ML BULLS

Jayden played baseball this summer for the Merrill Lynch Bulls. We played in a league with some of the best teams in town so we had a pretty rough season. Jayden played first base and had some amazing defensive plays and of course some awesome hits. When the season was over it was time for the City Tournament. Jayden was very excited to play in a tournament like Jared does all the time. The tournament was double elimination. We won our first game against a team we had played a few times during the season. Game 2 was against the #1 team in the city. They were last years champs and only lost 1 game in the last 2 years. We lost that one. We went on to play 3 more games before we lost again. The boys won more games in that tournament than they won during the regular season. They played so hard and so well and we were all very proud of them. Fall ball signups are this week. Games start the last week of August and Jayden can't wait to get back to playing ball.

ANOTHER ANNIE JR.

For summer school this year Emmalee decided to take part in the school district wide play Annie Jr. Tryouts were held the first few days of classes and Emmalee got the part of an orphan named Tessie. (She was VERY excited to get the part of an orphan with a name.) The students rehearsed for about 4 1/2 hours a day 4 days a week for 4 weeks and at the end they put on the play Annie Jr. Emmalee was so excited to do this....she wasn't nervous at all. She got all orphaned up, makeup, costume, messy hair, and was ready to go. I didn't know what to expect. Other than the songs and lines I had heard her practice at home I hadn't seen any of the show. To my surprise Emmalee had several speaking parts and a singing solo. She did so good! I was such a proud mommy. Emmalee had lots of friends and family in the audience cheering her on. We got a special surprise when my friend Stephanie showed up clear from Raymore. It was an amazing show. All the children did great. Emmalee is already looking forward to doing it again. Singing, acting, and dancing are the things she loves. I think we may have a future star on our hands!

OUR LITTLE SUPERSTAR

Anyone who knows us knows Jayden is happiest when he's playing sports. He did basketball in the winter and now it's baseball time. Jayden plays K-ball ( machine pitch). This year Jared is coaching along with 2 dads that have been Jayden's coaches in the past. Jayden does great! We are so proud of him. If only we could get him to quit swinging for the fences. Uncle Troy bet him money he couldn't hit one out of the park and now he's trying so hard to hit a homer that he struggles sometimes. Jayden's team, The Bulls, won their game Friday night 8-5. Those boys were so excited and it was great to see! Jayden's is doing a great job playing first base. Our little #5, future Albert Pujols protege.

Emmalee's 5th Grade Adventures

Emmalee is a 5th grader now. That is so hard for me to believe! This year both kids started at a new school closer to our home. Emmalee was very nervous and sad about it but it's been a great year! She got 3rd place in the Spelling Bee, she was chosen for 3 events in the track meet, she got a part in the 5th and 6th grade play Annie Jr., again she was chosen for the districts Elementary Honor Choir, and most recently she found out she will be a Safety Patrol next year. I truly am proud of the amazing young lady she is and I'm so excited to watch her continue to grow and mature. She's definitely one of the best gifts I could have ever asked for. I'm not sure how I got to be so lucky but I'll take it.

OUR TRIP TO DISNEY

On April 1, 2010 the 4 of us boarded a plane to Florida. Destination: Walt Disney World. We were all so excited to be taking this "magical" vacation. Papa Dave dropped us off at the airport. This was only Emmalee and Jayden's second flight and neither of them really remembered the first one. They both did great on the plane! Once we landed we board Disney's Magical Express to take us to our hotel....Disney's All Star Sports Resort. (Imagine that!) It was the coolest hotel we had ever seen!

Our first evening in Florida we went to Downtown Disney, a shopping area. We walked around and saw lots of cool things. The kids each made their own t-shirt that they designed themselves. Then we ate a late dinner at Rainforest Cafe. None of us had been there before so that was a cool experience. The weather was great and we were so happy to be in Florida.

Day 2: We got up early so we could eat breakfast at our hotel and then head to Disney's Hollywood Studios. The kids were so very excited when we got there. The first thing we wanted to do was ride the Hollywood Tower of Terror. Emmalee was a little apprehensive but we talked her into it. The ride is set in an old hotel theme. You sit in a make shift elevator for the ride. As we went along there were holographic ghosts. Emmalee was freaked! The ride takes you up and drops you fast and far! Jayden was crying. Jared and I loved the ride but there was no way we were convincing the kids to ride it again. Our next destination was Toy Story Mania. The line was super long so we got a fast pass to come ride it later. We went to see an action Motorcycle show in the mean time. It was really cool! When we finally made it back to Toy Story Mania we were able to get right on. It is a ride that goes from one 3-D carnival game to the next and you play the games and score points as you go along. It was probably our favorite ride. It was so much fun! We also watched an amateur American Idol and an Indiana Jones action adventure that day along with many other things. By the end of the day the kids were exhausted so we didn't stick around for the fireworks that night. I hear it's the best night time show of all so I'm wishing we had now.

