Finally....

After well over 200,000 miles and about every light in the dash coming on over the past few months - we finally traded the old silver Oldsmobile Intrigue in for a Oldsmobile Aurora with less than half the mileage and hopefully many less worries. It is a very clean 2001 vehicle that is a cross between sage green and gold with immaculate tan leather interior. We had been looking for about a month when we stumbled across this one on a small used car lot after hours one Friday night. We went back on Saturday afternoon to check it out and test drive it - it was nice, but the dealer said he didn't even have clearance to sell it yet. We looked at a few more cars over the weekend and then went back on Monday for Fonda to work her Crooks bargaining powers. Well, she did her magic and we came away spending two dollars more than we had planned on being our limit. There are a few minor maintenance things we want to get done with it, but nothing too pressing I hope.

Watch out Lebron James - We've got Kendall Williams!

Kendall has switched from Football to Basketball in December, and is having a good time. His team is very young and the majority of them are very short, but what they lack in size is made up in hustle. He's handling the ball much better this year and has made at least one basket in every game so far - with a game high of three (I think). They have three more games left in January and then we just signed him up for the next session as well, which I believe is another 7 weeks which should lead him right up to Baseball Season.

He makes a great point guard, and spends lots of time trying to get it inside to the bigger boys! If he can't find one of them open he's not scared to drive inside and shoot.
As you can see they play some very aggressive man to man defense...

Keep playing tough Kendall - you are a real Superstar and you make Mommy and Daddy very proud when we watch you play!

Flying High

Well another Competition Cheerleading Season is upon us and Lizzy picked up right where she left off last year... looking awesome! We can't help it but to be so proud of her when she is on that competition floor - that smile, those expressions and mostly her jumps! Her jumps are incredible and it makes it worth every penny that is spent to see her perform like she does. Her team has competed twice so far this season, they started the season off with a third place finish at Twister Jam in Topeka, Kansas on November 8th and then they had the CTC Nationals at Bartle Hall in Kansas City on December 6-7th where they won First Place and each team member received a beautiful National Champion Jacket. This weekend they head back to Topeka, Kansas for a two day Nations Best competition. Good Luck Lady Dragons!

Dog Gone.....

OK, how does an 11 year old with the
"Puppy Dog" eyes talk you into getting a Cat?

I can't say that - I was just as much in love with her as Lizzy was. We had all been absorbed by a cat the other night at Petsmart, (by the way - is it PetsMart or PetSmart?) but we decided to take a night to sleep on the idea instead of making that impulse decision. Well, when we decided that we would try to go back to adopt her - she had just been adopted by another family within the past couple of hours. We've been looking online for the past couple of days for another cat that would compare.... but nothing touched us via the internet.
The kids and I headed out to grab some lunch today and then drove to Lee's Summit to check out the animal shelter and it had just closed within the last fifteen minutes. We decided to check out PetCo while we were over there and they just happened to be having a Pet Adoption Day. As soon as we walked in the door they had kennels with about 25-30 dogs and then about 30-40 cats available for adoption. Well, to say the least we headed right over to see what cats they had and immediately fell in love with a few. We narrowed it down to three, and soon decided which one was the one we were looking for. She was playful but not aggressive, loving and beautiful. It didn't take too much convincing to make me decide that she was coming home with us.

Paige 2 is her real name but we just call her Paige,
she is a 4 year old Showshoe Balinese
and she already fits in around here very well......
she talks all the time.

Pumpkin Patch

To top off a very busy weekend, we spent a little time on Sunday at Carolyn's Cousins Pumpkin Patch in Liberty with Papa Bob and Grandma Cindy before they head back to New Mexico on Tuesday. We had a great time feeding the animals in the petting zoo area, riding trikes on a tricycle race track, climbing and riding several different slides, riding the train, taking a hayride trip to the Pumpkin Patch, and watching the pig races. They were also having a car show on the grounds so we looked at lots of beautiful old cars and completed the trip by purchasing a few pumpkins to take home.

Grandma and Lizzy feed the Goats in the Petting Zoo area.

Kendall and Kaiya Race Tricycles on the Race Track.

