Last weekend we left Karley with my mom and dad and took off for the Backwoods of Missouri (literally) to celebrate Cyndi's birthday by way of a camping/float trip.

We got a late start leaving Topeka at 5ish and since my friend Heather drove 45 miles per hour the whole way there it made the 3 hour trip last for 5 hours.....Love you Head! :) but next time I am driving!!! HAHA!

Here are a few photos from the trip:

Helen and Anna with Jamie and Jason in the Background....

Jamie and Heather.

Todd, Jason and Garett.

Helen, Me, and the Birthday Girl....Cyndi.

TZ and Mark.

Todd, Mark, Heather and I

Saturday morning right before we took off on the float. We were on the Niangua River and it was very pretty and relaxing. The water was high so there were a few pretty good rapids.

On the way home we were talking about how much the kids would LOVE the trip so we decided to make plans to come back with the kids. We are going again in September and this time we have reserved cabins. There will be 18 of us going!! CAN'T WAIT!!!

Have a great week!

First Grade!

Karley started school yesterday and it was not any easier on me than Kindergarten.....I was an emotional mess. I am happy this year because she is WANTING to go to school. Last year she wanted to go the first day and then never again. It makes life a little easier. However, one of her friends told her that the teachers are only nice on the first day and then really, really mean after that....Thanks for that! It made this morning a little rougher.
I don't know what is wrong with my computer but It won't let me move these pictures around like usual so you will have to look at them in reverse order today. (I need your help Sunni!)
First picture: After school cupcake party. This is a 2 year tradition that I have....It is so much fun to have most of the neighborhood kids over to share their day. They were very funny talking about what all they did on the first day.




Picture #2 & 3: School bus drop off....I love this time the most. Karley gets off the bus and runs up to me for a hug. I know this won't last forever!!

Picture #4, 5 & 6: Getting ready for school. It was pouring down rain and so I decided to drive her to school. I just couldn't stand to think of the wet mess she would have been if she rode the bus. Plus, It took a while to curl that hair! She was fine with that and said she had plenty of time to ride the bus. Photo #7-8: Meet the teacher night. Karley got Mrs Bazil and she loves her. There are a few kids from last year in her class and she is excited to meet some new ones too. Here she is all ready to go see some of her friends and meet the teacher.
Picture #9: This picture was taken the night before school starts. Karley lost her 4th tooth and says it makes her feel like smiling. I LOVE IT!
It was a great day overall. And the best news is she wants to go back tomorrow! YIPPEE!!!! :)

Have a great Week!



Side note: To Chrissy McClure: Time to get a facebook account! I have been trying to e-mail you about dinner with the girls tomorrow night! Call me! 785-478-3110. Love you!

Jamie's 30th Birthday

Happy 30th Birthday to Jamie!
Karley and I went through some Photos today and came up with a few favorites of Aunt Jamie. WE LOVE YOU!!!!

2003

Disney 2008
on the shuttle at disney world

Karley's first dance recital. 2006

Spring Break 2006

Carnival Cruise 2007

mmmmmm.....PF Changs. 2004

Jamaica 2005....Beaches Resort in Negril.

Margaritaville in Negril, Jamaica

Jamaica 2004

ENJOY YOUR DAY!

Congrats to the Carr's!

Short Blog tonight....I just wanted to say Congrats to Josh and Cory Carr on the birth of their adorable little boy. Brooks Robert Carr. Cory is amazing and made a video of the birth and delivery so I thought I would share it as well. Congrats again and we will see you guys soon!

XOXOX

http://www.heathercolephoto.com/slideshows/brooksbirth/

Branson Trip #2

A couple of weeks ago Karley, my Mom and I went to Branson to catch some shows that we wanted to see the last time we were there. We also hit up some museums and great restaurants. It was a nice, relaxing week. When we got into town we stopped at the Wax Museum. It was a blast and Karley was cracking us up by posing with the Wax people.....The first show we saw was Noah The Musical. I can't say enough good things about this show! It was amazing!
The 2nd show we saw was Peter Pan. This one was really cool because we had 6th row seats and Peter Pan would fly over the audience and sprinkle pixie dust on the crowd....Karley LOVED that! After the show we got to meet Cathy Rigby (peter Pan), Michael, and one of Captian Hook's pirates.
On our way home we stopped in Springfield, MO to visit one of the underground caves. This one was recommended to us by a friend and was really interesting. We got to ride on a train through it which was better than the 1000 steps that we took on the cave tour in Silver Dollar City!

All of the pictures are together in the blog because my computer isn't letting me separate them out. Sorry! We had a great time and now are planning for our upcoming Cruise in October!

Potwin Pottery Party

On July 1st (Karley's 6th Birthday) we had a few of her friends meet at Potwin Pottery for a girls day. I bought a certificate at the Junior League sale way back in February and thought it would make for a perfect birthday party but since she is miss popular we had to do the sports center because potwin pottery would only do 6 kids for the set price. So, my spoiled child got 2 birthday parties.....:)

After the party we came back to the house and set up Karley's new water slide. This thing is AWESOME! It is not so much fun when clean up time comes around though. It is amazing how many parents in my neighborhood will be very quick to send their kids over and then VANISH when it time to pick up........Thank God for Amanda! She stayed and helped us clean it all up and pack it away for another day.

While we were cleaning we decided to get out the camera for some photos. It was a blast just hanging out with her! We always have such a good time together and get caught up on all sorts of gossip! Thanks, Amanda, for coming to spend the day with us!