Mom turns 60 with the Stoecklein's

Here is the sight as we drove up to the Hole 16 green! She was surprised!

Grandma Vada and Mom

Sissies celebrate

Chris prepares to BBQ, Yikes!

Not sure what is going on here...but I knew we were in for a long night...

Again...?

So cute...Chad, Kim and Baby to Be!

Aunt Jan so happy to see Drew?!

Nancy getting down!

Margaritas are going down nicely at this point!
Preston has now taken over photography duties.

Not sure what song this was but I am sure it was GOOD!

Everyone join in!

Bethany questioning if she should really marry into this family!?

Happy Birthday!

Last night all the Stoecklein's came to Hays to surprise Mom for her 60th birthday. She was not expecting it at all so it was a shock to see all her family on her deck as we played Hole 16. We BBQ'd brats and hamburgers and had a "couple" of beverages. The "Sissies" were in RARE form as they all enjoyed Van's margaritas. If you were within 5 miles of their house you could probably here the singing. I saw some dance moves that will never be duplicated including a conga line through the rain. What a FUN and memorable night!

"I just want you to ask yourself one thing...if you were me, wouldn't you do the same thing for your children?" ~Clark Griswold

My favorite Clark Grizzwold moment. "Sorry folks, the parks closed. The moose out front should have told ya!"

Chicago Bulls...United Center.

I did not come all this way to look through the fence?!

So Close...Yet So Far Away.

It was Griffin's ONLY request for Chicago...the Michael Jordan statue! We have been looking at it online for weeks before we went to Chicago. There is a 24/7 webcam on their website and we couldn't wait to get there and take pictures. After a long bus ride, and the driver shutting my ankle in the handicap ramp we had arrived! Only to see all the gates locked?!?! WHAT?! There was no mention of "hours" or "closing" on the website?! I knew Gavin and Griffin would fit through the bars but my butt?! It was a tight fit but I made it. I was just about to pick Griff up and throw him over the fence when security came running out. Gavin wussed out and ran off but I was not going down without a fight. The guy was explaining all these "insurance issues" as to why the statue is closed. I explained that this 5 year old came all this way from Kansas to see this statue and we WERE NOT leaving without a picture! Griffin's face is priceless...he was not sure to be excited about seeing the JumpMan or fear that his mom might go to jail for this!

Deep Dish Pizza!!!!! YUM!

By far my FAVORITE meal of the trip was Chicago's famous deep dish pizza. The kids loved this place since you could write on everything in the restaurant...which we took advantage of!

Children's Museum, Harry Carry's...

This was the hit of the night, for the "big"kids and the little kids!
Digging for dino bones

Fun with the shadow wall

Chris with Harry Carry

Griff with the Lego version

After the train ride we checked in and headed to the Navy Pier. It was WINDY, kind of felt like home, so we took in some indoor activities. The Children's Museum was a blast with lots of activities that I am sure were meant for kids but ended up being a competition for the adults too. We then went to the famed Harry Carrys for some grub. There was a sports museum in there as well so we spent lots of time wondering around.

Chicago, Here we Come!!

All Aboard!

Things finally got better in the end...

We decided to take a train to Chicago to celebrate my parent's 40th anniversary as well as my mom's 60th birthday. It sounded like a great time without the drama of flying and the pain in the butt of driving! When getting on the train in KC, the staff was obviously ready for a day off? The train starts in L.A. and ends in Chicago and there were staff and passengers ready for it to be over already. There were not seats together for 10 of us and everyone ended up in a seat except Chris, Griffin and I. We found 2 together and sat down. Chris found one near us and sat down. The lady next to him had hospital bands on both wrists and was obvioulsy annoyed with him sitting there. She started yelling at him and told him she was going to "make him pay." (I actually have a pic of her but didn't post it in case she tries to hunt us down, LOL I pretended to text while taking a pic of her.) There was about 5 more minutes of ranting until Chris chose to sit with me and Griff on our laps. It was NOT a good way to start the trip. The rest of the fam was having a GREAT ole time while Chris tried to avoid eye contact with the crazy lady. The guy behind us kept asking me for a saftey pin and I didn't have one?! (But he didn't stop asking?) It was a strange couple of hours. The train ride home was a WHOLE different experience!! Will post more later...

WHOA.....TIME FLIES!!

I know I have not posted in months?! Time has flown by. Working for my Dad again means a lot more work, and I am trying to get back into the swing of things! So much has happened in the last few months but nothing earth shattering. Griff played on a soccer team and turns out he is an AWESOME soccer player!! He scored lots of goals and really loved playing on a team like his big brother does! We have now started t-ball.Gavin is on a new baseball team this year and is coached by his Dad. We are in a league that plays doubleheaders during the week, and we try not to travel on the weekends to tournaments so we can have a life! The first 2 games I have wore my winter coat and froze my butt off. I chose the team name and mascot...and thats as far as my talents go in baseball! Go Stampede!
Griffin graduated from Holy Family Preschool this week ;-( and there program was adorable. Griff struggles through his programs...hates to sing and never really does the actions that go along with it. This time he was excited, I think because he knew it was the LAST time he would ever have to perform again. He sang AND did the actions this time!! Way to Go Griffy!
Griff and Mrs. Bieker

Griff and my friend Jill's daughter! So adorable.

I will try to keep up better than what I have! (Sorry Grandma Vada!!)

Happy Birthday Hannah!!

Have a wonderful birthday Hannah! I hope you and your friends have a great time at the K-State game and the weather doesn't ruin it for you! Your present has arrived and I hope to see you next weekend to give it to you!