Back to School Bash-Preschool Edition



It is so hard to believe that our precious first-born starts preschool this year.  I cannot tell you how strange it is to know that she will be riding with me to work everyday, that she will be under the same roof as me every single day.  Is it bad that it makes my mama heart happy to know she'll be so close by?  I so want her to be treated just like any other child, though.  I never want my kids to be handed anything that they don't deserve or treated any differently.  I truly hope things go smoothly.  Preschool might not seem like a big deal to most people, but in our school system, preschool is all day, everyday, so it feels more like "real" school. 

Our entire school's Back to School Bash was the same night, which meant that I couldn't go with Hadley to her classroom for the first time because I had my own sweet babies to meet.  Justin took Hadley and did his best to snap a few pictures of the chaos.  We are so excited about Hadley's sweet teacher, Ms. Britney.  She was born to be a teacher and is truly a natural.  She is young and beautiful, too, and Hadley thinks she looks like a princess.  That never hurts, right?



Preschool has their own playground area, which the kids got the opportunity to check out if they so desired.  She was amazed that everything was just her size.  I love that they will still get a morning and afternoon recess, plus naptime of course.

Kids love seeing their names posted in a classroom.  Even my fourth graders feel a sense of belonging when they see their name posted somewhere.  Hadley got to choose a special symbol which will represent her throughout the entire year.  It was no surprise to us that she chose a horse to be her special symbol.  So she will forever be known as "Hadley Horsey" during her preschool career.

Ms. Britney complimented Hadley before she left because Hadley actually cleaned up the toys she got out to play with.  Now if we could just get her to do that at home all the time!  Back to School Bash was certainly a hit with our girl.  I am so glad she got to meet her teacher, see her classroom, and explore her surroundings a little bit.  We are so proud of Hadley and cannot wait to see what she learns and how she grows this year!

Team Building Activity

We were so excited to have Justin's basketball team and coaches over to our house for a cookout/swim party recently. Justin loves grilling for people and especially hear them go on and on about how amazing the finished product is.  When he was a teenager, he worked at his Uncle Bow's Barbecue restaurant, where he learned the tricks of the trade.  We think he is an excellent griller, which is why we call him Daddio of the Patio and Master Griller.

We love our sweet ball girls; they are all so kind and respectful.  Truly, they are the kind of girls we never have to worry about having our small children around.  Hadley swam with them all night long and felt so big.

The girls got a lively game of volleyball going, which entertained them for quite some time. 

Justin is donning his new beard, and got many comments from the girls on that.  Coach, nice beard or Coach, what's up with that?  Don't even get him started on when he asked me last summer about whether a particular pair of khacki shorts he was wearing were too short or not.  I insisted that they weren't and didn't think another thing about it.  Later that night, he told me that when one of his players, Bre, saw him that day, the first words out of her mouth were, "Coach, you gotta lose those bootie shorts."  Ha!!  I am obviously way out of touch with what's in style.  These girls keep it real with Coach Stinson though.

Justin gave me a hard time over the childish, cheesy straws I bought for the girls.  Well, turns out they were the hit of the night.  Every girl took a straw and drank from it.  It was so cute, if I do say so myself.

When Justin told the girls that we would get the firepit going after supper and make some s'mores, the girls got super excited.  In fact, Elli's comment was, "Coach, I have ultimate respect for you now."  Wow... who knew s'mores made such an impression on teenage girls.  

 

Hadley's marshmallow briefly caught on fire, which freaked her out, but we talked her through the process of waving it until the flames were gone.

It's funny how people are so picky about how they like their marshmallows.  Some like them barely roasted, while others like them blackened.  Hadley's was certainly very well done, but she didn't seem to mind.  The girls really seemed to have a great time, which made us feel good.  It's so funny how when you host teenagers at your house you want them to enjoy themselves.  That can be one tough age group to connect with.  But between the barbecue, straws, and s'mores, I think we succeeded!

