It has been way too long since my last post. So I'm going to try and fill in all the blanks from fall to winter. Lauren is still in Gymnastics and loving it. She had a little meet in Emporia that was just to compete against herself. She got blues on her floor and trampoline routine. Grant is so ornery that he keeps us on our toes. I'm hoping since Christmas is over now he will calm down a little.

We had a very nice Christmas. The kids made out like bandits. Grant got a really nice barn and machine shed from Santa. Lauren got an American Girl doll that she was wanting. Now she is going to get her hair cut like her doll. Both kids got lots of nice things. They got some new games that we will enjoy playing.

The big snow was interesting. Who really knows how much we really got because it all blew around bad. We had huge drifts in our yard and the road were terrible. We were snowed in you could say and I love it. I enjoyed being home with the kids playing with their new Christmas stuff. I have a feeling this snow will be around for a while.

I hope everyone has a great New Year. I hope that I can blog more often instead of waiting months in between.

Lauren's 2nd Grade Play.

Lauren's 2nd Grade class performed plays on Thursday. Lauren's group did the Three Little Pigs. Lauren was Pig #1. She made her house out of straw. The kids did a great job.

Grant's Pre Play School Halloween Party.

This is Grant's Pre-Play School Halloween party. All the kids looked great. We were suppose to parade downtown to the businesses but was unable because of all the rain. Miss Jan drove the school bus and took them on the parade. I think the kids loved riding the bus. Grant is a bull for Halloween this year. Easy costume to make. Sweat pants and a stocking cap with ears and horns.

Sesame Street Live

Grant and I went to Sesame Street Live on Wednesday. He really enjoyed it. The only thing he didn't like was when one of the Honker Monsters came down the isle close to him. I thought he was going to jump on the lady's lap next to him. It was a fun day. I have really enjoyed my one on one time I have had with him this week. I don't get that very often and I was glad I got to spend time with just him.

Fall Fun

The Williams' and the Darbyshire's went to the Vel Hodges Pumpkin Patch on Sunday. We had a really nice time. The kids loved it and I enjoy visiting with Vel. She has a nice place and a fun pumpkin patch. She also had a lot of nice pumpkins to choose from.

October 3rd was Lil Hornet Cheer at the ESU football game. The girls (Lauren, Bailey, Regan & Sarah) had a great time. They cheered for the first half of the game. They did a good job. I really enjoy watching them. Lauren was a cart wheelin fool that day. She just kept doing it over and over. Boy, Gymnastics sure is paying off.

It has been way to long since my last post. Lauren and Grant have started school. So far school seems to be going good except for the fact that Lauren and I fight at homework time. Grant is loving school. He has Miss Jan again this year. Lauren has Mrs VanArsdale this year.

Lauren has continued gymnastics into the school year. The deal is she has to keep her grades up or there is no gymnastics. So far we are still in. Lauren seems to be excelling in gymnastics. She is constantly doing cartwheels and round offs in the yard and in the house. It has been fun watching her and Sarah.

Sunday 9-6-09, we took the kids to the Kansas City Zoo. It was awesome. I have never seen a zoo that big before except for maybe the Sedgwick County Zoo. We did a lot of walking. Note to self, buy the all day ride tickets for the trams and the train. It would have been worth every penny. We were all exhausted by the time we got home. We were at the zoo for 6 1/2 hours and it took all of that to see everything. They had a lot of neat animals that we have never seen before in a zoo. We happened to walk by the elephants just in time for the zoo trainers to do a little show about the elephants. One of the elephants did some tricks. The same elephant painted some pictures. That was awesome too. We got to watch the Sea Lion show too. It was pretty neat. We were able to be so close to the animals. We saw some kangaroos that were just lying off a path that we were walking on. Several of the mama's had babies in there pouches. We got to see one babies feet and tail sticking out. Grant's favorite part of the zoo was when the orangutan zoo trainer was talking about how the orangutans can spit water a long distance and then the orangutan urinated on the zoo trainer. That was so funny. All in all it was a fun day. The kids loved it. They did nothing but talk about it. I am glad we decided to go there. The only thing Dave didn't like was my aggressive driving in the big city. I think I scared him a time or two when I was shooting the gap. Ya, can't do country driving in the city. I bet we got there at least 15 minutes faster since I was driving.