Perfectly Aligned Stars

When Royce and I got back from New Orleans K-State played at home the following Saturday.  Typically we take Chloe & Isaac and leave Amelia & Caroline with a relative, but after we had been away from them for so long (Royce away from them for 7 days), we just couldn't bear to leave anybody behind for the weekend.  We missed our munchkins too much.  It just so happened that we had the perfect alignment of a non-conference game, AMAZING weather that was completely stress-free, an evening game, and perfectly-purple kiddos. 

 

Caroline stretching her "First Down!" arm--she'll need it later. 

Tailgaters!

The girls did EXTREMELY well during the game.  We can not complain one bit!

Carolyn & Jim were three rows behind us--I think they did okay, right?!?

They were busy, but that is normal.  Everything was within our typical boundaries so we were very thankful for that.  I took them out during a lot of the 2nd quarter but it was just so nice out they played on the concourse level in the grass and had a great time. 

 

By the end of the game we realized we had better be looking for 6 tickets in the future.

Go Wildcats! 

More of September

Grandma Pfannenstiel was honored at church in September for her 40+ years of service to Ransom's parish.  It was an honor well-deserved!  She got a beautiful rosary that has her children's' birthstones on it and the reception was very nice. 

Galen and Debbie hosted a lunch after church and it was a wonderful day! 

 

Caroline read through the entire K-Stater magazine with me!

Holy Family celebrated September birthdays by inviting families to lunch on September 18th. 

Royce and I took Amelia & Caroline with us and they had such a fun time. 

I have had to stop by on office project I'm working on fairly often and sometimes Amelia & Caroline are with me for short periods of time.  I think I could put them to work either sweeping or answering disconnected telephones! 

Caroline loved shopping in Claire's!

Caroline pulling Amelia in the wagon. 

At least they are wearing helmets so they won't crack their heads! 

Chloe can very proudly read all 62 pages of Go Dog Go! 

I say proudly because that was my favorite book when I was little.  I could read it before I could actually read, meaning I had all the pages memorized.  Robynn got this book for Chloe when she was little and I can honestly say Chloe actually read the book to them, didn't just explain the pages :) 

This is a great picture of Isaac being a typical little boy. 

I got him two of the Disney Planes airplane toys at the grocery store.  I let him pick them out and he was as happy as could be.  We walked to the girls' daycare to pick them up and Isaac flew his airplanes the entire way there.  It was pretty cute seeing him enjoy his toys so simply. 

 

 

New Orleans - 10th Anniversary Trip

September 6-9, 2013

A few weeks after our actual anniversary we were able to take a trip to celebrate.  Royce was scheduled for training in New Orleans so we decided to extend his travel dates into the weekend before his training and make a long weekend out of it.  It worked out very well and it was exciting to go somewhere we had never been before. 

 

Royce and I had a long trip getting to New Orleans as we did not have the most direct flight route.  But it was worth it for the flights we took so we could take Chloe to school on her 7th birthday and make sure everyone was settled where they needed to be.  We had created quite the cross-referenced, color-coded, meticulously-planned agenda for our friends & family to follow with the four kids while we were gone.  Not for WHAT they kids did when they were somewhere, but WHERE the kids were actually supposed to be at any given time.  We have the BEST support system! 

 

We arrived in New Orleans on Friday evening, September 6th.  Dan Deines had told us we must go to Frenchmen Street and eat at the Three Muses.  Yes, Sir!  Boy was he right!  We decided since we were arriving at night we'd better go some place we knew we would enjoy and we are so happy we followed his suggestion on our first night there.  We loved the food and the music was sensational.  A true welcoming to the South. 

And Dan--see the Spotted Cat above us in the picture?

We went there, too!

Saturday morning was our Segway tour.  What fun these little contraptions were!  They were a blast to ride on, but we knew there was no goofing off allowed once we had to hand over our credit card number "just in case".  All of the threatened dollar signs kept us in check, that's for sure!  But it was a great way to zip around the French Quarter, Riverwalk, French Market, Jackson Square, and several neighborhoods. 

 

Jackson Square

A bar named Stella! 

It was a tough picture to take while trying to drive the Segway one-handed!

We rode the Segways the whole way on this Riverwalk.

It was really neat that we got to see so much of it without walking the whole thing. 

 

Saturday night we ended up at Pat O'Brien's dueling piano bar. 

Wow, that was a fun night!

The place was packed so we asked another couple if we could sit with them.

They were celebrating their 6th anniversary.  They were a lot of fun to share

a table with and we all sang our hearts out! 

