The Sweet (Suite) Life

We are fortunate being here in Walmart country to have an array of celebrities come through for different Walmart promotions and events. We have never taken advantage of participating in any of these events because we are not big crowd people. We also aren't a very patient family, so waiting in long lines takes away from any enjoyment of seeing what is at the front of the line. For the past few months Samantha has been a good sport as she has gotten dragged along on all of Megan's activities, and Noah's soccer practices and games. She was so excited when she found out that Dylan and Cole Sprouse from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody were going to be doing a meet and greet this past Saturday at Walmart and Sam's Club. It's all she talked about for the past week. So I decided to be a good mom and fight the crowds on a Saturday afternoon to reward her. We got there about 45 minutes before the event was supposed to start.

This is what it looked like from our place in line:

It was like waiting for a ride at Disneyland with the lined snaking back and forth. I'm guessing there was at least 3,000 people, maybe more.

But we got a great view of them arriving!

My one rule for Sammy and Noah was that they could not complain while we waited. They did pretty good.

Finally after waiting for 2 hours, someone came out and told the crowd that there was no way we were going to make it in to see them before they had to leave. Sammy was disappointed, but also tired of waiting. She decided that it would be okay to just go inside the store so that she could at least see them from a far, and maybe try and get a picture of them. Of course lots of other people had the same idea, so we squeezed ourselves into the middle of the crowd, and then I took turns lifting Sammy and Noah in the air so they could catch a glimpse over all the heads. Once they were satisfied that they had seen them, we turned to leave, and ran in to our friend, who was involved in organizing the event. It pays to have friends in high places! He told Sammy to follow him, and he proceeded to insert us into the line near the front. We run into some other friends on the way, and they were able to join us.

Finally near the front!

Success - Our 2 hours of waiting paid off!

Sammy has been chattering non-stop about it ever since. She even made sure to thank me for taking her and waiting in that long line. Knowing that it made her day made it well worth the effort.

Trying to Stay Young

For Labor Day this year, I talked Mike into doing something a little different. Instead of enjoying a precious day of sleeping in, we got out of bed at 6:30 and ran in a 5K race supporting the local children's shelter. Ever since I ran in the Race for the Cure last April, I have enjoyed running again. It is something I did back in college, but stopped doing it when my knees started bothering me. I've loved being able to get back out and doing it again.

This is our lame attempt to take our picture before the race

The race was great! We stayed together the whole time, and even crossed the finish line at the same time. I was so excited about the time we made - we did it in under 30 minutes!

Post-race picture that we took when we got home.

The sun was really bright!

We can't wait to do more races together in the future. If nothing else, it keeps us feeling young!

A Major Accomplishment

Our sweet Samantha tends to suffer from anxiety at the idea of trying new things. As the new school year approached, we began to talk about how nice it would be for her to ride the bus home from school this year. I love picking her up from school, but it can also be a pain from time to time. The school bus drives right down our street and drops off just 2 houses down from ours. Last week I wasn't able to pick her up from school one day, and so we let her "get her feet wet" by riding home with a friend that takes the bus. The experience wasn't so bad, so this week I finally talked her into taking the bus home to our neighborhood. She was much more nervous about this since she didn't have a friend to ride with. I told her I would be out waiting for her to come home. I started to get nervous when the bus was 15 minutes late, and began regretting the decision to not pick her up myself.

Fortunately, it finally appeared...

I got excited as it got closer and closer...

As it pulled up, I started to wonder what I would do if she wasn't on the bus...

And then off she came...

With a little smile and a look of pride!

And I too had a feeling of pride as I watched her conquer her fear.

I love you Samantha!

And They're Off...

So here we are, starting yet another school year. I'm not quite sure I'm ready for the hustle and bustle that goes along with it, but I am ready to be back into some sort of routine again.

Megan and Sammy haven't been overly excited to start this year. Sammy began to get more excited about starting 2nd grade after meeting her teacher a couple of days ago. I took her shopping for a first day of school shirt. We're hoping this shirt brings out her outgoing side! I am hoping to convince her to ride the school bus home from school this year.

Noah has been dreading having his sisters go back to school. When I told him a couple of days ago that they would be going back to school this week, his eyes welled up with tears. I wonder if that says something about how fun it is to be home with me? Things will be better when he starts his preschool in a couple more weeks.

Sammy actually has quite a few kids in her class that she already know from church and from previous classes. Sammy and Abbott went to preschool together, and are now sitting back to back - so fun!

Megan has been nervous about starting the 8th grade. Besides a busy volleyball season, she is signed up for all AP classes this year. It's going to be a hectic year for her, but we know she is going to do great!
Of course when you are in Junior High you can't walk in the first day without a friend to walk in next to you. Megan and one of her best buds Taylor arranged to ride together today.

We're all ready for a great school year!

Another Summer - Come and Gone

Here I am on the eve of the beginning of another school year, wondering where oh where our summer went. I decided I needed a reminder of all the fun that we have had over the past couple of months:

Fun at the Drive-in movie

Watching bird eggs become baby birds

Eating hundreds of popsicles

Swimming lessons

Fun at the lake

Late nights

Being crazy with friends

Just being crazy

Playing with the new camera

Lots and lots of volleyball

Finally going to a Naturals game

Picnics with friends

Experiencing a demolition derby

Back to school breakfast

S'mores on the grill

Goodbye summer 2009 - we had so much fun. Hello 8th grade, 2nd grade, and last year of preschool. Now it's time for me to dust off the project list and enjoy a little peace and quiet.

Wicked!

When Megan had her birthday a couple of months ago, she got a gift she hadn't asked for. It seemed like all she wanted was 'things' - clothes, shoes, music downloads, gift cards. I decided that I wanted to give her an 'experience' and not just stuff. I had heard that Wicked was going to be playing in Tulsa, and I knew she had heard some of the music before and had liked it. I got tickets for her and I to go, and wrapped them up for her birthday. I'm not sure how excited she was when she opened them, especially since she hadn't asked for them. But it gave us something to look forward to all summer long. In the weeks leading up to the show we have been listening to the music and getting excited to see it. Even Mike and Sammy have gotten caught up in the music. Finally this past Saturday, our day arrived!

We headed out early enough that we could stop and get some lunch before the show. We went to yummy Pei-Wei, somewhere we don't have at home. Megan was thrilled about me taking her picture in the middle of the restaurant. We really enjoyed our teriyaki chicken and orange peel chicken.

And then I embarrassed her again in front of the theater.

And then again inside when I asked a nice man to take our picture. He was wanting us to say silly things when he took the picture, which caused me to smile extra cheesy and cheerfully.

Now our attempt to take a picture together inside the theatre.

The show was SO GOOD! I have seen several musicals, including 2 on Broadway while in New York. I think this was my favorite one yet. The music and story are so great and fun and entertaining. We stopped for a milk shake and then headed home. It was such a fun "girls day".