Graduation preparation!

So we have been working hard to get the house and everything ready for Amanda's graduation on June 6th.  Phil will be the first one to come into town on the 2nd and then Rick and leah (my bro and his family!) will be here on the 5th.  Then my parents and sister and fam will come on Friday just for the day.  

So this week is final prep....so I can take it easy next week and enjoy the occasion.  Today I am putting the 2nd coat of paint on the coffee table and side table.  It is now Black! Iam excited to see it in the living room.  It will add some lovely appearance to the space!  Then I want to do some organizing in the kitchen and then will do some major bathroom cleaning to get ready!  Cleaning the bathrooms very last is the easiest!

This weekend we purchased some fun new patio chairs for our new patio and fire pit area. They are comfortable and they stack when we are not using them! So fun!

We are about finished on the yard!  Finally! We have worked every weekend for 3 weeks to finish it all up!  But the yard is looking very nice!  VERY park like! It will be a joy to be out there!

well got errands to run and then Amanda and I are going to the Stones house to play with their new Wii Fit!  and have tea!  

It should be fun!

Kansas, Firepit patio and other things....

Well, if you have been checking my blog....you haven't seen anything new!  I know, you are just dying to know about the trip to Kansas and the scoop on what I have been up to lately.  Okay, here it is.....

I wanted to put up some pictures but since I am just learning how to do this post and picture thing, the pictures will come later.  So look for that to come soon.

Driving to Kansas.... We took of on Tuesday afternoon, as mentioned in the last post, and drove to Boise.  We dropped Aimee of at Ryan and Claire's apartment picked up some items in storage that we needed to take on to Kansas and then headed on to my parents house to spend the night and get up early to start driving.

Wednesday... We left around 6am, we made it to Burley (my Childhood home town, brought back lots of memories! )by around 8:30 or so....We couldn't find anyplace by the freeway to eat so we went to Wal*mart to get some breakfast like foods, snack foods and some drinks so we didn't have to purchase these items for twice as much at a gas station. 

So we took off towards Utah.  The speed limit was 75 all the way.....so we made great time! Utah had alot of Construction so we usually lost time by having to slow to 55 in those areas....then we made it to Wyoming.  We had lots of rainy stormy weather....When I up load my pictures you will see what I am talking about...we then proceeded to Wyoming, making it all the way to Cheyenne by about 7pm.  We had a hotel reservation so we easily found our hotel along the freeway and a place to eat and settled in for some much needed rest!

Thursday we planned to make it all the way to Kansas; we were trying to get there by 6 to eat dinner with Aimee and her family, but it took a little longer than we thought and didn't get to Kansas until around 8pm.  

"Nine states total, and two days, 

lots of talking, some silence, some tears,

 one ticket (from a goofy nebraska, newby cop) 

lots of rain, Wyoming winds, Black sky's & Sunshine

crazy directions thur Lincoln, and a zip thru Iowa and on to Kansas"

= Priceless Moments with My Son! 

So that is the drive to Kansas!  Now once we made it to Olathe, I was quite amazed.  It really reminded me of the back roads we used to drive on in Georgia.  The one to Zurchers house....to the Roswell and a trip to Harry's farmers market; good memories.  

I spent good times with Aimee's family in her lovely home, went to the mall for some shopping and Phil and Aimee picked up summer job apps.  Then we went downtown Kansas City to a very nice outdoor mall called the Plaza.  It was very cool!  They had a Apple store we needed to go to take Aimee macbook to be repaired.  I picked up a new pair of I-Phone headphones for Bill, as he had misplaced his.

We then went and did a little shopping at Urban Outfitters and Nordstroms.  

We finished our day at one of Aimees favorite neighboorhood chineese restaurants called the fortune wok. It was very good.  I also opened my Mothers Day present from Phil.  He got me some lotion and bubble bath from bath and body works. It was very nice!

Sunday.... Mother's Day....but going home day for me and a very long day of flying!  Phil was able to take me to the airport we headed there around 8:30 so he could still make it to his new church by 10:45!  KCI is about 40 minutes from Aimees house so we needed to leave in plenty of time.

I had two layovers, and made it home by 9pm, with no bags, as they didn't make the flight.  But came home to  lovely suprises waiting for me!  First of all, a welcome home Banner made by Amanda, YummY, Chocolate cake and a Happy Mother's Day banner all when I came in the door.  Red roses from Bill and Amanda and cards.  Then for the other suprise... they took me to the back yard, and showed me their hard work.  They created a new patio and firepit area.  it was wonderful!  Very suprised!  They Bill showed me how much he completed on the landscaping in the yard.  It all looked so wonderful!  Very,Very nice!

Lets see...Other things.  Amanda will graduate in just 19 days!  She has only 11 actual days of school left! Just amazing!  She and Jenny Bond got together to plan their Gradation party, worked on the invitations Friday and Saturday, they turned out great! 

We are on the making our list of "to-do" things for this weekend.  As it is our last one before Graduation. Bill will be gone for 4 days next week to Florida.  So we need to get alot done this week. 

Phil comes back home in just 14 days! yea! It will be so good to see him. He will be here for a week!

Well, need to get going. 

Have a great week!

~Calleen

Today we leave to go towards Kansas

WEll today is a fun day!  Phil, Aimee and I head out to Boise.  The first leg of our journey towards Kansas.  I can only really remember being in Kansas just brief drive thru's on the freeway, so to "actually" be there will be exciting!  Kansas is Aimee's home, it will be fun to see and meet her family, see the church Phil will be working at and go see NTS, the seminary where Phil will go in two years.  

So this is one of those days that we know come one day and yet you are never really sure how it will go or how you will feel.  Well on Sunday our Pastor played this song by Kenny Chesney, "There goes my Life"

The first part of the song is about regret and wanting to change things, this is not how I have ever felt, I loved the day the kids were born and have loved every minute since.  But as the child in the song grows up, his heart changes and the song becomes more about the child being his life, and that made tears run down my face, " when he put her in the car all packed with her stuff, she was excited for her new life, and he said; "there goes my life, he had realized how much he had grown to love her and how much she had become his life.  Well that part of the song hit me and I feel today that a new mile stone approaches me, as phil heads on to Kansas to work and to start a new phase of his life, as his mom, I feel" there goes my life" I have poured in a wonderful way into my kids lives, as I have chosen them over a career (best decision of my life!) and I am excited to see this new phase, not necessairly sad, but they have been my life and now it is changing to a new milestone with Phil working in Kansas this summer and then both Phil and Amanda at NNU in August.  So much will be different for me....but a good different, one I am working on being prepared for, but don't quite feel I am there yet.  I will be....I am working on it! I love our kids, they are amazing people!

I am completely excited for the plan God has placed before them and how their hearts have followed this!

It has been my prayer their whole life! So now they are no their way....I pray even more, just a bit different!

So Bill and I are heading towards a new path, and we are ready to see what it has to offer!