Taylor's Birthday Parties!

A couple pics from Tay's kid birthday party at Clayview... Fun! Fun! Fun!

Tay had two birthday parties... We had the family party at our house... Thanks everyone for coming! Cousin Alex even came after just having all four of her wisdom teeth out! What a trooper! Tay wanted to have her "kid" party at Clayview... She wanted to ask lots and lots of friends but we decided 10 would be a good number... They had a great time! :)

Here is a pic from the "family" party... We are hanging out in the basement...

Happy Happy Birthday Tay Tay!

I know I have lots of catching up to do this week, but wanted to put on a birthday pic of Tay while it's still her birthday. We took a couple quick pics on the way out for dinner tonight... What a fun day for Taylor! Everything was Tay's choice today... Breakfast at Cracker Barrel... Then her tball game... she rocked! Of course, we had to make a trip to the pool... Wow, the water was so warm, but cool enough to be refreshing! Then off to Gingus Kohn (totally spelled that wrong!) and then to our friend's 40th birthday party. Now Tay is crashed in our bed all snuggled up with Paul... Too cute...

Playing catch up...

Wow, a lot has happened in the last week, but we've been too busy to post! Sorry, I will try to play "catch up" this weekend. Today is our beautiful sweet little girl's 7th birthday! Happy Birthday Taylor!!!
Here are some pics from Jake's State tournament last weekend. His team won second place in State! Way to go boys! Here we come World Series.... in 2 1/2 weeks!

Here is Jake before the big game...

Jake is stealing third!

Jake has a big lead... waiting to run into home...

Some of Tay's friends... lots of siblings...

The first and second place State winners...

Playing baseball in the rain...

Sorry, no pics! :) But, we did have a successful day of baseball. We again had to split up to watch the kiddos.... Grandma Ruth and I got to see Tay Tay play an awesome fun game of baseball in the rain! She was excited to be playing her game in the rain... like the big kids do! :) She hit the ball really great each time...

Paul, Papa John, Nana, Granny and Papa Lowell went to Blue Springs to see Jake win their game 10-1! Great job Jake! Tomorrow he plays the championship games! They are down to the top 8 teams tomorrow.... They are playing for the State Title! Tomorrow's winner is ranked #1 in the State! Go Jake... At the very least his team will be ranked 7th or 8th in the state.

Off to the cabin for a night of partying with the Valentine's and Gordan's! See everyone at 9am sharp tomorrow. :)

Have a wonderful evening! Love you all! Nicole

Awesome Camp Rock performance!!!!

Taylor rocked out in her Camp Rock performance tonight! She did so great! She had her lines memorized (both of them! :) ) and her dancing and singing was awesome!

Here is Tay at home before leaving for her Camp Rock show! See, I did fix her hair! :) It looked a little different after she was done resting in my lap at Stroud's before the big event.

Tay had the moves!!! We were so proud of her!

More dancing...

And one more dancing...

Jake had a baseball game tonight so Paul and Papa John went to see Jake while Papa Larry, Grandma Ruth, Nana, and I went to see Tay. Thanks everyone for coming to watch the kids tonight! It means so very much to them! They are so lucky to have you all!

My parents...

Yesterday was my parents anniversary! I believe it's been 38 years... I just wanted to share with everyone how much I value my parents and all that they've done for my brother and I and both of our families over the years... They are so wonderful! I always knew that they were "special", but it wasn't until I had my own kids that I could really appreciate all that they had done for us during our childhood. It feels so natural for me to want to do so much for my kids... And, I now know that it's because I watched my parents do these exact things for me. By "things" I don't mean such as making my bed, etc. Instead I mean all of the little things like mom taking the time to play the piano with me and allowing me to think I could really sing, to make me and my friends many many mun chi chi doll clothes... my friends thought you were the greatest, to have the neighborhood kids over to bake in my easy bake oven... you were so patient, and so on. And my dad by spoiling his little girl by buying her what she asked for in the store... you always made me feel like I was special and worth it, by always giving me great big bear hugs that were so comforting and still are, and by always being so accepting and understanding of others was a great example of helping me to be non judgemental of others, and so on.
Here is the gift and note that I gave them as their anniversary present...

