WI Trip - Day 3

This morning we all got ready to go to church to witness this little cutie get baptized:

My mom had made Dana's baptism gown & as usual did an amazing job on it!! She looked adorable! The baptism took place after service & then family pictures commenced:

My sister, her family & Dana's Godparents Steve & Meghan

Dana with Grandpa & Grandma "Farm" 

My child being an angel - only because he is watching Mickey Mouse during the baptism! Hey, sometimes you have to pick your battles...
 

Me & my sweetie pie!

  
After the baptism, we headed home, got changed, watched a little football & relaxed while the kids napped. After they woke up, we headed to the apple orchard to pick apples for my sister's seasonal crop collection. She is really into making her own applesauce, apple pies & then freezing them for the winter. Ugh - she inspires me to be so much more domestic than I already am!

We ended up picking more than 70 lbs of apples & at $0.60/lb that was a real bargain! Mase enjoyed picking apples also but I think he liked eating them more than picking them. Every time I turned around he had another apple in his mouth :) We will definitely have to go pick apples back in Kansas City when we get back home!

 

It was so cute watching the kids fill their bags with apples & trying to tote them around:

Love how my little Cael is representing the Jayhawks on his pants (lower rt-hand corner)

Once we got back from apple-picking, the kids played football outside while the adults got dinner ready. Mase stumbled upon this fun toy & LOVED riding the Gator. Looks like Santa may have to bring him one of these in the future ;)

The kids were exhausted from the days activities so they all went to bed early while the big "kids" stayed up watching football & enjoying our last night all together. Unfortunately, Mase & I are going to be getting up early tomorrow morning to make our way back to KC!

It has definitely been a fun, busy weekend!!

WI Trip - Day 2

Today we all woke up to a cold & rainy day which was disappointing as we were all heading to Riverside Park for the Down Syndrome Walk. We had all hoped that it would clear up & the sun would shine but unfortunately that didn't happen. No worries though - this family of mine, we are troopers....we grew up in South Dakota where the weather is always unpredictable & you make the best of what you are given & Dana's Daisies did just that!!

We all got dressed in our "gear" complete with matching t-shirts, bandanna's, cute little pinnable daisies (made by my sister's step-mother-in-law) & took some pictures while we were still dry & presentable:

 

Even though the weather was less than desirable, we still managed to be able to enjoy lunch & the kids were able to see & pet the animals at the petting zoo, jump around in the bounce houses, get their little faces painted, do bunjee jumping, play on the swings, slides & have a good time. Dana & Mason missed out on a couple hours of the festivities which was ok with me since everything was so wet.

Despite the weather, the turnout for the event was pretty impressive & I was amazed at how many of my sister's friends braved the weather & came out. Before we all gathered for the award announcements & the walk we managed to get a group picture of Dana's Daisies - which unfortunately this isn't everybody but a good majority of our group:

Around 1:45pm everyone at the event made their way to the front of the park for announcements. The speaker announced that Dana's Daisies had raised a total of $4600 & won 1st place in donations made by a team for the DS Walk & yours truly won 2nd place for individual donations raised which totaled $1595! To those of you who donated - THANK YOU!!

After all the announcements were made, we were on our way to complete the 1 mile walk around Riverside Park:

L-R: My sister-in-law Meghan, sister Jen & me

L to R: My brother Steve, SIL Meghan & nephew Caleb

 Walkers for Dana's Daisies

After the mile walk was completed we quickly gathered all our things, tore down the tent & made our way to the cars as it was really starting to rain hard. Once we got home we all got into some dry clothes, warmed ourselves up & enjoyed dinner all together.

And look what my sister gave me for being the top fundraiser for our team:

I will be sipping my coffee from my new mug with pride :)

Way to go Dana's Daisies!!

WI Trip - Day 1

Today Mason & I boarded an early flight & made our way to WI to visit my sister & her family. Shane wasn't able to go as he had a lot of things going on with his mom this weekend (which is a whole other post) so we unfortunately made our way to WI without him :(

 

 Airport selfie

It was a big weekend planned in WI! My brother Steve & his family along with my parents & several of my sister's in-laws all made the trip to participate in the Down Syndrome Walk for my niece Dana as well as attend her baptism on Sunday. Unfortunately my other brother Chris & his family were unable to come & were greatly missed.

