Dancing Queen (or maybe not)

Friday evening the lil' girls of Augusta performed with the AHS dance team during half time at the AHS football game. Madelyn seemed to cling to one of the AHS dancers and didn't do a whole lot of dancing. She did manage to get in a few moves though. Afterwards when I was talking to her about the dancing she told me that she couldn't do very well because she was too thirsty. Ryan videotaped her debut and I attempted to take pictures. All the pictures of the actual dancing turned out poorly but I did take a few shots of her before the performance.


Madelyn and her BFF of the moment

Weekend At A Glance

We have had another busy and fun weekend. Friday night we went to Soccer practice and then to the AHS football game to watch the Orioles get beat yet again. Post game was at our house as usual but I was a party pooper and went to bed at 10pm. Ryan finally came in around 2:30am after the last person went home. I felt much better than he did when we had to get up early for Madelyn's 8:00am soccer game. After the game, we went home, cleaned up and took Madelyn to a baby-sitter's house. Then Ryan and I and the Terrys' grabbed a quick bite to eat and went to the Beer Fest. Ryan and I volunteered at the Inflatables Booth for a few hours. It is a fundraiser for Starkey, Inc. When we volunteer we get free t-shirts, free admission to the Beer Fest and after our shift is up we can drink until we puke (okay, not really). We've been doing this for the past four years. Fun stuff. The Beer Fest was over at 4:00pm so we headed to Old Chicago for an appetizer. At that point Ryan and Brandon were feeling quite fine and convinced us to go on a .25 cent trolley ride. It was just the four of us on the twenty minute ride. Brandon and Ryan were very entertaining to me, Lisa and the trolley driver. We got home around 7:00pm. Madelyn had a great time with her sitter and even discovered she has her very first loose tooth. That is big news in our house. Ryan and Brandon wanted to finish the evening with a few more beverages but I was tired so I sent Ryan to the Terrys' house and Madelyn and I were in bed before 9:00pm. I believe Ryan got home around 12:30am. Today Madelyn and I went to Church while Ryan stayed home and licked his wounds. After Church Madelyn and I went to High School Musical on Ice with Lisa and Kenzie. I was actually impressed with the show. The skating was good and the lip syncing (sp?) was even better. :) Now we are home for the evening and I'm debating if I should clean house or bake something. I think baking is going to win this time around.
Here are just a few pics of the weekend. I sure wish I would have had my camera when Ryan and Brandon were doing flips on the trolley.

Freddie, the almost Frog

A few weeks ago Madelyn and I were in Wichita doing a little shopping when I decided to take her to the Superior School Supply store. For elementary teachers, this store has everything one could need. For just everyday folk it has a lot of stuff I don't need but fun stuff to look at. Madelyn and I were particularly interested in the butterfly growing, ant farm and grow a frog. Well of course we couldn't leave without something in hand and Madelyn, or maybe I was, really interested in growing a frog. So we purchased the grow a frog kit and as soon as we got home we mailed off the card to get our tadpole. As you can imagine, Ryan was less than thrilled because we spent $15 on a tadpole (but he comes with a really nice new home) when he could go to any creek (pronounced crick) and find dozens of them. BUT, this is a special tadpole. Our little tadpole arrived in the mailbox yesterday afternoon (even though on the box it said do not put in mailbox, deliver to the front door). We were thrilled to see that he was still alive when we opened up the box. Ryan said "that isn't tadpole, that is a catfish, it has whiskers." Well obviously Ryan has never seen a special tadpole. I assured him it was indeed a tadpole. And wouldn't luck have it, the little guy has little leg buds. We didn't have any nondistilled bottled water as recommended for the tadpole but I did microwave some refrigerated bottled water and he adjusted just fine. It was touch and go for a bit because he seemed to be floating on his back for a time. I must say he is the cutest tadpole I have ever seen. You can see his little heart beating because he is see through. When he is happy his head is down and tail is up and he is wiggling. I'm quite sure he knows our voices and starts doing that as soon as he hears us. :) He made it through is first night. Madelyn fed him before school and kissed his home before she left for school. We keep referring to Freddie as a he, but actually won't know for another eight months if he is a boy or girl. Ryan said, "it's going to live that long?" He has not faith. I'll keep you posted on our Frog farming. It hopefully will be more successfull than Ryan's quail farming.

