Homecoming 2009

this is part of the group that went out tonight... the girl in the orange next to wylson... her date is by Sami! The girl has had a crush on Wylson for three years. She was determined to get a photo with the tall guy!! ha ha

I had a lot of fun doing sami's hair and outfitting wylson....

this is my favorite picture of the two... don't they look sharp!

This year they went stag. This will be the only year that they will be together I'm sure.

I was glad that they wanted to be together. T

hey got together with 12 friends and went to dinner at BD's mongolian bbq. That was Wylson's highlight of the night... dinner!

Fall Has Begun

Easton goes to the high school for preschool in the child development program.
He has buddies thru the day that are students at the high school. He loves his buddies Lauren, Parker, and Brittany best. Easton turned 5 in sept. and is the oldest in his class.

Madi is in 4th grade. she goes to James Lewis Elementary and is glad to be on the bus alone this year vs. having Remi and Dallan with her. She is in the Supercats Singers this year and her teacher is Mrs. Thompson

Remi and Dallan are in middle school this year in 6th grade. They locker by each other but don't have any classes together. Remi is playing the flute in band and Dallan is playing cello. they love school and love all that middle school offers.

First day of high school for the teenagers. Notice that it is dark outside! They leave at 5:30 in the morning becuase of seminary at 5:50am. School starts at 7 and they both have practice after school so I don't see them till 5 at night. long days.... but fun days and lots of learning going on!

We are moving and shaking in the 2009-2010 school year!! Busier than ever but ready to tackle this year.

The kids are really busy with everything they are doing in school and sports. Sami and Wylson has really enjoyed this year in football. It has been fun to see Sami cheer on Wylson in the games,

She cheers on the jv squad, so she cheers for the jv games and freshman games. Wylson QB's for Freshman and JV and Sophmore teams. One game he had 202 yds and 5 td's!! He does his share of fumbling the ball too but is learning alot from the great coaches and getting a lot of experience. Sami is the main flyer on the cheer squad and is doing all kinds of tricks. She got her back handspring now and is throwing a few at the games now. Wylson made the Honor Choir this year and so in between the sports life he is singing too. Sami has joined Future Teachers of America, she goes to the elementarys ane does skits that demonstrate self esteem, bullying, drug abuse, leadership, etc... she likes it alot and i am sure the kids like her. It is called "high step".

Madi is doing 3 classes a week in dance and Remi is doing 5. They are lucky to be in such a great

studio. The nutcracker rehersals have begun and we are excited to see it in November.

The Joys of Family

dave at the lake, very relaxed!:

We look great with our new do's
Mandy and Maggie, nice look Mags!

I love this shot... they all love each other!:

Cousin time with Maren:

Madi posing again!:

Wylson and Maren at Kaleidescope:

At the Zoo:

The Hippos Tank:

In the hotel:

Leaving for St. Louis

Hello! Here we are going off to St. Louis for a two day vacation. Wylson played his world series baseball tourny there this year so we took advantage and headed out for a break.

Grandma, the kids and I stayed at the Marriott and went to do the free stuff on monday. The kids loved the hotel... who doesn't?

The zoo is free admission and the childrens science center is free too. I love the St. Louis zoo, the attractions are so real and the penguins and the hippos were everyones favorite. The penguins are inside this really cold cave that has tanks and pools in it. you walk in and are kept in there for about 10 min. then you exit outside and the next group goes in. way cool they are so close to you. the hippos are so happy and love swimming in front of everyone... literally in front of you. there tank is curved all along the exhibit so you see them from all angles. Easton was freaked when a hippo came face first into the glass where he was standing... it was funny.

We all had a great time, we got home and had to hurry and do laundry, and clean house becuase aunt mandy and uncle dave and the girls would be there in a few days.

We had so much fun with my bro and his family. We did the hallmark crown center, you do art projects like painting under black lights, watercolors, make your own puzzle and a project of the

day ours was crowns and glasses. we went to the lake and bbq. Maggie and Maren hadn't been to a beach before and it was great seeing them have their first experience. They loved it and ate there share of sandy watermelon.

It was so much frun having them go to church with us, play toys and boy did they play.. we went out for a nice dinner with mark and jane who came up on their way to minnesota. All the kids played so hard with each other. I don't think we saw the little ones for hours at a time they were so busy playing super heroes. Maggie and Maren were great. Those girls really liked the fire pit and the marshmellows. We had a great time out at the fire pit a couple of nights. janel, mandy and I all got our hair done and I got to give maggie her first haircut! we looked fabulous.

we went to the soda fountain one day for a vintage treat, and ate some great pizza downtown. The biggest memory for me and my family though is the time that each of you took to make it to the midwest and spend your precious time with us! the kids loved seeing all the cousins and learning the famed settlers of catan!

Thanks to all our family for spending some of your summer with us and being with us certainly made our summer perfect!!!

