Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm

Today Jim was having cabin fever and looking for something fun and inexpensive to do on the internet. He came across the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm which is located in Olathe directly on the Santa Fe Trail. It looked like a neat place and because of all the snow we have on the ground they were offering horse drawn sleigh rides for $2 from 12-3. We all bundled up and headed that way! We had a great time and although it was cold it was definately worth it. We were both suprised how fast the horses went..they must have been cold. Madelyn had a great time and was all smiles. Everytime we would go down a small hill or the ride would get bumpy she would yell "WHOA"! Afterwards they offered hot chocolate and a tour of the place. We were invited back next Saturday to celebrate Kansas's 150th birthday.


Waiting for the horses to arrive for the sleigh ride...we waited inside b/c it was cold.



Getting on the sleigh.....




Pictures during the sleigh ride

After the sleigh ride we were allowed to pet the horses.

Madelyn vs. Cody

Santa broght Madelyn a princess couch that she loves.......she sits on it to read, color, play baby dolls, drink her milk and wants us to sit/lay on it as well! It was a great gift from Santa!!!!

After Madelyn goes to bed Cody really enjoys the princess couch....if Madelyn knew she wouldn't be happy and she would say "NO OFF STOP!"

Go Get Happy

Whenever Madelyn doesn't listen, whines or throws tantrums we tell her to go find a spot and get happy. We also tell her that when she is happy to let us know and she can join us again. So far so good, it always works and she always picks the same spot....the bottom step. We never assigned the happy spot as the bottom step it was the place she chose. Sometimes she sits there for a few seconds and other times it is a few minutes. When she is happy she shouts "Mommy/Daddy I HAPPY"! Tonight Jim was able to sneak a picture.

Elmo's Healthy Hero's

My how times have changed. Just a few years ago, I could never have imagined that our big weekend plans would consist of a trip downtown to see Sesame Street Live Elmo's Healthy Hero's, followed by lunch at the Burger King play zone. We didn't have anything else going on and we invited Madelyn's friend Bekah to come with us. I couldn't get over how much clapping, dancing and laughing was done during the show. Trish and I had so much much watching the girls! What a great Saturday!

Daddy's Little Girl

For the last 2 weeks Jim has been working 11 0r 12 hour days and Madelyn does not approve. When Jim started working the overtime we never realized the impact it would have on her. She is used to him picking her up at 4 everyday and them coming home and having FUN time until I get home. She is now staying at daycare until 5 and she is not seeing him until after dinner. She talks about him nonstop and is very sad when he is not home. She has even cried looking at his picture a couple of times. When he gets home she is so mad at him and wants nothing to do with him :( Over the weekends she goes back to her normal happy self which is good but the weekday evenings have been very rough. We called the pediatrician and she said this is very normal when there routine is changed. Next week is week #3 of overtime and we hope things get better. Madelyn loves her Daddy so much and we both miss him in the evenings! Jim is such a hard worker and I admire and respect that! Everynight before bed Jim and Madelyn read stories and below are a couple pics of them reading stories this week! They are so cute!!!!

Snow Angel

Kansas City had its first snowstorm of the season yesterday...it started snowing around 4am and didn't stop until after 7pm. We probably got around 8 inches. We all bundled up and went outside to play when we got home from work. Jim had a lot of shoveling to do so Madelyn and I made snow angels and threw snow balls. We had a really good time but she was definately ready to come inside and warm up after 20 minutes and so was I. We decided to go inside and invite Leo over for a playdate while both Daddy's shoveled! It was a great Monday evening!!!

"All the Single Ladies"

Uncle Bob and Aunt Kathy got Madelyn an MP3 player/boombox for Christmas and Madelyn loves it. They downloaded around 100 songs on it. Madelyn enjoys all the nursery rhymes, christmas carols and disney songs but her favorite is "All the Single Ladies" by Beyonce. Everytime she turns the boombox on she goes right to song #7 and starts dancing and it is so cute. She definately has some moves...she must get that from Aunt Kathy! This isn't the best video because she got a little camera shy when she saw me get the recorder out. Hopefully I will get a better one :) We love watching her dance......ENJOY!

Chiefs/Ravens Playoff Game

The fans spelled out Go Chiefs

B-2 Flyover---so cool!

Dad, Connor, Jim & Me!

My Dad and brother flew in Friday night and spent the weekend with us. We had a great time and on Sunday we all went to the Raven's/Chief's playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. The temperature was in the 20's so it was really cold but we all had a great time. The Raven's won so all of my east coast family is happy......my family has had Raven's season tickets for years and years! Jim and I were kind of neutral...we really enjoy seeing the Raven's and Chief's win. I wore a heavy jacket to the game that I have not worn in years and as we were at the game I went to pull my phone out of my pocket and I pulled a ticket stub from a Raven's/Jets game that I attended on Dec. 24th 2000. We all got a chuckle out of that. I wore 6 layers on top, 4 on bottom and 3 pairs of socks and my winter boots. I had a little trouble walking but I was warm :). Thanks Dad and Connor for coming to KC for the game, we had so much fun and were sad to see you leave. Dad we love your 24/7 attitude and we all love having breakfast and fountain sodas waiting for us in the morning! I am so lucky to have such a great Dad and Madelyn is so lucky to have such a great MC!!!!!

Our Last Day in Boston!

We went to New Hampshire this year for Christmas and the day before we were scheduled to leave the whole East Coast was hit with a huge snow storm and heavy winds. Airports were closed and flights were canceled so our trip was extended by 2 days. Our last day we decided to do some touristy stuff in Boston with my brother and sister. We had a great day!!!!!
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We went to the New England Aquarium and saw lots of penguins, seals, jelly fish, sharks, fish and turtles. Madelyn really the aquarium but her favorite was touching the star fish!

We ate a delicious lunch at "Cheers" and had a family cheers with our mugs. Every meal we have Madelyn loves to cheers so we decided that was just the spot for lunch!

We walked around Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

Daddy & Madelyn Weekend 12/2010

Today while I was uploading pictures from the camera I came across all the pictures Jim took of him and Madelyn while I was in Pittsburg the first weekend in December. From the looks of the photo's they had a great daddy/daughter weekend. Madelyn is so blessed to have an amazing father!!!! I am so glad they had a blast while I was gone...see the pics below!!!
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They baked homemade Strawberry bread and it was DELICIOUS!

They went to Wonderscope

They made Texas Matador and watched OU in the Big XII Championship game.

They went to Daddy's work party...Madelyn just wanted to show Santa her balloon she didn't want to sit on his lap.

Madelyn and Daddy suprised me at the airport with balloons, flowers and a sign that Madelyn had made....I am one lucky Mommy!