Mom and Dad,
May you always look at this gift as what it symbolizes to me. "A few years ago" on the 18th of June the two of you formed a family that has brought so many wonderful people in this world. May you always look at this candle decor as it looks to me...
*Glass holder: the pure and open way that you have raised your family
*Metal frame: the classy touch you always made sure your family had
*White sand: the thousands of special memories you have helped our family make
*lime green candle: the spark of positive and happy energy you bring to our family
*the six Sanibel Island shells: the wonderful time the 6 of had and the many more times to come

May everyone always treasure the parents in your lives! We parents of young children have such an important job to do... raising wonderful adults! :) Those of us that are lucky enough to still have parents alive need to make sure we encourage and nurture an involved and loving relationship with them and our children. Grandparents and grandchildren can form a special bond that will greatly benefit them both. We can never have too many loving, calm, and peaceful role models for our kids...

It's Friday! It's 9am...

I had to laugh this morning when I thought about this little girl asking me the other day... "Do you work or do you just stay home?" I told her that "I just stay home... :)" Her mom quickly informed her that I had plenty of work to do at home. :) At 8:45 am when I was laughing to myself about this comment this is what I had done so far this morning...

*chatted with my husband as he prepared to leave for work at 6am... should have made him coffee and breakfast! :) Sorry honey! :)
*washed, dried, and folded a load of laundry
*worked out
*found Taylor's Gabriella outfit and wig at the bottom of her closet :)
*prepared Taylor's snack and everything that she will need for Camp Rock camp today
*prepared everything Jake will need for his two baseball games today
*went to Target at 8am to get...
*Taylor a Sharpea outfit... decided against Gabriella when she walked in the house at 8m from her sleepover... it had to be a certain blue shirt and black skirt, black handbag, necklace, and bangles for her wrists
*Belgian waffle mix since coach said it would be good to have waffles or cereal (cereal, are you kidding? too easy for mom) and we ran out yesterday when I made them
*showered before the 8am Target trip, but had to go with soaking wet hair...
*fix wet hair, which of course dried so I will have a bad hair day all day... :)
*got Tay ready after she came home from her very first sleepover ever... "Mom, I can't believe you didn't think I was ready for a sleepover sooner... That was soooooooooo easy!" "Maybe for you Tay Tay, but not for Mommy!" :)
*had Tay sign a birthday card for her friend
*put sunscreen on my baseball player
*made sure my baseball player had his "eye black" for the big game
*made a champion breakfast of choc chip waffles and cantaloupe
*answered emails

Now it's 9am and I'm going to get my Starbucks hazelnut latte on the way to the post office to mail some things... Then back to Target to get the Gift card that I forgot to get this morning for a birthday party that Tay is going to today... Yes, I'm forgetful when it comes to Target... Let's just say the cashier people fight over me to come to their lane!!! I'm like family to them... :)

Have a super duper day today!! Make it a great one!!!

Here is a pic of the kids on their way to their baseball games last night...
Jake's baseball team after they beat the Cowboys 10-0!!! Go Millhouse!
Nicole and Taylor dressed up as Sharpea... outside Target... Remember Tay decided not to be Gabriella at 8:10 this morning... This pic taken at 8:30 in a brand new Target outfit... Hard to tell here, but she really does look cute! :)

A successful swim meet!