After an uneventful flight & drive to my sister's we spent the afternoon hanging out, catching up & Mase enjoyed playing with all his cousins!

 

It is so fun getting to see all my nieces/nephews & see how much they have grown since the last time I have seen them! It always makes me wish that we lived closer to them :(

Brunch

My dear friend HK (Heather) is in town visiting friends & family this week & before she left we had one last get-together today for brunch. 

We all met up at Granite City for a dee-lish brunch buffet complete with Mimosa's & enjoyed catching up with each other. 

Mase even came to hang with the ladies - although he was a bit upset that Miss Ava wasn't there :( She was with her dad for the weekend so we definitely missed seeing that little cutie!

We stuffed ourselves silly, enjoyed our morning cocktails, shared lots of laughs & as always even a few tears. Ugh - love these girls so very much! Looking forward to seeing HK in November & getting the girls together for our annual holiday get-together & gift-opening :)

Showered in Pink #2

Today my friend Taylor & I threw my co-worker & dear friend Leann a baby shower to welcome little Miss Olivia's arrival come early November. All the guests that were invited work with us or in the hospital so it was nice to know every single person there.

We held her shower at The Well out on the patio which turned out to be a perfect place & an even more perfect day. It was a bit more hot & humid then we would have liked but at least it wasn't raining.

Taylor was in charge of the invitations & food while I was in charge of decorations & dessert. We both had a say in location & actually worked very well together to throw Leann an amazing shower. 

"HT Creations" was in full force with creating ideas & making things for the shower & I used some Pinterest & Etsy inspired ideas to help. While planning this shower it made me realize just how much I love event planning :) I had promised Shane in the past to make Mason's 2nd birthday party (wait....did I just type that? yikes) a low key one but after doing the baby shower I am itching to plan another "themed" birthday party for Mase :)

Table decorations - I used Mason jars with fresh flowers & made the "Welcome Baby Olivia" tags on the computer & the gray band out of scrapbook paper - cute & cheap. 

Banner - made a pink & gray "Welcome Baby" banner out of scrapbook paper, adhesive letters & ribbon to hang above the food table. Super easy, super cute & super cheap!
Favors - I bought Topsy's popcorn (butter, cheese & caramel flavor), filled little plastic treat bags & tied with a little tag that said "Thanks for "popping" by" (downloaded from Etsy, idea from Pinterest). They were a hit - who doesn't like edible favors?

Books - Went to 1/2 Price Book Store & bought a bunch of inexpensive books to display under the vases & later for baby Olivia. (Why I have never been to this store before is beyond me! Super cheap books for Mase & TONS of them. Will definitely go back!) While at the shower, we asked all the guests to write well wishes to baby Olivia &/or Leann inside the book covers which Leann absolutely loved. (Thanks to my friend Desiree & her baby shower for that cute little idea!)

Dessert - Strawberry Cheesecake made by my dear friend & co-worker Stetson & cupcakes ordered at McLain's Bakery - both delicious!

After everyone enjoyed the spread of food, it was gift opening time - my favorite part of a baby shower...other than dessert  of course:)

Leann got all kinds of cute clothes, practical items, diapers & even a few things just for her. After 2 huge baby showers I would have to say that this Mama is set for Miss Olivia's arrival!

We forgot to get a group picture while everyone was there but did manage to get one of those of us who stayed behind to have another cocktail & wish this cute Mama-2-Be well.

   

I am looking so very forward to meeting Miss Olivia in November & to see Leann in the role as "Mama"!

Home Opener

One of my "game-night" girlfriends suggested an outing with spouses a couple of months ago & chose the KC Chiefs home opener game for our "couples gathering". We had our new members ceremony at church so we were unfortunately unable to meet up with the group for tailgating festivities so we ended up meeting them there separately.

