Take Me Out to the Ball Game

After surviving our first full week of school, Jeremy took the older kids to a Royals baseball game on Friday night. Several friends of ours and some of their children took to the ball park to make it to Fireworks Friday Night (Thanks Mike for offering the tickets to us!). Recognizing that the Royals are not exactly in playoff contention....the Fireworks are usually the highlight if you can last that long. Well, not last night, there were some big highlights before the fireworks began. Daddy fulfilled his lifelong dream and caught a foul ball at a Major League Ballpark. I am not sure if it was the "Rally Cap" look that he and Luke were sporting or what (by the way...the rally cap did not prove to work for the Royals to win the game...lost 4-3)...but WOW is Dad the coolest or what!?!? Apparently Emma was so lovey to her Daddy and was showering him with praises and kisses on how great he was...I better remind her of that when she is 15! It reminds me that it is the simple things and precious time spent with our kids. It does not have to be a trip to Disney or vacation spots around the globe. Jeremy was able to take our kids to Kaufman Stadium and watch a game and the kids loved it. Of course him catching the ball was really cool in their eyes, but so was having the chance to be with their Dad.

If Only The'y'd Be in School....

This is a phrase that I would often say early on in the years when Emma and Luke were little. There would be days that would seem to have no end, the crying, the fighting, the constant needs, coveting of toys...
Today we took Emma to school and it was 8:05 a.m. and she was quick to run into the gym where all of her friends were. Well, I stayed....after all, this would be the first day that I had left her at a school until 3:40 when I can pick her up! She was not real pleased, because after all, "Mom...I know how to get to my class you know!" Then this afternoon, we took Luke to his first day of afternoon Kindergarten. While several of the little ones in his class were having a terrible time leaving their Moms & Dads...not Luke, he sat right down at his chair and started coloring. Do not get me wrong...this is what we wanted...no tears, just excitement for the fun ahead. We spent over a year and a half of him crying and clinging to our legs when we would leave him at church for an hour, I was over that years ago...and apparently, so is Luke.

I am sure that this sick feeling in my stomach will go away, the lump in my throat will soften, and the tears will dry. And to think that those thoughts of "if only they'd be in school" from 3-4 years ago, they are gone too. They are there..at school and they are bigger now, they are confident, ready to learn, and they are so happy to be entering this chapter in their life. Who am I to squash those feelings for them? It does not diminish the memories of how hard it really was when they were 2, 3, etc. But it does make this experience extremely bittersweet. We have so many memories ahead of us for a great school year. It's just 2 hours and 11 minutes until I can pick them up!!! Hooray! :)

Get Rhythm....

We went to Corydon, IA (Jeremy's hometown) this weekend for the 125th Old Settler's Reunion...and after participating in probably 10 of these "events" I might venture to say that this particular one was memorable to say the least. As you can see from the video above, Adam really enjoyed the live music from Saturday night which happened to include a collection of Johnny Cash songs by the artist. Unfortunately...the funniest was toward the end of the night when "Get Rhythm" was being played and Adam nearly fell out of his chair he was dancing so dramatically. Wait, maybe it was me that nearly fell out of my chair laughing at him!

However, as with any true carnival, there is your collection of interesting characters running the "is this thing really safe" machines and we have our 6 and 5 year olds begging us to go on these rides. I had a lapse in judgement and allowed Ms. Independent go on "The Ride" with the 7 year old younger sister of my sister-in-law Malisha. While most of the rides were harmless (if you can disregard the stale human sweat smell that somehow overwhelm one's olfactory nerves), this one was fast and I did not realize how much they really were not strapped in and as Emma is going around and around, I kept thinking, she's going to slip right out of that thing...there is nothing keeping her from falling out other than a bar that she could FIT through! So, that being said, she insisted on going again, because after all...it was SOOOO FUN!! I told her the only way she could is if another adult went with her and sat with her. Well, that sparked Luke's interest, who was just shy of being tall enough, saw other, smaller kids on the ride with their parents....you know where this is going....Jeremy and I took Emma and Luke on the awful (in my opinion) Paratrooper ride. I had visions of the rusty old squeaky thing breaking and poor Adam being left with no family as the rest of his family is forever remembered in the 125th Annual event as the one where the Paratrooper Ride accident took place. Realizing that thought process was more than unproductive.....I stopped thinking through that nightmare and not wishing to completely squash Emma's joy of how much fun she was having, I managed to create a pleasant face. Perhaps I should have embraced the Johnny Cash lyrics....Get rhythm...when you get the blues...get rhythm...

But the night would not have been complete without a funny from our dear Emma...after being "old settlers" for approximately 9 hours on Saturday...we were all in desparate need of a shower...Emma proclaims, "Yeah, one of those rides was going so fast...I wet my pants! Isn't that just hysterical?" After nearly wetting my pants myself...it was confirmed...time was of no matter...shower was absolutely necessary...

Jeremy & Luke listening to music in the park

Andrew waiting for his mom (Amy) to come by with her class of '98 float...or maybe just waiting for candy

Emma at the Big Parade

And if you thought I was kidding...the Big Parade also included Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin

Destiny (Emma & Luke's cousin) on a ride...was THIS the alleged wetting the pants incident?