Wow, the kids are loving the Swim Team! They rock!!! Jake placed first or second in all of his events... And there were 20 kids in some of the events!!! He got 1st in the freestyle relay, the backstroke, and the butterfly. He got 2nd in the breaststroke and the IM relay. Way to go Jake! Taylor did three events this time... the freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke... She did awesome and improved her time in all three events. Way to go Taylor! Here are a couple pics of the kids... Jake is doing the butterfly and Tay is doing the backstroke... By the way, it looks like Jake got second, but the kid that finished before him was doing the stroke wrong and got disqualified.... So, Jake was first! :)

Also, Jake had his second day of football camp today... You can tell he's going to be a football player! He loves it! Even 6 hours in the 94 degree heat didn't stop him today. :) Tomorrow is the last day so I'm going to take a few pics tomorrow... Check back tomorrow night for some pics... :) Just back from baseball practice... Looks like there won't be any football camp tomorrow... A day of rest before the big game. :)

Have a great night!

More baseball and Camp Rock!!!

Taylor and her friend Nicole had their very first day of Camp Rock camp today! It's every day this week and the "big" performance is on Friday evening... I took her and her friend to CiCi's after their first big day to celebrate. Here they are at CiCi's...
We had an awesome weekend in Columbia this past weekend! As far as family time we had a blast... We didn't place as well as we should have in the baseball tournament, but the boys still had a good time. Jake did a great job hitting this weekend and caught some awesome balls making some greatly needed outs for our team. Here is a pic of him with his trophy....

First Place in our League!

I forgot to say that Jake's 9U Millhouse baseball team won FIRST place in the league!!! I can't believe the season is already over! Only three more tournaments left... Columbia, Blue Springs, and then Omaha for the World Series... LOVE IT! So much fun!

Wow! We've been busy!

We have had a very action packed summer so far! Has it only been two weeks? We have managed to pack a lot into just two short weeks. It's been awesome so far... Also, a warning that all of these pics were taken with Tay's little camera so they aren't very sharp, etc. Sorry, but you get the idea... And she's so happy they were taken with HER camera.

Tonight was Jake and Taylor's first official swim meet. It was against the Hills of Walden at Clayview. Jake and Tay both did awesome!!! Jake was in 5 events and he placed FIRST in 3 (two relays and the freestyle) of them! (He actually placed first in another event (the butterfly), but was disqualified for alternating his legs incorrectly.), and he placed third in the backstroke. Wow wow wow! And Taylor was in 2 events and she placed 4th in both the freestyle and the backstroke! We are so proud of them both... Paul volunteered during the meet... Which is required of parents... It's my turn next time. :)
They both got ribbons for placing first in their "heat" too...

Paul as a timer...

Paul as a "safety guard" before the meet... And Jake with his Clayview tattoo...

Nana and Jake before the big meet...

Jake also had his last day of a week long Larry Holley Basketball camp at William Jewell College today! Here is a pic of his team after they won first place in the 3rd/4th grade division...

Jake got third place in the 3rd/4th grade slam dunk contest... Too bad they only gave awards for first and second place... :) Jake loves awards! What 8 year old doesn't??!! :) This is the best pic I could get with Tay's little camera...

Here are some of Jake's closest buddies... They all went to basketball camp this week... And they all went to Liberty's High School basketball camp last week...

Autographs from 2 KU players... They came to the camp yesterday and spoke to the kids... Jake had a ball, his shirt and his socks autographed. :)

We went to our condo this past weekend and had a blast! We went out to dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse where Tay ordered her favorite dinner... Her very own order of Philly rolls... Jake and Tay both LOVE sushi!

It wouldn't be a weekend without Mexican food!

While Jake and Paul enjoyed the Fudge shop... Tay and I enjoyed shopping at Justice... Boy can that girl shop! Check out the Under Armour socks... She quickly traded those in for some zebra flip flops! :) Takes after her mama.... :)

Jake's first time to have a friend spend the night.... See, I am letting them grow up!

Tay's first night to have someone spend the night too! Different nights of course... What sweet kids! They are so good at choosing friends... Let's home they keep that up! :)

Tay and her friend in their Diva poses...

We had Brandon, Court, Jackson, and Ella and the White family join us for Clayview guest week... We had a blast grilling out and watching the kids swim!

