Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Prom Helper
I surprised her with a wrist corsage.
The four beautiful helpers, 3 teachers' kids and and the asst principal's kid. I guess they do get special treatment.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
What We've Been Doing
* I bought a new to me car - a 2011 Hyundai, Sonata. It is a blue/grey and had just shy of 7,000 miles when I drove it off the lot. It was hard to let go of Pearlie but the time had come. It wasn't long after I got my new car that I gave her the name Finley, because of the fin that is on the roof.
* On Easter Sunday, day nine of ownig Finely I was backing out of my driveway and chatting with Madelyn when I felt a bump and heard a crash. Madelyn looked at me and said "mama, I think you hit that car." Unfortunately she was correct in her thinking. I backed into the car parked across the street from my house. I left a nice dent on the front fender of the other car and my car has obvious scratched paint. The damage to my car only estimated $535 and my deductible is $500 so I took the whopping $35 and will decide at some point if I want to fix it or not. I'm thinking the scratches give Finley character.
* I've been doing some house hunting. I've looked at five houses and will look at another one tonight. I'm still trying to decide if I'm better off renting or buying. There are perks to both. If I rent I have a landlord to do all the fixing, if I buy my monthly payment is going towards something that I will eventually get my money back from...or something like that.
* I applied and have been approved to become a legal gaurdian for an adult with an intellectual disability. The paperwork is still going through the courts but in the near future I will be a guardian to a lady in her 50s that has no family or natural supports but receives day and residential services from an agency in Wichita. I'm excited to get to know her better in the very near future.
*This Saturday I will be completing my second Warrior Dash in KC and then celebrating Cinco De Mayo with friends at the Power & Lights District. That is, if we are still able to walk after the Warrior Dash.
*Other upcoming races are the mother/daughter 5K in May, the 10K Wichita River Run in June and The Color Run in KC in July.
* Miss Madelyn is growing in leaps and bounds. At her last appointment she was 4'9" and weighed 83.4lbs. She is built like a brick house, with not an ounce of fat on her. I took her shoe shopping a couple weeks ago and was shocked to find out she now wears a womans size 7 or 7.5.
* Softball practice starts this week and she and I are both excited for the season to begin. This is one of my fav sports to watch her play and one of her favs to play. It is kid pitch this year so I'm sure that will be an interesting new experience for her.
* She is training for her first 5K that will be ran on May 12 at the mother/daugher race in Wichita. She is doing great with training and has ran 2 miles thus far.
*She got to help with the Augusta High School prom this year and loved every minute of it. My tomboy was delighted to be in a dress and have her fair fixed for the event. She was thrilled when I suprised her with a wrist corsage. Who knew my baby girl would be be attending prom at age 8?
* Madelyn is quickly approaching her 9th birthday!! I am not even sure how that is possible!!! She has thrown out several ideas for her friend birthday party but we are still waiting on her to narrow it down to one idea.
* School is winding down for Madelyn and she will soon be enjoying her summer days with her daddy. She cannot wait.
That pretty much catches you up to speed with us. Hope all is well in your world!
* On Easter Sunday, day nine of ownig Finely I was backing out of my driveway and chatting with Madelyn when I felt a bump and heard a crash. Madelyn looked at me and said "mama, I think you hit that car." Unfortunately she was correct in her thinking. I backed into the car parked across the street from my house. I left a nice dent on the front fender of the other car and my car has obvious scratched paint. The damage to my car only estimated $535 and my deductible is $500 so I took the whopping $35 and will decide at some point if I want to fix it or not. I'm thinking the scratches give Finley character.
* I've been doing some house hunting. I've looked at five houses and will look at another one tonight. I'm still trying to decide if I'm better off renting or buying. There are perks to both. If I rent I have a landlord to do all the fixing, if I buy my monthly payment is going towards something that I will eventually get my money back from...or something like that.
* I applied and have been approved to become a legal gaurdian for an adult with an intellectual disability. The paperwork is still going through the courts but in the near future I will be a guardian to a lady in her 50s that has no family or natural supports but receives day and residential services from an agency in Wichita. I'm excited to get to know her better in the very near future.
*This Saturday I will be completing my second Warrior Dash in KC and then celebrating Cinco De Mayo with friends at the Power & Lights District. That is, if we are still able to walk after the Warrior Dash.
*Other upcoming races are the mother/daughter 5K in May, the 10K Wichita River Run in June and The Color Run in KC in July.
* Miss Madelyn is growing in leaps and bounds. At her last appointment she was 4'9" and weighed 83.4lbs. She is built like a brick house, with not an ounce of fat on her. I took her shoe shopping a couple weeks ago and was shocked to find out she now wears a womans size 7 or 7.5.
* Softball practice starts this week and she and I are both excited for the season to begin. This is one of my fav sports to watch her play and one of her favs to play. It is kid pitch this year so I'm sure that will be an interesting new experience for her.
* She is training for her first 5K that will be ran on May 12 at the mother/daugher race in Wichita. She is doing great with training and has ran 2 miles thus far.
