Arrowhead

Our first ever game at Arrowhead. I've heard a few things about what it's like to be there. 

It's loud. SO LOUD. 

Everyone is super into it and EVERYONE wears read. They really do. 

Do you think they'll notice that my red shirt isn't legit? It's the only red one I had! 

Sitting down during the game isn't a thing. 

Still, the view wasn't so bad from down there. I'm over 40...I like to sit down!

Mark gets me. 

The kids had a great time. 

I did not. But it's not the Chiefs fault. I spend the entire time on the phone with the 3 younger girls trying to break up endless fights and convince them that running away is not an option. I manically checked on their location as they defied all orders and walked to Price Chopper. Sure, I'm an hour away and wouldn't be able to help if a kidnapper decides to grab you, but go ahead! Walk to Price Chopper in the dark. WHYYYY???

Anyway. 

They survived. The kidnappers were off duty. 

And the Chiefs won!! Maybe we should get some real shirts?

 

Broom Hockey

I think this might be the most fun we've ever had in a church building. 

 

The Wallace Experience

A few little tidbits from our extended camping weekend:

Fire is always our main entertainment. We want to build it immediately and keep it burning all day long. This year my fire pit was commandeered by the little girls. I frequently found them building miniature personal fires on the edges of the fire ring. I'm 19 years into this parenting gig...so I told them they were doing awesome and wandered off in search of adult conversation. 

We went on a hike in search of our old favorite teeter totter bridge. we found an old remnant. Those were the good old days!

Megan was NOT into having her photo taken this year.

Everly was good with it!

We had a couple medical emergencies...but Kate was right on hand to administer fist aid. It takes a village, people! Lol....Village People.

Anna discovered that the pantry shelf on our picnic table makes a pretty fantastic top bunk.

The girls spent lots of time at the Williams' camp painting rocks. I could barely get them to come back to eat for a few minutes and they would run straight back!

We added a new favorite meal to our camping menu....drip beef sandwiches. 

Nothing like a communal pot of au jus to really feel like you're roughin it!

This will go down as "The Year of the Bees". Every day, when the sun came up, the bees emerged and made themselves a nuisance while we ate our lunches. I'm pretty sure no one got stung...but you can't deny that little twinge of fear that you feel when one of them buzzes your ear or lands on your clothes. 

And maybe my favorite part of the weekend....watching the guys play a good old fashioned game of touch football. 

This place and these people just make me happy!

I am amazed that another year of Wallace has come and gone. I find myself cherishing the memories that we make because I can see that they are changing fast. We missed having Kylie and Miranda this year...and next year we will probably be missing our big boys. 

Maybe we'll just stay her forever!

Summer Bucket List: Dutch Oven Potluck and exploding watermelon

Heaven smiled on us. 

Last night, the temperature plummeted 30 degrees. It was dramatic and, dare I say, chilly. 

This morning there was a nip in the air and I felt just a little bit nervous that it might actually be too cold to have a cookout. Because we live in bizarro world Kansas.

The girls and I pulled up to the pavilion with fear in our hearts....would another group of people already be there? 

We were in luck. No one there. Also, it was wrapped in police tape. And the picnic tables had all been removed. 

Stupid coronavirus. We untied the tape and stuffed it in the big trash cans (we're 80% confident that this is legal, the parks were officially reopened 2 weeks ago) and texted everyone to bring chairs. 

We started up our coals and then texted Mark an extensive list of all the things we forgot. 

Honestly. The weather was absolute perfection. It was Birthday Level great.

We ate.

We chatted.

We prepared the melon for exploding. My weight belt has been underutilized of late. It makes an excellent melon stabilizer.

Anna and Leah stepped up and took over the banding duties.

Mathew joined in to supervise and hold the melon when I began to have second thoughts about letting my belt get soaked with sticky watermelon guts.

The Three Musketeers managed to get seats in the splash zone.

And just when I thought it would never happen and everyone would say, "Maren, this isn't a thing. Where did you get this dumb idea?"

It happened.

Totally worth it!

But my favorite part of the night was the spontaneous, but vicious game of "Kick the Ball at Your Face" was invented and then perfected. It's the best game in the world. All can remain seated.

Summer Bucket List - Kickball and watermelon

Gorgeous skies. Friends. Chainlink fences. Laughing. Competitive dads. Watermelon. 

Hello summer!

Super Bowl 2020....Go Chiefs!!

I have to say...we may just be a lucky charm.....

Since the Hufford moved in, Kansas City has seen both a World Series win AND a Super Bowl win!!

What a great game!!

And even better food and friends.

Mahomes...man...he is something else! We'd be up, then we'd be so behind it seemed like torture to even keep watching...then we'd be up again! It was nerve-wracking and so fun!

When the Chiefs finally won and the game was over, we ran up and out the door!

The neighborhood was going crazy! Cheering and yelling from all the houses. Someone was even lighting off fireworks!

Mathew channeled his energy right up a tree!

Super Bowl Champs!!

Maybe I should buy a shirt or something?

That's a wrap!

Back to the field

Anna needs competition. She needs to run. She needs to beat the pants off those other girls.

And I am loving spending our evenings at the field again. It's so much easier without little babies everywhere!