4th place BABY!!

So this weekend was Jason's big Hyvee Triathlon U.S. Championships-woot woot!!  I was definitely not looking forward to this trip when he qualified  

for it several months back...I mean...Iowa?!  They could have picked California or maybe even the Carolina's.  Now, either one of those would have been nice, but Des Moines?

Ok, so maybe I was a little rough on the old state of Iowa.  Des Moines had it's perks.  The shopping centers were all brand new (notice how I judge by the shopping?) and the restaurant selection was fabulous!  We had a really fun time AND Jason did great!  It was nice to have Ryan and Whit, my mom and dad, Pam and Rick, Matt, Mark and Lora, and Alex, Meredith, and the kiddos along for the ride too.  Ryan, Mark, Matt, and Alex entered the open race and joined in on all the grueling fun.  They all did fantastic.  Seriously, they all tore it up in Iowa!

This is Ryan and Jason before heading to the start.            

Jason's clydesdale heat

All of the boys waiting for their turn 

Ansley cheering on her daddy :) 

Transition from swim to bike.  Arrrr... 

Now on to the run.   

This is how princess Ansley got around most of the day (the stroller would not work on the sandy beach). 

It was time to load up in the vehicle to go to the finish, but we were out of seats.  Rick volunteered to sit in the trunk with the baby Brynn replica. Ha!

My dad and Ansley waiting to see Jason!

He made it!  Yay!  And he had an awesome time! 

Icing the old legs. 

His tatted arm

So proud of my hunk!! 

Ryan came in next, then Alex, Mark, and then Matt.  Nice work boys!  Here's Mark coming in to the finish. 

Unfortunately, Mark had a little wreck on his bike and had some road rash.  It looked so painful, but he finished strong! 

The capitol building was the finish and it was beautiful. 

Jason checking his placement 

He got 4th!!!  Woo hoo!!  He was so happy, but of course, wished he could have made the podium (he missed 3rd by 40 secs).  We were so proud of him! 

Some of the boys after the race.  They were all really happy with how they did and excited that the months and months of training had paid off.  Good job!!  

Oh, and one of our very own Cape Girardeau girls, Kim Pancoast won the women's race and won a CAR!  How exciting is that?!  She's a stud too!  It's hilarious though....they weren't quite sure how they were going to get that Mini Cooper back to Seattle with a bike!  Ha!  I wish I had that problem to worry about :) 

First Day of MDO!

For weeks we've been telling Ansley she was headed to school soon... and the bittersweet day finally arrived.  Yesterday was Ansley's first day of Mother's Day Out!  I say bittersweet because I know SHE needs the interaction and learning AND I'm also excited about an afternoon to run errands and such, BUT....I almost backed out (thankfully Jason surprised us by being in the parking lot when we arrived...him being there definitely helped!).  If she would have cried for me like some of the other kiddos did, I'm not sure I could have left yesterday.  Instead, her little hand raised to give us a sweet wave as we walked out of sight.  Uh...I missed her so BADLY.  It took me most of the day to realize....she was not with me AND I didn't have to go to work.  I had a few good cries during the afternoon, got in some much needed retail therapy, and then got myself back together for her pickup.  She was excited to get to school and excited to come home, so all around...it was a great day for her! 

 This is Ansley at the house before we left.  That lunchbag was her favorite accessory.  When we arrived at church she wanted to let Jason know EVERYTHING that could be found in there.  "I have meelk, wadder, cheese, fuit naks...." ;)

Here she is marching in like a big girl! 

This is the look of excitement in case you were wondering. 

There was a little bit of time for a quick pic of our family of 3. 

Here she is romping around with her buddy, Ellie. 

This was taken as we were walking out.  I asked her how her day went, what she did, of course I wanted ALL the details!  

"Um...I payed babies with Ellie and....payed babies"

This was just about more than my heart could handle! 

Big milestones are happening here at the BANDERMANN'S!

Chiara's Birthday Party!

My cousin, Laura and her daughter, Chiara is in from France for a month to visit.  While they are here we decided to surprise Chiara for her birthday, luau style.  We obviously don't get to see her much because they live so far away (I only wish I could jet on over to Paris every so often), so the last memory of talking with her she was just a little thing spitting out English, French, and Spanish (the vision of a girl so young speaking all kinds of different languages is mind-blowing!).  Now, she's 10 and has turned out to be such a sweet girl. Happy Birthday, Chiara!

I was so sad when I realized Chiara's eyes were closed.  Bummer!

Here's Jansen taking a shot at the pinata. 

Jansen and Ansley loving on each other. 

Laura got this skirt just for Ansley.  She loved it! 

      

Lynwood at Cape Splash!

Our church had a picnic at the Cape County Park Sunday and then rented out Cape Splash for the 2nd year in a row.  Woo Hoo!  Ansley had such a great time at that place.  I should definitely take her there more often!  I got a few pics of her before the lightning scare, but not as many as I would have liked:(.  She was NOT going to leave willingly, so we had to bribe her with a little bit of ice cream from Dairy Queen with the Mayhew and Greene clans.  It was such a fun night with our Lynwood family! 

Here are a few pics from the evening

Ansley was SO excited to get there!

We ran into our little friends on the way in 

Can you see the excitement 

She was a wild woman! 

A quick pic before heading back out 

She was loving the fountains 

This little guy was having so much fun too! 

Fun with her buddies 

Because she loved Cape Splash so much with our Lynwood family, I decided to take her back before they closed.  My mom came over and we picked up Jansen from daycare so he could enjoy the waterpark too.  Kristi, Matt, and Alex met us there and Chad, Kristal, and Isaac were already there.  It was so fun to have other friends for Ansley to play with!  The day was gorgeous and we enjoyed splashing around!

She was stopping in the fountains, like she was going to take a drink

Getting showered!

They were totally hugging on each other and I just happened to get a picture.  So sweet!

Jansen was a little cold, so we bundled up and snuggled.  Love the little comb over.

Getting some smooches from Mimi.

Something was hilarious!

I love that Ansley loves the water...she's definitely a fish like her daddy.

Fun at the St. Louis Zoo

We went to the zoo Tuesday and this was just a glimpse at our day. It was a BLAST! I had no camera, so I didn't get much.  First up....the train where Ansley and Marlee screamed the whole way through the dark tunnels and I'm absolutely sure that I've experienced some hearing loss because of it. 

The stingrays and sharks were fun too.  Ansley kept saying, "Come ere, baby ray, come ere".  Here she is patting the barrier for them to come like they're dogs.  Precious.  

She stopped just long enough for me to get a picture, she was dripping wet!

Ansley sitting in the hippo at the kid's area. 

 The fountains were the most fun part of the day.  She loved it!

I absolutely love watching her have fun!

And...she ate her first corn on the cob (thanks to Marlee for sharing).

It was an extremely hot day, but things are always better when you're with friends!