Ice Cream and a Moo-vie

The children's department, at our church, had planned to take a trip to Chaney's Dairy Barn for their summertime smash hit activity "Ice Cream and a Moo-vie."  We had already planned to go the weekend they were showing Frozen, and that's when the church function was planned so it worked out perfectly!  The only downside was that Canaan had just broken his leg 5 days before and there was no way we could take the poor kid to a hot outdoor activity where he couldn't do anything.  So Justin's parents came to the rescue, coming to our house to watch Canaan so that we could take Hadley and have some special time with her.  It did us all some good to get out of the house, too.  We took advantage of the free hayride, getting a good breeze and nice whifs of the dairy cows.  Whew.

Chaney's has recently added a new activity to their farm, which is this jumping pillow.  This provided loads of entertainment since it's like a giant bouncy house with no walls.  I loved that they were growing mums, too.  Fall will be here before we know it and I can't wait.

We spent the biggest portion of our time, before the movie, at this spot.  Justin and I sat on a bench and watched Hadley jump her heart out.  Sometimes the bigger kids would knock her down, but she would just jump right back up.

We sat with our church friends and enjoyed ice cream before the movie started.  This was the largest crowd Chaney's had ever had for Ice Cream and a Moo-vie.  Not surprising; who doesn't love Frozen?  We were wishing we were freezing this night, by the way.



Before the movie began, we sang the National Anthem.  Hadley asked if there was going to be a ballgame.  Poor girl, she is so used to hearing the National Anthem before ballgames that when she hears that song she only associates it with a sporting event.  Bless her.

Our night was made when the super famous Frozen song, "Let It Go" came on.  Hadley, who had been laying down watching the movie, jumped to her feet and started singing and dancing to the song.  Our pastor, Brother David, got the biggest kick out of Hadley.  She always seems so reserved and timid, and to watch her really come out of her shell was just so funny!  Needless to say, we laughed but thought it was just adorable, too.  We were so glad to get to spend some one on one time with our sweet firstborn.  A night we won't forget!

Our First Break

The morning after Canaan's break, we got a phone call from the Urgent Clinic saying our appt. with an orthopedic doctor would be at 2:30 that afternoon.  While I was so thankful for an appt. that day, he was so pitiful that morning.  He was in pain, and with nothing to stabilize or support that leg, the slightest movement hurt him.  Justin and I just took turns holding him in the floor and handing him toys to play with.  I was thankful to just get that cast on his leg and know that it was stabilized with something.  He was a champ getting the cast put on.  We had to get Scottie/UK blue of course.

The first few days after the break were long and frustrating.  He was in pain and could only scoot himself around.  Talk about needy; wow.  It broke my heart, but it was exhausting, too.  Everyone was frustrated, just to be honest.

My sweet friend, Robin, met us in the parking lot of Urgent Clinic, before we even left, and gave Canaan balloons and toys galore to help occupy his time.  His sweet nursery workers, from church, sent him balloons and a UK football.  

My friend Lacey's mom brought Canaan more balloons, ice cream, coloring books, and dropped off this giganticly huge shaggy dog. She thought he would enjoy sitting in the floor and wrestling with it. Turns out he did....after he got over the initial shock of how big it was.  We appreciated being loved on by so many people. 



Toward the end of the week he started holding on to things and walking just a little bit.  It worried me so much that his little leg would just buckle or something.  But it didn't and I loved that he was starting to walk a little.  We took these pictures exactly one week after his break.  One of his nursery workers texted me and told me to be sure to bring Canaan to church and that she would stay with him the entire time, even during preaching.  So sweet!

The doctor told us to not be surprised if Canaan found a way to walk on his cast, but I didn't think it would just be a week in to the healing process.  Yes, this has certainly put a damper on our summer...especially swimming for our little man.  He is not to get near water.  But, again, this could have been so much worse and we are so thankful that he seems to be healing quickly and is such a little trooper.  Proud of our little man!  Sniff, sniff...

Independence Day Celebration

As has been our tradition for the past several years, the Sunday after July 4th took us to my home church, in Auburn.  Only this year, the church sponsored a community-wide bash at the Auburn Park.  There was a huge meal under the pavilion, as well as inflatables and all the playground equipment for the kids to enjoy.  I was really excited to show Hadley the park that I played softball at for many years.  I spent lots of time at Auburn's one and only park when I was growing up.

