Branson

 Randy's sister Jolene had decided to take her family to Branson during one of their breaks.  She lives in Delaware so we don't get to see them that often.  When all of us heard that they would be just over 3 hours away, we decided to make it a "family reunion" time.  It was a quick weekend but so much fun to get to see everyone again!  We tried to crunch in as many activities as we could... including some great food at ShoGuns.  Here is Avery with (from left to right) her Aunt Jenny, cousin Amanda, and cousin Rachel.

 Randy and I made everyone go see the Duttons.  This was my third time to see them in show and I laughed just as hard as the first time.  Everyone enjoyed it and afterwards we got to meet them.  This is Benjamin aka Julio and his mom with Avery, Austin and Addie.  He is the funny one in the Dutton family and we just laugh so hard we cry when he's playing Julio!

 We also went miniature golfing at Pirate Cove.  We went with Julie, Derek and their kids and as always had a blast!

 Another fun activity we did was go-carting.  They've got some great go-carting courses up there!

 This was Avery's first time to drive by herself.  She was nervous and excited all at the same time!  She did great!

 Austin also got to drive a go-cart by himself.  He wasn't tall enough to drive by himself on the big course but he could on the smaller course.  Next time for sure!

Last time we went to Branson with my mom and my sister-in-law Jen, Ashton was too little to even ride in the go-cart.  I still remember her crying on the side of the track while I rode with Addie.  She was all smiles this time because finally she was tall enough!  Like I said, it was a quick trip but well worth the cousin time!  Everyone had a blast!

Bruin Mile

 Another year, another Bruin Mile!  One of these years I'm actually going to get Austin out and practice for this thing!  Actually, he only has one year left of this!  Here he is with some of his fellow Ranch Heights Wranglers.

 The Bruin Cross Country team are the sponsors of this event, and they have the cross country runners help run with the elementary kids.  My niece, Mika, is now on the cross country team so she ran alongside Austin.  It was so super sweet of her because she had already run at least one other mile with her sister, Sora.  She tried her best to tell Austin to pace himself... but the boy is more of a sprinter than a long distance runner!

 Even still, he did finish the race and we were super proud of him!

Here he is with his ribbon and his running coach!!  

Labor Day Weekend in Arkansas

 We had a long weekend over the Labor Day holiday, so we were trying to decide what we should do when Randy was talking to his brother Ricky and figured out the our nephew Drew had a tournament in Little Rock.  We figured that it was just the right distance away... just far enough to feel like we were off on vacation but not too far driving distance for Randy and I!  So we went and met our family.  The little girls couldn't wait to see Tyler... and Avery and Rachel are such good friends.  But what the real surprise was...

 that Austin got to suit up and help Drew and Ricky in their baseball tournament!  They were a little short on players and since Ricky was the coach, he brought an extra uniform for Austin.  Austin was so nervous, but he did a great job!  It was so fun to see these cousins playing together!

 We stayed the whole weekend so there was a lot of shopping and swimming in the hotel... and we ate at a few fun places... like Benihana's!

 I'm not so sure about the chopsticks in the ears... but the hats are super cute!

 Avery and Rachel... two cuties that are growing up too fast!

About as good a shot as you can get when you are asking kids to take it for you!  We had so much fun hanging out with Ricky and Anne and appreciated them letting us tag along.  This was our first time to see Drew play ball so we were really happy to be there.

First Day of School

 Wow!  I can't believe summer is already over!  As the kids get older, the summers go by quicker and quicker and really reminds me of how fast time is passing!  This was probably the toughest year for me to send my kids off.  Avery is now in 6th grade which means in our town that she is now in Middle School.  We have two middle schools in our town and we had asked that she be transferred to the other middle school.  Everything was working out until 2 weeks before school was to start and we got a call saying they were too full to accept her request.  At first it was really hard to take, but we are really happy that she is over at Madison and feel like this is the best place for her to be.  The office staff at Madison felt bad for her too and knowing all the Johns (Randy and his siblings went to Madison) they put her in office aid which she was super excited about.  Also, this meant that she could catch the bus which was a big help for me!

