So....  Guess what's new?

He's been around a while now - going on 5 months...  My most favorite human in the world!!  We'll just call him "G"

The Dreaded BASEMENT

Oh my oh my... Bailey moved home. And the lower 1/3 of my house looked like THIS for the summer:

So we (I) decided to get it cleaned up!  Here is the "after"

 

 

Better- no?  And a feeling of accomplishment, too...  Garage, here we come!

The Big Idea Festival Starts Soon...

It's Been a While...

I guess the big recent thing is that both my girls graduated!  Maddi from high school, Bailey from Kansas State!  Yeah!  Maddi gave one of the commencement speeches at Shawnee Mission West.  Here is the link: http://youtu.be/h4H4r5M2-00

Maddi sang a solo at the Spotlight show... "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"

 We also had a party...

 

Bailey chose not to walk at the K-State campus ceremony, but we had a joint party for them.  It was a lot of fun.  One event kind of ruined the good feelings, however.  Someone decided to take several cards off of the gift table, containing quite a bit of cash.  It was a disappointing ending to a fun week of grad activities...

 

So...  Maddi is off to Kansas University, and Bailey is starting her new life as an adult  :)  We are looking forward to more great times ahead!



Almost over...

This is Debbie's last day of school at Shawnee Mission West.  She will walk at graduation next week, and then leave on May 30.  It has been a fulfilling, if somewhat challenging 10 months.  We hope that she takes home something meaningful from her stay here in Kansas.  She mentioned that she would like to come back to the States, although not to Kansas City, which is naturally disappointing to hear.  Hopefully, as she grows up she will be able to look back and reflect on her stay in our household as a cherished memory.  We all wish her the best in her future endeavors. 

Yes, I've been negligent...

I have some really cute pics, though...  Debbie turned 17 and they went to WPA last month...  I will go back and post some stuff from Christmas, too - Things get busy, okay?  :)

The other kids in the pre-dance pics are friends Makaela and Mark.  Cute group, huh?

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

We recently spent a Sunday afternoon at the Nelson-Atkins.  It is a world-class art museum, and I have always loved it and feel fortunate to have such an awesome museum here in Kansas City.  The recent renovations are wonderful, and there was so much to see, I hope we can go again before Debbie has to leave...

 

 

We also headed to Westport Flea Market for some great burgers on the way home :)

Homecoming Dance

Debbie went to her first high school football game a couple of weeks before homecoming.  She had a great time.  "Football is okay, but the other kids were the most fun!"  She took a lot of pictures and videos to take back home with her.

The girls had a beautiful day for the homecoming dance.  They got their nails done, took a little nap and then quickly "got beautified"  Parker was their handsome date...  By all reports, dinner was awesome and the dance a lot of fun!

Debbie a bit sad that gymnastics is over, but she is thinking of joining the bowling team, and is looking forward to a theater trip to Wichita the first weekend in January.  We almost have her talked into dropping photography for the spring semester and taking Forensics instead, since she really enjoys acting. It's hard to believe she has been here for three months!

Nebraska Trip

We took Maddi and Debbie to Arbor Day Farm and the Omaha Zoo last weekend.  They had Monday off of school, so we decided the zoo would be less crowded on a Monday and it was.  The drive was a pain since I-29 is still closed most of the way, and some of the features at the zoo were closed for maintenence, but it really didn't matter, because it was a GREAT trip.  I took over 600 pictures - so I am going to narrow it down to about 20...  They are in no particular order, but you can probably pick out the ones that were taken at the zoo, and the ones from the farm.  We had such beautiful weather, and hope the girls had as much fun as we did - !