Looking back, I am really glad that I took some time before heading to Auburn to snap these pictures.  This turned out to be a pretty rotten night for us.  Canaan was sliding down an inflatable slide with my mom, and somehow or another hurt his leg.  By the time I got to him, I could feel him trembling all over.  When I went to put him down, his whole body just shifted to his right leg.  Something was wrong with his left leg; he couldn't seem to put any weight on it.

Canaan was so calm while Justin and I held him for a bit, trying to figure out what was going on with his leg.  Finally, we just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong so long before the fireworks, we gathered our things (including a very disappointed big sister who wasn't ready to leave) and headed to an Urgent Clinic in Bowling Green.

Not too long later, we found out that he did, indeed, break his tibia a little below his knee.  We were so sad for our little guy.  Hadley started crying when the doctor showed us the x-ray and said he leg was broken.  I think it scared her more than anything; hearing that something was broken on baby brother.  Since we got to the Clinic right at closing time, we were told that their office would call us the next day with an appointment with an Orthopedic doctor and go from there.  So we were sent home with no brace or anything for his little leg that night.  Moving him the slightest bit was painful, and he would cry, "Ohhhh."  Broke my heart!!  So, again, I am very thankful that I got these sweet pictures to look back on...before the bad turn later in the evening.  We are nursing our little man back to health.  He will be good as new in no time!

Happy Birthday, America!

family togetherness

multi-generations

country living

God, country, and kentucky basketball

snowcone making
my rainbow salad specialty

homemade ice creams galore

swimming until exhaustion

pool milestones for Hadley and Canaan

kid's laughter from pure joy

men telling tall tales

mamas in the pool with the kiddos

barbecued elk burgers from Uncle Bow's hunt

granna catching the sliding grands DOZENS of times
canaan couldn't get enough of going underwater

trying to beat Hadley to the slide for his turn

puddle jumpers are adorable and safe



we can't believe she finally did it

trying to keep up with bigger cousins

chill in the air when darkness falls

sparklers, bottles rockets, and smoke bombs

oohs and aahs from fireworks

checking on the teenagers shooting the fireworks

Happy Birthday America!

Habegger's Amish Market

We always look forward to our annual trip to Habegger's Amish Market for the delicious deli sandwiches and just all-around reminders of a simpler, slower way of life.  It never ceases to amaze me that there are actually road signs cautioning drivers to watch out for horses and buggies throughout this area.  I wanted to stop on the side of the road and take a picture of one but the market had its own version of one so I decided to go the safer route.

We love checking out all the goodies in the store, from the jams and jellies to the soup mixes and gourmet herbs.  Canaan looks like a photo bomber in this picture but he's actually just being his silly self. 

We had to shop in true Amish fashion, with the wide brim hats and apple bushel baskets.  Hadley desperately wanted to fill her basket with the exotic candies that were readily available; think Cracker Barrel meets Willy Wonka. 

Then came lunchtime.  Seriously, the best sandwiches on the planet.

No trip would be complete without our annual picture in the wooden horse and buggy.  Canaan has graduated to being up front with Hadley now.  Last year his little baby legs dangled out the back.  My word these kids are growing way too fast!

We actually had a pretty scary experience when an 8(ish) year old Amish boy was "driving" a buggy all by himself.  He came flying out of his driveway as we were approaching their house.  He tried so hard to get his horses to stop, but they wouldn't.  Luckily, we were able to stop in time and no one was hurt.  It's just such a different way of life that these young kids are expected to do adult-like duties.  My grandfather always reminds me, though, that it was nothing for them to drive tractors or even farm vehicles at very early ages.

There are a few windmills dispersed around Amish country that allow them to pump water out of a well.  Justin, who helps his dad haul hay a few times a year, thought that the haystacks were just too cool.  They obviously aren't able to use the high-tech machinery that most farmers use that either roll or square-bale hay.  So the Amish haystacks aren't quite as "neat" looking, which makes it that much more unique.

This is one of the many Amish farms in this area.  They are very similar in that the homes have to be very plain, nothing decorative or fancy.

Our last stop of the day was a roadside Amish stand where we bought squash and zucchini for the rainbow salad I was responsible for making for an upcoming cookout.  Nothing like a day enjoying God's gorgeous country!