 Austin is now in fourth grade at Ranch Heights Elementary and has Mrs. Key for a teacher.  His confidence has grown a lot and I think he is going to take on the role of being responsible for his younger sisters with great ease.  I had wished Avery could have been there one more year to help Ashton get the school under her grasp, but I think Austin can do that for her and that makes me feel very good.

 Addison is in first grade now... wow- did that fly by!  We are excited because she has Mrs. Douthit who Randy and Avery both had as their teacher.  She is a great teacher and we are looking forward to seeing Addie grow a lot this year!  Mrs. Douthit keeps telling me she is going to retire and I tell her she has to wait until Ashton has her before she can!  Hopefully she can wait a couple more years!

Yes, believe it or not, but my youngest is now in school!  Ashton starts Pre-K this year which in an all-day program in our Elementary School.  So she rides the bus to and from school with the other two.  Austin and Addie have both been super great at taking care of her and she loves school!  I was so nervous because she hated Mothers Day Out, and she refused to go to the childcare program at the YMCA so I could ever work out.  But now the only times she has complained was when she has to miss school!  It has been hard to send any of my kids to school, but I think when it is your last you really have a hard time.  I took them to school on their first day and the walk back to my car after dropping them off was the longest and most lonely walk of my life.  There were no little feet walking next to me and no hand to hold... just me.  I love my kids so much and I'm so glad they are growing and becoming independent- but I definitely try to treasure each of our moments we have together as I see too quickly each of them growing up.

Happy Birthday Addie!!

 My little girl is 6 years old now!!  She had a friend party last year so this year we decided that her birthday would be a family party.  She loved waking up to her room full of balloons.

 And who doesn't love cinnamon rolls for breakfast!  We usually make the whole day all about what that birthday kid wants to do.

 So for lunch, she chose McDonalds!

 And for dinner we headed to Tulsa to eat at Olive Garden.  Now, she does love Olive Garden... but her real reason for wanting to eat in Tulsa for dinner...

 was because all she really wanted for her birthday was to go to Build-A-Bear!  We had been watching the Olympics all summer, especially the gymnasts, so it wasn't much of a surpise when she picked out an Olympic Bear and chose gymnastic attire for her to wear!  She even named her bear Gabby after the gold medalist Gabby Douglas.

From the looks of that smile, I think she had a wonderful day!  Happy Birthday Miss Addie John.  We love you so much and are so happy you are part of our family!

Great Wolf Lodge

 This summer our big trip wasn't too far from home, but it was pretty unforgettable!  We decided to go up to Kansas City and stay at the Great Wolf Lodge.  It was a surprise for the kids so when they saw the hotel off the highway and were screaming to go there, they were pretty surprised that we actually "listened" to them.

 They loved their little Club house in our bedroom with bunk beds and their own television.

 They also enjoyed the characters that came around and the puppet show that went on in the main lobby every so often.  We went down there one night in our pajamas for the night time story.

 But one of their favorite things was the wizard game that they all got to play.  It was a scavenger hunt wizard game that kept them busy for the full two days.  They couldn't get enough.... it was really fun!

 Of course their other favorite part they couldn't get enough of was the huge water park inside the hotel!  You can see a little bit of it here in the background.  All my pictures inside didn't turn out.  There was an indoor and outdoor water park that had things for all ages!  

 We could have easily stayed at the hotel the whole time, but we couldn't possibly go up to Kansas City and not watch the Royals play the Texas Rangers!

 We sat out in the outfield which was BLAZING hot... but that's what you do when your favorite player on the team is...

Josh Hamilton!  We didn't get him to throw us any balls but we did get him to turn his head and wave!  We had a great time at the ball park, shopping, eating and hanging out at Great Wolf Lodge!

Friends forever...

We were so sad when summer was coming to a close because we knew the Vaclaws would be moving down to Houston.  Tyler took a job down there, and though it's not that far away it was still hard to say goodbye to best friends.  We've been friends forever and all of our kids have grown up together so we have a million great memories.  We know we will see each other often but it won't be the same... so here I go enjoying looking back on just a few memories....

Avery and MaryKate now....

 and a few years ago.  

Austin and Logan now....

 and as little guys.

Addie and Evie now...

and back when.

Ashton and Jake now...

 and little tykes!