Bunny

Last night while we were hanging out in the yard with our neighbors, Allee caught this baby bunny. There are rabbits all over the place out here, in fact they can be quite a pain if you have a garden planted! We have never seen babies though and Allee and our neighbor Lynn found a nest with two babies right up against the side of our house. Allee was so proud that she actually caught it herself and it really was a cute little thing. All the kids took turns passing this poor bunny around and then we put it back. On inspection today the bunnies are both still doing fine and the kids are excited to be able to watch them grow.

While Dad's Away

The first week of June was crazy here. Derek went on High Adventure Scout Camp where three leaders and 13 boys ages 14-17 biked the Katy Trail. This is a trail which stretches across the entire state of Missouri. They decided to bike about 160 miles of the trail. They started off about an hour and a half from where we live and biked all the way to St. Charles which is a suburb of St. Louis. Four days later they returned victorious, stinky, and completely exhausted. I am so proud of Derek! As you can tell from the pictures, the Young Men's program is the perfect calling for Derek, he fits in perfectly! It is awesome to see the bonds he has made with these young men.

And this is what we did. . . .

While Derek was off being the adventurer, I decided it was time to finish some projects. First on the agenda was a denim blanket. We have been collecting jeans for quite a while now and I was sick of having them in a box in the basement. The kids helped me pick some fun 4th of July fabric to put on the back and some sparkly yarn to tie it with. It will be the perfect addition for this years Logan fireworks!

Next on my list was a sun dress for Allee. I found this cute fabric at Wal-Mart for $2 a yard. I couldn't pass it up, I just wish I would have bought more! I saw the pattern for this dress on Make It and Love It and just had to try it. It was super simple and turned out so cute that I surprised Allee and stayed up that night making her American Girl Doll a matching dress.

I love the relief and sense of accomplishment that come when you finally get some projects done!

The End of Kindergarten

I cannot believe Allee is old enough to be done with kindergarten! She has grown and learned so much this year.
Her teacher: Mrs. Johnson
Her favorite food at lunch: Chicken Patty
Her favorite books: Junie B. Jones
Her favorite friend: Olivia Goth
Her favorite subject: Art
Allee is such a little smartie and we have loved watching her learn and grow this past school year. Bring on 1st Grade!

A Little Rain?!

On May 12th we went to a Springfield Cardinal's game with Derek's leadership team at Schreiber. All you can eat hot dogs, nachos, cookies, soda, and chips. We all love it!
We made it to the bottom of the 3rd inning when a huge storm hit. Lightening was flashing right above us, and the thunder literally shook us. That's the thing with thunderstorms here, they are loud, and super powerful!! The rain was falling in sheets. Luckily we were on the very top of the ball park and covered. We all huddled together for over an hour hoping the rain would at least slow enough to walk the 1 block to the car, but no luck. Finally Derek braved the storm with his boss Jeff and came and picked the kids and I up.

A shorter than expected game, but still pretty cool!

5K with my Allee

After doing the temple run, Allee and I decided we could totally do a 5K together.
On May 7th we donned our matching t-shirts, put our hair up in twiner ponytails, and set out.
We rode the bus to the Katy Trail where the Girls on the Run race was to be held, and Allee was pretty nervous as I was pinning her number on.
We met up with other mom/daughter teams in our neighborhood. Tara and Mikiah and Beth and Jadyn. The girls jumped around and talked about how fast they were going to run.
Once the race started she shot off like a bullet, I couldn't keep up with her! Luckily that lasted about 2 minutes and then our pace evened out. After some much needed water at the half way point (the morning started off cool and then it turned humid), we developed a system to our running/walking. We would run for two telephone poles and then walk for two. We did this up until the 1/4 mile mark and then we jogged the rest of the way. Allee would say, "I don't think I can do it." I kept encouraging her and once she heard and saw the crowd of people cheering her on she no longer had any doubts. Allee and I completed our 5K in 44 minutes.
It was so fun to have Derek and Pierce at the finish line cheering for us and taking our picture. I was SO proud of Allee, words can't express. She accomplished something amazing, something many people never do, and it touched my heart that we could share this experience.Afterwards when we were talking about the race she would just talk about how "awesome" it was at the end, and how fun it was to cross the finish line with all those people cheering for her.

Allee you are AWESOME and I am so proud of you!