Flood of 2008

We had terrential rains Thursday and Friday which lead to area flooding. The weathermen warned that it could be as bad as the flood of 98, but thankfully they were wrong. When it was all said and done we had around 8 inches of rain. Several schools surrounding Augusta were closed Friday because of flooded roads. My employer let people go home at 1:00pm on Friday because the roads around us were flooded and only getting worse. When I got home on Friday afternoon and picked up Madelyn from school she could not wait to get in the "river" next to our house. Living next to a big ditch is probably not a huge selling point for many people but one little girl on Ranchwood Drive thinks the ditch is pretty cool. This is how Madelyn spent her Friday afternoon.

To my Elder

Ryan is eight months older than me so a few months of the year we are the same age. He always makes a big fuss about becoming my Elder on his birthday. He reminds me that because he is my elder I have to respect him. Today Ryan turns 34 years young. Happy Birthday to my Elder!

Where were you on that September Day?

Where were you seven years ago on 9/11/01? I remember like it was yesterday. I was pregnant with my very first baby. Ryan and I were heading West Bound on Kellogg in Wichita. I was driving him to his doctor's appt. He was having a dye test because of back problems he had been having since the previous February. We were listening to the radio when they broke in with the news that a tower had been hit. I dropped Ryan off and went to work. I remember someone setting up several TVs in the breakroom and other places where I worked. I, along with many other co-workers spent hours in front of the TV watching the news coverage. I remember not feeling safe anymore. I remember praying over and over for the victim's, their families and our country. I remember calling Ryan on his cell phone several times throughout the day and talking about the terrible tragedy that had just occurred in our country. When I left work to pick up Ryan I remember that gas prices had sky rocketed and cars were lined up at gas stations filling up before they went even higher. There were people selling the Wichita Eagle at every intersection with that story of course being front page news. Our country was forever changed that day. I still pray for the victim's families and the individuals that have lost their lives because of that dreadful day. I pray for the soldiers that continue to fight for our freedom and safety. I am thankful every day for the brave men and women that selflessly serve our country.

Kansas State Fair

Ryan, Madelyn and I along with another couple and their two kids went to the State Fair on Sunday. It ended up being perfect weather with a little bit of over cast and nice breeze. I'm sure all the animals were appreciative too. We enjoyed checking out all the animals, getting free stuff at the exhibits and eating pronto pups, carmeled apples and funnel cakes. Of course Madelyn and Emily could not wait to ride the rides and play the games at the carnival. They only got to ride three rides because that alone cost us $25. They saved the best for last. They were both so excited to ride the Mega Loop. I explained to Madelyn that she would go upside down but she didn't care. She jumped on that ride with a huge smile. She laughed as it went back and forth and as soon as it went all the way around that laugh turned into crying. The carney stopped the ride early to let the not so brave girls off the ride. Their faces were priceless as they stepped off. Ryan and I couldn't stop laughing, which didn't seem to help matters. Madelyn informed us that she was never going on that ride again.


The Big Slide


This is about when the crying started.

