Susan G. Komen Run

Race for the Cure

by

Mark

On Sunday, Ashley raced in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure race.  While I told her many times how proud I am of her, I don't think she realizes exactly how proud I really am.   See, my wife is not a runner.  She never really has been.  But this race was important to her.  She has several family members that have endured breast cancer, and wanted to run in support of them.  Over the last several weeks, Ashley has shown a dedication that has been an inspiration to me.  Many times over the last 8 weeks, Ashley has woke up at 5am and ran in the morning.  She woke up that early for two reasons:  1) It has been blazing hot this summer and 2) She didn't want to miss time with her family after work. 

Ashley, know this...you have made me, your girls, and I am sure your whole family so proud of you.

Enjoy the pictures below.

These are the names of the women in Ashley's family that have endured breast cancer. 

Run, Ashley, Run

Ashley ran with her friend Mandy

Lauren and I made signs to cheer Ashley on.  Addison had more important things to worry about.

Little Addison just chillin'

While I went and got the car (we had to park a country mile away), Ashley and the girls went and played in the fountains at Crowne Center.

Staycation Day 2- The Afternoon

Mark found a great bookstore, The Reading Reptile, in Brookside that we hit Saturday afternoon after Deana Rose.  It is just for kids and it was a great place to hang out for about an hour.  The was a play area as soon as we walked in that the girls played in for a while.  Addison spent most of her time there, while Lauren and I searched for a book. 

After the book store we hit Baskin Robbins, which was just a few doors down.  It tasted so good on the hot day.  Lauren loves to snack on popcorn, so that is what she got.  Addison loved the cotton candy icecream. 

After the book store and ice cream we decided to head home.  Lauren was really tired, but just could not fall asleep in the car.  We were going to go out to the Legends to shop and go out to dinner, but we decided it as just too hot.  So we headed home, Lauren took a late nap, and then we headed to I-Hop for dinner.  Mark and I decided breakfast for dinner sounded awesome.  Little did we know that kids eat free from 4-10 PM so dinner was cheap and yummy!

Staycation Day 2-- Deana Rose Farm

Saturday morning we headed out to Deana Rose Farmstead.  Since it is such a long drive we really don't get there all that often.  We were there for almost 3 hours and it was HOT!!!

The girls loved feeding the baby goats.  The bigger goats were a little to aggressive for the girls so they just stuck to the baby goats.  We also saw the new turkey coop and a couple pigs covered in mud!

This was the first time we went fishing and we loved it.  Mark said this was his favorite part.  Lauren and Mark caught a few fish and both girls loved it! 

If you look closely you can see the fish, Lauren is looking at it! 

Addison wanted to touch the fish too.  No fear in this girl! 

Lauren was a little freaked out by Daddy swinging the fish around.  Poor Addison got squished!  I don't think it even phased her. 

Lauren was very cooperative and I got some great pictures of her around Deana Rose.  It is a great place to take pictures of the girls. 

To save a few dollars we packed a lunch and ate in the back of the 4-runner.  The girls thought that was the coolest thing ever!  After lunch we were going to head back in for some more fun, but it was so hot we decided to head to our next destination.  Brookside, to hit The Reading Reptile (a book store) and Baskin Robbins for snack!  Nap time...

Staycation Day 1-- The Afternoon

Our plan for the girls to take naps in the car worked great for Addison.  She was asleep instantly.  Lauren just can't get comfortable any more and hardly ever falls asleep in the car.  But, for the rest of the day she did fine.  We put her to bed early and she was up early the next morning ready for another fun day. 

In the afternoon, we headed down to Union Station to see the Dinosaur exhibit.  It was a little pricey, but I guess it was worth the money.  The dinosaurs were life like, huge, moved, and made noises.  Those things combined scared Lauren and Addison a little but, but we were still able to enjoy the exhibit. 

It only took about an hour to go through the whole exhibit, so we decided to hit Science City as well.  Tickets were only $5 since we had already purchased tickets to the dinosaur exhibit.  I am so glad we went.  The girls loved it! 

She is growing so fast and quickly becoming a young lady and not my little girl.  She just looks do grown up in this picture. 

And this one...is the cutest thing ever.  Don't you just love that smile and those gorgeous eyes?  Even though she is only 22 months old she was still able to find many things to do at Science City that kept her busy. 

We were planning on going out to dinner as well, but we were wiped out.  So on the way home we stopped and grabbed a pizza.  Addison fell asleep again, but Lauren never did.  Day 1 of our staycation was a blast.  More to come tomorrow...

