Been a while...

Just in case anyone is worried...I'm still horrible at remembering to update! But so much has happened since my last post, almost two months ago.

Wedding: It's DONE! Just waiting on the big day to get here now! I have a dress fitting tomorrow morning and Chris has to go get his suit this weekend, and then we are officially dressed for the occasion. Now if Mom could just figure out what she's going to wear...haha! I'm kidding Mom, take your time! We can't wait to spend the day with our families and share pictures with the rest of you ASAP!

Speaking of pictures, our engagement pictures were so much fun to take! I'm sure most of you have seen them, but I wanted to share the link, just in case!

http://monphotography.instaproofs.com.instaproofs.com/collection.php?event=471042

Monika and Jason are AMAZING! I'm so glad we found them and can't wait for them to photograph our big day!


Work: School has been good! Cheer has been insanely busy gearing up for our regional competition on December 18th that will qualify our girls to go to national's in February! Chris has been really busy at work, as well, but home for the most part, so that makes me a happy girl! We don't see each other much with our insane schedules during the week, so we've definitely been enjoying as much time together as we can on the weekends!


Misc.: Otherwise, we're still pretty boring! I'm excited to decorate for Christmas next Friday while Chris is at work...he won't know what to think when he gets home, I'm sure. I know he knows I love Christmas, and  really wanted to get married around the holiday because it's my favorite, but I think he's probably underestimating my propensity to decorate a home for the holiday...could be an adventure :)


Love and Miss you all!
Hannah

Pictures from Sunday

Opening my birthday present from my Mom and Dad...Mom loves her tape...haha!

The really pretty Mizzou scarf Mom and Dad got me! It will prove to be endlessly entertaining in a minute...

Chris is not impressed by the Mizzou scarf...but he will be later!

Mom caught us...  :)

Seriously. That boy and his collars.

Some of the family eating...that's what we do. Eat. Lots.

The guys have retired to the living room...more importantly, the big TV and football.

All my favorite boys...

I think he'd make a great pirate...

BAHAHAHA! He was not at all amused by my suggestion for his Halloween costume...boo him. Ha Ha!

Wedding Planning and Football!

The wedding is almost done! Yay! Lots of details in a short amount of time, but we got everything picked out and booked and ready to go! We are getting married Friday, December 30th here in Liberty. We were super blessed to get a perfect location for our itty bitty wedding! The WynBrick Center is a restored victorian home that is going to be the perfect setting for our Christmas wedding! You can look at the pictures of other weddings at www.wynbrickcenter.com. There's one of a Christmas wedding that totally sealed the deal for me!

We had a get together at our house yesterday and I got to introduce Chris, and Grover, to my Mom's side of the family. It was an awesome day! I love being surrounded by my family! Mom took some pictures, but she's not super great at emailing them from her camera...hopefully I'll get those posted before we are actually married...haha!

Other than that, I've been coaching lots of cheer and watching lots of high school football! I love the fall and am really enjoying being around for all the of the school happenings in the fall! Friday night is Homecoming and my birthday! I teased my cheer girls that they didn't have to throw me a party quite that big! A cake would have been sufficient! It's been good for a laugh!

Things are great! Couldn't be happier and definitely could be more blessed!

Love to you all!
Hannah

LOTS of Excitement!

Quick post today to announce some VERY exciting news!

Chris and I got engaged on Monday at the JC Nichols fountain on the Plaza! We are planning a December wedding and couldn't be more excited! I was VERY surprised and couldn't be happier! I'll be sure and post more information at the date gets closer, but we're really looking forward to a small wedding with our immediate families at Christmastime. If you know me at all, and how much I love Christmas, there is definitely no other time of the year for me to get married!

Thanks so much for all your love and support! Love to you all!
Hannah

Big Weekend!

I had a big weekend...lots of exciting stuff going on for sure!

