She's Off!!!

Our little kindergartener (with her High School Musical backpack she picked out)!

So the morning went just fine! Meggan was so excited that she couldn't even eat all her breakfast. She told me her "belly was hurting" ... but then a minute later she told me that it was because she was just too excited! I'm really glad that she was though - if she would have started crying or telling me she didn't want to go, I know I wouldn't have been able to hold it together!

It helps to have "distractions" too. Katie and Cami were down here talking to her while we were outside waiting for the bus to come. Dawn even asked her boss to let her go in to work late so that she could see Meggan get on the bus for the first time - her and Lucas were a great distraction for Meggan (and her mommy) as well! That was so sweet and thoughtful of you, Dawn - THANKS for being there for this special day!

Katie, Meggan & Cami (look at those blonde beauties - YIKES)!

Just Meggan & Cami this time!

And then there's Jordan, who was much more interested in playing in Daddy's car (and that "cheese" again)!

I did have to hold back a couple tears right after she left, but it went pretty well actually! It does seem like it just happens so quick ... all of a sudden the bus is pulling away down the street and they're gone! I'm so excited for her to tell me about her day this afternoon!!! :)

And they're off!

Wow, she's officially a kindergartener! Check that one off the list of MANY things that we'll have to make it through in her lifetime...

From Kindergarten to Married...

We got home from going to church this morning, followed by a couple hours of swimming at the YMCA, and Meggan went straight up to her room. Here is how she came out:




"Mommy, now I look just like a bride!"


"Mommy, take my picture like a bride with her flower."

Seriously? Doesn't she know I'm already having enough trouble getting over the fact she's heading off on the bus to kindergarten tomorrow? As if I needed her to start talking about her getting married..........

"Jordan, say cheese!" :)

He wanted in on the camera action, so this is the result. He still has the eye-closing thing going on!!! He is SOOOO funny!

With all the talk about Meggan heading off to kindergarten these days, I probably have left Jordan in the dust. He is turning into a 2-year-old nowadays, as his second birthday is quickly approaching and will be here before we know it! He really can say more words than I tend to give him credit for (no, they may not all be pronounced perfectly), but I think I don't give him as much credit for the words he can say because he still only uses them when HE chooses to - and at NO other time! He's a stubborn one, that boy! :)

They were both swimming like fish today! Meggan has little diving rings that she loves to swim after, and one day she will even go in and under the water without her nose plugged! I don't mind that she does this, but I know she would learn to swim so much better if she would just use both hands. Jordan even jumped in and out and was kicking his feet around in the big pool - that's kind of a first for him over there. He's getting braver and braver in the baby pool, but usually when we head over to the big pool, he freezes up and just whines for Mommy the whole time (even when I'm standing right there HOLDING him)!

Long story short: Not only my baby girl, but my baby boy (who's not such a baby at all anymore) even seems to be growing up before my very eyes these days..........

So now Jordan is napping and Meggan and I are going to finish watching the Strawberry Shortcake Christmas (don't even ask) movie that she wanted to rent at the video store last night (hey, the kids' movies are FREE)! On this her last day before she's officially a kindergartener, I'm going to lay down and snuggle up with her and hold on tight (before she doesn't want me to do that anymore)! That day will come soon enough ... and these transcript pages that I need to get done can wait until later tonight!

Seriously? She's a Kindergartener???

Can this REALLY be happening? How can my little baby girl be ready to get on the bus and go to kindergarten already?

Well, we had kindergarten orientation last night, and Meggan got to meet her new teacher, see where her seat will be (she's at the red table, which has a pretty vase with red flowers in it), and meet some of her new friends. She truly did seem to be on Cloud 9 ... hopefully she will stay there through the weekend and when she hops on the bus Monday morning! That will make it easier for both her and her mommy!!! :)


Meggan at her desk (notice the new "bob" haircut she got from Grandma yesterday afternoon ... she even blow-dried it and curled it under a little for her)!


Meggan and her new teacher, Mrs. Schoch (pronounced Shock), and Chester the raccoon from the story they read!

Meggan and Sara in their classroom! It will be so fun for these two to get to spend time together again!

I really, truly am NOT looking forward to Monday morning and sending her off on the bus for her first day of school. I just want to keep her under my wing and protect her from anything bad that could happen to her. I just want her to be happy and for this transition to be easy for her! I pray that God will help us adjust to her going to school on the bus and that everything will work out smoothly and easily for her to get on and/or off the bus at Nancy's house and no confusion will result!!!

