Farewell Cheetah Season

Peyton played her last indoor Cheetah soccer game last Sunday.  She loves playing on this team, as it's mostly girls she goes to school with.  It's a fun, fun group to watch and also a fun group of parents.

One last "good job, girls" from coach Lorms.  He's so good with those girls.

The golf course suddenly wasn't…….

quiet!  Once this group arrived it was no longer peaceful.  ha!  We caught a rare Saturday night that we didn't have much going on so the kids wanted to go golfing.  It was fun, even Maddie enjoyed hitting her wiffle ball with her plastic club.

A cart full of fun, getting ready

First swings…….

Doing more than just golfing by the end

Mmm hmmm.....

A nice, "head out the window kind of day".  LOVING this spring weather!!

Too cool for school

This child makes me laugh.  I look up in my rear view mirror the other day and this is what I find....

It's rare, BUT….

It DOES occasionally happen.  Peyton and Maddie do actually get along every once in a blue moon.  On good Friday they had off school so we ran to the mall quick to grab Maddie some new shoes.  Peyton brought some of her money and it was burning a hole in her pocket.  So we walked the entire mall while she picked out what she wanted to buy.  She bought a rock kit that grows rocks in colored water.  She loved it, and thought it was great.  So I guess it was worth our 2 hour walk around the mall.

Easter

Another Easter has come and gone….but not without LOTS of candy and a few Easter egg hunts!

The Easter Bunny at our house decided to make the kids work a little harder for their baskets this year.  He made a little scavenger hunt for them to complete in the morning.  The end result:  Maddie's was in the dog food cabinet, Jack's was in the oven, and Peyton's was in the clothes dryer.  I think the kids had fun!!

Some of the aftermath…… 

We then headed out to the farm (stopping by Troy first so that Mike could do a little work).  We ate and had another egg hunt.  The kids then played in the creek for a little while and played outside.  It ended up being a really nice day.

At first Maddie was picky.  She wanted, "a purple egg."  She quickly learned, we don't care of color we care about quantity.

We then packed up, went back to Troy for Mike to finished up his work and on to Grandma Jeanne and Mark's.  We missed most of the party there.  BUMMER!  The kids had to hunt eggs by themselves there cause all the other kids were gone.  They still had fun and still managed to get MORE THAN ENOUGH eggs!!!!  Fun day, as always!!

A "Peyton Day"

Last week the kids had a half day on Friday.  Jack had a 1st grade boys party after school, Maddie was in school still, so Peyton got to have a friend over.  They wanted to get pedicures and have Chick-fa-le. So that is what we did.  NEVER do I have Peyton by myself so it was fun to hang with the girls for a couple hours before we went and grabbed Jack and Maddie.

 The girls in their big ol filppy floppies from the nail shop…they looked like ducks waddling in them big ole things!!!

First Reconciliation

This took place a few months ago, don't know how I didn't manage to get this on here.

Peyton had her First Reconciliation at St. Peter.  The kids got to choose which priest they wanted to go to.  They had the three priests from our parish and then they had two traveling priests as well.  Peyton chose to go to Father Mike (one of the priests from our parish).  Father Mike had a long line, he must be the well liked and trusted priest!

After the kids were finished they had a quick reception for them in the school dining hall.  Mike and I then took her to lunch and told her she could pick where we went.  Her choice……..wait for it…..wait for it…….Jimmy Johns!!!  HA!  Quite the celebration!  We Friedman's go big, huh??


Silly girls celebrating their big sacrament!  What a big year for 2nd graders!!!

Glen-Ed Spring tournament

Peyton's Gallagher team played in a tournament this past weekend in Edwardsville.  They played really hard and played very well, but came up short in the championship game.  Peyton's soccer skills have been coming along well in the last month or so, especially her foot skills.  She could definitely school me on a soccer field!!  They also got a new coach at the beginning of this year and he seems to be amazing with this age of girls.  Fun tournament!!

A table full of teammates having a little snack at Panera between games.

