Adventure Race & Addy's Preschool Concert

The recent devastating tornado destruction that has hit Joplin has really made the last 24 hours kind of a blur. Wes was called out immediately after to respond to the disaster. We once lived in a connecting town to Joplin so we are very familiar with the buildings and neighborhoods that were completely leveled. Jaidyn was born at St. John's hospital in Joplin which is now just a framing with shattered windows. I barely slept last night continuing to get up several times along with Reid's feedings to check Facebook to see who had finally checked in with family/friends as most cell phone service was down. Wes worked missing persons reports all day today and he said that there are many, many people unaccounted for.

St. John's Hospital, Joplin Mo

On a brighter note...Addy had her last day of preschool today. Even though she is excited about the summer months she is loving the idea of officially being a Kindergartner.

Addy at her Preschool Spring Concert



Wes and I both were proud of our finishes in the Ozark Greenways Adventure Race on Saturday. The stormy weather decided to break for a day and cooperated beautifully. The orienteering this year was much more friendly than in years past as the points we had to find weren't too far off of horse trail paths and therefor I think I managed to escape the miseries of poison ivy, itch weed, and thorn bushes tearing up my legs. While we both weren't on the same team, we did cross paths several time throughout the day...mainly when both our teams were very lost during the trail biking portion. The trail biking is always my least favorite phase of the race every year. I spend most of my time pushing my bike up steep terrain and then walking it back down the other side because I am afraid of tumbling. The only partial break I took all day was to step off in to the woods to manually relieve pressure that Reid normally does every day for me. Thank you so much to Nana and Papa for watching all the kids and getting up with Reid for all 3 of his nighttime feedings. The kids had a wonderful time and I know my parents had to be exhausted, perhaps as much as Wes and I were from the race. And thank you Wes for getting the kids around in the mornings for school so that I could have an hour each morning to train. Without his efforts, there is no way I would have been able to participate and prepare for this within 3 1/2 months after having Reid.


Arriving at the race headquarters...4:30 is an early morning wake.




Feeling very good about our finish. Overall we finished 16th out of 53 teams and 4th in our division.

Wes and his partner competed well amongst the duo teams and finished around 15 minutes after we did.


The kids, as always had a blast with Papa & Nana



Nana had Papa take this picture so she could get in one with the kids and this is what she got. Lol!

~ Reid's Baptism ~

Today after mass Reid was baptized and became a Child of God. What a wonderful way to start off the last full week of school before summer vacation with Reid's baptism. We are so proud to have all of our children baptized and brought up in the Catholic faith. Wes and I are so glad that both Jared and Carrie accepted the honor and responsibility of being Reid's Godparents. I am sure they have already started saving for his college fund...ha!ha!

I'm so glad that I packed an extra outfit for Reid as we didn't even make it through the opening song before Reid managed to make a mess that inched its way out of his diaper. So much for his special baptismal onesie! And I probably should have packed another shirt for myself as Reid managed to spit up twice down my shoulder and arm and near the end of mass Levi fell asleep in my arms and I felt the drool sinking through my shoulder sleeve. I guess its just one of the many blessings that come with having kids.




I had to let out a little giggle when the priest had to tell Jared to stay put with the baptismal candle. He inched his way forward a little and I think he thought Jared was going to burn him with it. :)








Why does it have to be so hard to get a good family picture??

~ Tiny Miss Sucker Days ~

We had such a fantastic weekend that it is two separate posts worthy. I'll start with Saturdays event...

Because of our move, Jaidyn missed out on the Little Miss Merry Christmas pageant that she wanted to enter back in December. So when they announced that they were adding a pageant to list of the events held in conjunction with the Sucker Days Festival we decided to let her enter. The Sucker Days Festival has been around for more than 50 years and the big highlight is the fried sucker fish. Apparently people drive a long ways for this? As part of the pageant she had to get recommendations from two teachers and they scored her on different character traits, she had an interview section the morning of the pageant with 3 judges and then they also judged on stage presence during the competition. And to our surprise...she earned the very first ever, Tiny Miss Sucker Days title.



Here she is before the competition, all decked out in her red, white and blue for the opening number of "This Land is Your Land".

And we stressed from the beginning that this entire experience was just for fun. No need to take any part of it too seriously.


I'm learning what it takes to be a pageant Mommy, but truly much better enjoy being a soccer mom. :)
Opening number...I wish my camera did better in gymnasium lighting.

Her cousins came to watch and cheer her on. She was so proud to have them there supporting her.

Hanging out with Papa Dave waiting patiently through all the talent shows and the other pageant contestants formal wear presentation.

