July 4th Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

We have enjoyed our long weekend and 4th of July holiday! We finally made it to City Market this weekend in downtown KC. It was wonderful to finally find a true Farmer's Market in this area with home grown and local organic food. The tomatoes, cumcumbers and fruit have been delicious! We even lucked out and found beef fed beef, bison and a wonderful selection of ground spices. The girls enjoyed a little train ride and some games too.

Then, we enjoyed a cookout last night with the Reese Family and friends. It was nice to get together to enjoy food and friends. The girls enjoyed meeting some new friends their age and playing with new toys. It was even better not driving and having the girls ride their bikes!

Today we made it to Crown Center to splash in the fountains. The girls were adorable running in between the fountains and some of those shoots spiked high! They were putting buckets on their heads and acting as if they had umbrellas to shelter from the rain. It was a gorgeous Kansas morning and nice to be outside.

After naptime, we made it to the celebration on post at Merritt Lake. The girls rode two little rides, got tattoos, and jumped in bounce houses. We even watched the watermelon eating contest. Those kiddos could eat some watermelon and fast! We are the champions from last year for the water balloon toss contest, but couldn't make it this year. We were meeting some wonderful friends for a BBQ.

The BBQ was great and it was wonderful to sit down to adult conversation. We also found out we are a completely normal family! YES! It was wonderful comparing all of the 6 year old girls and find out we are not the only ones struggling with this age and the drama that comes with being 6 years old! :) And only a little drama...Lydia walked out with finger nail polish all over her! I just prayed it was only on her and not somewhere in the house. Thanks goodness it was just her! Thanks Rebecca and Andy for having us over and opening up your home. We had a blast!

It was a wonderful end to a long weekend. Happy July 4th America! Thanks for all who have served and who are serving our great country!!! Love you all! Be safe!

Julie


Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Lydia's First Dance Camp

Can you believe Lydia took her very first Princess Dance Camp today? I can't believe she is so grown up and already doing things on her own. Lillian took mommy and me classes until age 4 and now this little miss just runs into class without giving me a hug or kiss at age 2 1/2 years old. How the second child grows up so much faster than the first one and leave mommy behind!

Lillian and I waited in the lobby while Lydia did acrobats, ballet and crafts. She was so excited this morning and told me at 7:30am she was ready to go. I had to explain the world isn't up and going as early as the Martin household. :) She loved camp and is so ready to go back tomorrow. I am so proud of her!

Lydia has really come into her own these past few months. I can't keep her from talking, telling me "I got it!" or "I do it myself." She has grown a couple of inches, gained a few pounds and looks like a little girl and not my little baby. I will always cherish her chubby thighs, crazy hair and smirk on her face.

How God Made Little Girls

To Lydia:

A speck of frills
With a pinch of pink
A touch of lace
And a dainty wink

He mixed these in
With a love for dance
And heaps of laughter
Some beauty perchance

He added oodles more
Of joy and grace
Then he put some dimples
In just the right place

As a final touch
He included a curl
And with that he smiled
For he had created a girl

Mommy loves you Lydia!

Julie

Ohmaha, Nebraska Zoo!

The Martins hit the road again this morning and headed to Nebraska! We finally made the trip to Ohmaha, Nebraska to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo. We had heard such great things about this zoo and wanted to find out for ourselves. It isn't a bad road trip. It took 2.5 hours to arrive and it was worth the drive!

The day was perfect and it was only 66 degrees when we arrived in Nebraska! Gorgeous and sunny day made perfect for the zoo! The zoo had a lot to offer too. The exhibits included inside viewing and outside viewing for most of the animal exhibits. Of course, the zoo had the normal animals to see, but had a really cool Safari Skyview ride. It is basically a ski lift that lets you tour the Safari area from above. The girls loved this ride and would have rode it again if we didn't run out of time!

We also rode the carousel and train ride. Lydia waited all day to get on the trian and finally it was her turn! It was a cute steam engine and it also took you on a tour of some of the animals. It took a little while to get on the train, but the girls enjoyed it just the same. That is the good thing about this zoo- many ways to view the animals.

We took a picnic lunch and enjoyed it outside. We stayed mose of the day. We left at 8:00am this morning and got home at 8:00pm tonight. The girls were exhausted, but loved every minute! Lydia's eyes were bright red from exhaustion by the time we made it home. We definitely had plenty to do and see today. We didn't even finish some of the zoo, but it was closing time.

So, if you are in this area, then take off for a day trip. It is worth it!

Julie

Thomas The Train Comes to Baldwin City!

All Aboad! It is time to meet Thomas the Train up close and in person! This was our second meeting with Thomas and he was still as sweet as could be! :) Rich was deployed when we visited Thomas the first time in Texas, so it was nice to be able to see him again in Kansas.

There were lots of activities to do while we waited our turn for Thomas. The girls had to complete four stations to receive a special prize. We visited the Story Telling and Video time, Gift Shop, Imagination Station and met Sir Topham Hat. The girls enjoyed meeting Sir Topham Hat and thought he had a big head! :)

There was also a bounce house, slide, swing set, magic show and plenty of food. The train ride was fun and the girls enjoyed going backward and then forward on the tracks. It was a nice 25 minute ride, but a little hot for the girls. Lillian was dripping sweat today and her hair was soaked! I didn't think it was that hot (90 degrees), but that is the Texas girl in me. Now, don't get me wrong, it was hot, but I was dripping sweat like my little one! :)

It was a fun day and we have had another great week. Lillian just finished Girl Scout Day Camp. I volunteered to help with the Tag Along section, so Lydia could come too. We all had a great three days and it was completed last night with smores and campfire songs. They also made first aide kits, flip flops, sit upons, purses and learned how to build a fire. It was great!

