Our June 2026

Lindsee came to town to do some shopping with Sarah, Phoebe, and I. We had a fun day together trying on clothes and laughing.

We took a quick family trip to Topeka, KC, and Independence, MO. It was fun and we got to see LOTS of new places and things.

One of our Mom's favorite places to eat was the House of Ma. We have heard that it will be closing later this year. Lindsee and I wanted to eat there together at least one more time before it does close.

Phoebe has been busy attending weights and conditioning and basketball practices Monday through Thursday this summer. Our school has a new head coach, and this summer has been a great opportunity for the girls to start to get to know her and to adjust to being coached by someone new. The team played in the basketball Jamboree one day winning 2 out of 3 games. They took a day trip to Washburn in Topeka to play in their team camp where they were successful on the court there as well. They also helped put on a junior Colt camp for younger girls in our community. I have seen and heard so much that is positive with our girl's high school basketball team this summer. I am glad that Phoebe will get to be a part of some big positive changes for our team.

Phoebe and Jax planned a fun bachelorette party for Sarah. Phoebe put together fun "Bride and her Crew" favors for each friend. They met at our house the afternoon of Friday, June 12th. They had a hotel rented and headed there to check in. Once there they painted tote bags together and opened some gifts. Later they went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse before returning to the hotel for swimming and games. They had a GREAT time together! I am thankful for each one of these wonderful girls! They have been such good friends to both of my girls and share such a wonderful relationship that I just know will last a lifetime.

Friends pictured below, left to right, Addison, Jax, Phoebe, Sarah, Ava, and Lily. 💙

We have had two mama's and their baby turkeys hanging around our house and property. They are cute and fun to watch as they search for food.

We went with Owen and Silas to do their final suit and tux try-ons/fittings before the wedding. They both looked so nice.

Jax and I went with Sarah to do their final dress try-ons/fittings with Aunt Jan. Thank you, Aunt Jan for all of your help getting all of the girl's dresses to fit perfectly. You have been and will always be the BEST seamstress I know! Your skills with a needle and thread are AMAZING! If you need any alterations or help with anything involving fabric of any sort, she is THE LADY to go to. On Facebook you can find her at "Alterations by Jan" or "The Old Church Antiques".

Eric and Silas have been doing lots of fishing from our Kayaks lately. One evening Owen got to go with them.

The girls and I went to Pink Nails to get manicures and pedicures before the wedding festivities began.

***Short wedding decorating, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, more decorating, all things wedding day disclaimer... ***There are literally hundreds of pictures that were taken over a course of just a few days by so many people. I have narrowed it down to a few of my favorites to share here. All of the other hundreds will be put into a wedding blog post and actual photo album for Owen and Sarah to keep forever.***

We began decorating the Hutton Shop for the wedding reception/dinner/dance Friday a little before noon. We had some great helpers, and we were able to transform the shop into a beautiful wedding venue. (THANK YOU! to the individuals that gave up their Friday afternoon to help us! We couldn't have done it without you!)

We took a little break from decorating for the wedding rehearsal and dinner beginning at 5pm. The rehearsal went well. We ran through it three times so that everyone would know when to walk, where to stand, how to hold their flowers, what to say when, and when music would be played.

For dinner, we catered in "Rent The Chef" - Taco Bar. They were prompt, friendly, and did an amazing job serving us all. The food was simply delicious! We would highly recommend their food and services. You can find them on Facebook and by going directly to their website. 

Here is a link to their website - https://rentthechefcatering.com/

After dinner there was a small group of us that went back to the Hutton shop to finish up some decorating. (You know who you were...if you were one of these people I appreciate you! THANK YOU!)