Sunday morning we rode the trolley to go see the cemeteries.  We didn't spend very much time there as it was pretty hot out but it was fun to walk a few rows of tombs and see the dates, see which ones were children, and read the scriptures or quotes they had engraved on their tombs.

The most recent date we saw engraved was on the tomb above.  It was for one of the New Orleans Police Departments and there was a 20ish year old officer who was killed in 2008.  There were still open places in this tomb and I thought it was kind of neat that a Police Department would have a special tomb for officers.  The oldest date I saw was 1816.  I don't know why I expected to see older than that, but the more I thought about it I realized that 1816 is in fact almost 200 years ago and 200 years is not something to dismiss!  After all, New Orleans wasn't established until 1779 and wasn't purchased by the United States until 1803.  So what was I expecting?!?  It was a little concerning to see the tombs with the doors bowing out on them though.  The lingering high water levels from Hurricane Katrina did a lot of damage weakening the tombs.  We didn't really want to know what was inside of the bowing doors. 

 

Sunday evening was the high point of the whole trip.  It was our 'fancy' dinner out to formally celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  Royce had researched different restaurants and chose Commander's Palace.  We were excited by the reviews but we got more and more excited to see it for ourselves.  It was in the Garden District and we enjoyed our taxi ride through this neighborhood to see the larger lot sizes, beautiful homes with fences around them, and true southern plantation looking estates.  They were really beautiful.  It was a very welcome change from being in the French Quarter for two days where every building is extremely close to the other.  The Garden District was beautiful.  And our experience was unforgettable.

 

 

 

From the moment we walked in the door and gave our names we were welcomed by "Good evening Mr. & Mrs. Purinton.  Happy Anniversary!  We thank you for choosing to celebrate with us tonight."  The restaurant was two floors and there were servers everywhere.  As we walked through the first floor and up to the second floor every single server knew who we were, greeted us by name, and wished us a happy anniversary.  It was unreal.  Our table was in a room with mostly glass windows looking over trees with lights in them.  I think we had four different servers and none of them missed a beat.  Luckily I had researched their wine list ahead of time and felt somewhat intelligent when I ordered my glass of Moscatto D'Asti, a wine I knew I actually liked....however true wine conniosseurs would still probably laugh at me since it is in fact a dessert wine that I ordered for the whole meal.  Hey, I'm trying to fit in people!  I'll still call it a victory. 

 

Of course the food was sensational, we expected nothing less and knew it would be.  Royce ordered the stuffed quail and I ordered the pecan crusted fish.  The presentation was top notch and Royce's meal was an entire quail, de-boned except for the two legs, and was picture perfect.  But beyond the food was the wait staff.  Saying 'service at it's best' is a huge understatement!  Every course was a synchronized event by the servers.  Whether there were two people at a table or eight, every course was served to each person at the exact same moment - a server for each person at the table.  They would walk out from the kitchen in a straight line, each plate held high above the shoulder and the other arm behind their back.  They would surround the table and lower each plate at the same time, each landing on the table at the same time.  It was just amazing.  We got just as much enjoyment out of watching the staff as we did eating our food.  Everybody was so nice and even though it was so formal, it wasn't stuffy.  There was a young family sitting next to us celebrating the mom's birthday and the little girls were dressed up and got fancy desserts.  The youngest got her leftovers 'to go' and they made a little purse out of the tin foil so she could hang onto it.  It was adorable.  And of course seeing those little girls made Royce realize how much Chloe would have loved a place like this.  Isaac?  Not so much.  The twins?  Not a chance.  But Chloe would have loved it.  I don't think we were the parents who just sat and talked about their kids on their anniversary, we truly enjoyed being together and loved experiencing this amazing restaurant for our anniversary.  But seeing those girls did make us miss the rest of the pieces to our family puzzle a little bit.  This restaurant was the icing on the cake for a perfect anniversary trip.  10 years is something we should be, and are, extremely proud of.  My what a journey it has been!  A journey we wouldn't want to go through with anybody else. 

 

 

 

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Here is a video of us on the Segway.  It had already downloaded at the end of the post and I didn't want to risk having to re-load it to get it up with the Segway pictures. 

Pretty fun stuff!!

Chloe's 7th Birthday

September 6, 2013 

 

Chloe requested a Taylor Swift themed birthday party.  I was able to create an invitation that looked like a concert ticket so we were in business.  The rest of the details fell into place with decorations. 