Team picture before getting the medals

The team receiving the trophy

 Individual medals

One more team picture with their "decoration"

One tired girl on the way home

Taking after her big sister

Jeanne texted me this picture the other day.  Maddie had been playing with her phone earlier in the day and then she found this on her phone.  It appears Maddie is going to take after Peyton.  Peyton takes some of the silliest/ugliest pictures of herself on everyone's phones.  Mark had said that he is keeping all of her obnoxious photos and pictures off of their phones and keeping them in a "special place" for her when she gets bigger.  I told him, he better start making a Maddie folder now too!!!

This just makes me laugh….really!!!  Funniest picture ever!

Community Day for First Communion

Peyton is getting ready to take her First Communion in a couple weeks.  A few weeks back the kids had "Community Day" in preparation for the big day.  They did lots of things.  They made ribbons for their front doors for the special day (this is something all the churches around here do.  They make big white ribbons and put them on the front doors of all the first communion kids.  So when you drive around town you know exactly which houses are celebrating the great sacrament), made their cover for their program that day, watched a movie about the sacrament, and then Father had little lesson with them in the church about coming to The Table.  He is super good with kids, and I think they learned a lot!

Mnsr. Jack with some of the kids

Practicing "the wine"

An impromptu trip to the zoo

A couple weeks ago we stopped by the Brueggenjohhans before gymnastics.  Maddie knew they were getting backed up and ready for the zoo when we were leaving.  After gymnastics we usually go to the gym (Miss Nancy's).  When we got in the car after gymnastics, Maddie said, "I want to go to the zoo with Andrew."  So we skipped the gym and headed to the zoo to find the Brueggenjohanns.

 If you look closely the sea lion is playing with a toy.  He was putting on quite the show for us!

Hornets Softball

I'm coaching Peyton's softball team again this year.  These girls have made HUGE strides since last year, but we need to thin out the team a bit.  Maybe I'll have the guts to do it by next year.  Here are a couple pictures grandma Jeanne took at a tournament a few weeks ago.

These pictures were taken at the Kirkwood fields….the fields where I played HUNDREDS of games in my career.  Kind of crazy!!

Spring break 2015

Things got crazy in 2015 for Spring Break….ha!  Not really.  We didn't go anywhere as a family, as we have a little surprise approaching for the kids soon.  Can't go too much into detail incase Peyton gets on the blog site, which she occasionally does.  So Mike didn't have any time off, so the kids and I got together with some of our friends and took the train to Jeff City.  We did NOTHING except get off the train, walk to the hotel and the kids swam, swam, ate, swam, ate, watched a movie, swam and went to bed.  The next morning they were in the pool by 7:40.  They got out we ate breakfast and headed back to the train.  The kids had a great time, Staci and I did too!

I had never been on the train before (nor had the kids) so it was a fun little getaway.  We learned that you are never suppose to take the train from Jeff City on a Friday because they put inmates on there and ship them to their next destination….kind of weird.  But what do you know, we were indeed traveling from Jeff City on a Friday.  We did catch a glimpse of them at the station while waiting for the train, but they put the families on a separate car, so we never saw them again once we got on the train.

Waiting for the train in Kirkwood

Getting all settled in 

 Stopping for a quick "tourist" picture

Let the FUN begin!

The "adult beverages" that we packed needed a bottle opening….Staci somehow managed with a set of car keys.  We didn't got thirsty.  

The kids LOVED the all glass elevator!!!

Getting ready for a movie and popcorn

Maddie didn't make it through the movie or popcorn….tired baby!!!  

 Mommy and Maddie getting ready for bed….

 Big kids FAST asleep.  Notice my boobie trap on the door.  Peyton and Jack were sleeping in the front room.  Wasn't gonna have no intruder get to them first.  So we barricaded the door as best as we could.  Sad that this is the world we live in….

And the last kiddo goes to sleep.  A little girl in a bid ole bed!

Heading back to the station….good bye Jeff City.  It's been fun!