It all started with not one, but two rounds of crazy storms...one Thursday night and another Friday night...it only storms like that when Chris is gone, I swear. So the dogs and I slept in the living room so they would quit howling and I could quit yelling...haha!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early for one of the most noble causes one could be called to participate in...beating kansas! I participated in the Rivalry Run to raise money for domestic violence prevention. It's also a Missouri versus kansas race, so of course, I was there, in all of my Mizzou glory! I finished. It wasn't pretty due to a ridiculously hilly course (not my strong point) and the ragweed and mold counts being astronomical, but I got it done in the name of the Tigers! Here are a few shots of me, as unflattering as they are, from the race!

Here's the pre-race shot...other than looking exhausted and about 10 years older than I actually am, not too bad for 7:00 on a Saturday morning!

Crossing the finish line! I didn't officially die, though I thought I might at one point! My brother pointed out that I didn't look "that tired." Thanks, Lance, thanks...

Here's a map of the route. The graph at the bottom shows the elevation changes throughout the course...not so much fun, but it was a killer workout!











After my race I got to meet up with Mom for lunch! And then Jo and her friend Emily came down to see me for the rest of the day...we had planned to go out that night, but I got a phone call from a good friend that is due to have her second baby any day and they needed somewhere for the oldest baby to hang out, so the four of us spent some time shopping and eating McDonald's! It was so much fun to have her with us!

Chris got home from a few days in Idaho yesterday, so we're looking forward to both being home all week this week! That hasn't happened in almost a month! Crazy!

Back to my kiddos! Love to you all!
Hannah

Still Horrible at This...

I know, I promise and promise to get better at posting more often, but I definitely haven't...here's to getting better at it...maybe!

I'm in my classroom and am ready to go when our kiddos get here in the morning! I'm really excited for my second year. Everyone says it's much easier than the first one, and I have to admit, it was nice to roll into pre-service days and know what I was supposed to do and where everything was and who everyone was...getting ready this year has been much less nerve-wracking! We have a really great group coming up this year and I'm really excited to get started with them tomorrow!

Summer school was great! I had so much fun teaching little girls cheer in the afternoons after I coached my big girls in the morning! Our JV girls WON the regional cheer competition on the 22nd of July! I couldn't be more proud of them and all of the hard work they put in this summer to make that happen! They're a great group of girls and I really look forward to working with them more throughout football and basketball seasons!

Summer school had another added benefit...one of the teachers I got to know in the first few days of summer school actually set me up on a date with her neighbor! Typically, I'm not the blind date type...been on one other in my life, it was horrible...but I decided to go anyway. Definitely glad I went on that date! Chris and I have been together since and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world! We're having so much fun with our dogs, and the Harley and just hanging out! I definitely couldn't be happier!!

Other than that, things are pretty boring! Still running a 5K a month with Melissa! We ran the Juvenile Meningitis run at Legends in June and then the Jingle in July 5K in July at World's of Fun. I am progressively placing higher in my age group and my time started at a little over 32 minutes and is now down to 28 minutes! So, progress is being made! I'm running in the Rivalry Run (www.therivalryrun.org) this weekend at Power and Light. It's supports a great cause, funding programs to help stop domestic violence, and it's all for bragging rights! As you register and finish, you earn points for Missouri or Kansas and there's a traveling trophy to the state that registers the most and finishes the best! Needless to say I'm going to run in my Mizzou gear! Beat the big chickens!

Alright, I need to get back to my room and a few last minute plans before I head out for the day for one more night of relaxing before I see kids in the morning!

Love you all!
H

LOTS Has Happened...

Holy cow...it's been forever. I promise I'll do a better job staying on top of this throughout the summer! I have LOTS to update everyone on!

Things at school have been great! My kids were awesome this year and while I'm a little sad to see them go, I'll more than likely be just fine sending them on to the eighth grade! Ha Ha! They were a great class and have taught me all kinds of things this year! I wish them all the best as they start junior high next fall!

I'm also officially an Assistant Varsity Cheer Coach at Liberty High School! I'll be working with all three squads an I'm super excited to help JV get ready for regional competition and Varsity get ready for NATIONALS in Orlando in February! We're super excited for our first adventure into the national cheer competition realm...wish us luck, and be sure to stay tuned here for all kinds of ways you can help us as we work to raise money to help get us down there!

