parking lot of our church this afternoon in 3 large white vans labeled “Dory”, “Marlin”, and “Nemo” (Reece was thrilled when Morgan got to ride in the “Dory” van).  They are heading to DesMoines, IA until late Friday night and will be working in the community with small children, visiting homeless, sorting/organizing at a food pantry, packing meals for nationwide distribution, and much more.  I’m so proud that Morgan made this choice to graciously give her time and talents to help others.  I think this will truly be a life-changing experience for her!  On the flip side, I’m very sad to not be able to talk to her or see her for almost a week!  They are not allowed to have cell phones so we will not get to communicate with her!  I had hopes that maybe she might get sick and not be able to go or perhaps the van would break down and the trip would be cancelled…I shouldn’t be saying that out loud, but seriously, I miss her and it’s only been a few hours.  We barely got out of the church parking lot and Reece was already saying she missed her best friend.  This is excruciating!  

We got to the church about 12:15 along with about 32 other middle schoolers and the adult helpers going on the trip.  They started loading up sleeping bags, supplies, snacks, games, suitcases, musical equipment.  A LOT of stuff was shoved in those vans!  Reece and I got the privilege of spending about an hour there with her while they prepared and I was not going to leave one minute before those vans pulled out.  I was hiding my tears though my sunglasses and trying to be brave for my girls.  Meanwhile, Reece spotted a stack of hula hoops that were making the trip too and she looked at Morgan and said “Morgan have you practiced your hula hooping?”  Morgan said “nope” and Reece said very seriously “you better quickly get the hang of it!”  This girl absolutely cracks us up sometimes.  Soon after, I spotted a very shiny penny sitting right by our feet.  At that moment I decided that it was a lucky penny and it was a sign to the three of us that Morgan was going to have a great week.  Reece kept that penny and it is going to be a reminder of Morgan  for her.  Of course, we played several rounds of “heads or tails” to pass some of the time and as soon as we got home she put that penny in a special place.

We also watched Jake’s baseball game on my phone and I wished the boys could have been here to see her off!  They will get to greet her when she returns home and who knows…they may learn to appreciate her a little more!  or not!?  According to Drew, Morgan is going to pay him 5 bucks if he won’t fight with Reece and make her cry while she’s gone 🙂  and as I sit here writing this, Reece is by my side saying…Morgan told me not to miss her and I’m trying not to…

Of course many of you know that she is super organized and responsible so she had been getting herself packed all week and checking and double checking the packing list without any need for help.  She is not a last-minute type of girl….she was prepared!  

MoMo, I’m so proud of you and that group is lucky to have you there.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that you will make an amazing impact on many people this week!

Thank you to our family that came to church this morning to see her off and wish her well. The cards and words of encouragement will stick with her forever.

 

 

I left for just a few hours to catch Drew’s baseball game and when I got home, Morgan’s creative mind had been on overdrive.  She created this marble slide out of some pool noodles!  Of course she did…this is totally a normal occurrence on a random Wednesday evening isn’t it!?  As hot and tired as I was (I swear KC is melting before our eyes), I could not help but smile from ear to ear about this creation!  Morgan, you absolutely are the most creative and FUN person I know!!  Can’t wait to see what you do next…

And just one other fun pic to share from today!  Morgan is leaving on Sunday for a week-long Mission Trip which means we are in serious party planning mode for her BIG 13th birthday!  She’s become my #1 assistant with parties BUT today Reece was really a trooper! Did we forget she was in the cart!?…we buried her in party props!  I suppose the better choice would’ve been to get another cart.  Ok…next time Reece, we promise not to bury you in merchandise!

“You can’t win ’em all” a coach from another Strike Zone team said to Drew on his way out of the 3 and 2 baseball complex this evening.  “You’ll get the next one…you made it to the championship game and that’s what’s important…keep your chin up”  I guess that can be difficult to sink in to a little 8 year old brain sometimes.