Here is to summer! Love you all!

Julie

Worlds of Fun...

We have had such an awesome visit with our friends Jessica, Jack and Lily! We are truly sad to see them leave us in the morning and head back to Texas. We have such wonderful memories of our visit to keep us smiling long after they are gone, but nothing is the same as having them here with us in Kansas!

Jessica, Jack and Lily were such troopers too! They all volunteered to help our Girl Scout Troop 5400 place American flags on all the graves in the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetary. We met out there on Saturday morning and it took about an hour to complete. It meant a lot to me that they would help me do something like that with Lillian's troop. Jack and Lily were such troopers and placed so many American flags on graves. So proud of them all!

We headed to CoCo Keys for the remainder of the day. It is just like Great Wolf Lodge if you have never been except the setting is like a tropical paradise and not about wolves! It was a blast and Jack and Lydia kept going down the kiddo slide over and over again. Jack even loved the bigger slides and was wearing Jessica out trying to keep up with him. Lillian and Lily hung together on slides and the lazy river. You should see them swim! I had to jog in the water just to keep up! All the kiddos enjoyed the day at the water park and Lydia was in bed at 6:40pm out cold for the night! WHEW!

And today was another exciting day! We took them to Worlds of Fun for their first visit! It was a blast! We stayed for 8 hours! Those kiddos rode every ride they could actually ride! And Lillian was finally 48 inches tall and wore her wrist band proud! She worked hard for those inches! I only have 11 inches on her and she is 6!

Rich and Lillian rode the extraordinary roller coaster called Mambo! It had a major uphill with a huge downfall! Lillian said she didn't like the first hill, but loved the rest. She kept telling Rich, "I don't like it. I don't like it." Then, after the tummy settled she loved it! Now, place Jessica and I on the same ride. Here is Jessica, "I don't like it. I don't like it." It was hysterical to see Jessica react like this and it kept me laughing all afternoon. I kept busting on her and loving every minute! She even rode the Boomerang with me! GO JESS! She is not a big of chicken as Nina! :) Love you Nina! Jessica was even telling Lily to hold on during some rides while Lily had her hands flying in the air! Jack and Lily loved every minute and are dare devils like my girls. They all were fabulous today!

We left at 9:00am and didn't make it home until 7:00pm! What a fun last day together. They have to leave in the morning and everyone is so sad. We have enjoyed our friends so much. It makes us miss Texas more! Jessica has done an amazing job with her kiddos while Eric is deployed. Jack and Lily are so sweet and polite. They are loving children and they get that trait from their mom. I know it is not easy traveling alone much less a 10 hour car ride. So, I know they must love us as much as we love them! They are our family! We will miss your laughter and smiles!

So, Jess...We got spirit yes we do! We got spirit how about you? FRUIT!!!! Love you and mean it! Hope you had a blast too! Good bye my dear friend!

GOOD FRIENDS
ARE LIKE STARS.
YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE THEM,
BUT YOU KNOW THEY ARE ALWAYS THERE!
See you soon!

Love you!

Julie

Meet My First Grader...

What a year! What a year! Lillian has now completed Kindergarten. She is so different than when she started a year ago and so many things have changed for her. She is taller, has longer hair and one year of school behind her now. She learned so much from Kindergarten- how to play with friends, how to socialize and become a better friend, how to listen and work in groups and how to excel all on her own. It was even simple strides of watching her order her own lunch and being so cofident.

Lillian loved Kindergarten and is so ready for 1st grade. She said good bye to a wonderful teacher today- Mrs. Keeley. Mrs. Keeley really worked with Lillian and pushed her to always do her best and more.

And to make the day special, Jessica, Jack and Lily came in last night from Texas! They drove all this way to be with us this weekend and we are thrilled to have them staying with us. We have a lot of fun things planned while they are in and can't wait to get started.

We all had breakfast together and had Graduation pancakes. Lily graduated from preschool, so she will be entering Kindergarten in the fall. We walked Lillian to school and then started our day. Lillian only went to school until 11:30am today, so she was back home before we knew it. We had a wonderful cake from Jacque McLean! I had a cake made for Lillian and Lily. Can you guess who is on top? It turned out delicious and adorable! The girls loved it and wanted to save their own "person."

Now, Lydia is napping and then off to Graduation dinner at T-Rex! Will the rain ever stop? Happy Graduation Lillian! Enjoy 1st Grade!!! You will be a super star and I am so proud of you!!!

Love,

Mommy

Bradley's Got Talent!

Bradley Elementary has TALENT and a lot of TALENT! I was so impressed with all the Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders! I would have never performed at this age and still wouldn't do it at this age! Lillian is so outgoing and gets it from her father...he never stops talking! Love you honey! :)

Lillian tried out for the talent show at school just two weeks ago. She was up against some heavy competition. This was going to be her first chance at learning about disappointment because not everyone made the talent show. But, Lillian came home from school and told me she didn't care about making it or not. She still wanted to try! That is my girl!

Lillian perfomed (singing and dancing) to First Action Heros. She learned this song and dance from her church play she was just in this month. She knew what she wanted to do from the moment the school announced the auditions. She did a great job today entertaining her friends and all the children loved the show. They enjoyed seeing all their friends today performing on stage. Her whole class cheered for her when she came back to the classroom! Standing ovation! YAY!!!

Enjoy the show and this was the last one for the year 2011! All dance recitals complete, girl scouts complete, drama complete and Kindergarten complete on Friday! Love you all! You were awesome Lillian! YOU ROCKED IT AS ALWAYS!!

Julie