Oh, our Justin Bieber phase...

This summer, Roan went through a Justin Bieber phase. He listened to his CD constantly, watched him on TV... then decided he wanted the "Justin Beaver haircut". Oh boy... so we let his usually short hair grow out. A couple of days before school started, we took off to the salon. He brought the CD just to make sure the stylist knew exactly what haircut he wanted.

When the stylist asked why he liked Justin's haircut, he told her "boys with a Justin Beaver haircut get all the chicks!" The whole salon burst out laughing!

This is actually kind of a poignant picture for me. There was a day when Roan absolutely could not tolerate a haircut. He would hold his ears and scream... we sure have come a long way.

As it turns out, "The Beaver" only lasted about a month. He decided it was WAAAYY too high maintenance... it got messy during recess...and that's not how a man gets the chicks. Yes, that's the wisdom of a 5 year old!

Life has CHANGED!... graduation

First, the caveat. My friend, Suzie was the appointed graduation photographer. She's in the process of sending me those pictures, but for now, here's proof that it really happened! I graduated! That's a fake diploma in my hand...and me trying not to completely faint dead over. It was quite a day. Surreal is a good word. The night before commencement, the graduates are invited to the President's Dinner. We had dinner, received awards, and reminisced about our time at Cleveland. Shannon and I survived the blistering heat...and met my BFF Suzie and her husband, Chris there. We had a terrific time! I was convinced I would cry the whole night, but I did ok. The next day, Shannon and I had a nice lunch, tried not to sweat to death in the August heat, then headed to the school. So many of my friends came to share this amazing occasion. Shannon. A whole car load came from Columbia MO... Michelle, Sharla, Sarah. My best friend from Kindergarten. My kids. My parents. It was just amazing to stand at the completion of a goal I set for myself so long ago. After the commencement, we hosted a dinner reception for more friends and family. What a great time! Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a special day!

Life has CHANGED... our move to Jefferson City

August 6 was the big day. We decided to move the week before graduation because the kids were scheduled to start school just a couple of days later. I thought it was be an easier transition for them if we had a little time to unpack and settle before they started at their new school.

Thank God for the man with some muscle! We took off from Mid-Missouri with the moving truck on August 6...

...and arrived in Peculiar later that afternoon to start the torture. We got the major things loaded in about 4 hours, and headed back to Jeff City. The truck was full of furniture and the cab was full of 2 howling cats. Stella and Sadie were NOT very happy about the trip.

We got back to Jeff about 1am, slept in, then started unloading. Shannon's daughter Mallory and her husband, Seth came over to help us unload. Funny how much faster it goes with a little extra help!

The kids spent the week of the move with their Meme and Baba O'Donnell. When they came home...to their new home, their rooms were completely unpacked. Prior to that, they'd only seen the walls and empty floor space... this is Libby seeing her new room for the first time! She was SO excited!

This was Roan's reaction! He immediately dove onto his bed and giggled. So far, they've adjusted really well to a new home, new school and a new routine. It's so nice to be back in Jefferson City!

Life has CHANGED!... Part 1

This has been a crazy summer! That's my excuse for ignoring my blog for so long!We spent most of July getting ready to move to Jefferson City. We had lots of fun picking out new paint colors for the kids' new bedrooms, new comforters, and curtains.
This is Libby working on painting her new room. Yes, it's pink. Very pink. She's a pretty amazing painter. No messes... better than most adults could do!

Libby's room with the edges cut in... wow I've painted a LOT in the last couple of months!

The kids working on Roan's new room. His room is khaki... it's a jungle theme. He's still waiting on his mom to paint some monkeys on the wall.

Roan helping paint his sissy's room. They thought it was really fun to be included in the projects.