Addison turns 8!

(Warning....I love instagram and you will be able to tell from many of my pictures).

 

We are slowly getting in a routine now that the kids are back in school. It is a busy routine. Addison started her 5th year of dance, and her first season of soccer and Lucas is playing soccer as well. We are busy with practices and lots of games (3 games last weekend and 4 games next weekend). We are up at the soccer fields a lot but we love it. We only have 2 kids so I can't complain about keeping up with them and their activities. What makes it hard is training for a marathon, working part time (so thankful only part time), volunteering for stuff at the school and Bob works a ton. Fall is busy but I think things will slow down a bit in the winter...I think.

 

 

Shortly after school started it was time for labor day and labor day is special around here since Addison's birthday falls right around labor day. We spent a nice long weekend at the lake of the ozarks with Bob's parents.

 

 

Addison on the trampoline at a fun restaurant/bar/beach on the lake (Coconuts).

 

 

We took a break from the boat and the water and ventured off to the mall for something big....Addison got her ears pierced. She tried to be brave but she cried for just a few seconds. Lucas was so worried for her. She is so happy though and can't wait to start wearing some fun earrings.

 

We spent one day at Bob's aunt's lake house close by. They loved the slide and diving platform.

 

A family shot from the boat. :)

 

A picture of the birthday girl on the morning of her birthday. How can she be 8???

 

The next weekend was a big weekend...Addison had her first soccer game....

 

....and then her first big sleepover birthday party!!!! What was I thinking saying yes to this? Honestly, it was a lot of work on my part but worth every second. I am pretty certain all 11 girls (and Lucas) had so much fun and Addison had the night of her life!

 

 

The favors

A sign I spent too much time making.

 



 

The party started with pizza. 

 



 

After pizza we had a scavenger hunt (they went crazy for it with lots of running, screaming and so much fun), made a craft, obsessed over Addison's rainbow loom, made snack necklaces, and ate their snack necklaces during a movie (Teen Beach of course).

 

They were all fast asleep around 11:30 pm and then wide awake around 6:30 am. The girls were all so good and I couldn't have asked it to go much better.

 

Of course Addison has requested a sleepover party next year. We will see.

Back to school.

It seemed like it was just yesterday when summer started and now it is over and we are back in the grind of school and sports and all that goes along with it.

 

 

Addison is now a 2nd grader and about to turn 8 years old. She is off to a good start to the school year and seems to really like her teacher. She is without her best friends in her class but I know she will do just fine with making new friends. I hope Addison continues to improve with her reaching and enjoys it more and more. She doesn't love math but hopefully it won't be too much of a challenge. I know she is going to love all there is to learn about history and science...and of course art and gym!

 

*******

 

Now Lucas isn't so little anymore. This is his first year in school full time as he is now a big first grader and almost 6 1/2. He was so excited to have recess and eat lunch at school everyday. He is also without any of his good buddies in his class but he is so thankful to see them on the playground at recess. He has great things to say about his teacher and you should have seen the excitement in his eyes when he came home to talk about their first science lesson. Lucas loves to learn and I am hoping first grade will excite him in every way.

Summer break is over :(

All good things must come to an end. Our summer was mostly good....well except for the part of the kids spending way too much time together and fighting more than I could tolerate. We got through it and managed to have plenty of fun. School starts tomorrow so that means routines, schedules, homework, soccer, soccer, dance, pack lunches, earlier bed time, continued marathon training, etc....

 

Here is a look back to some fun we had in July and early August.

 

 

4th of July was fun.

We spent it with family at the Webster Groves parade and then with friends at fireworks.

 

 

A pic of Bob and I from my cousins wedding (at a winery).

 

The kids and I went up to Chicago for a quick visit to spend time with my friends and their families.

 

 

I am so lucky to have these ladies in my life and for so many years!

 

Marina, me, Pam, Becky, Venessa

 

And our kiddos are lucky to have each other too. :)

 

Bob and Lucas went to a Cardinals game a few weeks ago. Lucas only made it to the 5th inning that game but they went again last weekend and were spoiled in a suite and Lucas loved it and stuck around till the 8th. 

Addison started off her first season of soccer with her first practice last week. Seems like a great coach and great team. Total bonus...Addison is on a team with her BFF and some other friends from school.

 



 

Addison and I really ended the summer off right over this past weekend.

We went to Chicago to the Taylor Swift concert!

 

The night was even more special to share it with Becky and Venessa and their girls.

 

 

It was such a great show!!!!!!! I am certain it is a night we will never forget.

 

Today we checked off our last box from our summer fun checklist. 

 

 

It was a fun summer and it is very bittersweet that it is over. Here come 1st and 2nd grade. Can't wait to start thinking of what lies ahead for next summer's check list.

June was fun!

This summer is flying by! I haven't posted anything about June yet even though we are approaching August. So here it goes...a review of the month of June.

 

We have been spending a ton of time up at the subdivision pool. We finally paid the large fee to join and are glad we finally did! It is so nice to go up there with friends, bring food and drinks and just have it so close.

 

Back in the middle of June I walked with my sister-in-law Linda and Bob's aunt Liz in the Komen Race for the Cure.

 

 

Amalyn, Linda and Me

 

Linda (a beautiful survivor) and Me

 



The kids each got to participate in one camp this summer. Addison picked soccer camp (she is starting in a league for the first time this fall) and Lucas did lego camp and he loved it!!!

 



 

We celebrated father's day with our first float trip with the kids. It was a day trip and the weather looked like it was going to be awful but it ended up being beautiful and we had an amazing time!!! I think we will have to go on a float trip for every father's day!