Our neighbor Laine was kind enough to watch Mason for us & I was really looking forward to having an afternoon "date" with my hubby as well as spending some time with the girls & watching the KC Chiefs home opener. 

We got out of church, dropped Mase off & made our way to the stadium which is usually a 45 minute drive. By the time we battled traffic & got close to the stadium it was 70 minutes. We then paid $30 at the gate to park, drove another 1/2 mile to a parking spot which was a make-shift gravel parking lot, walked the 1/2 mile to the stadium, spent 30 minutes getting frisked by 3 different check-points, walked in on the wrong side of the stadium & FINALLY found our seats & it was 10 minutes into the 1st quarter.

UGH....

By this point I was ready for an ice cold beer & happy to finally be in our seats:

We had seats on the 50 yard line which was a great view of the entire field:

We were having a great time, catching up with the girls, drinking my $9 beer, watching the game & then this happened:

 

This idiot who is clearly a Tennesee Titans fan (who was the team the Chiefs were playing) kept standing up in front of me every time his team had the ball. Notice how nobody else around him is standing?? THEN he starts bantering back & forth with the people sitting a few rows behind us THE. ENTIRE. GAME!! Really? I paid $70 to sit & watch this the entire game?

By this time I am beyond irritated. Along with the fact it was like 90 degrees out & like a dummie I forgot sunscreen & could feel my face frying! I did manage to take a minute & smile for a group selfie & a pic with the hubby:

So it "looks" like I am having a good time when deep down I am irritated. I am hot. I am ready for another beer...even if it is $9!

We made it until the middle of the 4th quarter & then most of us decided to leave early to avoid the crowd, avoid the traffic out of the stadium & get into some air conditioning. We got a quick group pic with the girls & then were on our way.

All in all it was a good time & I thank Michelle for getting us the tickets & planning this little gathering with the husbands. Shane & I agreed however that it will be a very long time before we pay to watch a Chief's game at Arrowhead Stadium again. 

In my opinion, although we had fun, the experience just isn't worth the cost. Would much rather be snuggled up on the couch with my little man watching the game in the comforts of my own home.

Members

Shane & I have been trying to find a church to call "home" for several years now. We have spent many a Sunday morning attending a variety of churches & just haven't ever felt that welcome or inviting feel to any of them. I hate to say, but we grew tired of trying to find "the one" & just stopped going all together.

So when Mason came along, I got the urge once again to seek out a church "family" - especially one that had a good youth program for Mason to grow up with. It was really important to us for Mason to grow up learning about God, stories from the bible & how to be a good Christian.

Rewind to last October. I had noticed a flier posted up at Mason's daycare for a Halloween Party on a farm that was close by to where we lived. There was all kinds of food, kids dressed in costumes, a bon fire, & a haunted trail for the bigger "kids". A few people from the daycare were going as well as a couple of kids from his infant room so I thought it would be a great way to meet others in our community as well as get to know the parents of the kids Mason spends every day with.

We had SO much fun & everyone was so very nice. I met the "owners" of the farm & later found out that it was a church sponsored event. I also learned that Mason's daycare providers & owner of the daycare all go to this same church in the next town over from us. I asked a lot of questions regarding the church & went home to tell Shane all about it & how we really should go & check it out.

A few months passed by (without going to church) & I noticed another flier posted at the daycare for a fundraising spaghetti dinner put on by the same church that did the Halloween party. We ended up going to the dinner, meeting all kinds of nice, welcoming people & the following Sunday decided to attend their Sunday service for the first time.

It is a smaller congregation with about 215 members & people noticed that we were "new" so when the service was over so many members came up to us to introduce themselves & welcome us. They had a nursery for Mason to stay in & they also served cookies & refreshments after service - which scored points with me :) The pastor is a female which was something new for the both of us but we really liked her & enjoyed her sermon. 

That was almost a year ago & we have been going to the same church every Sunday ever since.

