Alumni Band-Yep I twirled! :)

September 17th I was honored to be able to get to step foot on the KSU Football field again!!! I twirled with the alumni band and relived the glory days!!! :) It was a great weekend that I got to spend with my best friend, Lindsay, for a much needed girls weekend!!! Good times!

Seeing double? NOPE! THAT IS ME ON THAT BILLBOARD!!!! :) 6 Years and they still can't get rid of me in Manhattan, KS!! :)

My Best Friend Lindsay and I!

Doing some three baton for an Alumni Band Performance!

Alumni and the current Twirlers, Katelyn and Lauren

(FYI, Lauren was a candle lighter in my wedding!!)

Shannon, Lindsay,and Me! Shannon was my coach!

My Daddy came to watch! I was so excited

that he came to watch me.... and the football game! :)

Grandpa

I knew that one day I would lose my Grandparents, but even though I knew he was in failing health, I wasn't ready. My Grandpa was such a huge person in my life growing up. He taught me so many things. One thing I know he was proud of was teaching me to fish. LOL! Fishing was his passion and having us fishing with him made it even better. I remember it like it was yesterday too. We were out in the boat, and I had my brother's orange and white snoopy fishing pole. Grandpa told me to hold down the button and then "let go" when you "cast it." So, I literally let go and the pole when right into the water! LOL!! We couldn't even get to it in time to save it. I remember being so upset that I lost Chris' fishing pole because I knew he was going to be so mad at me! LOL!! A story that has been told for YEARS is a story I am going to tell my kids as well. :) But I also remember Grandpa laughing and reassuring me that it was OK and we can get Chris a new pole! LOL! He was such a strong, stubborn man who was going to do things in his own time, and no one was going to tell him when to do things! Which is probably where I get my "little" bit of stubbornness! ;) But after years of fighting a hard fight with his health he is at peace. I wasn't prepared for it even though I knew it was coming. But I do have to say, he looked so at peace at the funeral. He isn't in pain anymore and I am sure he up in heaven, in a boat, catching fish and drinking a beer! I am blessed that I have some amazing memories with him that I can share with my kids. Also, I have some great pictures of the kids with my grandparents as well. And anytime I miss my Grandpa all I have to do is look at Xander's ears, because they are a spitting image of my grandpa's! :) My Grandpa told me that when GOD was handing out ears he thought they said Beers and asked for two big ones! :) I will miss that man for than anyone knows, but I blessed to have had him in my life for almost thirty years, and I am comforted in knowing that he KNEW how much I loved him and how proud he was of me with the woman/mother I have become. RIP Grandpa, you will be missed everyday.

Xander and Grandpa

Breckyn giving Grandpa hugs

Giving Grandpa Kisses

Day at the Park

After an extremely HOT HOT HOT summer it finally "cooled" down enough to take the kids to the park! We went to the little park at our church! Breckyn always asks to play on the ship after church and it has just been to hot and we are hungery after church! LOL! :)

Need a Ride?

WEEEE!!!

Birthday Party!!!!

September has been a very busy month for us!!! But it is also BIRTHDAY MONTH for my two favorite people! :) Breckyn turned THREE and Xander turned ONE!!! It was so much fun and we are so blessed with some really great friends and family!!!

Maybe just ONE bite... One BIG BITE!!

So GOOD!

That is Yummy Mommy!!! Can I have more? PLEASE?!!!!!

He LOVED the tissue paper!


YAY For for Presents!

Princess on her Present Thrown! :)

Which one to open next?!!

Cupcake Face!!!


My cute little man!

All smiles after all those amazing presents!!!

After a hard day of opening presents it's time to relax playing washers!

This Blog is for you Dedra and Teresa!

So, it was brought to my attention that I have been a bad blogging mama lately! LOL! :) So get ready for the updates of all updates! LOL!!


August has been a pretty crazy month for us!!! After my not so exciting vacation to Colorado I went back to work only to find otu a week later that AGAIN I had strep throat. UGH! So, I thought, I will just take the kids in to be on the safe side. Then Breckyn told me her "Tongue" hurt, and pointed to her throat. GRRR!!! So, we went to the doctor and BOTH kids had Strep throat. Then with a little less than a threat on his life, Strider decided to go to the doctor to get tested as well. So we were FOUR for FOUR with Strep Throat! Not something I like to be four for four on! LOL!! But with all of us on medication we are hopefully on the mend!! :)

Now for the for stuff!! Breckyn started PRESCHOOL!!!! She has a uniform and everything she has to wear!!! I took her on Monday (August 23) to her first day. We got donuts before just as a special treat!! She was so excited to get to wear her "Princess Pack-Pack," too! LOL! :)

Breckyn before school showing off her "Pack-Pack"


Such a big girl!


My baby is silly!

So Then on Tuesday we had our Cheer/Dance Recital!! Breckyn was the youngest by at LEAST three years, but she did so good!! I was such a proud Mama!! She stayed out there and danced and cheered her little heart out! :) She even did a little improv in there, too!! I am positive we have a performer on our hands!!!

Before leaving!!

Practicing before the Recital!

Hands on Your Hips, Smiles on Your Lips! :)

Breckyn doing her Jump!! She did so GOOD!!

I KNOW what you are all thinking. What about twirling?! Well, she definitely had a blast performing, and don't worry we are still working on our "lessons," but she is still just a little to young right now to twirl. But in a couple years she is going to be WELL on her way to working toward becoming a second Generation KSU Twirler! :)

Summer Fun

These are just a few different pictures from how much fun we have had this summer!

Grandma with Breckyn on the Horse!


Picture with Mommy!


Playing with their Tents on a hot day!


Coloring, blocks, trains at their table

Photo Op with Mommy!

It's a bird, It's a plane, It's Xander-Man!

It's Breckyn Crocker!! We made some Yummy cookies!

Time for an update!

Well, Xander is almost 10 1/2 months old now!!! I can't believe it!! We are now trying to figure out what is going to be happening for his big 0-1 birthday! Considering that he birthday falls on Alumni Band Day, he may get to go to a KSU football game for his first Birthday! :)


He has just really grown up so much and is learning new things every day!! Here are a few new developments for Xander-man.

**He can now clearly say Dada.

**Favorite foods that are Baby food: bananas, Gerber yogurt for babies, and all the Gerber snacks that are "chips." His favorite table foods are: green beans, mac and cheese, spaghetti, beans, rice, and soups.

**He loves to feed himself and get impatient if you try to spoon feed him!

** He just started saying Baba (Bottle), Ball, Mama, and Papa.

**Xander is a CLIMBER. He climbs on everything! I found him sitting on our fireplace ledge one day. Which means, I have to keep a SUPER close eye on him!!

**He has started balancing on his own. He can only stand for a few seconds, but he does do better when he has his shoes on!!!

**He is a speed crawler!! And he has a funny crawl that we have named "The Xanderman." He crawls on one knee, but with the other leg he using his foot!! LOL!! It's the funniest thing to see, but he can really move!!!

** He is cruising around everything. If he can hold on to something and walk he is on the move! LOL!

Xander's 9 Month Picture

My little Monkey-Man!! He crawled from his chair onto the fireplace ledge!



Wishin' I was fishin' with Grandpa!