On another note: Here's a picture of Jordan "helping" Jason put together a shelf we bought last weekend for the closet. It's just to hold more junk and keep it all off the floor (mostly blankets and/or pillows). It really does make a difference in there! And Jordan loved getting to help Daddy build it!

Of course, then Meggan wanted to go up there, but we told her that it probably wasn't really built to hold quite 40 pounds. Since Jordan only weighs 26 pounds or so, we thought that would be all right! She helped too, but she just had to do it with Daddy lifting her up there! :)

Jason is getting ready to head to Dearborn, Michigan, this weekend. They aren't leaving until tomorrow around suppertime, and then they will head home sometime on Sunday, even if they have to drive late at night. He wants to be here to watch Meggan get on the bus for the very first time!!! They will be playing in the World Tournament of Vintage Base Ball - I hope they have a great time, and play well!

Thanks for checking in on us. Check back on Monday, and I'll post her getting-on-the-bus pictures then! Until then, have a great weekend!

August Already?

I know it's been a while since I last posted anything, but it's been crazy busy around here!

We had a wonderful visit last weekend with Jared and Sonny and the girls coming out to spend the weekend with us!!! The girls (and even Jordan too) had a wonderful time playing together, and it was just a nice time to get to hang out with them all!

On Saturday we went downtown to walk on the Canal in the morning, but since it was misting rain (and then started raining a bit harder after that), we decided to turn around and head back down to the south side. We ate lunch at O'Charley's and then headed back home for naptime.

Meggan danced at the Marion County Fair later in the afternoon, and so everybody came and watched her there (Jas and me & Jordan, Jared and Sonny & Jess and Randi, Dawn and Jer & Lucas, and of course the Johnsons were there watching Maggie dance too)! After they did their little Teddy Bear performance, we headed over to the rides. We bought the kids a wristband so they could do as many rides as they wanted to, so they had 1 1/2 hours to ride as many as they could! Jordan and Faith just got some tickets, but they had fun too!!! :)

The girls performing Teddy Bear!

The kids enjoying their first ride at the Fair!

The girls on the ride that goes around and you can make it spin!

Jordan on the Nemo ride!

The guys all went to the Brickyard 400 race on Sunday, and they had a lot of fun! The weather was actually pretty nice, so it was an enjoyable one for them - not raining and not 100 degrees either! In the meantime, the girls and the kids all went to the YMCA to hit the pool. It was really so much fun! The kids all enjoyed swimming, and Meggan even figured out how to get little diving rings off the bottom of the big pool!!!

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard - the view from the guys' seats!

Then came the start of this week. I was asked on Thursday afternoon of the week before last if I would be able to cover a trial ... THAT WAS STARTING ON MONDAY. Of course, I said I could, and so Pat and I were off to the races (literally). We started on Monday morning with jury selection, and it was a pretty exhausting week. I'm glad the weekend is here for a little bit of a break, and then we're back to it Monday morning at 8:30. The case is supposed to be submitted to the jury for deliberations on Monday, so one more day we go!

It's been a busy week, but it will be worth it in the end! :)

Hope everyone has had a great last couple weeks since I've been a little bit removed. Sorry we don't have better pictures, but I'll share a few of last weekend anyway. Until next time.....

Great Birthday Weekend!

Jason turned 31 on Saturday - another year flew right by us!


I'm not sure if I've ever said it before, but I love the weekends that Jason doesn't have to work on Saturday morning. It's something you just get used to when you work at a bank, I know, but it really does make the weekend seem so much longer and nicer when he doesn't have to get up and leave for work at 7:30 and get home around 2:00 on Saturdays. Since their base ball game was canceled, he was actually HOME the whole day!!!

And what a beautiful day it was! We headed to the YMCA for aerobics class in the morning and then went straight from there to the zoo. It was a little chilly, but it warmed up nicely by noon or so. We went through the whole zoo and even caught a dolphin show before it was time to head home and get Jordan a nap - it was so fun to be there as a family and just enjoy each other!


The kids petting the goats in the petting zoo area! Sadly, the only picture I got of any of us while we were at the zoo. I tried at the dolphin show to get a picture of Jason and the kids, but it didn't turn out very good (Jordan was getting too close to nap time, I think)!


We rested a little bit in the afternoon (after cleaning the house, just in case it rained and people had to come inside for Jason's birthday party). We got some pizza for supper and then waited for people to join us to help Jason celebrate his big day.