*She got to help with the Augusta High School prom this year and loved every minute of it. My tomboy was delighted to be in a dress and have her fair fixed for the event. She was thrilled when I suprised her with a wrist corsage. Who knew my baby girl would be be attending prom at age 8?
* Madelyn is quickly approaching her 9th birthday!! I am not even sure how that is possible!!! She has thrown out several ideas for her friend birthday party but we are still waiting on her to narrow it down to one idea.
* School is winding down for Madelyn and she will soon be enjoying her summer days with her daddy. She cannot wait.
That pretty much catches you up to speed with us. Hope all is well in your world!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Easter 2012 (better late than never)
Madelyn and I celebrated Easter with my family the Sunday before Easter. We began the celebration with a feast prepared by my mom. There was enough food for a small army. After stuffing ourselves the Easter egg hunt commenced. I napped on the living room floor while all the other adults hid eggs. Doing what I do best as usual.
Miss Aub enjoying a carrot
Terry and I are a lot a like in this way, we love our naps!
Miss Kaitlyn is thrilled to Easter egg hunt even at almost 16.
Mom & Dad enjoying watching the kids, and thanking God that they don't have young kids anymore.
At 6:50am on Easter morning I hear Madelyn shout from her room "Mama, can I get up?" As much as I would have liked to say "Heck NO!!" I knew she was super excited about seeing what the Easter bunny had brought. By 7:00am she had found all the eggs and was counting all her money and candy. I would say she made out pretty well. We then got ready and went to church. We usually go to a Saturday evening service so this was new territory to us. Running late to church on Easter Sunday was not the brightest move I've ever made. It was a full house and the only place left to sit was in a side room watching the service on TV, as were many of the other late comers. I was happy to see all the people on Easter Sunday and hope that they will return before the next holiday. After Church I took Madelyn to her dad's house and then spent the afternoon doing things around the house and then managed to back my new car into the car across the street which made for an exciting end to my Easter Sunday.
Finally get her in a dress, but can't keep her out of the tree!
Me & my girl!!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Spring Break 2012
A few months back I started planning a spring break trip to Arizona. One of my best childhood friends, Jini, lives in the Phoenix area and although she had made numerous visits to Kansas I had never made the trip to Arizona to see her. This would not only be my first trip to Arizona to see her it would also be my first trip that I had ever planned on my own.
Madelyn and I flew from Wichita to Mesa, Az on March 20 and arrived back in Wichita on March 24. We loved the gorgeous weather in Arizona (I could definitely be one of those retired snow birds) and had a great time spending time with Jini and her family. Although Madelyn missed her daddy greatly.
Day 1: We arrived in Mesa, Az and picked up the rental car. Madelyn could not believe that there were real cactuses (cacti?) in Arizona. We drove about an hour to the Phoenix area, ate a late lunch and then went to the mall to kill some time until Jini got off work. We then went to Jini's house and hung out with her and her family that eve and had dinner a local mexican place. When we arrived back at Jini's house we took her dogs for a walk and then headed to bed.
Day 2: We got up and got around and headed to Sedona and Flagstaff, Az with Jini and her sixteen year old daughter, Hannah. we saw hot air balloons coming down from a morning flight, which was beautiful with the mountains in the back ground. It was neat watching the scenery change as we made our way higher up the mountains. Sedona was beautiful and a fun touristy place to shop. We drove around checking out the beautiful scenery, had lunch and did a little shopping. Then we headed on to Flagstaff. The further we drove the more snow we saw. It was reported that Flagstaff had a foot of snow just days before we arrived. Jini drove us around her old college campus and then we found a place to play in the snow before heading back down the mountain. It was in the 50s so it was perfect wearing short sleeves and playing in the snow. I may have thrown Madelyn down in the snow and she may have thrown a snowball right in my face. Once we got back to Jini's house we said our goodbyes and Madelyn and I headed to the hotel to check in. After relaxing at the hotel for a bit we drove around finding a place to eat and ended up at a steak house. We were both tired from our day of traveling and crashed soon after we arrived back the hotel
Day 3: Madelyn and I walked across the parking lot to enjoy a greasy breakfast at the Waffle House then drove to Jini's house. Jini drove us to a nearby mountain hiking trail. The three of us hiked up and then back down the mountain, which ended up being a 2 mile hike. Hiking was one of my favoritine things of our vacation. The weather was beautiful and the view from the top of the moutain was amazing. After the hike Madelyn and I headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up and then Jini and her thirteen year old son, Daniel, picked us up at the hotel. We headed to downtown Phoenix to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then to the Science Center where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Once we arrived back to the hotel Madelyn decided to attempt a swim in the pool where she quickly discovered it was much too cold and the hot tub was a better option.