Staycation Day 1

Well the first 1/2 of day 1.  It was a busy fun filled day.  Mark and I were hoping to get out of town this weekend, but nothing seemed to work out.  So I suggested we stay in town and hit some things around town we never seem to have time to go to.  There is so much to do and see in KC, but when you live here you just don't seem to get to all the cool places. 

Friday morning we headed over to Little Monkey Business.  It is an indoor play area for little kids.  It is in Shawnee and about 40 minutes away, so there is no way we would just go over there on a random Saturday morning.  The weekends just seem to fill up with so many other things.  This was a great activity for the girls, and a pretty packed place on a Friday morning (we were in Johnson County you know!) 

The girls had a blast running, jumping, climbing, sliding, snacking, swinging, coloring, reading, riding, building, chasing, throwing, falling, and screaming because they had so much fun.  That pretty much sums up the play time. 

For lunch we headed to Fritz's, which is the choo choo train restaurant.  There is one located in Crown Center, and one in Shawnee.  It is a great restaurant for kids and families and the girls love it! 

LOVE this picture of Addison watching one of the trains deliver food to the tables.  She loves trains!

She actually kept the hat on for a while this time. 

If you can not tell Lauren had a blast too!  It was so great to spend a Friday with Mark and the girls doing fun stuff like this.  What a great morning.  Addison fell asleep in the car almost instantly.  Lauren rested, but never fell asleep.  For the afternoon, we headed down to Union Station to see the dinosaur exhibit.  More on that later. 

Sleepy Time

So lately each night when Addison goes to bed she takes several things to bed with her.  Stuffed animals, barbies, blankets, skillets, etc...you name it she will find it.  She is so easy to put to bed.  After she rounds up the items that she needs in her crib with her we usually rock for a few minutes and then I just put her in her crib and don't hear another sound out of her until morning.  She is such a great baby. 

One night I took the skillet out of the bed so she would not hit her head on it overnight since it is a hard toy.  In the morning she was looking for it all over her bed.  When I realized what she was doing and I gave it back to her she was so happy!  Silly girl...

Sweet Lauren.  We got this penguin in San Diego when we went to Sea World a few years back.  She likes to sleep with penguin, Shamu, or the fuzzy monkey we got at the San Diego Zoo. 

Pool Party

This is Lauren swimming....all by herself...we are SO PROUD of her...She has come a long way this summer.  So she has floaties on and 2 more floaty devices...but this is a HUGE accomplishment!  We have made great strides this summer. 

She is pretty excited too...and so happy that Mommy and Daddy are so proud of her.  You see, Lauren hates swim lessons, before this summer had a huge fear of the water..did not want to get her hair wet...did not want to put her face under water....did not want to wear floaty things or a life jacket.  She always wanted Mark and I to hold her in the water and not let go. 

Friday night we had a pool party at Mrs. Kellie's house (Lauren's pre school teacher.)  When we arrived there were several kids in the pool (no parents) with life jackets or floaty things.  They were having a blast.  Mark was the first Daddy to get in the pool (he is such a good daddy.)  After just a few minutes Lauren was "swimming" by herself just like her friends and loving it! 

This is Seth, another one of her little buddies. 

This is my favorite smile on Lauren (you can also see it here) when you know she is having a blast with something and truly having a great time. 

And then there is Addison.  That little worm managed to get out of the tube floaty that she was in when Mark and not looking, but still holding her.  She has NO desire to he held in the water.  She just wants to squirm out of your arms and "swim" which she obviously has no idea how at 21 months old. 

A sweet boy from Lauren's class (Logan) said Addison could borrow his floaty things so she could swim.  They were way too big for her, but she loved them.  Mark still held on tightly, but Addison thought she had a little more freedom to "swim." 

The pool party was a lot of fun.  There were tons of kids there and all the parents.  The kids had a blast and the parents had fun visiting and hanging out too.  Lauren can't wait to go back to Mrs. Kellie's house and swim (Mrs. Kellie has 2 daughters that would love to watch the girls so she just might get to go back real soon!)  Addison did not want to leave either.  Mrs. Kellie used to be the infant teacher in Addison's room so Addison knows her very well.  Mrs. Kellie was actually holding Addison for a long time and Addison was not ready to leave when it was time to head home.  Made me a little bit sad, but actually it was a good feeling to know that Addison was well taken care of as an infant while in daycare. 

Good times and great memories.  Can't wait to get back to the pool and see Lauren swimming.  She has come a long way this summer.