Life in Kansas

I feel like I'm living life in a time warp.  A time warp where my kids live the same life that I once lived.  I never really thought I'd end up living in Kansas.  And I REALLY didn't think that my kids would end up doing the same things at the same places that I did.  But that's how it's worked out this summer.  

 We've gone swimming at the same pool that I used to go swimming at when I was little.  Jaxon took swimming lessons at the same pool I used to teach swimming lessons at.  Madison took gymnastics at the same place I used to take gymnastics.  We got a gym membership at the same gym I used to lifeguard at during the winter.  It's been fun letting my kids do some of the things I loved to do when I was little.  

I'm not going to lie, it's been a rough summer.  The reason I'm here for so long is that my parents are getting divorced.  There's more to the story than that, but I don't really think it's MY story to share publicly. I do, however, firmly believe is better to know the whole story than to speculate and I'd rather people read the facts from me.  My dad is now living in California.  I've been here helping my mom pack up his stuff (he's a MAJOR pack rat).  While we were in Broken Bow last weekend he came to pick it up.  These last couple weeks I've been helping my mom get the house put back together.  It's been a lot of work, but I'm grateful I had the flexibility to come up here during this time.  

Anyway, here are some fun pics of our life here in Kansas this last month: 

Happy Summer Baby!  I don't want him to ever, ever grow up. 

This picture is funny because Jaxon is flirting with 4 eight-year-old girls.  He had them all following him around.  It was awesome!

 Jaxon did great in swimming lessons.  I was hoping that taking lessons would help him get over his fear of swimming without a life jacket.  He's not scared of the water, but he will NOT swim without a life jacket.  The other day he forgot he wasn't wearing his life jacket and he jumped in the pool and swam to me without a problem, so he CAN swim, he just won't. 

Jaxon had a great time helping the boys get things cleaned up in the backyard.  He got to wear "cool black sparkly gloves"  (they weren't really sparkly they just had black dots on them).

This is my cat, Sox.  He's loud and fat, but he's a sweet guy and he likes to use lots of weird things as pillows.

packing box

random piece of clothing on the floor

Riding "super hero" bikes!  We have to make sure Jaxon's cape doesn't get caught in his tires.  It took some practice, but the kids are getting the hang of riding their bikes without too much help.  Thankfully my mom lives on a cul-de-sac so it's a great place to practice.

Someone is VERY excited about her new backpack and lunch box for Kindergarten.  School starts in 2 short weeks!  I can't believe it.  I'm having mixed emotions.  Mostly I'm excited, but I just can't believe she's old enough to start school!

And finally, here are a couple of quotes from the last couple of weeks:

One day Jaxon was playing swords with my cousin, Ryan.  Ryan said, "En Guard."  Which Jaxon interpreted as "I'm God" because Jaxon quickly responded, "I'm Jesus."

The other day we were at the pool and Madison saw a girl her age wearing a bikini.  She said, "mom can I play with her even though she is not modest?"  I told her of course, but don't tell her she isn't modest. Then I felt very proud that she knew what modest was.   The next day Madison asked me, "Mom, is my tummy not modest because it has a hole in it?"  (her belly button)  Maybe she doesn't know what modest MEANS after all.