It took us 6 months of going to this church regularly to decide to become members & after 4 weeks of "new members" classes, I am proud to say that today our little family officially became members of Hillsdale Presbyterian Church:

I know in my heart this was the right decision for us because every time Sunday rolls around we don't mind waking up early & going to church. I look really forward to going & can honestly say that I have never felt that way about a church before. I am looking so forward to Mason turning 3 years old & being able to participate in "children's church" & getting involved in their youth program as well as Shane & I getting involved in their ministry throughout the year. 

Last month we attended a yummy breakfast fundraiser, next Sunday I am donating the cookies for after-service refreshments, we have enrolled in a young married couples class & I volunteered to help with providing lunch for families after the funeral service of a loved one so we are slowly getting involved & I am super excited to become even more involved with this wonderful church family.

It is really true that you meet people for a reason & had we not had Mason & enrolled him into this specific daycare we would have never met the wonderful people who introduced us to their church & we would probably still not be going to church. 

God definitely works in mysterious ways & for that I am thankful.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

I'm sure most of you have heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that has been going on around the social media circuit?! Well, if you have been living in a hole this summer & never heard of it here is what it is all about...

The challenge involves people getting doused with buckets of ice water on video, posting that video to social media, then nominating others to do the same, all in an effort to raise ALS awareness.  People can either accept the challenge or make a donation to an ALS Charity of their choice, or do both. The challenge has gotten so popular that it even has its own definition on wikipedia!

The official rules of the challenge are:
-you have 24 hours from the time you are challenged to record a video of yourself doing the ice bucket challenge.
- First announce your acceptance of the challenge, pour ice into a bucket of water, then lift & pour said bucket of water over the participant's head.
 - Lastly call out a challenge to other people to do the same.

There are several different versions out there of the ice bucket challenge. In one version of the challenge, the participant is expected to donate $10 if they have poured the ice water over their head or donate $100 if they have not. In another version, dumping the ice water over the head is done in lieu of any donation or the participant says that they will be making a donation along with performing the challenge.

Regardless of how you do the challenge the point is to raise public awareness of ALS as well as raise money for research for this horrible disease. Since this "challenge" has gone viral, the ALS Association has received over $100 million in donations from July 29 - August 29 alone. I would have to say that making this silly video has been effective!!

So if you are friends with me on Facebook then you might have seen that I was challenged by my sister to do the ice bucket challenge. I accepted the challenge as well as made a donation. 

You have no idea how much fun Shane & Mason had dumping that bucket of water over my head! Shane even said to Mason after he did it "we got Mommy good" - so nice of him! You will notice there isn't hardly any ice in the huge amount of water being poured over my head but only because it was 100 degrees outside that evening when I did it so all the ice had pretty much melted. But trust me - that water was ICE cold & took my breath away!

Without further ado, here is my video:



To learn more about this horribly sad disease or to make a donation, please visit: http://www.alsa.org

Labor Day Wknd

The last holiday weekend of the summer is upon us & we are off to my parents farm in South Dakota for the weekend. Shane unfortunately got stuck out on the road working so sadly Mase & I made our way up to the farm Friday morning without him. 

Mase is such a good little traveler! During our 7 hour road trip he took an early morning nap, then when he woke up he flipped through his new books for awhile, we sang songs, stopped for lunch, looked at more books & took his afternoon nap. By the time he woke up we were at my parents place.

Mason LOVES the farm. He would watch the sheep & lambs all day if I let him. He ventured around checking out all the sheep & cows, tried to feed the lambs, chased the kittens & dog, & didn't want to come inside! I love that he gets to experience farm life & enjoys it so much!

Saturday we hung out around the house, played outside, ran some errands, did a little shopping & enjoyed visiting with family. Early afternoon my brother Chris, his wife & kids came over for the day & my mom's sister was visiting for the weekend before she heads back to Ghana in West Africa to do a year of mission work next week. We enjoyed visiting & catching up with everyone & loved hearing my Aunt's stories of Ghana & the way of life over there.