 

 

My 2 amazing BFF's both came for a visit with their kids in June. We call it our SAHM (stay at home mom) week since Kris is off for the summer as a teacher and my part time job is flexible. Now that Marina works part time, we were all able to come together and this year they came to St. Louis.

 

 

Maddox, Addison, Hendrix and Lucas...they had a blast at six flags

 

We spent time during the week at the pool, the Magic House and just running wild around the house. Here is a pic of the 6 kids at the playground one day.

 

Lucas learned how to ride his bike without training wheels at the beginning of the summer and he loves to ride his bike even more now. We have gone on a few family bike rides and can't wait to make it more of a family outing especially since I have a bike now. 

 

At the end of June we spent a quick weekend at my parents lake house. Bill, Linda, Molly and Katy were able to join us. Check out the catfish my niece Molly caught!

 



 

Bob turned 33 in June and we attended quite a few birthday and graduation parties.

It was a busy month!

10 year anniversary trip to Colorado

Bob and I had such an amazing time on our 10 year anniversary trip to Colorado. It was our first trip, just the 2 of us, that we have taken since our honeymoon! We were overdue!

 

We stayed in Keystone. During our time there we traveled to some close by cities to take advantage of so much that Colorado has to offer. We went to Breckenridge, Idaho Springs, Frisco, Vail, and Dillon.

 

We had a really early flight and went straight from the airport to ski at Arapahoe Basin which is just down the street from Keystone. Hard to believe that there were any ski resorts open at the end of May but A-Basin was and the ski conditions could not have been much better. They got about 6 inches of snow that day while we skied. I held my own considering I am not much of a skier and there were signs all over that read "no beginner skiing." I didn't fall and I had fun. We were crazy tired from very little sleep the night before and from the altitude so a few hours of skiing did us in fast.

 



 

What might be more hard to believe is that the very next day we went from skiing to white water rafting. I am telling you though...that water was cold!!!! We took a 5 hour Intermediate trip down Clear Creek River with a great guide. It was our first time rafting and we thought beginner would be boring. Well, we got what we paid for once we got to some level IV rapids! We were in the middle of a major rapid and the boat tipped to the side a little. I tried so hard to hold on and Bob did an amazing job of trying to keep me in the boat but I fell in!!!! It was a long 10 seconds where all I could think about was hitting my head on a rock as I could not see a thing. Luckily I didn't get far from the boat and managed to find the rope on the boat and the guide pulled me back in fast. It was crazy falling in, trying to recover and then trying to paddle through the rest of that crazy rapid and the few we had yet to face. It was such a fun adventure though and a huge highlight of our trip!

 

We made it!!! 

 

That night we headed into Breckenridge for our anniversary dinner. We could not have asked for a better restaurant, food, drinks and conversation. It was a great date!

 

The next day we continued on to the next adventure and picked a mountain and a trail and went hiking. The first mile of that hike was ROUGH! We run a lot but not much can prepare you for hiking up a steep mountain if you have never done it before. It was beautiful out there and we were shocked to come across so much snow. We managed to make our way through the trail as others have hiked before us that day or the day before. After about 3 miles though, the snow was too deep and we could no longer see the trail and we had to cut our hike off early and walk back down the 3 miles.

 

We then went into Vail Village and had some dinner, drinks and dessert to finish off another great day.

 

Waterfall!

 



 

On our last full day we decide to check out Colorado by bike. We got dropped off by the bike rental shop at Vail Pass and biked 25 miles back to Keystone. It was amazing. What I liked too was that the first half was down hill! The last few miles were a little hard on me (they were a breeze for Bob but he bikes often and I bike once a year maybe).

 

 

We stopped for a bite to eat in Frisco which is such a cute little city and then we stopped later for a drink at Dillon lake. It was really a perfect day and so much fun!

 

We are already talking about taking the kids to Colorado next summer and can't wait! Bob loves Colordo and has me hooked too!!!

May Madness!

May always seems to be such a crazy and busy month. It is always packed with end of the school year activities and the kids activities come to an end. It is a lot to juggle but it is all such fun stuff.

 

 

Lucas had his last soccer game of the season a few weeks ago. This team started together back in the fall. It was a rough start but all the parents were so impressed with how far they came by the end of the indoor season. They didn't score a ton but they were running so much faster and really fighting for the ball and getting competitive. Lucas can't wait to practice with the team over the summer and start back up with outdoor season in the fall.

 

 

Last week the school had a kindergarten celebration. The kids sang in the gym for the parents. It was a really cute show. It took awhile for Lucas to adjust to kindergarten in the beginning but he ended up having a really really great year! 

 

We were a little scared to sign Lucas up for baseball this spring. Most of his soccer friends were playing so we gave it a shot. We were very pleased with how into it he was and pretty well behaved. He had fun learning the game and did pretty well with it! He loves baseball and can't wait to play again....so it looks like we made the right decision signing him up!

 

Mother's day was great this year. We did the same thing as last year and rented bikes and road on the Katy Trail and stopped at a brewery and winery along the way. This year Bob's parents and sister (Holly) joined us and they had a great time too. The weather was great and we all had so much fun! 

 

This past weekend was the craziest weekend. Lucas had his last baseball game and team party and Addison had her dance recital. This was her 4th year of dance...hard to believe that we have gone through this 4 times now. She performed in both the afternoon and evening show in jazz and hip hop.

 

 

Addison, Bella and Emily (all in the same 1st grade class)

 

Jazz!

 

Hip Hop

 

About half of the jazz girls.

 

Bella and Addison ready to step on stage for the finale and their last performance after a long day. 

 

So proud of you Addison!

More is yet to come in May.

Last day of school tomorrow!