Had we known that her Aunt Haley had pageant experience we would have been having her coach her up.

Jaidyn and the 1st runner up share the stage.

The Sucker Days Pageant winners!

Receiving hugs from her cousins and sister!

Getting a hug from Grandma Penny!

Reid did so well during the pageant. Of course it helps that he was always being held by one of the Grandma's.

While waiting for Reid to finish up eating, a super nice lady brought all 3 of the girls a flower bouquet so they all got to be a Princess for the afternoon.

We tried to participate in the carnival festival going on outside but the windy 40 degree temperature just didn't make it too inviting. But the kids did get a little time to do a cupcake walk and play in the bounce houses.




When they were announcing the first runner up and pageant winner, I'll admit my heart was racing. And then when they announced the first runner up and it wasn't Jaidyn, my heart sunk as I thought that was her chance as I honestly didn't think she would win. There was a cute little girl who does pageants all the time, (even though I think Jaidyn is super cute and has a wonderful personality) and I assumed she would be the winner as she has lots of experience in these types of events and she has participated in many of them. So yes, it came as a complete surprise when I heard her name announced. :)
I think my personal favorite Jaidyn moment was after it was all over...She and I were down in the dressing room changing out of her dress into her jeans and tshirt. She looks at me and says, "Mom, aren't you proud. I did pretty good getting 2nd place." I said, "No, Jaidyn you won! You are the Tiny Miss Sucker Days and that is why you got a crown." Jaidyn, "Oh, I thought they said the other girl got first place". I finally realized that when they called the other little girl out as the "first" runner-up that Jaidyn thought that meant she was 1st. I am so glad that she was just thrilled to be a part of the entire experience and wasn't caught up in just getting the crown (although it sure was nice).

Once we were home for the evening, Addy disappears for a little while and then comes back upstairs dressed like this, complete with a "Happy Birthday" sash...Jaidyn let her borrow her crown to finish the look. Maybe next year, Jaidyn can pass the crown off to Addy. :) Yikes, what have we started??

We Beat The Rain

We beat the rain tonight and Levi was able to get his team picture taken and play in his very first tball game. Imagine a game involving ten 3-4 year olds. Levi is the youngest player on his team AKA The Green Hornets, as they had to be three before the 1st game so he barely beat the cutoff just turning 3 earlier this week. Wes is coaching the team and after every practice and tonight's game he manages to work up a sweat. Keeping up with ten kids this age is quite a job! Levi did great and he actually would chase after a ball instead of playing in the dirt like a portion of the players did. His first at bat he took off towards 3rd base instead of first and then when running from 2nd to 3rd base he kept on running right to the dugout instead of to home plate. Too funny! He had a good time and I think the highlight for him was the snack and drink he received after the game.



We were home early enough from the game to get in a few bedtime stories. One of the books we read was "Gone With The Wand", so Addy felt it appropriate that I wear a crown.


This handsome man just continues to grow on our hearts each and every day. He is grasping on to a few toys and his laughter and smiles are just the best!

~ Super Sunday ~

Sunday, May 8th was definitely a "Super" Sunday in so many ways. At church we celebrated its 50th Anniversary and we had two Bishops in attendance and several Priests who have served the parish in past years. The Knights were dressed in full attire and I had truly never seen this costuming in the Catholic Church before. It was a very nice, encouraging mass (even though I spent a portion out in the foyer with Reid and had another trip to the bathroom with Levi). After church we ran through KFC for a quick picnic blanket snack at the park so we could keep the kids (in their words) from StArViNg before the birthday party celebration at Chuck E. Cheese.


Addy, Levi, and Jaidyn had a wonderful time with their cousins at their Chuck E. Cheese birthday party.


They barely ate any pizza so they could get started using up their coin tokens to play games and ride rides.














Yay! It's Chuck E.! Thank goodness we didn't pay for the party pack...he quite possibly could have been the WORST mascot ever. Yep he was definitely there only to receive a paycheck and wasn't very enthusiastic about the time he (or she) had to spend in the Chuck E. costume.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!! Icecream Cake time!









And of course the birthday recipients favorite part...present time!
















And then we joined Jared, Carrie, Heath and Brittany back at our house for a Mother's Day celebration in a Cinco De Mayo fashion...with fajitas and margaritas.










Who knew that LaLa and Ethyl had so much in common?!

We are so blessed to have been able to celebrate the kids birthdays and Mother's Day with so many members of our family. Thank you to all for being part of this special day. I mean, how many mother's get the luxury of spending part of their Mother's Day at Chuck E. Cheese? Haha!

And on a side note...I completely enjoyed the few strawberry lime margaritas that I indulged in. :)