We matched up with the Sharks again which was the team we defeated for the championship in last weekend’s tournament.  The Sharks played awesome.  Sometimes your opponent just goes out there and does everything right.  That is what happened today.  The Bulldogs played well too but couldn’t match up to “everything right.”

Drew Boo, you played like a champ today, gave it your all and so did your teammates, you got a nice medal, and your team got a cool Louisville Slugger bat trophy!  You had a lot on your plate this weekend with soccer tryouts in addition to this tournament so you should be so proud of what you accomplished.

Your coach mentioned the Bulldogs have two 1st place finishes, two 2nd place finishes, and one 3rd place finish.  I think that is quite an accomplishment for a newly formed 8 year old baseball team!  That’s a heck of a lot of great baseball you’ve played this season!  Go Bulldogs!

The weather did get a little dicey just before the championship started today.  A HUGE gust of wind came through and took down multiple tents and scared all the little kids out of their minds (and Jake!).

And a bonus to this weekends baseball, Brian got to coach 1st base because our normal coach was out of town.  Anytime he gets to coach, he’s thrilled 🙂

P.S. even as I write this, Drew’s chin is up!

 

 

 

Have you ever been to a swim meet?  Well I’m here to tell you that they are a little bit boring EXCEPT when your child rocks it, then it’s actually fun!  I’m serious, you have to show up an hour early to put your chairs up so you can see your tiny little person’s head bobbing in and out of the pool, try to avoid anyone that looks important and is going to ask you to volunteer to be a timer, pack up tons of snacks and drinks for your swimmer and siblings who you’ve dragged there against their will, dig through every crevice in your purse praying you find a sharpie and a hi-lighter for your heat sheet, bake in the sun for awhile, listen to super weird swim parents yelling (we always debate if the swimmers can even hear them??), and hopefully not screw up and miss your swimmer who swims for a total of 2 seconds.  Ok that’s an exaggeration…they swim for about 2 minutes.  And about 3 1/2 hours later you can finally pack up and go home.

Are you ready to come to Morgan’s next swim meet yet!?  It’s enticing I know!  They are every Thursday night in the summer if you’re interested in checking it out!  Here’s the deal…I NEVER miss a swim meet because quite honestly, these little swimmers are AMAZING!  Swimming is a difficult sport and I’m mesmerized at the stamina they have to compete in these meets.  Her career started out years ago when we put her in swim lessons at 68 Sports.  She was sort of flying through the levels and at many points in time the teachers asked us if we ever considered getting her into swim team.  I can definitely see her being a swim instructor in the near future.

She joined the Lenexa Lazers city team which only occurs in the summer months outdoors and to keep her swimming year-round, she was on the Tiger Sharks swim team where she competed in indoor meets that worked into our schedule and practiced 2 nights a week when she didn’t have soccer.  I’ll never forget setting out in the early morning darkness for swim meets in Topeka and some in Lawerence.  They start EARLY!  I think we were both wondering why we were putting ourselves through that madness.  After a year or two, the Tiger Sharks swim team disbanded because the head swim coach quit and finding head swim coaches is apparently super hard.  So Tiger Sharks merged with the COOL swim team.  Morgan has been swimming on COOL for the last couple of years – practicing at Prairie Trail Middle School (her school) and whenever the COOL practice schedule conflicts with soccer, we drop her in at Healthridge Fitness Center for their swim program.  However, her favorite swim seasons are the summers when she swims outdoors with the Lenexa Lazers.  Every summer morning Mon-Fri, 8-10 am, Morgan pops out of bed and gets all of her gear together and off we go to Ad Astra pool in Lenexa.  She never complains, always wants to be early, and gives it her all every single time.  LOVE this girl!!

Morgan is an absolutely beautiful swimmer.  She may not always be the fastest swimmer in the pool but she is seriously a beautiful swimmer!  Her form is wonderful and she tries so hard.  So, seeing her drastically improve all of her times last night at her first meet this summer made me the most proud mom in the world.  Morgan, I hope you always try your best, swim beautifully, and have fun!  I am totally your biggest fan.