We decided to go ahead and sell the kids -
so we took a picture for the ad too.
We had a great time and a very nice family outing!

Wow - What a Cutie!

You talk about handsome - this little guy looked so cute in his tux for Uncle Greg's Wedding.
After starting the weekend by scoring his first touchdown, Kendall was the ring bearer Saturday for Greg and Aubrei's wedding at the UCM Alumni Chapel in Warrensburg. He was such a good boy and done an excellent job, did I mention how cute he looked? He was lucky enough to get to escort his beautiful cousin Jordan down the aisle and she looked like a princess of a flower girl.

Mom is so proud of her little man - he was such a great sport!Our precious little angels, is it legal to just

freeze them while they are so sweet and innocent?

Touchdown - BEARS!!!

Kendall and the rest of the Kindergarten Bears had their best game of the season Friday night - they are starting to grasp the concepts of what they need to be doing when on Offense and Defense. You can tell that they are not as timid on the field and becoming much more aggressive on both sides of the ball. On their second offensive possesion, Kendall took a direct snap from the Center and took the ball on a run to the left and got outside of the line and turned it upfield for his first touchdown of the season. It was so cute, and he was grinning from ear to ear all the way back to the huddle. I don't know who was the most proud of him, as happy as he was - I think his Daddy was the most excited.

This week Coach Brian made a change by lining Kendall up as a Defensive End instead of at Cornerback and he got in on much more of the action. They are really getting so much better and I can't wait to see how much they have improved over the course of the entire season.
Kendall chases down the Running Back for the Brigade during the first half of Friday's football game.
Congratulations Bears - We are so proud of you!

Da Bears!!!

Kendall has made his Football debut....

(Kendall, at back-left lined up as running back on offense)

The Parmerlee Tournament was held Saturday where all teams get three short scrimmages against other teams within their age division with a 15 minute time limit. The Bears looked pretty good for their first live action playing both Offense and Defense with flags.

(Kendall surrounded by Tigers carries the ball for a short gain)

With his speed -Kendall is lining up as running back on offense and getting quite a few carries. He really likes to get outside the line and run in the open field. He is so small he gets lost when he runs up the middle. He has learned a lot and been able to put the information from practices to actual game scenarios after getting to go against another team.

(Kendall and Luke block on a sweep to the right side,
the play resulted in a touchdown. Go Bears!)

Defensively, he started at Right Cornerback but seems to get isolated out there to easily so this week Coach has decided to move his speed in to the Defensive End position where he can watch the ball and get a good jump and get into the backfield as they are handing it off. It should be a good move as long as they don't put some big lineman accross the line to slow him down.

The regular season starts Friday night under the lights
at Hidden Valley Park.

GOOD LUCK BEARS!!!

Back to School

Ready or not - the kids started school today...

Kendall started his first day of Kindergarten at Lucy Franklin Elementary this morning and he was pretty excited about meeting new friends, eating at school, learning fun things, and most of all - recess!!! He has had his first day of school outfit picked out since the day he got it and he looked like he was ready to take on the world even though he will probably be one of the smallest students in the whole school.

Lizzy headed off to Brittany Hill Middle School to start Sixth Grade this morning. She met the bus an hour earlier than when she was going to the Elementary, but didn't seem to mind getting up a little earlier. She too has had her first day of school outfit picked out forever, she looked beautiful as she headed off to the bus stop this morning with a few of her friends from the neighborhood. I am sure that she will handle the challenges of the new school schedule and routine well - and I know that she is looking forward to having her own locker that she can decorate with her style.

Good Luck to both of you and make us proud!!!

Da Bears...

It's that time of year - No, not the start of school (that's next week) - the start of Football Season! That's Right! Kendall is playing Youth Football and has been drafted by the Bears.
Although he wanted to play tackle football, Mom got her way and he settled for Flag Football for at least this year. They started with three practices last week and now we are down to two practices per week and games will be on Friday nights starting in a couple of weeks. The Bears have a wide variety of athletic skill and if they can stay focused for a full hour at a time should be pretty good. In fact, if it were tackle football - I think they would be unstoppable because they can really pounce on the dummies during their water breaks.

Down...

Set...

One...