Late afternoon my grandparents came over for supper & it was so nice getting to see them also. I always treasure the visits with my grandparents when I am home because I never know if it is the last time I am going to see them. They are both in their late 80's but looking at them & talking with them you would never know it. I am still amazed that my Grandpa is 89 years old & still farms! 

Sunday morning we all went to my parent's church which is the same church Shane & I were married in & Mason was baptized in. I love sitting in that church looking around & reminiscing about those two wonderful days & thanking God for all the blessings that have been presented to us thus far.

After service we made the one hour drive to Huron, SD for the State Fair. I LOVE going to the fair & couldn't wait to take Mason to experience it also. We got there around lunch time so the first item on the agenda was to eat. We all dined on Indian Taco's, hamburgers, corn dogs, fries & funnel cake. I don't know what it is about fair food but it is delicious & as many calories as I consumed I am glad I only partake in it once a year!

We stuffed ourselves full & decided to get up & do some walking to work off some of the food we just ate so we headed over to the Woman's Expo building to see all the cool exhibits submitted by people around the state. Then we made our way over to the Petting Zoo where Mason got to "pet" the mini horses, calves, lambs, pygmy goats, a camel, bunnies & puppies. He loved watching & touching all the animals & we had to literally drag him out of that barn!

Next stop was the beef barn where all the cows are located. Mason was so excited to get up close & personal with the cows & the some of the owners even let him pet them which made his day!

We moved on to the area where all the tractors, combines, weed sprayers & gators were located & like the beef barn my kid did NOT want to leave. He had to crawl up in ALL the equipment which meant Mama had to crawl up there with him & he had SO much fun pretending like he was "driving"!

After playing on all the tractors we noticed the sky was starting to get dark, the wind was picking up & the temperature was starting to drop which can only mean one thing in the mid-west - there was a storm blowing in from the west so we decided it be best to make our way towards home. We made one last stop on our way out for my most favorite fair food - mini sugared donuts & a root beer - yum!

We weren't in the car for more than 10 minutes when this happened:

Little guy was SO tired that he fell asleep with his hand in his snack cup! 

We got back to the farm & thankfully managed to miss the storm. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out with the family, getting things packed up for our trip back home the next morning & thanks to Grandma, snacking on chocolate chip cookies before bed:

We SO enjoyed our time on the farm & can't wait to go back for Christmas - hoping Shane can be able to go with us next time!

"About Me" Project

So last week I was picking Mason up from daycare & before we left I was given my 1st "project" to complete as a parent. We were given a white poster board & asked to make an "All About Me" photo collage of our child. Once completed it was going to be displayed by the entrance of the Toddler 1 room for everyone to see. Since I consider myself a "crafty" person, I was super excited to be given the task & a bunch of ideas came to mind as I made the drive home.

However, when I sat down to actually create this project, I got "writers block" & had NO idea how I was going to make this. Knowing the kind of person I am it had to be perfect. It had to be amazing. It had to be the best. I am competing up against 7 other mom's & the competition was ON! The more I thought about it the more anxious I got so I put it away & do what I always do best....wait until the last minute & then rush to get it all done.

So 2 days from the due date & I still hadn't started "the project". I had searched Google & Pinterest for ideas & there wasn't much out there so I soon realized I was going to have to use my own brilliant ideas for this. 

Later that afternoon, I picked up Mase as usual & while there I noticed in the corner of his room a pile of already handed in posters from other parents. I may or may not have snuck a peek at what the other Mom's parent's created & I was immediately bogged down by ideas. 

HT was BACK & she was inspired! I GOT THIS!!!

So after dinner we got the finger-paints out & Mase had fun making his hand prints. Once he went to bed I pulled out the colored paper, glue & scissors & cut out his little hand-prints, began organizing photos, created little explanations for each picture & assembled Mason's photo collage which described him & his favorite things.

I ended up finishing it the night before it was due & it all came together just as I had imagined it. It was bright. It was bold. And in my opinion (& my husbands) it was awesome. 

I present to you all my 1st "project" as a parent:

And here it is displayed on the wall among the rest of the other collages:

I loved putting together this little "project" & can't wait for future ones where Mase can help :)