The past couple of weekends have been a little odd for Jason and I.  I was in Alabama the weekend before last and he was in Columbia this weekend.  We love to do things together of course, but it's also good to get some friend time in too.  Saturday was my 10 year reunion (I can't believe it's been 10 years!!!) and we had it at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Wow!  When I planned to have it there (I know it sounds like an odd place to have a reunion...I didn't want to pay ahead and then not get paid or get money in advance from people, too much trouble!), I didn't realize there was a UFC fight and that our local cable company would be out of service.  It was packed!  No one had cable at their house, so EVERYONE came to Bdubs for the fight and all the football games!  It was so much fun...I was able to catch up with everyone there and just really reconnected with a lot of them!  It's so neat to see what people are up to, hear about how some have completely changed their lives around, and also to learn about everyone's kids (most of my classmates are in the "kid stage" of life).  I wish Jason would have been able to see everyone, but he was off at the Mizzou game living it up with his "All-Access Pass"!  Because we are friends with the Pinkels, Geoff invited Jason to go to the Mizzou game on Saturday.  Jen wasn't able to go because of their new baby (more on little Kellan later), so Jason and Ryan went with Geoff.  They had a blast!  Jason is still talking about how surreal it was to be in the locker room with all the players, stay at Gary Pinkel's house, and be on the field for the game.  Geoff of course, goes anywhere, so Jason and Ryan just tagged along like they were his entourage!  I wish I could have been there! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

This is the only reunion picture I got...unfortunately, many had left by the time I got this!

These pictures are from Jason's phone and they are not good!  But I wanted to post a few of his view.

Jason and I were band geeks, so he took a picture of the rockin' band!

It's so crazy that he just followed the team on in to the locker room!

The skybox view.  I know Jason and Ryan took full advantage of the food provided!

Those boys can eat!

Another great weekend!   

Last Weekend's Events!

We had a very packed weekend!  Friday night we headed to dinner at Lambert's in the Hoopdy rental van with our good friends from high school (Jason & Candi, Adam & Sara, Greg & Amanda, Cory, Jered & Nicki, and Jason and I).  Amanda managed to rent the van for 30 dollars, which was a steal...considering we were all able to fit and chat for the entire trip there and back!  We had a lot of catching up to do...we haven't all been in one place for several months!  So the girls sat in the back jabbing the whole time, while the boys grunted around about hunting and all their other fun adventures!
We were worried about the long lines at Lambert's, but we were able to get right in and ate within 30 minutes!  It was crazy!  We ate like hogs and laughed our hiney's off!  I feel like everything is extra funny when we're together!  Here are a few pictures from the evening at Lambert's!

Here we are chowing down on some deliciousness!

We had to take a picture of the hoopdy!

We all felt like we were doing our senior class pictures.  Ha!

Yes, you are seeing this correctly.  Four grown men in one seat.

Fun times!

Saturday and Sunday I was in BAMA for my little sister's wedding.  Ok, so she's not really my little sister, but she might as well be!  For years, I invaded Ashley's house, bathroom, bed, life...she was considered "Lil Ashley" and our little sister.  I can't even believe she is married!  It just doesn't seem right.  We knew we couldn't miss her big day...even if it was 9 hrs away!  So, Kristen, Ashley, Lindsay, and myself loaded up in Kristen's car and headed for Birmingham.  We never run out of things to talk about when we're together and there's always a funny story to come from anything we do together!  This weekend was no different.  About 2 hours from our destination, we were hit in the rear by another vehicle.  The impact stunned us all, but thankfully we were all ok.  Noone was hurt, no damage to the car that we could tell, but the other vehicle had no insurance and no license!  We thought it was smart to file a report, in case, someone was hurt from the accident.  We were all a little shook up and slightly sore from the whiplash (later Lindsay started getting some numbness and tingling...she's fine now, but at the time I think she was pretty freaked out!).  We were able to head on our way...we had a quick picnic lunch and more laughing ensued!  We did finally make it though!  It was quite a trip and we were almost late for the wedding!

Ashley was such a gorgeous bride.  It was one of the most magical weddings I've been to and she was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen!  Seriously.  She was gorgeous!  And you could absolutely feel the love that they had for one another!

They couldn't take their eyes off one another!

Kristen and I before the ceremony started....they had reserved 2nd row seats for us!

The ceremony was in this beautiful church nestled in these big trees!

It was breathtaking!

The reception site...gorgeously lit.

The food tables!  It was amazing!

The beautiful bride and groom

All my other "skating sisters"

And Chris (in gold) was our mom for many years, but also the mother of the bride.

Kelly and Fred dancing it up!

Grandma and Grandpa Dodge
Don't they look great!

My skating coaches/moms :)

What a beautiful day and a fun trip with all of us girls!  It was like old times!      

My Stud!!

Jason is obsessed with any kind of physical activity....whether it's basketball, running, biking...he's all about it!  I love that he enjoys staying fit.  I just wish I had more motivation to do the same.  Regardless, Jason is a STUD (can you tell I'm pretty proud of him)!  He just recently finished his first triathalon on September 11th at Trail of Tears Park.  He had pulled his calf muscle the week of the triathalon, had to wear a walking boot just to walk, and still did it!  He is amazing!  He swam, rode his fancy new bike, and walked/ran the 3K.  If he would have been able to run his normal time he would have likely placed in his age division!  Either way, he did amazing...I'm so proud to call him my husband! 
Thanks to my friend, Kristi we have some awesome action shots of his big day!

Running out of the murky lake onto the next challenge!

Look at that face!