EGGS AND CHICKENS

we have eggs!!! i am so excited to see that all our hard work and care for these fowlish chickens is paying off. On sunday before church I was out in my skirt and flipflops doing the regular water and food when I bent down to put the water down I saw 2 brown eggs in the corner of the coop peeking out from the bottom. I couldn't believe it. I thought we had all roosters!!!
I opened the lid to the coop and there were 6 more on the grass clippings!!
I am so proud of Batman, Lou, and Scuttles!!! They are layers!!!
pluto is the rooster and is strutting a little bit cockier now.
we had a mystery murder two weeks when my brother was here. Sami got up to do the chickens and when she went outside Honey, Bruce and Shiela were dead. Something had gotten into the coop and murdered the chickens. Honey was gutted and Bruce and Sheila were decapitated!! It was awful!!!
John took care of the mess before the other kids got up that morning and we were wondering all day and night about what and how got in there. Well, we were enjoying the firepit late friday night and then we heard the chickens cackle like no other time. John and Dave ran up to the coop to see what it was and there was a Racoon scaling the fence!!! Stupid racoon! John and Dave saved the chickens, put them in the garage and then the next thing I know John is getting his bow and arrows and taking Remi with him to hunt for coon! He got the bugger on the first try right thru the bum. All I could hear for about 10 minutes was Remi bragging about how her dad shot the racoon in the bum. The bugger lived!! John and \Remi waited for 4 hours for the coon to die but after a mountain dew and the weather getting colder they came in for some shuteye. In the morning John ran out like it was christmas to get his arrow out of his prize.... the coon was gone but the arrow was on the ground. That little racoon pulled the arrow out of his butt and went and died somewhere else!!!!
Who'd a thought that a coon could pull an arrow out?
It was quite the night,and needless to say Dallan and Wylson are practicing their shooting skills for the next coon hunt.
To quote the words of Dr. Liddle: " only at John and Jenns could I experience a Redneck vacation"!!

good riddance Y'all come back now y'hear!!

A DAY AT THE LAKE

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! WE WENT TO THE LAKE TO CELEBRATE.

WE LOVE GOING TO THE LAKE, WE BBQ DOGS AND EAT CRAPPY ADDICTING FOOD! WE TOOK JJ WITH US TO SEE IF HE COULD SWIM! HE WAS SHY AT FIRST BUT BY THE END OF THE DAY HE ACTUALLY DOVE IN WENT ALL OUT.

THE FIREWORKS WERE AMAZING, A 45 MINUTE PROGRAM FROM THE LAWN AT THE MORMON VISITOR CENTER IN INDEPENDENCE. OUR FIRST TIME THERE AND I THINK WE WILL DEFINALTEY ADD IT TO THE TRADITION OF THE 4TH.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADI

MADI TURNED 9 ON JULY 3RD. SHE LOVES HER BIRTHDAY AND LOVES THE FIREWORKS THAT ARE JUST FOR HER! THIS YEAR SHE DECIDED ON A FAMILY BIRTHDAY PARTY. SHE HAD THE WHOLE DAY PLANNED OUT FOR US ABOUT 4 WEEKS AGO. HERE IS WHAT WE DID....
9AM PEDICURES WITH THE GIRLS. WE WENT TO MY FAVORITE NAIL PLACE IN TOWN TN NAILS. THE OWNER HAD A BUSY MORNING ALL THE CHAIRS WERE FULL. I ASKED HOW LONG THE WAIT WAS FOR 5 PEDICURES AND HE SAID 20 MIN. I LEFT AND HE CHASED ME OUT THE DOOR. HE SAYS IN BROKEN ENGLISH "YOU GO MCDONALDS, GET COFFEE, COME BACK, I SAVE CHAIRS FOR YOU".... WELL IN 20 MINUTES WITH COKES AND CINNAMELTS IN HAND WE WERE BACK IN OUR PEDI CHAIRS. THE OWNER DID MADI'S FEET AND PUT AMERICAN FLAGS ON THEM, THEY TURNED OUT GREAT. MADI LOVED EVERY MINUTE AND EVERYONE GOT A FABULOUS PEDI...
AFTER THAT SHE AND JOHN WENT TO THE MALL AND HAD THERE ANNUALL DATE. THEY ATE AT THE FOOD COURT AND SHOPPED AT OLD NAVY FOR AN OUTFIT. I HARDLY EVER TAKE THE GIRLS TO THE MALL SIMPLY BECAUSE IT GIVES ME ANXIETY AND I DON'T LIKE THE MALL SO THIS IS A HUGE TREAT FOR THE GIRLS TO GO WITH JOHN. WE MET UP WITH THEM LATER AND SAW "TRANSFORMERS" AT THE MOVIES. WE CAME HOME AND HAD A BBQ DINNER WITH SHRIMP ON THE BARBEE! MADI LOVES SHRIMP, I TRIED TO GRILL IT JAPENESE STYLE WITH GARLIC AND SOY SAUCE. TURNED OUT PRETTY NUMMY!
SHE OPENED HER PRESENTS AND GOT SPURS,2 HORSES FIGURINES FOR THER COLLECTION. AND WE ARE AWAITING THE TRADITIONAL QUILT FROM GRANDMA LIDDLE.... IT IS GOING TO BE SO CUTE!

KEEPING UP WITH TRADITION, SAMI MADE THE CAKE!!

Tinman in topeka, triathalon

WAY TO GO HUNNY!
TODAY JOHN DID AND FINISHED HIS FIRST TRIATHALON! WE WENT TO TOPEKA KANSAS AND PARTICIPATED IN THE TINMAN. JOHN DECIDED 4 WEEKS AGO THAT HE AND BUDDY TOD WANGSGARD WERE GOING TO DO THIS TRI. IT WAS REALLY FUN TO ROOT HIM ALONG THE WAY. HE FINISHED IN 1 HOUR 12 MINUTES. DID A 1100 YARD SWIM, 10 MILE BIKE RIDE, AND RAN A 5K. HE SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT TO DO ANOTHER ONE BUT AFTER SEEING THE PICTURES SAYS HE BETTER SO HE CONTINUES TO LOSE WEIGHT. I THOUGHT HE DID GREAT FOR LITTLE TRAINING, THE SWIM DEFINATELY THRU HIM BECUASE OF THE WAKE AND GETTING KICKED IN THE FACE, OTHER THAN THAT HE HAD A GOOD TIME AND THE KIDS LOVED SEEING HIM COME ACROSS THE FINISH LINES!

NEXT UP THE 4 MILE RUN FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES AT THE KANSAS CITY ZOO.... FOR JENN!!!!