That's pretty much been my life for the last few months! Lots of school and cheer and running and working out. I ran my first 5K over Mother's Day weekend. It went well...I didn't fall over and finished in the middle of my age group! I have another one planned for June 11...stay tuned for details!

I'm really looking forward to teaching cheer to little ones at summer school this year, too, and traveling to see a few friends, hopefully! I'm really enjoying having lots of time to myself and doing the things I enjoy!

I'll update more later! Take care!
Hannah

First morning's catch!

All Kinds of Things...

It's been a while, sorry! Things around here have definitely been a little crazy! Lots of school and gymnastics and dancing and working...

A few personal updates...I have signed up to run the Apple Blossom 5K with my good friend Melissa Leander in St. Joe on May 7th. I am trying to raise money for a fantastic cause as I run. I would love to have your support! If you are interested in sponsoring me that day, please visit this LINK to donate online! I'd really appreciate your support and I take off on another crazy fitness endeavor!

Speaking of crazy fitness endeavors...I just finished day 20 of my new TurboFire program. It is definitely kicking my butt, but I think my butt needed to be kicked! I have been getting up at 4:00, eating something, laying back down until 4:30 and then getting up to get in a hardcore, crazy workout before I have to get in the shower a little before 6:00. Yes, folks, this is all AM. Unfortunately, 4:00 this morning definitely felt more like 3:00 AM and I'm struggling already today...but it's all been totally worth it. Without much change to my diet (I'm working on that next) I have lost half an inch around my waist, half an inch around my thighs, and an inch around my hips! YAY! I have been really pleased with the results. The workout are definitely really hard, but totally fun and worth it. And, believe it or not, I'm actually getting used to the morning schedule. If I don't do it then, I definitely don't do it, so that has been keeping me super motivated to get it all done! I'll be sure and keep everyone posted. I wss supposed to take a before picture...that I still haven't done, probably should do that before I get to after...hmmm...haha!

Otherwise, things have been really busy! Caden's last gymnastics meet for the year was yesterday. She had her first meet where all of her event scores were above a 9.0! And she placed 3rd All-Around. We are SO PROUD of her and are amazed by how much she has grown in her sport just this year!

I need to take my kids to lunch...I'll be sure and update everyone later in the week after Brian and I get back from Branson and our little Spring Break trip! I'm sure I'll have all kinds of fish stories, literally!

Love you,
Hannah

Ski Trip Photos...and I've Lost My Mind...

We had an awesome time on our trip...here are some pictures!

Caden was a little upset after she had a crash...we convinced her the only way to be done skiing was to ski down the mountain...

Caden was watching all of the gear while her Daddy and I got things settled before we went out for the day together on Sunday.

A really fuzzy picture of Caden and Me before we got on the mountain for the day.

A picture of the mountains from I-70 on our way down to Denver.

Me skiing on Sunday.

B and I hanging out on the slopes while Caden got ready to try skiing again...

We've all been trying to recuperate this week...to no avail. We're all still extremely exhausted, but it was all totally worth it! We had so much fun!

Now to the me being crazy part (I'm sure that's no shock to most of you)...I have decided to take much better care of myself (that's not the shocking part). So, I have decided to give a new program called TurboFire a go and see if I like it = I will stick to it. I feel so much better physically, mentally, emotionally when I'm working out, so it's really important to me to get back to it. It looks pretty intense, but it's dance-based, so I'm sure that I will really enjoy it if I can just stick it out for the first few, gut-wrenching workouts. I really like the simplicity of the program, and it's made by the same company as P90X and some of the other really popular home-workout programs...I just took all of my beginning measurements today, and I really need to take my "before" picture tonight, just for posterity. That thought doesn't excite me much, but I'm pumped to get home and get started tonight! Wish me luck, I'm sure I'll be whining lots on here about how much I hurt.

I've also found these 25 tips that I think make a lot of sense. They're probably a little over simplistic but I think they sound good...ask me in a few days what I think of them.