Day 4: - This was our last day in Phoenix so we made the best of it by going to the Challenger Space Center in the morning. Madelyn didn't even really know about the Challenger so it was kind of neat telling her about it. I also told her exactly where I was when it happened (Mrs. Catlin's 5th grade class). After the space center we went on a tour of the University of Phoenix Cardinal Stadium. I thought it was really cool how the grass field is retractable and during the off season it is outside being taken care. We also got to sit in a $140,000 loft and hang out in the opponents locker room. Madelyn was not nearly as impressed about the tour as I was but some day she will be able to say she was in the stadium where there was a super bowl. After our tour we headed to Mesa, Az. found some hispanic hookers by accident, a place to eat a late lunch and then checked into our hotel. Madelyn went swimming and then we to locate an outlet mall during rush hour. I could have lived without that experience. After shopping we made a failed attempt to locate a Cheesecake Factory and settled for ice cream from a gas station. We settled in early as we had to get up for a very early flight the next morning.
Madelyn and I flew from Wichita to Mesa, Az on March 20 and arrived back in Wichita on March 24. We loved the gorgeous weather in Arizona (I could definitely be one of those retired snow birds) and had a great time spending time with Jini and her family. Although Madelyn missed her daddy greatly.
Day 1: We arrived in Mesa, Az and picked up the rental car. Madelyn could not believe that there were real cactuses (cacti?) in Arizona. We drove about an hour to the Phoenix area, ate a late lunch and then went to the mall to kill some time until Jini got off work. We then went to Jini's house and hung out with her and her family that eve and had dinner a local mexican place. When we arrived back at Jini's house we took her dogs for a walk and then headed to bed.
Day 2: We got up and got around and headed to Sedona and Flagstaff, Az with Jini and her sixteen year old daughter, Hannah. we saw hot air balloons coming down from a morning flight, which was beautiful with the mountains in the back ground. It was neat watching the scenery change as we made our way higher up the mountains. Sedona was beautiful and a fun touristy place to shop. We drove around checking out the beautiful scenery, had lunch and did a little shopping. Then we headed on to Flagstaff. The further we drove the more snow we saw. It was reported that Flagstaff had a foot of snow just days before we arrived. Jini drove us around her old college campus and then we found a place to play in the snow before heading back down the mountain. It was in the 50s so it was perfect wearing short sleeves and playing in the snow. I may have thrown Madelyn down in the snow and she may have thrown a snowball right in my face. Once we got back to Jini's house we said our goodbyes and Madelyn and I headed to the hotel to check in. After relaxing at the hotel for a bit we drove around finding a place to eat and ended up at a steak house. We were both tired from our day of traveling and crashed soon after we arrived back the hotel
Jini and Hannah
Day 3: Madelyn and I walked across the parking lot to enjoy a greasy breakfast at the Waffle House then drove to Jini's house. Jini drove us to a nearby mountain hiking trail. The three of us hiked up and then back down the mountain, which ended up being a 2 mile hike. Hiking was one of my favoritine things of our vacation. The weather was beautiful and the view from the top of the moutain was amazing. After the hike Madelyn and I headed back to the hotel to get cleaned up and then Jini and her thirteen year old son, Daniel, picked us up at the hotel. We headed to downtown Phoenix to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then to the Science Center where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Once we arrived back to the hotel Madelyn decided to attempt a swim in the pool where she quickly discovered it was much too cold and the hot tub was a better option.
We made it to top!!
Just finished hiking the moutain behind us.
Meeting of the minds
Wheelchair race with Daniel
What the heck??
Bed of nails
Day 4: - This was our last day in Phoenix so we made the best of it by going to the Challenger Space Center in the morning. Madelyn didn't even really know about the Challenger so it was kind of neat telling her about it. I also told her exactly where I was when it happened (Mrs. Catlin's 5th grade class). After the space center we went on a tour of the University of Phoenix Cardinal Stadium. I thought it was really cool how the grass field is retractable and during the off season it is outside being taken care. We also got to sit in a $140,000 loft and hang out in the opponents locker room. Madelyn was not nearly as impressed about the tour as I was but some day she will be able to say she was in the stadium where there was a super bowl. After our tour we headed to Mesa, Az. found some hispanic hookers by accident, a place to eat a late lunch and then checked into our hotel. Madelyn went swimming and then we to locate an outlet mall during rush hour. I could have lived without that experience. After shopping we made a failed attempt to locate a Cheesecake Factory and settled for ice cream from a gas station. We settled in early as we had to get up for a very early flight the next morning.
Day 5: Up shortly after 5am, gathered our stuff and were out the door within 20 minutes. Once we arrived at the airport we returned the rental car and then stood in a long line to check in and walk through security. Once through security we couldn't pass up the chance to spend more money at the airport gift shop before boarding the plane. One hour and forty-three minutes later we were back in Kansas and so ready to be home.
It was an all around great trip. It was a first experience for me to plan a trip and to basically navigate everywhere all by myself (thank goodness for a smart phone that has awesome navigational skills). It was a profound experience for me and definitely a confidence builder. I'm ready to plan the next trip. Now, just waiting for that money train to get here.
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