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!

Canine Attack

As many of you know I aspire to be a runner. I usually try to get my rear out of bed 3-5 mornings a week for a morning jog. I've been running consistently since 2003 and in all my years of running I've had very few run-ins with dogs. Every now and then a little ankle biter will come charging out of his yard and I will drop kick the SOB and away I'll go. Well, this morning I was less than a mile from being done with my run, listening to Hinder sing me a tune when a large black lab (yes, a lab) bolted out of his yard growling and barking. It then proceeded to lunge at me, and attempted to bite me. Thankfully I wear lose fitting shorts because that is what he got a mouthful of. He knocked me off balance and I fell to the ground. I screamed because at that point I was a little bit terrified. Then I yelled "call you f*cking dog." Okay, well at 5:45am in the morning many people are still sleepy eyed and could careless about some silly runner that is being attacked by a dog. I continued to walk as the dog barked and growled within inches of my legs. Finally when I got out of sight of his yard he turned around and went home. I then started running again and noticed a guy standing in his garage that probably heard all of it. At that point I was a bit embarrassed, put my tail between my legs and sprinted home. It was probably the fastest I've run in a while. I was running on adrenaline. I then run into the house and wake my slumbering husband to tell him about it. In a less than thrilled voice he said, "what do you want me to do, kill the dog?" Yes he was one of those people that could care less about a runner getting attacked by a dog. :)