Paul with his favorite kiddos...

The whole group! The Cowgers grilled out with us too, but we didn't remember to pull out the camera until just after they left... Sorry Cowgers... There will be many more opportunities! We all look silly because we were using the timer on the camera... :)

The dad's and the dot's... I believe this pic was the "dots" idea... :)

Help us fight childhood cancer by joining us for some lemonade!

Sunday, June 14th from 6-9pm the A-Team (Paul, Nicole, Jake, and Taylor) will be holding our very own Alex's Lemonade Stand to help raise money for childhood cancer. We hope you will stop by our cul-de-sac in Woodneath Farms for some lemonade! This is a very wonderful cause... There will be many many lemonade stands the weekend of June 12th... All over the country! Let's all FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT for this wonderful cause!!!

Hip Hop

Tonight is Taylor's first night of Hip Hop camp... She is sooooooo excited! We went to the condo this weekend and of course made a trip to Justice. She asked if she could pick out a new outfit to wear to her Hip Hop class and this is what she came up with. And I thought an outfit consisted of a top and a pair of shorts! :) Just a warning to those of you that may take Tay out on a shopping trip to get a new outfit... Her outfit consists of... shorts, two tank tops, gloves, thongs, a scarf, sunglasses, and a hat... I had to draw the line on the new handbag! :) She is definitely fun to shop with! She models EVERYTHING and with lots of funky personality! :) Here are two pics that mom took... Thanks for the pics mom!

Now that's a slide...

Now that's what I call a slide... Jake is never afraid to get dirty! As a matter of fact, Jake LOVES to get dirty! Denise, thanks for caturing this one!!! We love it!

This makes me happy!

Lately, I've become very aware of how quickly my kids are getting older. While I'm so proud of the young people they are becoming I'm also a little panicked on how quickly life is flying! In the last six months I've really noticed a difference in how we are communicating. Especially with Jake since he is now a third grader... It seems that everyday I'm teaching "very important life lessons". While I know I've always done this as a parent, the "teachings" are becoming a little tougher now. I remember when the tough questions of "why, why, why"... used to be "why is the sky blue?", etc. Now, I'm having daily questions like... "So and so said that the kids who don't go to church can't go to heaven", and "So and so said that because we're not Catholic we don't believe in God", and "I understand how I have half of your blood mom, but how do I have half of dad's blood", and "if so and so is mean to me all the time then why should I be nice to them" and on and on. Boy, I really have to think of my answers now... I can't just say "because"... I actually love this stage in their lives and I'm so happy to be teaching them about God, life... looking at the positive side of every situation, how to be a good friend, sticking up for what they believe in, how to win, how to lose, how to be confident... but, not to the extreme, how to accept others, and so on... I love it! I think as parents we need to really take this job of "answering our kids questions" seriously. It's so important... When I really look at my kids and answer their questions I can tell they are like sponges soaking it all in. They read my words, expression, body language... everything... and they TRUST me that I'm right. Wow, they won't always trust me with my answers so easily so I better do my very best to "mould" them now. :) Afterall, as parents we have soooo much influence on their lives at this age.

This is what made me so happy today... The kids and I were coming home from Jake's tennis match and there was a homeless man and two dogs at the off ramp coming into town. Jake was asking about why he was doing that, etc. and he said "Why doesn't he move closer into the middle of town and do his business (of asking for money, etc.) there. He'd probably have a better chance of collecting more money in town." It was adorable... "do his business". :) Now the HAPPY part... He said "You know what I think about alot? I wish I would win a million dollars so I could buy my own town with a neighborhood so I could give all the homeless people a house, etc." Sweet, sweet, sweet! I almost cried! :)

Jake had a great time at basketball camp today! What a great group of highschool boys teaching these 3rd to 5th graders! And he also had fun at his first ever doubles tennis match! They lost, but had a great time anyway. :) Taylor had fun getting cups of water too... She's a pro! :)