Getting ready to bike

His new, not so cheap bike

Woo Hoo!  Way to go Jason!

Ryan, Jason, and Matt

Great job boys!

We're so proud of you!

Ansley Harper: 14 Months!

You are getting so big Ansley!  Here are some of the latest and greatest things you are doing! 

*You love to play with your puppy dog, Alleigh and you always yell for both Alleigh and Cy when we're outside!  It is so sweet!

*You are amazed by butterflies!  We have several that are always in the backyard fluttering around.  You gasp and point with excitement when you see them!

* You are talking up a storm and mimicking everything we say!  We sometimes have a hard time understanding all your words, but there are several that are pretty clear.  Alleigh, Cy, Momma, Daddy, thanks, hi, bye bye.  Many others are attempted, but you have to strain to figure them out :).

*You are flying up stairs now!  One day you just decided that you weren't going to be cautious about them anymore or hold mommy's hand for support :( !  It is so cute to see you hike your little leg up on each one!

*You love playing with your new friends, Evy Kate and Ellie, and still love to play with your buddies, Jansen and Alex!

*You are such a good little singer and dancer!  Your dancing consists of a pretty humorous knee bend, one that makes me want to get down too!  And your singing is so beautiful!  Your daddy and I have recently joined choir, so you always get to hear our latest Sunday morning songs (as if we didn't sing enough to you before).  You hum along in the sweetest voice and most of the time...we stop in amazement at your talent!  We hope you love music as much as we do!

*We took a trip to the St. Louis Zoo and The Magic House with your Pamaw and Pappaw, & Ryan and Whitney.  We had a blast and can't wait to take you back soon!  Your love for all animals and the way you interact with them, as well as, learning other new and exciting things in this big world makes this stage that you're in right now so much fun!

*You have quite a big personality while we're out and about shopping.  You love to wave at all the people going by and even throw them kisses!  They usually stop to say how adorable you are (of course, I always agree...I may be just a little partial)!

*You still love to rock and take care of all your babies.  They get rocked, fed, burped (you even make the burping sound!), and most of the time you are giving them a ride in their stroller.  You love to take them on walks!

*You had your first pony ride at the local petting zoo and absolutely loved it!  You also loved the roosters...who knew!

*When it's time to pray at mealtime, we help you clasp your little hands together and bow your head.  It is the most precious thing!

Ansley, we just continue to grow deeper and deeper in love with you!  Every stage we say to each other...it can't get much better than this...and of course, it always does!  Your little personality is blossoming everyday and we love to watch you grow daily!  We love you sweet girl!

A Weekend of Fun!

Ryan and Whitney are die-hard Mizzou fans so of course, they made arrangements to go see the Mizzou/Illinois game this weekend.  We love Mizzou football too (maybe not quite as much as Whitney), so we decided to get some tickets and spend some couple time together.  Pam and Rick took Ansley to Grant's Farm (which ended up being closed because they had hit their max capacity-I didn't know that that possible!) and Jason, Ryan, Whitney, the Pingel's, Kurt, Lindsey, and I enjoyed the day downtown taking in all kinds of Mizzou action!  The weather was absolutely perfect for tailgating (this is my favorite part because hot dogs were involved-ha!), we ended up getting really good seats, and Mizzou won!  It was lots of fun! 

After the game, Ryan, Whitney, Jason, and I headed to the zoo to meet Pam and Rick.  They have a special section at the zoo for the younger children where they can pet goats and other animals, so Ansley was in heaven!  She was finally able to see all the animals we've been playing with from her Noah's Ark playset!  She thought it was so cool!   She rode the carousel with Pamaw and Pappaw and then we headed out after a few more animals (we had to see the lion and tiger-Ansley loves to roar!)

 Ansley clapping at the children's show

These are some of the animals she saw up close and personal.
Armadillo on the right...not sure on the left :).

Ansley and the monkey just stared at each other for what seemed like forever!  She even put her little hand up to the window where his hand was.  It was so sweet!

Ansley got into a really giggly mood after seeing the monkey and Jason and I were enjoying her giggles.

Ansley on the carousel with Pamaw and Pappaw!
 

We love getting kisses from our girl

Jason stealing some more...

I can't hardly stand how sweet she is!

 The next day we took Ansley to the Magic House (which was really just for Ansley's entertainment, but we all ended up enjoying it)! I guess we all are easily amused! Ansley and I took the classic Magic House picture, which was the most hilarious thing of the weekend (something I will never forget)! I think she really had fun and learned a lot in the process! We will definitely be going back yearly to the Magic House! It is such a great way to educate the little ones in a different and exciting way! Next year, little Bandermann will be here and little Jansen will have to come along too!

 

Rick and Ryan playing...we all had fun with this!

Ansley was ready to play in the water!

Playing with the water pipeline

We wanted to see how much Ansley weighed...a whopping 22 lbs and 12 oz!

Aunt Whitney showed me the fun ball pit!

Playing with velcro

This slide was a hit

She would rather go up it

How about this face?!

And this one...

Rick took this one of Ansley and realized he had gotten me too!

Surrounded by the BIG bubble!

This was so fun to watch!

My favorite moment of the weekend!

We later ate at Chili's and then shopped at of few of my favorite stores...HomeGoods, Marshalls, and World Market! We spent a little more time than expected, so we ended up eating at Culpeppers in Kirkwood and then headed home.  Ansley was such a trooper!  Her schedule was obviously messed up because of all the fun we packed in to the weekend, but she did great!  St. Louis was a blast with Jason's family and we can't wait to get back!