school, school, school

First day of clinicals, at nursing school =)

It's been so busy around here, Katelynn's having to make meals.

It's been all school, all the time here at the Hain house! Good news we're over half way done now with this semester :)

Katelynn turning 2

We can't believe it! Katelynn will be turning two tomorrow! How amazing! Time really flies by, especially with these early steps and milestones. This past Sunday we had a small Birthday party for our big girl =)

She enjoyed having friends and family around, and of course the neat gifts and yummy cake! Here are some pictures we got from our friends, Shelia and Tony. They have an awesome camera and are great photographers, so this is why these pictures look phenomenal!!

 Some of our friends...

Family Reunion Day at K-State

Well, on September 5th we went to the first K-State football game this season, against UMass. We had a great time! The game was at 6:00pm so we went early to tailgate beforehand. The kids had a really great time =) Katelynn didn't get a nap that day, so she was a little tired but was a trooper. K-State won the game, kicking off Bill Snyder's return this season! A good time was had by all!

We had our friends Tony and his son Dalton at the tailgate with us, as well as my parents, and a few friends from Mark's work dropped by. Such a great day for grilling up some brats!

School Days!!

And so it has begun. The most anticipated and exciting time of year. Yes, I am also talking about K-state football season with Bill Snyder coaching again =)

Caleb, Mark and I started school a few weeks ago. Caleb is now attending all-day kindergarten, which he is very excited about! He's going to McCollom Elementary and enjoys all of his new friends and classmates. Caleb is learning more and more each day, these past few weeks they have been working on letter recognition, sounds, and capital/lower case letters!

Mark is taking two online classes through Butler Community College. Trigonometry and Art Appreciation. Can you guess which one he's enjoying more =) Yeah, that would be Trig! You all know him so well. He seems to be handling it well with his new evening work schedule. Many weeks he is able to work ahead, so as to fully enjoy the weekends off!

I am in my first year of nursing school. Most days of the week I'm out at Butler's El Dorado campus, though later this month I will be starting clinical rotations at Select Specialty, a division of Via Christ St. Francis. I am also taking a blended Microbiology course that meets for lab on Thursday evenings. I have definitely been getting my road time in!

Katelynn seems to be holding up with all of our school activities. Mark entertains her most mornings, they have been making trips to the zoo and visiting the pool at the YMCA. She will be turning two in a few short weeks!

Table Rock

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Yes, I know that I'm a little late getting the blog updated with our vacation to Table Rock, at the beginning of August. Since we got back from vacation we've been going non-stop with school starting. But nevertheless, we have it now =)

We went to Table Rock with Mark's parents, and brother TJ, and sister Lisa. We had a marvelous time! On our way down there we met everyone in Springfield, MO at a famous "roll-tossing" restaurant called Lambert's. The food is very good (BIG portions), and you have to keep your eyes open because they have a cart that comes by and a guy tosses you rolls!

We stayed near the lake, and had a beautiful view from a neat patio home. On Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday we went out on Table Rock lake. Mark's parents rented a pontoon boat, jet skis, and a speed boat on separate days...so we were able to really enjoy the lake! The kids had a blast and we were able to go tubing, water skiing and knee boarding. It was my first time water skiing-so that was an adventure!! TJ, Mark, and Mark's mom, Linda, looked like pros out on the water skiis. Lisa showed off on the knee board!! Caleb liked going tubing-as long as it wasn't too fast =) The jet skis were a lot of fun! We managed to learn some neat tricks (not too dangerous), and by the end of the day had explored a good portion of the lake. Caleb and Katelynn even enjoyed the jet skis (well, that is until Mark took a sharp turn and flipped he, Katelynn and I into the water), but we all had a great time!

Mark and his dad, Tony, played golf a couple times during the week. The golf course was within the community that we stayed. They did try out a different course one of the days that they played. Mark really enjoyed the time, since he hasn't been able to golf as much this summer. They went during the morning, so it wasn't as hot outside. The terrain and views are much different there compared to Kansas. It was a nice change of pace!

On Wednesday, Linda, Lisa, Caleb, Katelynn and I went to a show in the Branson area. We saw the Shanghai Circus. It was a very neat show with many talented acrobats and dancers. The kids were mesmerized by the performance, and we couldn't believe all of the things they could do! The group that puts on the show is from China, and they spend most months out of the year in Branson.

Thurday was Silver Dollar City day! Fun, fun, fun =) We had a really great time there! The kids saw a Veggietales show with Tony and Linda, and did some fun activities in the children's area. Caleb even went on quite a few rides, including a kiddie-rollar coaster and spinning tea cups! TJ, Lisa, Mark and I were able to ride quite a few rollar coasters (no one got sick!) including a few that got us drenched! Luckily it was rather warm outside, so it wasn't too cold! We even went on a giant swing that took us up very high into the air (I almost got sick on that one!).

On Saturday, before we headed back home, we all went to a favorite restaurant of mine called Billy Gail's. It's a little hole-in-the-wall type of place, but has very good food! Mark and I discovered it last year when we went down there for our weekend get-away. The breakfast is awesome, and they make pancakes bigger than your plate!

Overall we had a great week! Everyone was able to relax and slow down a bit. We really enjoyed spending time with Mark's family and the kids had a ball!!! Such a nice trip before the craziness of school/fall began! I'll get to that later in another post =) =)