TheLinharts

One more post before 2021 comes to a close!

Another year in the books, in the pandemic, living in our new normal. I was just talking with an employee at the tile store today about how it seems like our kids are facing much bigger challenges than we did at their age. I pray that they will be better for it. In the meantime, we're just over here trying to find joy and steady ground amidst all the uncertainties. I am so grateful we have each other.

These cuties got to go back to school (in person...hallelujah!). They're still wearing masks every day, but the normal rhythms are a welcome change. It's strange to think that Tessa doesn't even know what it's like to go to school without a mask on.

Also, since my last post, we celebrated the soon-to-be arrival of baby Alex:

And here she is!!

Willam's three questions were:

1. Can I teach her tricks?

2. Can we give her a treat?

3. Can she spend the night?

Another highlight was attending Owen's baptism. Being godparents to these sweet boys is such a blessing and an honor. May God bless and keep you, sweet Owen.

We had even more cousin fun at our annual Halloween get together!

Will was "pumped" about his costume this year, but soon vowed to never choose a blow up costume again...it was too hard to run in! So he ended up deflating and hitching a ride on the golf cart with Austin :)

"Cousins by blood, friends by choice"

I just LOVE these kids!

Ellie tried a new thing this year: volleyball! She got the courage to try out for the team, even though she'd never played before, and made it! She had a blast and learned so much. She's always up for a challenge and its fun to watch her try new things.

Caleb finished up his baseball season:

I'm proud of his hard work and grateful for the friendships he is forging on and off the field.

And I am grateful for his coaches, who care about their growth as players and as young men.

And THIS is probably one of my favorite pictures ever. It captures their relationship perfectly:

A typical conversation with Tessa before a baseball game:

Me: Tessa we have to leave for the baseball game now.

Tessa: Hold on, I have to pack.

(pictured above: rainbow purse, tie dye scrunchie, glasses, sequin furry unicorn backpack, caticorn (cat + unicorn) glasses case...i guess that's a thing? Backpack filled with barbies, barbie shoes, barbie outfits, jewelry, and accessories, and her treasure box full of money and trinkets. )

Caleb completed his 8th grade football season, too.

Not to be left out, Dan channeled his inner beast, at the Savage Race in Chicago with some buddies:

We got to celebrate Dan at the KC Business Journal Champions of Business dinner, recognizing companies that contribute to the common good of our city. It's such a treat to see them recognized for the ways they work to make our city a better place.

We've celebrated some birthdays, too! Including mine :) Many of you have asked, who makes the cake-baker's cake? This year Tessa made me a cake!

And I got lots of my favorite thing:

And my second favorite thing: homemade cards :)

And my third favorite thing: a fun night out with friends!

And our Ellie Belle turned 12! I love what a lovely young woman she's becoming.

She's so introspective and is the best in our family at identifying her own feelings and understanding others. It's so sweet to see her growing in her faith lately, too. She's bold, and brave, and thoughtful, and I love her so.

She celebrated with some friends by busting out of an escape room:

Caleb continues to grow taller than me, and he is 14 now!

He's our sports enthusiast, ringleader of the neighborhood games, hard worker, and loyal friend. I remember pushing this baby in the stroller mile after never-ending mile, hoping for a moment of sleep, wondering if it will ever get better. It did. He's the best companion, and has a heart of gold. Every year with him gets better.

This birthday also means....another big milestone! We officially have another driver in the family:

And of course Tessa couldn't be left out....

Daniel was next...inching closer to 40!

He's the glue that holds us all together, and he makes life a whole lot of fun.

Lucky for me, we've been married for over 16 years now!

Cheers to you, my love.

William turned 10!

This kid is so fun to celebrate.

Donuts galore for breakfast, then an epic video game sleepover downtown!

One coping mechanism we've used for dealing with all the uncertainties in our life, is building in space to "escape from the reality" of our daily lives, and make room for adventure. Here are a few of our adventures from the last half of 2021:

We took the kids to Tulsa with my mom, brothers, and nieces.

Hotel Life!!

The Tulsa aquarium was a hit, too!

Nothing like mini-golf to bring out alllllll of the emotions. Note: one way to express yourself is to throw your club halfway across the lawn in frustration.....hypothetically.

The Gathering Place is a huge outdoor park with lots of room to run and climb and play, and participate in all sorts of frivolity :)

(note: no grandmas were harmed in the making of this video. LOL)

Lest you think it's all IG perfect, we had a hefty dose of whining, fighting, complaining, and annoying each other.

But it's not a Linhart family trip without all those things!

Also, this is what happens when gram-gram makes rootbeer floats for a bedtime snack:

Dan took the boys to see Dude Perfect Live (a rescheduled....and rescheduled....and rescheduled show from last Christmas). So the girls and I had a little girl time here in KC. Our first stop was to Family Tree Nursery. Since the coffee shop was closed (oops!) we browsed instead.

I randomly asked the girls to pick a plant that represents their relationship with God, or what they know to be true about Him. I picked one too. The question was a little deep, but I didn't give it any explanation, and was curious to see how they'd answer. They didn't bat an eye at this strange challenge. These girls really surprise me sometimes!

Tessa picked this gnarly, spiky cactus.

She said, "This is because it doesn't matter what's on the outside.

God cares about the inside. He sees inside our heart."

Presh.

Ellie picked this Bonsai. She explained that she chose something beautiful and sturdy. It has a nice strong base and good roots. She is such an abstract thinker, and I love getting a glimpse of the world through her eyes.

We took a Father's Day adventure to St. Louis. It was our first time there, and it did not disappoint!

The City Museum was a fave.

Pro tip: there's a bar on the bottom floor...don't ask us how we know.

It was fun celebrating Father's Day together. We are friends, but really more like family. It definitely wasn't a relaxing Father's Day weekend, but these two are killin' it at dad-ing.

Dan's parents planned a trip to Denver to see the Eagles in September. What a treat to have some grown-up family time :)

We attended our first Royals game in a loooong time. As luck would have it, we chose the night with the monsoon. We rode out the rain in the concourse, and spent the kids' college funds on dippin' dots and cotton candy. The game was delayed, and we didn't get home until 1am. Definitely got our money's worth. hah!

Anything that we can all 6 enjoy together is a WIN in my book!

Caught a foul ball too!

Dan and I escaped to Ft. Lauderdale, soaked up some SUN, saw real-live mermaids (not pictured:)), and acted like grown-ups....mostly.

AND!! A trip we planned almost 3 years ago finally came to fruition!

And it was definitely WORTH THE WAIT!

Will and I spent a day at Worlds of Fun with Xander and Lindsey. It's always a treat to get some one-on-one time with Will. It reminds me of the old days when we spent all of our days together when the older kids were in school (Really some of my favorite memories as a mom):

Tessa and I took a little weekend getaway to Wichita to have some fun with gram-gram:

The Sedgwick County Zoo is our favorite zoo!

Taken before our shopping excursion:

(which seemed like a great idea until Tessa realized she wasn't going home with allllll the makeups from Ulta. Cue the meltdown. However, she did leave with a full face of makeup due to her generous partaking of the 'samples' which were all conveniently located at her eye-level.)

I joined mom and some of her girlfriends on their annual float trip. It was my first float trip...and it was definitely memorable!