Royce and I actually left for our 10th anniversary vacation on Chloe's actual birthday.  So that meant preparations beyond our comprehension in advance of us leaving, and pretty much throwing three parties for her (not to mention packing ourselves for vacation, four kids to go in three different directions over the weekend, and two school days).  Whew!  We were determined to not let Chloe feel cheated on this birthday since we were leaving so we delivered quite a series of events for her. 

Preparations for school on Friday done on Wednesday (eventually Party #3)

Who doesn't love chevron-paper-covered juice boxes? 

(Thanks Aunt Robbie for the help on this one!)

 

Chloe's party with her friends and her party with family had to be on Thursday night.  Royce and I were to leave Friday morning after taking the kids to school.  I am so thankful all of Chloe's friends could make it to her party at Pottery Works on Thursday evening.  Chloe had requested Royce's BBQ pulled pork for her birthday dinner.  Who can say no to that?!?  But that also meant we needed to have everything ready for the family party before the friend party as the family party was immediately following the friend party.  With pork on the menu Royce took care of most of the meal.  I had to run to the grocery store for more BBQ sauce and a few other things and I was doing this last errand with about 15 minutes to spare before the friend party (which I had luckily already set up for).  I was so rushed, running like a mad woman, worried about packing, parties, and MOST of all making sure Chloe didn't feel neglected the following day.  When I hurriedly got home from the store, the bag that the BBQ sauce was in ripped and the sauce fell out. 

 

See where my shoes are compared to the broken 2 lb 10 oz jar of jagged glass? 

I NEEDED this moment.

I NEEDED to    S   L   O   W  down. 

I needed to relax and realize that whatever didn't get done would be OKAY. 

This little warning sign was God's way of making me realize that.

He was gracious enough to allow this little warning sign to occur on the garage floor instead of my kitchen floor.  And He was also gracious enough to allow the jar to fall beside my foot instead of on my foot.  No doubt that jar would have done some damage to my foot. 

 

I took a deep breath, thanked God for opening my eyes, jumped in the bath tub to rinse my feet & legs from the splattered BBQ sauce and then got in the truck to take Chloe to her party.  Royce cleaned up the mess and Robynn came through with another jar of BBQ sauce.  Royce and I don't sweat over stuff like this and we all worked together as usual. 

Girls ready to paint!

Brook, Shaylee, Eleanor, Tessa

Macara, Chloe, and Grace 

Before

 After

With a very successful friend party behind us it was time to enjoy our family.  I was (and always am!) extremely thankful for the group of people who were at this party.  Not just because of how much they all love Chloe but that night in particular everyone got their 'role' for taking care of the kids on our vacation.  Seriously, why was I worried about Chloe feeling sad on her birthday without her parents?!?  She was surrounded by the best group of people all weekend! 

For Chloe's family party she requested an ice-cream cake with LOTS of gel icing. 

You got it, Babe!

Sweet wishes, my dear!

On Chloe's actual birthday she got around for school and was extremely understanding about Royce and I leaving that day.  I took the kids to school and we took her treats into her classroom.  She gave me a big hug and was on her way.  Her friends were happy to see her as some of them had been at her party the night before and the others were excited to wish her a Happy Birthday.  Robynn joined her for lunch at school (what a cool Aunt!) and Chloe went with the Wentling crew after school.  She got to get a Snoball, play at their house, and eventually go swimming at their grandparent's pool. 

 

Royce and I called on Friday evening after landing in New Orleans and I asked Rachel if Chloe wanted to talk to us.

 

"No, she wants to keep swimming!"

 

You got it, Babe.

Her answer didn't surprise us one bit.  She was surrounded by people who wanted her to have a fantastic day and I was fine not talking to her.  It probably would have made me sad anyway, right?!?  She is such an independent girl and we love her so much. 

 

So while it was a birthday a little off the beaten path, Chloe got three fantastic celebrations out of the deal and as usual while we were away from her .......she grew up just a little bit more. 

 

 

SEVEN.

Seven was tough for me this year regardless of all of the events.  I've reminded Chloe several times this last year about her being the "first baby".  Not just to us, but to a LOT of people.  She was not only our first child, but to many she was the first grandchild, first great-grandchild, first niece, and to a lot of our friends she was the first baby to them too.  Chloe was a trial run kiddo to all of our Kansas City friends who babysat her often.  Brian & Courtney Austin, Cale & Jessica Wiehe, Cameron & Megan McGown.  Our circle of friends have watched Chloe from day one and I know they are all just as proud of her as we are. 

Chloe is seven and we're not getting any younger.  She's closer to 10, closer to more responsibilities, and getting cooler and cooler along the way.  

We LOVE this girl.