Our Vegas Anniversary

I really wanted to write something pensive, profound even, about our first year in Vegas. Unfortunately, there is just no time. Suffice it to say, we've made it. And now Henderson is truly our home.

I think the picture attached says all we need to say. Look at those happy faces! (Well, except for Sam who was pouting because Kate won more tickets than him.)

Incredible summer of fun

When Sam said he wanted to have Incredible Summer of Fun: Vegas Edition, I remember hoping that it would be as much fun if it were just the Matthews 3-- me, my kids and I.

In fact, I think I started the whole thing when we moved last year, "Sure, no problem, we'll have Incredible Summer Fun in Vegas too. It will be great!"

So, I came into the season with unrealistic expectations. The only thing really in my favor was that everything was new.

Turns out, I had nothing to fear. First, we were gone for a whole month. Second, it turns out I had a passionate partner in crime. In fact, Gabe planned so many good events, I couldn't even keep up!

We swam. We saw the Titanic exhibit. We went to the children's museum. We did things I can't even remember now, and we did them with friends. Lots of friends. And it was incredible fun.

Royals game with the Weirs

Incredible Summer of Fun: King Putt-- What a group, right?

Outside our "party" room at King Putt

Post-water ride at Adventuredome

Water gun fight!!!

Yes, we are making our own pinatas. See. I can be crafty.

Sam and Kate at the Titanic museum

Kansas City here we come!

We've made it through the first two "travel days" of our journey... Through KC to scenic Hutch. My mom thinks Hutchinson is kind of the sticks, but I really like it. Maybe because I'm not in charge here and I know where everything is. And because of the ranger cookies.

We had a mercifully uneventful trip thus far. We had a fun night with the Wilkerson's last night, and I was able to rejoin book club for a night. Sam made it up for Bill's arrival after the Royals game, but Kate was out cold, and he was talked into carrying her up to bed.

This morning we went to Panera and met friends from church. It's safe to say that everyone has new hairstyles and the kids have all grown a ton. Then we went by Nanny's (she's exempted from that last statement. She doesn't have new hair nor has grown. She's doing well though!), and gave her some love before heading to Hutch. We had dinner and tool the kids to a park. We walked barefoot in the grass and watched a guy tightrope across Niagara Falls on national TV. All in a day's work.

Hot dog!

We went to the Royals game today. It was HOT-- more than 100 sweaty degrees. And unlike Vegas, it was so humid. Really.

We had a great time though, and no one was sunburned! A success. It's hours later and I've finally cooled off.

Training Camp

I helped out again with this year's Chiefs Charity Game, which benefits the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired. There are several perks. One is working with my friend Eileen. One is getting a chance annually to chat with my favorite Sports Radio 810 host, Soren Petro and crew. This year, we also went up to St. Joe for training camp. Sam and Kate get along terrifically with Eileen's twins John and Nora. The Wilkerson clan came up that day also!

Here are my pictures from the big day:


Chiefs QB Matt Cassel signing an autograph for Kate



Chiefs QB Matt Cassel signing Sam's ball cap



Here's our crew. Note the influence from Kate's meeting the cheerleaders. Pose much?

Sold!

(In case you haven't figured it out, I'm retroactively creating most of the summer posts. It was a crazy summer with lots of change, and I just honestly didn't get around to it. I have some pictures though, so I'll try to fill in the gaps as best as I can.)

Our house was on the market for a little more than 6 weeks. It was CRAZY with showings, summer events, vacation, etc. But it finally sold the week that we were at Maranatha. Our agent had the sign changed before we got back, and here it is, Sam's birthday and our sold sign. You can't do much better advertising than a bikini babe in front of a sold sign! We sent these to our agent too as a sign of our thanks. (Get it Dad, sign? :))

Maranatha 2011

A couple of things were notable about this year's trip to Maranatha:

1) We had a very big group this year! In addition to the Whortons, Wilkersons, Hams and Ernstings, we also added Mary Moss and her sister Anita, Brenda and Ethan Ahring, the Lunsfords, and even Reed was able to come with Mary and Clarence. We were an impending force!
2) The most memorable parts of the trip for Stuart and I did not happen in Michigan. On the way up to Michigan, we agreed in principle to an offer on our house and signed the paperwork via fax from Maranatha. Stuart wasn't able to join us for the first part of the ride up-- he flew up and met us in Chicago so he could supervise roof repairs. And, Stuart was finally selected for his new job with the government, which led to quick planning for a house-hunting trip to Vegas the following week. Whew.
3) We had a rain day for the first time. We went to a movie (not a very good one, but the kids liked it), and played in the craft room. Doug introduced Sam to Fruit Ninja too. As usual, the kids were comfortable in everyone else's room, which led to us misplacing Sam a few times.
4) I relived my NRBC youth group days by dunking Ethan in the lake for digging a hole nearly on top of my relaxation spot.
5) Kate fell off the back of the risers during the program. I ran up there as fast as I could, and fortunately she was mostly scared and not hurt. She finished the program!
6) Sam participated in a scavenger hunt that one of the girls in the gift shop put on for the kids. He won a $5 gift card to McDonalds for being the best team player. He was much more independent this year-- he even missed our family picture at the beach!
7) Sam participated in FCA football camp this year and loved it. It's one of the main reasons we're planning to stay on week 5 next year.



