After five years, she's OFF!

With Jitter Glitter sprinkled all over her sweet little toes, and despite the "I'll miss you more mama" and anxiety about her classroom at meet the teacher, this babe slept like sleeping beauty and was READY to roll when I drove up to the door for kindergarten at Westminster.  She popped right after after a HUGE hug and "I love you" and didn't look back.  Then she spent the rest of the day telling everyone how awesome kindergarten was!

  

KK, for five years you have been by my side... playing, cuddling, reading, shopping, laughing... for all but three hours a day.  Now you're off to show the world what you can do.  You're going to make your classmates smile, blow your teachers out of the water, and shine your sun all over that classroom.   All the while, I will be missing you at home, but happy that I know you are in great hands, taking new adventures, playing with friends and developing the love of learning.

And I will be waiting for you with the biggest hug at 2pm!

 Mollie took this pic and then made this for you:

 Morning snuggles after Mollie left.  

The magical hour of KK/Mama time we still have while at this sweet school.

 SCIENCE AND ARCHERY! AMAZING!

 One last cuddle in the carpool line!

 Both of our beauties the first day of WPPK Kinder!

Let's Celebrate, KK's Last Day of Summer

And she WON THE JACKPOT!!!!

Who could ask for more?!

Both of our smiles were equally big as we watched the tickets keep coming.

What a hilariously wonderful way to celebrate the end of summer with this happy girl.

After this, we picked up Mollie and spent the evening cuddling and reading "The Night before Kindergarten."  Emotional evening for both of us.  WOW, what a wonderful summer we had sweet girl.  Memories to last a lifetime and lots of firsts for you.  A summer I don't want to end and definitely one I won't forget.  Thanks for being you and for all of the joy you give us.  MAN OH MAN will I miss you tomorrow!

Mollie's First Golf Tournament

A while ago, Ryan asked Mollie to join her in a Parent/Junior Golf Tournament.  They talked about it, played some practice rounds, and as time passed and other activities came on the schedule, I asked her if she still wanted to play.  She said "MOM, you know how important this is to ME and DAD."

Melt my heart!

Don't know who had more fun... Daddy playing his first official round with his eldest daughter, or the gallery, following them around in carts... which consisted of both sets of grandparents, and of course Mama and KK.  We are so proud of you Mollie.  I hope we have many more of these moments in our future!

Hanratty Golf Course Etiquette ;)

Mollie and Daddy are practicing for Mollie's FIRST Father/Daughter tournament.

Six serious holes of practice, then a whole lot of laughs!

Pool Time with Grandma and Grandpa!!!!!

I think the big smiles in all of these pictures appropriately express the level of excitement that Grandma and Grandpa came to spend some time splashing in the pool with us!  It was such a treat to be able to host them in our new house with the pool!!!!

Yup, we love the circus!

What will I do without you two!

My little sidekicks make everything, all day long, more fun.

8 is GREAT! And Mollie is 8!!!!

When Mollie was seven, she snuggled me up the chair life in Colorado, and almost beat me on the way down.  And the next day she went snowmobiling up to the Continental Divide with her Dad.

She led the charge into the ocean for late night swimming under the moon, and jumped over the biggest waves the ocean had to show us.

She played pickle ball in the Cascade Mountains of Washington, visited the space needle twice, floated down the current of a cold Wisconsin river and roasted s'mores in the bluffs.

When Mollie was seven, she had a street named after her - Mollie Laine - at Grandma and Grandpa's Hideaway, and loved riding in the tractors bucket down her street!

She did cannonballs off the diving board, started golf and tennis lessons, and was front and center in the hip hop dance recital.  She was the soccer goalie so she could play the whole game without a break, and her favorite sport was basketball.

She made us laugh.  All the time, because she has the bet laugh in the history of laughs.  

She read almost a book a day and won every spelling bee in her class.  She learned to water ski.  She took her first mixed marshall arts class with her Papa.

She took her savings and turned coins into money for the homeless shelter.

When Mollie was seven, she asked more questions than anyone has ever asked.  "I'm curious Mom." she would say.  She loved her sister more than anything and when her mom said "I love you more", she said "that's impossible!".

Happy Birthday Beautiful, Strong, Mollie Laine!  I will never forget the day you were born, the day that made me a mother, the day that was the best day of my life!

THIS KID!!!!!

This kid has been through a lot this week... more orthodontia than any other seven year old,

and now missing a permanent tooth and a new set of braces to hold it in.

AND - look at this smile!

She couldn't dive in the pool for her party, so had even more fun judging diving contests from the side while rocking out to some awesome Minion Music.  She 

SaveSave

Let's Hit the Road to the Hideaway

Time to hit the road and head to the river, then on to the Hideaway.

Another of my favorite stops that keeps getting more fun as the girls get older.

This year KK even joined in the float down the river.

 The rainbow!

 Catching minnows

 The annual float

 And a little game of catch to cap off the day on the sandbar.

 Then off to the HIDEAWAY! Grandma and Grandpa's happy place had a few surprises this year.
A slip and slide for the girls, paths names after them and a TREEHOUSE at the end of our adventure.
The surprise tree house, build by G & G themselves, continues to be one of the highlights of the girls summer.  They spent as much time as they could up there, even eating a campfire breakfast and having water balloon fights!!

  Life long memories in this special place!

 Hiking up Mollie Laine.

 Discovering Kendall Kurve!

 And the surprise at the end of the trails!

The exploring never ends. 

 But always back to the treehouse!

 Sunset at this place is magic!  

Almost as magic as when the stars come out 

(and this year we let the girls stay up for that :).

 Grandma sunflower harvesting was a huge hit.

 And one more birthday celebration.  Happy 65th Grandma!  Surprise :)

 We capped off the awesome road trip with a visit and hug Great Grandma and lunch on the
mighty Mississippi.