Day 3: Magic Kingdom, home of Cinderella. When we got there that morning it wasn't too busy at all. We took some pics by Cinderella castle and were off to ride some rides. We started with Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Station. It was a lot like Toy Story Mania....lots of fun. We also did Stitch's Great Escape and watched the Monsters Inc. comedy show. It was interactive and VERY funny. The kids and I decided to ride Space Mountain but we couldn't get Jared to ride. I was kind of worried about taking the kids on it by myself but they both loved it. Later on in the day we convinced Jared to go on it and he loved it too. We rode a lot of rides and saw a lot of characters that day. We went back to the hotel to rest and came back later in the evening for the Light Parade. It was a really cool show! Jayden wasn't feeling very good so he and Jared headed back to the hotel and Emmalee and I stayed to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was late and dark and a really cool ride. After that we watched a bit of the fireworks then made our way to the bus to get back to the hotel.

Day 4: Epcot on Easter. Jayden signed up and participated in an egg hunt. He wasn't happy about only being able to pick up 5 eggs. One of the first rides we road was Soarin. It was amazing. You sit in a seat that lifts you up in the air and you take a virtual ride over California. It felt so real. There were even smells and breezes. Really cool! We rode that one twice. We rode in the big "Golf Ball" as the kids called it. It was very interesting. We went to Turtle Talk With Crush, another interactive screen show. It was also very funny. The kids really enjoyed the Mission to Mars ride.....it made me sick to my stomach. Too much moving and shaking. We walked around to the countries represented at the park. There was lots to see and do. There was a Honey I Shrunk The Audience show at Epcot. It was another 3-D movie. At one point all these mice are let loose and air blows on the back of your legs, making it feel like the mice are crawling on you. We were sitting in the front row so I was the first person in the entire theater to scream at the top of my lungs. How embarrassing!

Day 5: Time to head home. We slept in that morning for the first time. We gathered up all our stuff and checked out of the hotel. We played games in the hotel arcade and won lots of tickets so we came home with lots of junk. We hung out in the lobby for a few hours watching old Disney cartoons until the bus came to take us to the airport. Once we made it to the airport we found a Mc Donald's and ate lunch. I was dying for a Diet Dr.Pepper by this time. I hadn't had one since Thursday and it was Monday. Disney is sponsored by Coke so there was no Dr. Pepper products to be found. Once again we boarded the plane, this time destination Kansas City. Another great flight. The kids and I slept most of the way. Papa, Grandma, and Troy picked us up at the airport and we went out to dinner. We got back to town and got the kids ready for bed. It was late and they had school the next day. They were sad the trip was over but were very excited to tell their friends all about it.

OUR NOT SO TINY DANCER!!!!

In January Emmalee attended her first MATS Meet. The meet consists of acro routines that each dancer must learn and memorize and perform individually in front of a group of judges. Emmalee placed 4th on that day. We were so proud of her! By placing 4th she was invited to come back for the finals that would be held 3 weeks later. Emmalee worked really hard and when we went back in February we knew she was ready to compete with all the other girls. Her routine looked great! There was one point that her foot was off the mat but other than that it was awesome. After all the girls were done it was time to announce the top 6 girls from each mat. As they were calling the names I was getting very nervous. My mom and sister were there with me and they were getting nervous too. 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd. Why aren't they calling her name? She did great. 2nd place, a fellow Darcee's student. My heart sank. SHE DESERVED TO PLACE! SHE WAS AWESOME! First place......Emmalee Talbott. We went wild! We screamed so loud we disturbed the little boy in front of us that was wearing headphones. I WAS SO PROUD! My little girl is amazing and I'm so lucky to have her!!!!

RUMPELSTILTSKIN

On Monday March 1st both kids auditioned for the play Rumpelstiltskin. After 2 plus hours we found out that they both got parts! Emmalee was cast as a villager and Jayden a busy bee. The kids attended practice all week and the play was held on Saturday the 6th. There were two shows. Both kids did great! We were so proud of them!