1. Keep a water bottle with you at all times and drink from it often. Water *is* the drink of choice.
2. Look at exercise as a pleasure and privilege, not a burden or chore. Think positively about the changes regular exercise will produce. Rather than obsessing about your next meal, get excited about your next workout!
3. Think twice before deciding what to eat and why, making sure that it is healthy and will provide you good nutrition, fill you up, and give you long-term energy.
4. Measure intake based on activity, not how you "feel." Need should mandate intake, not mood, emotion, or your present company.
5. Eat well-balanced meals and remember that excessive calories, even if they are fat-free and high protein will turn to excess weight! No matter what the latest fad diet, extra calories equals extra weight!
6. Limit caffeine and exposure to even secondhand smoke.
7. Focus on short-term fitness goals with an emphasis on completing daily exercise.
8. Keep a daily log of what you're actually eating. This includes grabbing a handful of chips here, the crust of your kid's sandwich, and ALL your snacking.
9. Enjoy an occasional (once a week) "unhealthy" treat, but never an "unhealthy" week or unhealthy vacation.
10. Savor the feeling of accomplishment you have after completing an intense workout. Remember that feeling and use it to motivate you when you don't feel like exercising.
12. Learn new ways and new techniques for exercising.
13. Avoid monotony by taking up new forms of exercising or using things that keep you motivated and inspired, like new shoes or great music.
14. Subscribe to fitness magazines to keep focused on health as an overall way of life.
15. Invest in the right tools—good shoes, a health club membership, a portable MP3 player or iPod, fitness equipment, a new series of tapes, etc.
16. Make it your goal to do some form of exercise 6 days a week. If you're eating right, exercise will fuel your energy level!
17. Don't compare your body to others. Instead, work to be your personal best.
18. If your diet is unbalanced, take daily vitamin and mineral supplements for total health.
19. Work to take your exercise to new levels of intensity.
20. Create an exercise schedule the day before, instead of leaving it to chance or waiting to "find" the time. If our last two Presidents of the United States can make time to workout every day, you can make time too!
21. Move beyond the boundaries of weight loss and into total fitness. Measure success by the way your clothes fit, and not a number on a scale.
22. Stick with eating plans you can maintain indefinitely. Remember that no matter how hard you're working out, if you're consuming too many calories, you'll never see the muscles that lie beneath layers of fatty tissue.
23. Live a balanced life.
24. Get adequate amounts of sleep, but remember that people who exercise regularly fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.
25. Limit alcohol intake to special occasions.

Wish me luck! Love you all!
Hannah

February = SO FAST!

February is flying by!! It's been a great month, so far, though! Lots of stuff going on, but it's been really good!

Caden is doing an excellent job at her gymnastics meets! The last two we've finished first all-around and third all-around! Championships are in March in Lawrence. Yes, I'm going, you know I love the child when I will spend the day in Lawrence, home of the pillaging, marauding jayhawks...grrr...Seriously, though, she's doing a great job and we couldn't be more proud of her!

We all had a great Valentine's Day! Caden and I both got a dozen and a half roses from Brian and I also got flowers from Mom and Daddy! Caden got all kinds of books and pretty stuff, I got new pearl bracelets and earrings, and I made a donation to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Brian's name. FCA means a lot to him and I really wanted to do something special for him! He loved it! I was glad!

We've had parent/teacher conferences this week, so we've had a few long days, but we have tomorrow off, which is nice! The three of us are flying out first thing in the morning to go skiing in Breckenridge. We won't be back until Monday and we're super excited to get away for a while and go have some fun! I'm sure I'll have pictures to post when we get back early next week...

Other than that, it's just been lots of school and working and dance and gymnastics! We so can't wait for the weather to really warm up! It's 75 today, but I doubt it stays around...I'm definitely ready for it to be this warm to stay! We are very thankful for the warm day today, though!

Alright, I better get back to preparing for my kiddos and their parents!

Love to you all!
Hannah

Seriously...Enough Winter.

Okay, more whining from this Southern-blooded girl...somewhere around 10-15 inches of snow and 6, yes, 6 degrees today. Seriously. I'm done with winter. Forever. If it never snowed again I would be perfectly happy. Hopefully our illustrious governor (read with as much sarcasm as possible) forgives some of our snow days. Otherwise, it could potentially be July until we're done with all of our school this year...okay, probably not that late, but I would guess we run right into summer school like we did last year. Bleh.