Owen and Sarah did not want to have a dollar dance to raise money for their honeymoon, instead I had the idea of having a live auction. They got several talented family members to make or create something and donate the items for this auction. Below, you can see Sarah, Lily, and Hunter setting up some of these donated items. Sarah asked my Uncle Ernie, her great-Uncle, to be the auctioneer. He is in fact an auctioneer and agreed to take on this role for her and Owen. (THANK YOU, Uncle Ernie!) Some of the items made and donated were, Sourdough loaves, Cinnamon Rolls, Tye-dyed Beach Towels, a Sunflower painting, a Wooden Quilt Ladder, a Painted Vase, a Crochet Granny Square Tote Bag, a double canvas Pour Painting, Barnwood Bird Feeders and a Barnwood Birdhouse, a Beach Painting, a Wooden Framed Shelf/Mirror (made by Owen), and an American Mountain Painting (painted by Sarah).

Below, left to right, Jax. Owen, Sarah, Phoebe, Lily, and Hunter.

While we finished decorating Friday night, Will and Silas got to go back to the hotel that EP, Lindsee, and Will were staying in and go swimming.

At 10 am on Saturday, June 20th, the girls and I headed to the church to begin getting ready for the main event. Our friends, Maria, and Illysia were there to help us fix our hair and Illysia helped Sarah with makeup. Eric went back to the Hutton shop to finish all of the last-minute details for the reception/dinner/dance. (Again, if you helped us Saturday morning or afternoon to pull off last minute details or run errands in some way, you know who you are...and a big THANK YOU to you!)

The guys started arriving and getting ready around 12:30 pm. Natasha provided some snacks and drinks for everyone that were there getting ready together.

Will and Silas (first cousins) looked so nice all dressed up and ready for their roles in the wedding... A groomsman and the ring-bearer.

Below, some of my favorite guys! Eric, Silas, Will, and EP.

The dresses (and the girls) were absolutely beautiful! The blue colors that Sarah and Owen picked looked great. Each bridesmaid had the perfect color of dress for them. They each got to pick their own shoes and I loved their choices...perfect for each personality! Sarah chose to wear new white tennis shoes. We took out the laces that came in them from the store and we relaced them with beautiful white lace and ribbon.

Sarah gave each of her bridesmaids and small gift...a new beautiful water bottle/cup and some Bath and Body Works lotion, spray, and shower gel.

Phoebe did a fantastic job of being Sarah's Maid of Honor. She took her role very seriously and helped Sarah with lots of details leading up to the wedding, the day of the wedding, and the day after.

***I will have a separate post with LOTS of the WEDDING and RECEPTION/DANCE PICTURES.*** 

**Look for it COMING SOON! Until then, enjoy these few sneak peaks....**

Father's Day fell on Sunday, June 21st this year, the day after Sarah and Owen's wedding. We all met that morning at church and attended the service together. After church we took some pictures with Eric, and we took our annual Father's Day sign picture for his Father's Day frame. The pictures turned out cute with the dogs added in this year. The kids gave Eric a "Cool Dad" mug and "Greatest Dad Ever" photo frame... When asked what his favorite present was this year, he smiled and softly said, "Owen". Owen, we are all so happy to have you in our family. You and Sarah are so good for each other and have such a good time together. I love to hear you teasing each other and laughing. Eric was being serious when he replied "Owen". Happy Father's Day to the best man for our crew. You lead us well. You care for us deeply and you show it every day in the little and big things you do for each of us. We love you, Eric! Happy 20th Father's Day!

Sunday afternoon, June 21st some of us met at our house to watch Owen and Sarah open their wedding gifts and cards. They received a lot of nice things from so many family members and friends. After the gift opening, we ate leftovers from the wedding dinner together for lunch. Then Sarah and Owen packed, loaded the vehicle, and headed to San Antonio and Corpus Christi, TX for their honeymoon.

On Sunday, June 28th our kids left with our church youth group to go to church camp in Missouri. There was a large group of teens going this year and they had to take the small bus and a large van. Camp was from June 28th - July 3rd this year. We thought we would be able to view a livestream of the church service each night at camp, but the first night was the only night that it was partially livestreamed. The service there was sketchy/in and out, so no livestream any of the other evenings unfortunately. I did however get a few pictures sent to me in text form from throughout the week, and we were able to see some of the activities that Silas and Phoebe were participating in when there was a post each day on Facebook about the previous day. Since we picked them up on Friday, July third, stay tuned for the July blog to get the full scoop on how church camp went for Phoebe and Silas.