Coach has not made any definite playing position decisions yet, but he has a couple of the boys playing the same positions during practice night after night. On Offense I think we have a starting Center, Quarterback, and two Running Backs - the rest are going to rotate around on the line. So far Kendall has been starting at Tailback so he should get to carry the ball quite a bit - his main play is "I-Dive-Left." He also likes the "I-Sweep-Right" but he doesn't carry the ball on that one so he has to get out and block on that particular play so it's not quite as fun. After seeing Kendall throw the ball at practice last night, coach may try to sneak in a Halfback Pass at some point in the season - he says that if he can find someone that can catch it that we may have to use that trick play on occasion. Defensively we are quick, he has the three fastest boys lining up as Linebacker and the two corners to attack the ball carrier. Kendall has been starting as the Right Cornerback for now and made me so proud last night at practice by getting so many flags that I let him decide where we were going to eat out as a treat. He is having a blast and he just smiles from ear to ear when he makes a defensive play or gets past the defense when he is carrying the ball. It should be a fun year to watch them learn the game.

Go Bears!

Let's Lock them Up!!!

Well - Lizzy made it through the 5th Grade and gets to move on to
Brittany Hill Middle School next year unless we decide to
lock her in her room until she turns, let's say..... 30 years old.

Lizzy and six of her friends hosted a year-end party this afternoon
where they invited a total of about 40 of their classmates
to Celebrate the end of Elementary School. The boys brought a
bag of Chips and the Girls brought a bag of Candy to have during
the party and we had lemonade and water to keep them cool.
We had a friend of ours DJ the party and lead them through
some dances to get them involved. I think the Electric Slide,
YMCA and the Macarena were the most accepted and the boy-girl
dances were the flop - I guess they were scared of each other....?
Anyway, I think everyone had a good time and we
enjoyed watching the kids have fun! Congratulations Kids - and Have a Safe Summer!

Preschool Graduation!

Congratulations Kendall, You did it!!!

Kendall had his year end music program and Preschool Gradutation tonight. The night started with a T-Ball Game in Independence at 5:30 and we played until the bottom of the last inning when we left early to get to the church in time for the program. He changed clothes in the van and they sang about a dozen very cute songs that Miss Tammy (the music teacher) has taught them this year. After the singing, the students that will move on to Kindergarten had a graduation ceremony and each student was reconginzed individually. The night ended with a short Cookie and Punch Reception. He will actually get to start Summer School next Tuesday for the Month of June, then he will have the month of July off and then will start Kindergarten at Lucy Franklin Elementary School in August.

DARE Graduation

Congratulations Lizzy - You make us so Proud!

Lizzy had her DARE Graduation at Lucy Franklin Elementary on May 23rd

During the 13 week course they learned about the Drug Awareness Resistance Education program sponsored by the Blue Springs Police Department. The fifth grade students learn some very valuable information about Drugs and Alcohol and the peer pressure that they will face regarding these hazardous items before they graduate to Brittany Hill Middle School in a few short months. Towards the end of the course each student wrote an essay about the DARE Program and what they learned about Drugs and Alcohol and one essay from each of the 5th Grade Classes was selected as the winner and they were asked to read their essay during the Graduation. Lizzy wrote the winning essay and was selected to read her essay from Mrs. Seigler's class. She read her essay in a record time as she was very nervous to read it in front of a large crowd of about 120 other students, 100 parents and many teachers, school administration and police officers.

Major Leaguer....

Well, Kendall has started his first session of T-Ball this summer at ADP Sports here in Blue Springs. It is a unique league as they have a 45 minute practice at 9:00 each Saturday morning and then at 9:45 they start a 45 minute game. It is a very basic league, but it is managed by a former Major Leaguer (Mark Brown) so it is very instructional and is tied in with a very active Youth Program at the First Bible Baptist Church and their very nice facilities. He will be playing this league until the end of June and in June and July he will be playing T-Ball at BVAC where he played last year. I thought I would share a few pictures of the first weeks action!!! I will try to add a few more images throughout the season! Go Kendall....

He picked up right where he left off last year with his defensive skills and made quite a few great defensive plays. He hasn't made a double play yet - but give him time!