2019 Recap Part II

I tagged along on Dan's work trip to SanDiego and enjoyed some time in the sun!  We celebrated Dan's birthday with beach time, exploring on scooters, enjoying breakfast by the beach, and drinks on the rooftop :)

A beautiful hike!

And I got to live my dream of being a mermaid inside of a gigantic sea shell....

Kelsey got married!!!!

The girls were living their best life getting pampered and prettied for the ceremony: 

 Tessa kept pointing and saying, "I want ALL of the makeups!"

I hardly ever get to see these boys in "fancy" clothes, so I loved every minute and took a gazillion pics :)

We danced the night away and enjoyed partying with the fam!  Blessings to Max and Kelsey as they start their new life together.

I had a glam sesh with Sydney before going to a Carnavale themed gala supporting The Whole Person Organization

 It was a blast, and so fun to watch Crema accept the award for Corporate Volunteer of the Year.

When Dan and I came downstairs before the event,  Tessa gasped and said "Oh DADDY! You look like a prince!"

Me: "So does that make me a princess?"

Tessa: "Nope. Just the prince's wife."

No love!

Speaking of dress-up, Halloween was fun! We loved getting a surprise visit from Uncle Thomas, too.

It was BIRTHDAY time again at the Linhart house! (Did I mention I LOVE birthdays?)

We got to celebrate William- his breakfast choice was coca-cola (in a bottle) and powdered donuts :) He has been losing all of his teeth lately, so this was a wise choice! LOL

We celebrated by taking our very own hayride around Shawnee Mission Park, and ending at a big bonfire where we grilled hotdogs and roasted marshmallows....and let the kids run free for a few hours! 

We scored big when this kid joined our family- his smile is contagious and he keeps us all laughing.  He is one of the most generous people in our family, and he's really good a putting others first.  He's funny and kind, and he's now officially my favorite 8 year old :)

He was super proud of his baseball trophy! 2nd place in the league! 

He also loves when Dan and I join in his school activities and teach in his class at church- he's not too embarrassed of us yet, so we take full advantage! 

We had a fun visit with Teagan and Rylee!

Also, this kid.  

He's been rocking middle school like a champ.  Testing us at times, yes.  YES. 

But he continues to show us what a kind and smart young man he's becoming.  

I couldn't have imagined that this little boy (circa 2011):

would become this fun-loving, sports-fanatic, violin-playing young man! 

And his feet are officially bigger than mine, so that's weird. 

He finished his first tackle football season, and looks forward to doing it again next year.  

I, however, will need several months to recover from the stress.  LOL

Our little world-changer has been busy lately, too!

She rounded up a few of her favorite little ladies and set up a cupcake booth at the Hope Center "Makers" Night.  One of the fan favorites was her "George Washington" cupcake, fashioned to look like George Washington's face :) 

Our book club got inspired by Malala's story and set up a bake sale fundraiser to donate to the Malala Fund to promote quality education for girls and boys around the world. 

Ellie and Naomi hosted a holiday Noonday World-Changer Party to raise money for International Justice Mission-

We had a blast with all these mamas and daughters, crafting and socializing and shopping for amazing fair-trade artisan jewelry!

Ellie also competed in her first robotics competition! Dan and I were so impressed to see her in action!

This little pumpkin continues to keep us on our toes- 

We spent a few nice days with our friend Marlo and her puppies- having adventures :)

She became a pro at expressing her style while cheering on her brother's football team...and by cheering I mean sliding down the rails, traipsing in the mud, eating snacks, and whining, with the occasional fit thrown in for good measure (LOL). 

She had fun playing princess with her sweet little cousin Francis! 

We also celebrated the soon-to-be arrival of Francis' little brother Coburn-

Tessa is still loving dance 

Negotiating for multiple lollipops at the bank

And dressing like a unicorn whenever the mood strikes-

She's also recently started calling Dan "Bobby"....not sure where that came from!

It's not uncommon to hear her tell Dan: "Hey, Bobby!" or  "OK Bobby" or "I love you, Bobby".  

She's 50% bonkers and 50% HILARIOUS.

One more Tessa story: When dropping her off at the play area at the gym a few weeks ago, I gave her a hug, and said "Bye Tessa!"  One of the teachers spoke up and said, "Did you call her Tessa? 

She's been telling us her name is Lexie for weeks." 

I did a slow head turn and looked down at Tessa, who proceeded to give me a big ornery grin.  

She gave me a coy little wave and said, "Hi mom. I'm Lexie!"

Just when I think we've seen it all....she goes and does something cray, like secretly changing her name.