We had a big crowd: Matt and Jenny (Brady & Ashlynn), Micah and Angi (Maggie & Faith), Sam and Todd (Will & Ellie), Ben and Elise (Colton), Mark and Suzie (Katie, Michael & Camryn), Eric and Shara! I think I caught everyone - sorry if I missed you, but I was probably busy chasing down a kid or two!

Around 7:00 people started arriving, and we played outside all evening! It was a little chilly again, but I didn't mind it (I'll take that over 90 degrees any day)! Jordan and Faith gave out around 9:30 or so, and then we decided Meggan and Maggie were done and put them in bed around 11:00 or so! The adults got to stay up and talk for a little while, and then people started heading home for the night by 11:30 or midnight. We were in bed (Jason may have been more like passed out, but he wasn't drunk) by 1:00. What a great time to enjoy with our friends! :)


Off to church on Sunday morning and then had some lunch at Famous Dave's and headed home to rest a little/take it easy! Jordan got a nice nap, and we relaxed for a couple hours. Then it was time to go back outside and play! Jordan joined us after his 3-hour nap... Pretty low-key day really!


It really was such a great weekend, and now I'm just excited for Jason to get to start using his Pacers tickets that the kids and I got him for his birthday!!!

I think Meggan took this picture of Boe. Just because he hardly ever makes it on the blog, here he is. This is his new choice of places to sleep ... in Jordan's crib! Jordan thinks it's hilarious when we go in there and Boe is in his bed! :)

It's Been BUSY!!!!!

It's been a while since I posted, but that's just because we've been so busy!

It was fun to be back in Iowa for the Fourth of July so that we could enjoy the holiday with family and also get to be there when Jackson was baptized. He wore Jordan's baptism outfit, which I thought was pretty neat! It was a busy day (church started at 10:30 and we were all leaving in the early afternoon to drive back to Indiana). We had a wonderful lunch before we took off to head home that Jesse's mom prepared for us, which was so kind of her ... and YUMMY!!!

Jackson after his baptism!

Crystal ended up deciding to come back to Indy and spend her last week of maternity leave with us. I had a couple days off last week without much work to do, so it was fun to get to just spend time with her and the baby and chat! Lily, my brother's 4 1/2-year-old daughter, also came back to Indy to spend the week, and her and Meggan had a great time getting to play together all day and all night each day! What special time for cousins to get to do that! :)

Meggan and Lily when they stayed the night at our house one night this past week!

We are all EXHAUSTED today! Matt and Julia were here for the weekend (Matt worked on my mom's flooring almost the whole time they were here, but he got a LOT done) and they all left this afternoon after we all went to the YMCA and swam for a while. We came home and cleaned out my van (it needed it B.A.D.L.Y.) and then just hung out for the rest of the evening. Jordan was in bed at 7:45 and Meggan was in bed at 8:00 - tired little kiddos! Jason and I enjoyed an episode of Big Brother together and now he's fast asleep ... and I'm headed that way too!

Daddy and Jordan playing tonight!

Daddy and Meggan playing tonight (don't ask us why she thought this was a good idea)!

The kids playing "traffic jam because they're fixing the road" tonight! You'll notice Jordan is playing but is laying down ... that kind of sums it up for how we were all feeling tonight! :)

We're looking forward to a little less busy week this week. Jason has the church softball tournament tomorrow night starting at 6:30, but since Meggan has gymnastics (I promise to get a few pictures and post those tomorrow), we won't be able to go. Hopefully they will win it - they've had a great season! We are going to go with him to his base ball game on Tuseday night over in Richmond though, so that should be fun! It will keep us busy, but the kids like to go to his games (well, Meggan likes to and Jordan doesn't really voice an opinion quite yet). Should be fun!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY to everyone!

It has been a while since I last posted, but you haven't missed out on much. We got to go away for the weekend last week where the guys played base ball. Jason's parents drove out to Indiana to stay the weekend with the kids, and they ended up leaving Sunday morning and bringing the kids back to Iowa with them. We were kid-free (and perhaps a little bit lost, I must admit) from the time we got home Sunday evening until we left for Iowa late on Thursday afternoon! We watched a couple movies (we NEVER get around to doing that) and just enjoyed the break and uninterrupted conversation with each other...

We're in Iowa for the Fourth of July (neat fireworks over in Reinbeck tonight) and will be heading home tomorrow. Crystal and Jesse are having Jackson baptized tomorrow at church, and after a little lunch celebration we will take off for the drive home.

Meggan is really sad that we have to leave, and it will be hard for them all to pull away from each other! What a special time that Jason's mom and dad and the kids were able to have!!!

I will post a couple pictures soon, I promise! Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday!!!