The ABCs of Rach

A. Attached or single? Attached...usually with a small child...literally!
B. Best friend? I'm like Emma...everyone is my "best" friend
C. Cake or pie? Does the word "chocolate" count for both!
D. Day of choice? Saturday
E. Essential item? Hmmm...I have lots...but Skin Conditioning Oil from Arbonne...it really does heal what ails ya
F. Favorite color? Gold & Black!!!
G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears....but do enjoy the sour patch variety of HFCS items! :)
H. Home town? Red Oak, Iowa
I. Favorite indulgence? Pedicures... . .
J. January or July? July...my birthday and pretty much do not like the cold...ever!
K. Kids? Emma, Luke, & Adam
L. Life isn't complete without? Friends and Starbucks!
M. Marriage date? June 13, 1998.
N. Number of brothers and sisters? Two older sisters
O. Oranges or apples? Apples...can I dip them in caramel?
P. Phobias? Bugs....especially the ones that make their way into my home...we're at capacity here...take up residence elsewhere please!
Q. Quotes? I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than attempting to satisfy them.
R. Reasons to smile? Happy smiles, laughter of children, hugs and kisses
S. Season of choice? Fall....its football season!
T. Tag 5 people:You decide...
U. Unknown fact about me? I'm an open book....
V. Vegetable? Sweet corn!
W. Worst habit? I'm with Lisa..procrastinating...(But then I do really great work under pressure...but that is hard with 3 small employees in tow.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound....and NOT to find out the sex of our babies, being in a dark room is way to uneventful for such an amazing discovery....but just because it is absolutely amazing to see God's miracles moving around and seing that precious heartbeating!!!
Y. Your favorite food? One food? Today I pick guacamole from Chipotle!
Z. Zodiac sign? Leo

Great Girlfriends

Recently a group of my friends and I went out to dinner for my birthday. We had a fantastic meal and as usual when a bunch of ladies get together...there is usually a lot of laughing! I am so fortunate for the friends that I have made throughout my life. From my childhood friends that I reunited with at my reunion this summer, to my college friends, whom I learned so much from and essentially grew up with, to the group of friends I have made over the past 8 years. While because of the stage of life we are currently active participants in; I do not keep in touch as well with several of these good friends. However it certainly does not diminish the importance of each of them in my heart. What a blessing it is to have great girlfriends from when I was in elementary school, in my 20's and now in my 30's. My sisters and I were discussing once, what it would be like without our girlfriends...each of our responses were exactly the same...we could not imagine it. Thank you to all of my friends for being my friend and for blessing my life in so many ways!

You'll Get Used to Her

As we go through our lives, from the minute we are born, we continuously learn to adapt to our world and this next story is Emma's understanding of that process. Last weekend we were in the car as a family and Emma was asking Adam about all the people he loved. Everytime he would answer with a big head nod for "Yes". He was answering yes to everyone...then it came to Mommy...she asked him and he shook his head and verbally said, "No." While that did not really bother me that much and I am quite secure in his love for me, what made the experience so funny was what Emma said next. She patted Adam on the back and said, "Its o.k. buddy...you'll get used to her." Too funny if you ask me. I have long kept a journal of the funny things our kids have said and this one is definitely part of that collection!

Below is a video of Emma knee boarding at the lake in Nebraska last weekend. We traveled to Ginger Cove (the family home of the Harmons) a total of 10 adults and 13 kids made the weekend journey (Emma being the oldest child). We have been a part of this community group from church for nearly 7 years now. While our group has changed throughout the seven years, we have truly enjoyed journeying through our lives with this group of people. The kids (and adults) had a great time playing all weekend.

Tubing...also a big hit!

Summer Vacation?

I have found myself realizing that certain terms do not always mean the same thing to everyone. For example...Summer Vacation...Here is a phrase commonly used with regards to the famous school calendar each school comes up with. However, in my mind, summer vacation was always equivilent to fun, fantastic, freedom from schedules and routines. After the first 4 days of our "summer vacation" I began to realize that just because the school calendar says summer, and perhaps the sun says summer, does it always mean vacation! We began our summer by driving 6+ hours in the car to Arkansas to attend a family reunion on Jeremy's side of the family; this would be our "vacation". While we enjoyed the weather, the hikes and the conversations with family, Jeremy and his parents enjoyed a whole bunch of MOLD! Grandma's house had flooded (she does not live there, it is a vacation home) and then grew the mold. Jeremy would often be described as a worker by most people, and this was not untrue of this particular weekend either. In my mind we would spend 100% of our time as a family, playing outside, hiking and enjoying one another, which we did do for part of the time. There is the problem, I thought this is what we would do ALL of the time...when do we ever do exactly as we plan 100% of the time? We are continuously putting our lives in a box and carving out boxed time that we believe in a way it should be. Perhaps I should stop taking things so literally and just sitting back and enjoying the "moments".....during what some call vacation!