Busy Week

I can always tell when school starts back up because our lives tend to get a tad bit busier.
Monday Ryan started back to work/school.
Tuesday evening we had meet the teacher night at Madelyn's school and then Ryan had to go to the highschool for meet the teacher night.
Wednesday Madelyn had her first day of first grade. I thought I would be just fine since it wasn't too much different than starting kindergarten but I still managed to tear up when she walked into her room without looking back to see if I was still there. I think every year will just get harder for me because I know she is that much closer to leaving home (even though she promised us she would live with us forever). That evening Madelyn had soccer practice.

Madelyn changed from her first outfit because her dad thought the shirt was too short. It didn't pass the hands above your head test.

Thursday evening we went over to one of the HS secretaries house to disassemble a trampoline and then once we got it home, Ryan reassembled it.


Friday evening Madelyn had soccer practice and the Lincoln Elementary back to school swim party. Afterwards we went to some friends' house for beverages and stayed up much too late.
Saturday Madelyn had her first soccer game of the season at 8:00am.



Madelyn is on one of the 4-6 year old team and she is a head taller than most of the other kids.

The rest of the Saturday we spent at home and I managed to get in two naps. That evening we hired a babysitter for Madelyn and went to see the movie Hang Over with our the Terrys'. It was a hilarious flick.

And now it is Sunday and we are about to start this madness all over again!

Summer Ends Vacation

The last week/end before Ryan and Madelyn headed back to school was spent in Chicago with Ryan's family. We had a great time visiting with Ryan's aunt and cousins and taking in all the sites. We hadn't been to Chicago in eight years, thus not seeing a majority of Ryan's family (The Muhlig side) for that amount of time. It was long overdue. We spent four nights with Ryan's fabulous Aunt Mary and had a chance to see all six of his cousins and their families while we were there. The Rollins' are a very large but close knit family that get together almost every Sunday for dinner. They love to have a good time and it was obvious how much they adored one another.



Madelyn was super excited about going on her first "jetplane" ride.


Madelyn adores Aunt Mary, just like the rest of us.


We took the Metra in to downtown Chicago two days. It was about an hour each trip, depending on how many stops it made.


We did TONS of walking in Chicago. The two little (85lbs and 58lbs) people took advantage of piggy back rides as often as possible.


A quick stop at Buckingham Fountain.


We spent several hours at the Shedd Aquarium.


We took a water taxi to the Pier.


Madelyn enjoyed a carousel ride at the Pier.



We stopped for a few pictures on the Pier.


My SIL, BIL and nephews relaxed while we waited in the train station. I chose to relax with a beer.


We visited the Field Museum where Madelyn loved the hands on kids zone.


We had dinner with a handful of Ryan's cousins.


Madelyn had fun playing with the cousin's kids...would that make them Ryan's twice removed and Madelyn's third removed cousins??





But most of all we enjoyed quality family time and I'm happy to report that we are all still on speaking terms...I think...:)

Heading to Chi-Town

On Wednesday, we are heading to Chicago for our family vacation. We will be traveling with Ryan's parents, Sister, BIL and nephews. All nine of us are staying at Aunt Mary's house for four nights. Here's hoping we all come back still speaking to one another!!



The view of the WINDY city.



I'm sure I'll have lots of stories and pictures to share when we return.

Setting Lines

Madelyn was ecstatic to have the opportunity to set lines with her daddy, Uncle Bob, Aunt Shelly, cousins Brett and Matthew this weekend. She and Ryan headed back to Council Grove Friday afternoon and set lines Friday and Saturday night on Munker's creek. Madelyn liked catching perch for bait and especially like pulling in the big flat heads. As Uncle Bob and Ryan were cleaning a couple of the fish, Madelyn was "cleaning" the big fish's head. Ryan said she had fish guts from head to toe and couldn't have been happier. Thankfully they tossed the fish gut covered shirt in the trash.

Aunt Shelly, Brett, Matt and Madelyn after the first night.


Madelyn holding up 25lbs of fish.




Madelyn and Uncle Bob checking out the fish they caught the second night.


Madelyn was not real fond of the turtle.


Best Friends


And this is what happens when you get home after two nights of setting lines.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my older sister, who just happens to be 38 today!!





I love you!!

I Wanna Be A Cowgirl

Madelyn loves to wear cotton gauchos. She would wear them everyday if I didn't protest. The other day she had on her most favorite pair of gauchos and I noticed a hole and I told her it was time to give them up. Well before she could change Ryan ripped the hole even larger and then proceeded to turn the gauchos into chaps. Madelyn was so excited to have her very own chaps and quickly grabbed her pink cowboy (correction cowgirl) hat and found a lasso. Now we only need to convince her to wear pants underneath her chaps.

Dancing Hair

Madelyn told Ryan the other day that she wanted her hair cut. She already has short hair but she wanted it even shorter. Today Ryan took her to get her hair cut. Madelyn decided she wanted bangs. Her beautician, Julie, is also our neighbor, and when Madelyn asked to get her bangs cut and Ryan gave the okay, Julie said, "her mom is going to kill me".
Madelyn wanted me to be completely surprised when I got home from work but Ryan was wise enough to call and give me full warning in advance because he wasn't sure how I would react. The only time Madelyn had bangs was when she was a baby. That is six years, people!!! Other than that her bangs have always been the same length as the rest of her hair. I acted surprised when I first saw her and then quietly whispered to Ryan "I cannot believe she wanted bangs!!" I'm not a fan of bangs at all especially on my little girl. However, I'm slowly adjusting.
In the car this evening, Madelyn reported that she now has "dancing hair." Ryan and I asked what exactly that meant and she said it means that when she is dancing her hair will not get in her face. So for practical reasons I suppose the new do will be just fine....even though Madelyn doesn't do much dancing.

Take a look at her new do. What do you think?