Football camp!

Next year, it looks like everyone's schedule may change. So in addition to realizing our move was imminent, we were also dealing with the knowledge that this would be our last big group vacation, at least with the whole group. So, it was a bittersweet trip.

Pictures!

On the beach with Bill and Isabella!

Our big beach girl!

Ice Cream!

LOVE the beach!

The kids really enjoyed the craft room this year.

Kate played a lot of mini golf!

Grant and Sam

Summer of Fun!

We did have a rip-roaring Summer of Fun, despite all the craziness this summer. I knew we were considering an impending relocation, so when I planned the schedule, I did plan for a few helpers to take the lead with certain trips. We went to Powell Gardens for the first time this year, and to our usual spots like the Chocolate Factory. I have a few pictures.

We road tripped up to Shatto Dairy, which is about an hour and a half north of KC. Unfortunately when I did my planning for that day, I didn't allow enough time to drop Philip at the airport (he'd visited for July 4th weekend) and get to Shatto on time. My theory was tthat the airport is about 40 minutes north, and it should just be about halfway the rest of the way to the Dairy. Unfortunately the airport is much further west, so that didn't work so hot. Fortunately, I had some pros who were able to get everyone organized and in the door while I sped up the highway. Whew.

Once we got there, the kids had a great time. We hadn't been for a few years, and they had significantly upgraded their store and touring facilities. The cows and udder-suckers were still the same though. Both kids tried the milking, and I was really proud of them!



Sam getting friendly with a cow



Kate's so brave. She had no hesitation in getting up in there!



The boys in a milk van: Carter, Sam, Grant and Connor



Here's part of our group. We had a great turn out!



Here are the crazy girls from NRBC: Addie, Kate, Chloe and Shelby. I pity the youth leader when these girls get to be junior high age!

Friends

I had this cute picture of Kate and Chloe from a trip to WOF with the Sims. We didn't make it to WOF/OOF nearly as much as in past years, but we tried. The Sims were our regular playmates.

We are the Stingrays...

the mighty mighty Stingrays!

Sam participated in the summer swim team again this year and had a great time. It was so sad to leave behind such a great group of coaches and families. It was really too bad that Kate wasn't old enough to swim-- she would have swam better than most of the little first-timers, if I do say so myself. One of Sam's coaches this year was male, which he responded really well too.

He also continued to take private lessons with Eliot during the summer. Eliot was much more a friend than a coach, but Sam grew a lot in his strength, confidence, and stroke under Eliot's teaching. Many times Eliot would stay and play with Sam and Kate for 15-30 minutes after lessons were over, and even invited Sam to his graduation party. We miss Eliot!



Eliot, Sam and Kate-- lesson time???



Brrr. Swimming started pretty cold this year...

Here are the stingrays! I actually put him in his uniform trunks this year!

Waiting at a swim meet. Lots of waiting...

Summer of Fun Pool Party

What a summer we've had with our Incredible Summer of Fun friends. At most of the events, we've had close to 30 moms, grandmas, children, and even a few dads. Yesterday we finished it off with a pool party at the Whorton's. Though I told Beth I'd limit to about 20, we ended up again at 30, with a few people showing up who I didn't know, much less know they were coming. Fortunately, the most excellent Megan and Britany helped lifeguard our little pool full of preschoolers!

Pictures are more fun than words, so here goes:

Little House, next generation

We have season tickets to Starlight, which is so great for the whole family. This is our 3rd year of having tickets in one form or another. I was excited about the first show of the season, Little House on the Prairie: The Musical, because I am such a huge fan of the TV show and I knew the kids would love it.

We really lucked out because they had some special cultural education activities prior to the show for kids to get a glimpse of prairie life. They had square dancers and crafts and fun games, and we were a little early so we got to enjoy it all. I took some pictures with  my phone-- not great, quality-wise, but you can see that they were having a great time. They enjoyed the show too (though I thought it was strange to watch Laura (Melissa Gilbert) play Ma).

Kate loved washing the towels. She wanted to wait and do it again, but I assured her I had plenty of laundry for her to try at home.

We waited in line to have Kate's hair braided like a prairie girl. I could have done this at home, but she'd never sit long enough for me to do it! Looked cute though! And she's showing off her corn-husk doll, which I subsequently lost. Bad mom.

Sam and Stuart learned how to play a game with sticks and a hoop called "Graces." They didn't know why it was called that, but my guess is so that they could play it during Sunday School.