Priceless

Rainy Days

I'm not a huge fan of rainy days because I start to go stir crazy if I'm cooped up in the house too long. When I'm at work I can deal with the rain but on weekends forget it. I require time to myself and being in a small house with two other people puts a big damper on that. Madelyn's soccer game was cancelled because of the rain and our plans to go to the State Fair were postponed because of the rain. It is likely that our plans to go to the State Fair tomorrow will be cancelled as well. So, I'm having a pity party. Thankfully Ryan and Madelyn don't mind being in the rain so they have been "working" outside and since I despise physical labor and being out in the rain I can now have my time alone inside. AHHHHHH. I have managed to do a bit of house cleaning and laundry but I don't want to over do it. :) I made plans for Madelyn and I go to a movie this afternoon so I won't be bouncing off the walls the entire day. I will say that this damp weather gets me in the mood for baking and putting up the Halloween decorations, but instead I will just complain about the rain. I put on my grumpy pants and took a few pictures of my two favorite people working in the rain.

Kindergarten Parent Meeting

Yesterday evening the Kindergarten parents had a meeting with the teacher. We all met prior to the first day but the teachers wanted the parents to come together again and discuss how things are going in Kindergarten and what they hope for the kids to learn. I must say it was quite amusing to see a bunch of adults sitting in little bitty kindergarten chairs during the meeting.
As Ryan and I looked around the room we noticed a bulletin board that had the names of all the kids that knew their colors. There are twenty kids in Madelyn's class and only nineteen names were listed. Guess whose name was not listed? Yep, Madelyn. Ryan and I were a bit concerned because we had thought we had done a decent job of teaching Madelyn her colors. Since I'm a helicopter mama (I like to hover), or so Ryan says, we asked the teacher why Madelyn's name is not on the board. She said she must have left her off by mistake because she was quite sure that Madelyn knew all her colors. That was quite a relief to hear.

Today when I got home from work and was checking my e-mail this is what I found from Madelyn's teacher:

Hey Ryan and Jennifer,
I just want to thank you for keeping me on my toes and apologize again for stressing you out about the K checking! The chart is fixed!!! Madelyn is doing just GREAT!!!! I love having her in class; she is bright, witty, and lots of fun!!!!! I'm so glad to be getting to know her and sharing this year!!!
Have a wonderful week-end!
Pam Olson

I'm sure there will be many more concerns we come across while Madelyn is in school, but thankfully this one was easily resolved.

Manhappiness

This past weekend Ryan went on a fishing trip to Missouri so Madelyn and I decided that we would take a road trip to Manhattan to hang out with Jen and the boys (they actually live outside of Manhattan, closer to Wamego). We arrived at their house by 6:00pm on Friday night and Jen had supper on the table for us. After we snarfed our dinner we headed in to Manhattan for the K-state pep rally. The kids enjoyed the cotton candy, face painting and second hand toys (you had to be there to appreciate that). Then we watched the fireworks finale. It was like 4th of July all over again. We ended our evening with some ice cream at TCBY and then a movie and popcorn when we got home. We all crashed around 11:00pm. Madelyn was up before 7:00am and proceeded to wake up the rest of the house too. Jen had fixed an awesome banana nut bread for breakfast. After breakfast we headed to the walking path in Wamego. Madelyn and Garrett rode their scooters and Jen and I walked the mile loop. We then headed back home to clean up and went in to Manhattan to do a bit of shopping and eat at the Early Edition diner. Again, more great food. After lunch we took the kids to the Sunset Zoo. I hadn't been there since I took Matt when he was 2 years old (he is now 17)and this was a first trip for Madelyn. It is such a nice zoo. I actually like it better than the Sedgwick County Zoo. We were all hot and tired after about two hours so headed to the house for power naps. Or, at least Jen and I took naps. As Jen and her family headed off to the K-state game Saturday afternoon, we headed to Council Grove to hang out with my sister and her family. We hung out for a bit and had dinner at Pizza Hut. Then Madelyn and I headed to Papa and Nana Muhlig's house for a short visit before we headed home. Madelyn was crashed out about 10 minutes into the ride home and slept the rest of the way. We had a great time and were so happy to spend some time with family. It is not often that we get to do that.


Garrett was pretending to be a goat that needed fed. The people at the feeder wouldn't feed him.


The Gordons' minus Travis
PeaHawk, as Madelyn calls it.
Madelyn crashed out!