Rodeo Fun!

When we got to the hotel the kids insisted on going IMMEDIATELY to the swimming pool, seriously... I had barely even sat my bags down in the room and they were already in their swimsuits and standing by the door!  BJ and I hung out by the pool with our laptops and took advantage of the slow but free wi-fi.

Once alex figured out that the arm floats allowed her to cruise all around the pool on her own, she had a blast swimming "all by herself."

BJ and I soon got bored with the poolside internet so we decide to play pool.  Some of you may not know this, but in our younger days, BJ and I spent quite a lot of time in the pool hall and became pretty good at the game.  Let me just say that that is no longer the case... we now suck!  Of course it didn't take long before the kids were over there playing with us.

When I mentioned to the people who organize the rodeo that I was bringing our exchange student from Germany, they invited us "back stage" to meet the rodeo stock.  This particular bull was hilarious!  The whole time we were trying to get a picture with him, he was pawing the ground and snorting, threatening to charge at any minute.  When the girls stood too close to his pen he even tried to reach through the bars and hit them with his horns!

After our meeting with the previous bull, they took us to meet this one who is a complete puppy dog!  He was super friendly and loved to be petted.

BJ and the girls rode the mechanical bull.  The guy controlling the bull spun sam pretty good but she managed to stay on.

He started out easy with Clara but didn't stop until she fell off!

They went pretty easy on Alex at first but when they sped it up she got a little worried so Dad came to her rescue and got her off!

They showed no mercy with BJ from the very beginning!

Although he did manage to stay on well over 8 seconds, eventually the mechanical bull prevailed and he hit the mat!

Toothless!

Well, the second tooth finally came out and despite the freakishly fake smile I got for this pic, Alex looks soooo cute!  I'm super excited for the weekend... we are heading to Sedalia to go to a rodeo, YEE HAW!  What would a trip to midwestern USA be without a good old fashioned rodeo!  Fortunately it inside so we don't have to worry about bad weather. 

BJ's New Toy...

A BIG GREEN TRACTOR!  The old tractor just wasn't big enough to pick up round bales and haul them into the field for the horses so we replaced it with this one.  You know what they say... "Nothing Runs Like A Deere!"

A Trip to the Mall

Today the kids were out of school for a snow day.  The weather really wasn't bad at all so we decided to take a trip to Quincy for some "retail therapy" and for Clara to get her ears pierced!

This is the lady marking her ears with a marker so she could get the holes even.  They usually pierce both ears at the same time, but unfortunately there was only one lady working today so Clara had to be brave and have them done one at a time!

This is the gun they use to shoot the earrings into the ears... OUCH!

The finished product!  Now she is ready for prom!

It is tradition to make a wish and throw a penny in the fountain at the mall so all of your dreams will come true!

I must say... this is by far the cutest "shop-aholic" that I have ever seen!  The tooth fairy didn't quite bring enough money for her to buy the hat, but she had no problem convincing her Dad to help out with the lack of funds so she could get the hat!

The Tooth is OUT!!!

VICTORY... the tooth finally came out today!  The one next to it is extremely loose also.  I can't wait until it comes out.  How cute is she going to be with no front teeth!!!  She immediately took the tooth and put it under her pillow, so hopefully that "Tooth Fairy" will remember to come tonight and pay up... she has been known to forget in the past!

School Dance!

Sam went to her second school dance this evening!  Two of her friends came home with her after school and they got ready for the dance together... So in typical "girl" fashion, they occupied my bathroom for almost an hour and a half! 

Emily, Sam and Summer

Notice Sam's "I'm not short... I'm fun size" shirt.  She saw this at JCPenney a couple of weeks ago and just HAD to have it for this dance.  As you can imagine, she gets made fun of quite often for her size!

The Loose Tooth...

Last night Alex decided that she was sick and tired of that loose tooth and it WAS coming out!  Last year she bit into an apple and her loose tooth came out so she thought it would be a brilliant idea to recreate that incident and get THIS tooth out!

The apple attempt was unsuccessful so she enlisted the assistance of her older sister...

Well, you know what they say... If you want anything done right, you have to do it yourself!  Unfortunately, that didn't work either... To Be Continued!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I made chocolate dipped strawberries for everyone, this is the "traditional" Valentine's indulgence at my house!

I had the girls' Valentine's goodies hidden at the Ambulance District so they wouldn't find them, so BJ and I went and got them this morning and brought them home for them.  

Clara surprised me with a rose, BJ with chocolates and this very sweet note...

BJ took us out to Mexican for lunch... Mexican is my favorite!

We all ate our tortilla chips and the waitress wasn't bringing more fast enough for us, so Alex closely guarded hers!

My Mom and Step-Dad got me a really cool Valentine's gift... a psychic reading!  I am not exactly what you would call a believer, but it was fun anyway!  The website for the psychic is http://spiritualmedicine.webs.com and she only charges $10 so it is worth it!

Basketball Game

This evening Clara was so nice and invited Sam to tag along with her and her friends to the Basketball Game at school, Sam was so excited to go!  The girls team won by 1 point but the boys lost by... well let's just say they lost!

Superbowl Sunday

Well, after yesterday's unsuccessful attempt at building a snowman BJ and the girls decided to give it another try.  Notice how BJ is always the one who has to get out in the cold and put all of the work into these little endeavors and I stand inside sipping coffee and taking pictures!  The Super Bowl is this evening, we were invited to a Superbowl Party but since it at a friend's house in Quincy, and we really don't feel like making that drive again today,  I think we will stay home and order pizza and watch the game on our own couch.  Clara is going to a friend's house for a Super Bowl Party.  Now to make my husband furious... GO SAINTS!!!  By the way, Clara got a dress yesterday for Prom but I won't post pictures yet... you'll have to wait until Prom Night!  But I will say, she looks very beautiful in it!

Notice Clara being a "typical American teenager" she has learned to multi-task... A.K.A. text while doing just about anything else!

The finished product!  Of course they had to add a "red neck" flair with the cowboy hat!

Happy 18th Birthday Frederik!!!

Today is Clara's brother's 18th Birthday!  We hope you have a wonderful Birthday!

Bright and early this morning BJ decided to take the kids out to build a snowman.  This quickly turned into a snowball fight! Now we are off to Quincy to go Prom dress shopping for Clara!  

This is Sam after her friend, Summer, bombarded her with snowballs!

This is Alex about 2 minutes after Sam nailed her in the head with a snowball!  This is where she remained for the rest of the snowball war!

This is BJ's new toy!  A big thanks to our friend, Luke, for driving BJ to Mexico, MO last night in a blizzard to pick it up!  I stayed home and baked German bread that BJ got from Global Market in St. Louis.  The directions were all in German so I was quite proud of myself!  When BJ got home he had warm German bread waiting for him.  When he asked me how I read the instructions to make it, I replied..."Ich spreche gut deutsch!" This means I speak good German... he wasn't buying it and immediately figured out that I typed the instructions to an online translator!