Speaking of summer school, I'm already getting all of my materials together to apply to teach. I really hope I'll have the opportunity to teach summer school, but with the current budget situation everyone is in, I would guess that it's going to be pretty competitive to get in. All I can do is apply, and pray. That's what I intend to do anyway!

On a positive, and less whiny note, we've had a great couple of snow days! Brian and Caden and I hung out all day yesterday. I got some cleaning done, some cooking done, and lots of reading done! There was also lots of wii and a few board games played! Today, Caden and I got up and made Brian breakfast in bed...complete with bacon, eggs, fried potatoes, toast, and coffee. Caden insists that I let everyone know she made the eggs. And she did a fabulous job, I might add! The rest of our day has been full of laundry, wii, and starting to go stir-crazy...hopefully, we can get creative here in a little bit and find some other things to do. I might actually trudge over to the fitness center and get a run in. Maybe...

Other than that, we're just hanging out and staying warm. Hopefully, we'll go back to school sometime this week. With the predicted wind chills tomorrow, it's not looking super promising, though. One can always hope.

Hopefully everyone else is warm and safe! Love you all!
Hannah

Lots of Snow...

So those of you that know me know full-well how much I despise the winter, the snow, the cold, all of it. So the latest round of wintry weather here in Liberty, MO has not made me a happy camper. Now that's I'm done complaining (at least for this post, you all know better than to think I'll never complain about the cold again, ever.), Brian and Caden and I did have lots of fun sledding yesterday! There was a wipe out...and some tears after the crash, but we all recovered and had a great time! I think our breakfast of bacon, eggs, and fried potatoes (yes, all cooked in the bacon grease) kept us warm and the hike up and down the hill helped us to not all have heart attacks yesterday! We're in school today...but it's snowing, again, and we're supposed to get somewhere between 3-7 inches on Sunday and Monday. Joy. There goes Ms. Nelson's spring break. Grrrr...

Anyway, on to happier things! Other than the snow, things have been great! We have been staying busy with lots of work, gymnastics, dance, and other various fun things! Caden and I are both dancing at the same studio here in Liberty and we're both getting VERY excited for our recital in April! There will be more to come on that, I'm sure! We dance at Studio 10 here in Liberty. If anyone in the area is looking for a dance studio, we LOVE it! It is a non-competition studio, so the kids really just learn to love to dance and the philosophy of the studio is very Christian-based, so we love the uplifting atmosphere! Shameless plug for them here, but we LOVE Ms. Cassie!!

We're VERY busy between four jobs and a kiddo, but we wouldn't have it any other way! We're having a blast and are definitely looking forward to spring! Miss Malli is as adorable as ever! She's been on her special food for a month now and is doing amazingly well!! I think we got her fixed for sure! Other than the new vet telling us she thinks she's about 4 years old instead of a year and a half...it doesn't matter! We love her anyway!

I need to go grab some lunch in my 10 minute teacher lunch! Love you all!
Hannah

My First Teacher Snow Day

It's my first teacher snow day! And Brian is in Dallas at a coaching convention...so much for hanging out together on snow days...oh well! I have plenty to do here!

I appreciate the extra day to get ready to take the Middle School Math Praxis on Saturday so I can be certified to teach the little lovelies Math, too! The Man Upstairs must have known that I needed an extra whole day to get ready!


Off I go to study away! And snuggle with my puppy!! Yay snow days!

Christmas Travels and the New Year!

I was sorting through some of the pictures from our Christmas extravaganzas and thought I would share a few photos! We spent our first week of break in Missouri! We had a chance to spend Christmas Eve and Day with my parents and family. Then we spent our second week in Iowa with Brian's family! We had so much fun, but we definitely need a vacation from our vacation and getting back into last week was a little rough on us all! We are very thankful to have been able to spend so much time with our families, though! We love you all so much!

Brian surprised Caden and I and took us to see the Nutcracker the weekend before Christmas!

Brian's Mom's whole family at the Christmas in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Christmas with Brian's Dad and family.

Our fabulous gingerbread house!